Apparently the DAZ Install Manager is about ready

ketthrove

Mari-Anne said:

Will there be a nice Help document with step-by-step instructions for the various install scenarios included in the purchase of the new DIM?

The videos mention a docs site at the end but as this isn't released yet I'm not sure what will be at it or if they are ready yet.

Digital Lite Design

No problem. I think we all get excited and speculative when we see hints of new toys. :) I have to sit on my hands and be patient more often than not. hehe

linvanchene said:

Digital Lite Design said:

Metadata is a part of DAZ Studio, and from what the Videos say, DIM is a stand alone product meant to install, track and manage product files for just that purpose. Downloading and installing. I wouldn't expect it to also be a management tool for Metadata, as that has it's own tools that do the job they are supposed to. Integration of multiple tools can be good, but they can also be a nightmare.

The forums have yelled for years about an easy way to install products. Looks like we may be getting just what we asked for. I'd hope it does just that.

Digital Lite Design, thank you for your patience. It seems, I got off track there somewhat with my speculation.
As soon as everything is set up for the DIM to be working I guess it will do exactly what it was intended to do.

What got me worried is just the things I have to do before the DIM can work as intended.
Anyway guess there is really no point in speculating around anymore.

I will have to wait and see what the DIM does.

Then it will become clear if the quick solution of "User Data" will prevent me of mass exporting and importing .dsx files.

Taoz

Jaderail said:

Just a heads up if it has not been mentioned yet. As part of the DIM going live all users full Daz3D purchase histories will now show PURCHASED on any item in your IOH. I hope just this one part will help any user that desides DIM was a bad idea.

It doesn't support bundles-in-bundles though. If you have a Pro bundle, try to buy the Starter bundle which usually is included. It will not warn you. Should be easy to fix though, I think.

atryeu

DAZ_Spooky said:

atryeu said:

DAZ_Spooky said:

atryeu said:

I have a non-complaining related question that I hope can be answered LoL

Does the program report file sizes BEFORE attempting any kind of download?

Yes

Thank you for such a fast reply. That's something I guess. One more question as well, while on the topic of this.

Originally it was said that the program would only download the updated files for a product that was updated and we could select 1 thing at a time to download. Is this the case still, or for an updated product will we need to download the entire zip again instead of just the selected updated parts of the file?

Thank you again.Product, not pieces of a product. (I would hate to think what the server overhead on that one would be, especially keeping track of who needed what part of what product.)

Thanks for the info :( I'm back to square one I guess.... Most products now are far too large for my connection and I was originally told by tech support that this program would make it easier for me, for updated products at least, because you could select only the updated files instead of downloading the whole product :( I guess something changed since that prevented that though....

digitell

Does anyone know if this tool will be only for DS users or is it for both DS and Poser users?

DAZ_Spooky

digitell said:

Does anyone know if this tool will be only for DS users or is it for both DS and Poser users?

DAZ Studio, Poser, Carrara, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, anyplace where you can use content.

digitell

DAZ_Spooky said:

digitell said:

Does anyone know if this tool will be only for DS users or is it for both DS and Poser users?

DAZ Studio, Poser, Carrara, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, anyplace where you can use content. Great! Thanks Spooky!

Mari-Anne

ketthrove said:

Mari-Anne said:

Will there be a nice Help document with step-by-step instructions for the various install scenarios included in the purchase of the new DIM?

The videos mention a docs site at the end but as this isn't released yet I'm not sure what will be at it or if they are ready yet.

Yes, I noticed that, however, I was hoping for a more "officially confirmed" answer.

Pendraia

araneldon said:

I'm a little bit surprised to see so much negativity. Then again, many appear to misunderstand what it is and what it does.

This thing is a vast improvement over the old installers.

Edited to elaborate:

- You don't have to use it. Content will be supplied in zips, so use whatever suits you best.
- It can download your entire order history with a few clicks -- assuming your internet connection is up to it, and also assuming that DAZ's servers don't melt shortly after this goes live.
- It can install any number of products with a few clicks.
- As with the old installers, content can be installed wherever you please. The defaults are intended for technically challenged newbies.
- Unlike the old installers this program can be fixed and improved.

