Content Gatherer questions

Tazirai

Hi, I've recently purchased and begun to use  the Content Gatherer and have a couple questions if anyone of you have used it.

So I'll be reformatting my PC after a few years. The ONLY program I'm even concerned with messing up is DAZ. A lot of it is the custom files I used to create my own characters.

 I plan to do a couple things to guarantee the hurt is lessened from the files no longer available or the ones lost on my dead external HDD which had so many on them. 

1) Does the Content Gatherer actually SAVE those files it has listed in the reference section?

2) Or is it just the DUF itself and the "data" that made up the files?

3) I was hoping it would save the actual file itself. But it doesn't seem to do that, or am I off on it?

 

Any assistance would be great. I'm still at the novice/mid tier stage of Daz usage, even though I've been using it for a bit now. Thanks again.

 

nightwolf1982

It doesn't look like Content Gatherer actually creates zips, only locates and lists external files.  I'd manually back-up your custom files just to be safe (I do this with any custom stuff I create).

Charlie Judge

nightwolf1982 said:

It doesn't look like Content Gatherer actually creates zips, only locates and lists external files.  I'd manually back-up your custom files just to be safe (I do this with any custom stuff I create).

I just got it also so I don't have much experience with it yet; BUT it says you can create zips. Click the help button to read the manual and it appears that once you have finished analyzing, resolving, and valdating you can click the 'File List' button at the top. This brings up another window with a button at the bottom to create a zip file.

barbult

Yes, it can create zip files with all the content files necessary to recreate the scene you "gathered".

Jason Galterio

I use Content Gatherer with almost every project I work on.

It does create zips. It does collect every little bit of data that a project uses; including any special graphic textures you might create.

1. I transport project files from system to system with this. Usually taking the project from my composing machine to my rendering machine, then going back to work while the renderer does it's magic.

2. I archive completed projects so that I can return to them at a later date if I wish to.

3. I collect files, in particular graphic textures, if I plan to modify the surface images. It's usually much easier to use it for this than to go chasing down different directories for all of the texture files.

Tazirai

Jason Galterio said:

I use Content Gatherer with almost every project I work on.

It does create zips. It does collect every little bit of data that a project uses; including any special graphic textures you might create.

1. I transport project files from system to system with this. Usually taking the project from my composing machine to my rendering machine, then going back to work while the renderer does it's magic.

2. I archive completed projects so that I can return to them at a later date if I wish to.

3. I collect files, in particular graphic textures, if I plan to modify the surface images. It's usually much easier to use it for this than to go chasing down different directories for all of the texture files.

So basically It kind of reinstalls the files needed to create THAT particular scene, light, or whatever?

That was what I was most concerned about. Especially Since I got some freebies from places online like Renderosity, and sharecg. Many of them no longer exist, or those sites are long gone. With my HDD failure, I lost many, but was able to reclaim a bunch also. 

DzFire

I use it for all my projects. It will collect everything you need for both DAZ and Runtime (Poser) structures. I can usually collect and zip files with it for each project in under a minute. -Dz

Tazirai

DzFire said:

I use it for all my projects. It will collect everything you need for both DAZ and Runtime (Poser) structures. I can usually collect and zip files with it for each project in under a minute. -Dz

Awesome. Just whatt I wanted to know. 

Tazirai

DzFire said:

I use it for all my projects. It will collect everything you need for both DAZ and Runtime (Poser) structures. I can usually collect and zip files with it for each project in under a minute. -Dz

Awesome. Just whatt I wanted to know. 

 

I finally got around to doing the reformat last night. I tried using the content gatherer zips on the new install. But no dice. Just getting those blocky objects, Is there something i'm doing wrong?

Nelmi

Hi,

I have used Content Gatherer for some time now and suddenly it stopped working. It seems that the program is not reading my Daz content folders. I have Daz 4.9 Pro version and Windows 7. Is there something that I am doing wrong?