I could go on... Is it perfect in its current state? No, but the old approach has no advantages over this.

My main concern is none of those things...I would simply like to know if I can use it with content on an external hard drive.

As I now have an ssd drive I am unable to use the c drive for content even if I wanted to...I would really appreciate an answer to this even if it was " yes but we don't recommend it". I've looked at the videos but this isn't made clear...

Pendraia

AprilYSH said:

You won't be forced to use DIM but I prefer it over website downloads and single zips/installers because:

DIM can be used as a download manager only (without using it as your install manager) and much easier than dealing with the current state of the website itemized history/purchase list. nuff said lol

It's great as an installer too because even single products can have 4 separate zips/installers. And I tend to buy in batches so I'd have 20 to hundreds of zips to install at once... DIM installs about a hundred zips in 2 minutes without me clicking through each one.

You can define several folders as download folders, and define several "runtimes" or content folders as install folders.

I have acquired quite a collection over the years (heh) and have a system of runtimes I'm used to... but have a lot of mess in there too. How much stuff don't I even use or will never use again! And I used to have to not think about orphan files from stuff I've moved or deleted... ugh. Since DIM makes it so easy, I took the opportunity to completely overhaul and install everything again into a more logical and efficient library. So it's good for new users but also very good for long timers overdue for a cleanout.

Spooky, you can quote me on that ;)

Thanks for this info April...can you tell me if any of these runtimes are on external hard drives?

DAZ_Spooky

Mari-Anne said:

ketthrove said:

Mari-Anne said:

Will there be a nice Help document with step-by-step instructions for the various install scenarios included in the purchase of the new DIM?

The videos mention a docs site at the end but as this isn't released yet I'm not sure what will be at it or if they are ready yet.

Yes, I noticed that, however, I was hoping for a more "officially confirmed" answer.More official than the "official videos?"

DAZ_Spooky

Pendraia said:

araneldon said:

I'm a little bit surprised to see so much negativity. Then again, many appear to misunderstand what it is and what it does.

This thing is a vast improvement over the old installers.

Edited to elaborate:

- You don't have to use it. Content will be supplied in zips, so use whatever suits you best.
- It can download your entire order history with a few clicks -- assuming your internet connection is up to it, and also assuming that DAZ's servers don't melt shortly after this goes live.
- It can install any number of products with a few clicks.
- As with the old installers, content can be installed wherever you please. The defaults are intended for technically challenged newbies.
- Unlike the old installers this program can be fixed and improved.

I could go on... Is it perfect in its current state? No, but the old approach has no advantages over this.

My main concern is none of those things...I would simply like to know if I can use it with content on an external hard drive.

As I now have an ssd drive I am unable to use the c drive for content even if I wanted to...I would really appreciate an answer to this even if it was " yes but we don't recommend it". I've looked at the videos but this isn't made clear...

unless you have something weird in your setup, an External Harddrive is just another Harddrive.

DanaTA

3Ddreamer said:

.
What I assumed DIM would be was a database linked to your Itemized Order History that checked what you had installed and told you when it was updated (excluding DSON and Metadata additions), without having to download everything again before it recognise them.
.

Now that is an excellent suggestion! I was actually hoping on something like that myself. That would make it useful. Figuring out what has been updated is a pain. There are not usually notifications. And looking for some post somewhere is not a good method, either.

If it does that, I'll use it for at least the downloader.

Dana

DanaTA

Fobok1 said:

Why is having a new option a bad thing? Does it hurt you if I use it and you don't?

Yes! Ouch! :lol: Just kidding.

Dana

Arcane Von Oblivion

Please Spooky....just curious about items gotten from magazines.......(My guess is leave them alone and don't uninstall them (because they wont show up in my account..)?????

DanaTA

RAMWolff said:

PS. Thanks to whomever got the Previously purchased working again. I went out to an updated product that RAWN mentioned and saw that the "Add To Cart" was showing "Purchased". Even older products seem to be showing them when going to the page. Dagon for Hiro 3 for example. So that's really nice to see that reminder working again!

Well, I just tried to add Diner Food 2 to the cart, which was a freebie and I already have, and it happily added it to the cart. Yes, I'm logged in. So it doesn't seem to be working...or not for everyone yet, anyway.

Dana

JimmyC_2009

I just tried Diner Food 2, and it says 'Purchased' where it usually says 'Add to Cart'..

It allows me to press the Purchased button, and I can still add it to my cart (but why would I want to), is that what yours does?

DanaTA

DAZ_Spooky said:

We had a whole bunch of testers, they all asked the same questions, they all had the same doubts. I can't think of one that wouldn't come after me with a copious amount of high explosives if we now took it away from them.

Ummm, you ( not you personally...you being DAZ3D) said that about the new store software. You're still fixing things eight months later. And it's off topic, but, by the way...it still doesn't remember that I want to see 60 items per page not 15. It did for a while, a few months ago, but then that changed when you fixed something else, and it has never been fixed again. No biggie, I guess, but I thought I'd mention it.

Dana

DanaTA

Kharma said:

I absolutely love the return of the " purchased" button.. this also work for items from bundles that I have tested :)) Thank You!! I have purchased a couple items a second time andd was not happy about that but shouldn't happen now!

Have you seen this button? Where is it, I just did a test and no joy for me. It happily added something that I already have in my purchase history to the cart.

Dana

DanaTA

RAMWolff said:

Kattey said:

RAMWolff said:

PS. Thanks to whomever got the Previously purchased working again. I went out to an updated product that RAWN mentioned and saw that the "Add To Cart" was showing "Purchased". Even older products seem to be showing them when going to the page. Dagon for Hiro 3 for example. So that's really nice to see that reminder working again!

Gods, really? They did? *runs to check out if it's truth* If so, those are definitely good news.

Notice where the "Add to Cart" button is? :-)

Thank you, I see it now. It would be nice if it were on the catalog page as well as the individual page. But at least it's somewhere.

Dana

Chohole

You could try a refresh on the page,

DAZ_Spooky

DanaTA said:

3Ddreamer said:

.
What I assumed DIM would be was a database linked to your Itemized Order History that checked what you had installed and told you when it was updated (excluding DSON and Metadata additions), without having to download everything again before it recognise them.
.

Now that is an excellent suggestion! I was actually hoping on something like that myself. That would make it useful. Figuring out what has been updated is a pain. There are not usually notifications. And looking for some post somewhere is not a good method, either.

If it does that, I'll use it for at least the downloader.

DanaIt does check what you have installed vs. what is in your account. But it only knows what you have installed if Install Manager installed it.

DAZ_Spooky

DanaTA said:

DAZ_Spooky said:

We had a whole bunch of testers, they all asked the same questions, they all had the same doubts. I can't think of one that wouldn't come after me with a copious amount of high explosives if we now took it away from them.

Ummm, you ( not you personally...you being DAZ3D) said that about the new store software. You're still fixing things eight months later. And it's off topic, but, by the way...it still doesn't remember that I want to see 60 items per page not 15. It did for a while, a few months ago, but then that changed when you fixed something else, and it has never been fixed again. No biggie, I guess, but I thought I'd mention it.

DanaYou are correct, I didn't say anything like that about the store. :) I am not saying anything about the software, except that our testers had the same doubts you are all expressing, and I don't know of one of them that would go back to not having it. In fact we have one tester going to Starbucks, to download faster than they can at home. :)

DanaTA

DAZ_Spooky said:

DanaTA said:

3Ddreamer said:

.
What I assumed DIM would be was a database linked to your Itemized Order History that checked what you had installed and told you when it was updated (excluding DSON and Metadata additions), without having to download everything again before it recognise them.
.

Now that is an excellent suggestion! I was actually hoping on something like that myself. That would make it useful. Figuring out what has been updated is a pain. There are not usually notifications. And looking for some post somewhere is not a good method, either.

If it does that, I'll use it for at least the downloader.

Dana

It does check what you have installed vs. what is in your account. But it only knows what you have installed if Install Manager installed it.

Oh, well that does make it less usefull. Taosoft's History Manager can see what's in the history remotely, so I thought maybe your application could do the same thing. It would be more useful to me if it did that. I don't think I want to install five years worth of content all over again, so DIM won't really know then.

Dana

DanaTA

DAZ_Spooky said:

DanaTA said:

DAZ_Spooky said:

We had a whole bunch of testers, they all asked the same questions, they all had the same doubts. I can't think of one that wouldn't come after me with a copious amount of high explosives if we now took it away from them.

Ummm, you ( not you personally...you being DAZ3D) said that about the new store software. You're still fixing things eight months later. And it's off topic, but, by the way...it still doesn't remember that I want to see 60 items per page not 15. It did for a while, a few months ago, but then that changed when you fixed something else, and it has never been fixed again. No biggie, I guess, but I thought I'd mention it.

Dana

You are correct, I didn't say anything like that about the store. :) I am not saying anything about the software, except that our testers had the same doubts you are all expressing, and I don't know of one of them that would go back to not having it. In fact we have one tester going to Starbucks, to download faster than they can at home. :)

Essentially that is saying that the testers all like it and say it works. Which is what was claimed about the new store. That was my only point.

Dana

Kharma

It seems everyone has different opinions about this product...I think it's best for me to try it and maybe d/l and install all my products on a new external h/d, and leave alone what I have already installed into my library. If I did that would having the same product installed in 2 different directories present a problem in studioThat way I can try it and if I don't like the way it operates I can just lelete the whole shebang and continue on the way I was doing correct?

Mari-Anne

DAZ_Spooky said:

Mari-Anne said:

ketthrove said:

Mari-Anne said:

Will there be a nice Help document with step-by-step instructions for the various install scenarios included in the purchase of the new DIM?

The videos mention a docs site at the end but as this isn't released yet I'm not sure what will be at it or if they are ready yet.

Yes, I noticed that, however, I was hoping for a more "officially confirmed" answer.More official than the "official videos?"

Yes - I am looking for more detailed steps than those shown in the videos. E.g. you want to use a brand new (empty) folder for new content. How do you retain your old way of categorizing using the new DIM?

OR - you want to use your old folder system i.e. switch the path to your old path instead of using the Public default path AND still have your existing content categorized along with the opportunity to categorize your new content according to your existing categories.

Zylox

With the current installers you can choose whether or not to create an uninstaller or desktop icons. If you are doing a mass install with this, will you be able to choose to create icons and uninstallers for all files at once, each file individually, or just accept the default? I have 743 items in my itemized order history. While I can deal with the uninstallers fairly easily, deleting 743 desktop icons could be tedious.

DAZ_Spooky

DanaTA said:

DAZ_Spooky said:

DanaTA said:

3Ddreamer said:

.
What I assumed DIM would be was a database linked to your Itemized Order History that checked what you had installed and told you when it was updated (excluding DSON and Metadata additions), without having to download everything again before it recognise them.
.

Now that is an excellent suggestion! I was actually hoping on something like that myself. That would make it useful. Figuring out what has been updated is a pain. There are not usually notifications. And looking for some post somewhere is not a good method, either.

If it does that, I'll use it for at least the downloader.

Dana

It does check what you have installed vs. what is in your account. But it only knows what you have installed if Install Manager installed it.

Oh, well that does make it less usefull. Taosoft's History Manager can see what's in the history remotely, so I thought maybe your application could do the same thing. It would be more useful to me if it did that. I don't think I want to install five years worth of content all over again, so DIM won't really know then.

DanaIt sees what is in your account. As I have already posted, it can not tell what you may have installed or may not have installed on your computer, unless you installed it with Install Manager. It tells you when it has installed something and if/when that product has been updated.

As for whether you will use it to install all of your content? I can't answer that, but try it before you dismiss it. :)

DAZ_Spooky

Kharma said:

It seems everyone has different opinions about this product...I think it's best for me to try it and maybe d/l and install all my products on a new external h/d, and leave alone what I have already installed into my library. If I did that would having the same product installed in 2 different directories present a problem in studioThat way I can try it and if I don't like the way it operates I can just lelete the whole shebang and continue on the way I was doing correct?

Thank you. Yes try it first. :)

Yes, installing it to a new place works. Having things installed into two places works, though it isn't recommended for Genesis or genesis Morphs, it does work. You can map and unmap directories, and we do recommend that this directory be the one at the top of the list to make the Metadata work better. :)