Seeking advice on configuring Daz 3D installation on new laptop
pds
Posts: 593
Hi all,
In a nutshell, I'm seeking experienced advice on how to install and configure Daz3D and my fairly sizable Daz content library on a brand new system with two internal hard drives. Ideally, I would like to establish a personalized content categorization methodology to make locating my content easier, but have no idea how to do this, whether it's possible to still install via DIM, and how that would play with content updates.
I have been running Daz on a few different systems (custom-built tower PC with dual Titan Xs and two different Macbook Pros) and I have always just gone with the default installation and file configuration using DIM. For obvious reasons, the Macbooks weren't cutting it, and there are times when I need to work from a laptop, so I picked up a shiny new MSI GE75 Raider-655. My C drive is a 1TB Samsung 970 PRO NVMe SSD and the secondary drive is a 2TB Samsung 860 EVO SATA SSD.
I'm thinking it would be best to reserve the C drive for software installation (Daz Studio, Photoshop, etc.) and put the content library on the secondary drive, but welcome more experienced user input.
Any pathname/directory things I need to be aware of if I do something custom for the setup/installation? Where should the Package, Thumbnail, ands Manifest Archives go? What about the Content Database?
I'm guessing that if I don't go with the defaults, then I need to change the path for the Content Updates to whatever the installed path is.
Since I am starting from scratch with this fresh installation, it seems like now would be the best time to implement a different installation/organization approach, but I have no idea how to do that. Does it have to be done manually? Can you install files using DIM, but then somehow reorg the content? Currently, I have a handy "visual organization" directory scheme, wherein I save various product images to help me identify content I might want to add to a scene. My basic categories are: Figures, Hair, HDRI, Lights, Objects/Props, Plugins, Poses, Shaders, and Wardrobe. I further subdivide each to make finding what I'm looking for easier. For example, mty Figures folder is subdivided into: Creatures, Females, Males, Robots/Cyborgs, all of which are again further subdivided. I would love to mirror this structure within Daz somehow.
I am hoping the Daz gurus out there can offer some advice to help me go about this the best way possible. MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2026 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
I wouldn't necessarily keep the zips at all, but yes that is fairly typical.
Don'r use the root (C:/, D:/) as content directories etc. - otherwise it's pretty much up to you.
If you set the paths before installing content then it doesn't matter - that option is needed if the current path to the content doesn't match the path at install. Changing t won't hurt, however.
If you want to move the files on disc then you are going to break DIM, yes. However, you can use categories to organise without moving the files and you can also use .djl link files to place a shortcut to file(s) in a location of your choice without moving the originals. Catageories and links are perfectly compatible with installing through DIM or Connect.
All good advice from Mr. Haseltine. Here's my spin on it.
The programs benefit from user access protection if installed in recommended locations, like Program Files on the C drive. No questions there.
Keeping the Manifest Archive and Installed content together would make it easier to relocate, if needed. You might need more space, or new space, or a new computer at some point.
The Thumbnail Archive and Package Archive work hand-in-hand, so keeping them in the same place is a good idea. You might want to consider keeping the packages on a separate detachable drive, if keep them at all, as they will serve no purpose after they are installed, other than take up space. DIM is the only app that uses those thumbnails, Smart Content uses another that is installed with the product. There is a manifest file of the download that DIM uses to keep track of your packages (what's been downloaded), but they are relatively small, so you can keep them and the thumbnails internally if you don't want to keep the archives.
The CMS database could conceivably be anywhere, but I like to keep program data with the program. It can easily be rebuilt from installed metadata, from both the products and user data.
Organizing all that stuff will be an effort proportional to how much you have. If you want to be able to update, or re-build, the content, moving it manually would make that unnecessarily complicated, as you would have to manually remove and copy folders of content. I prefer to just let DIM install where it wants and organize the content using Studio's built-in tools. There is a greater effort up front, but you save time later.
There are a couple of ways to organize it without physically moving files around. In Studio, there are Custom Categories that you can create from virtually all content. It creates logical links to the actual files, but you can arrange them any way you like, and can have more than one reference to a file or folder. This is all done in the database and can be exported (for back-up, you don't want to lose that info) and restored with CMS tools in Studio. I keep mine separate from the Default categories in their own branch in the Categories group.
Another way is to create links to files (.djl) in the Content Library and move them any way you like, ideally in a separate library from the original so as not to confuse the two. These are different than Custom Categories, more like shortcuts recognized by Studio in the file system.
Both methods are relatively immune to updates, unless files have been renamed or moved in the package, as sometimes happens, but rarely.
Thank you both for the detailed responses. @NorthOf45 I think since I will be using DIM to install content in batches, I don't mind taking the time up front to organize my files in a way that makes sense to me.
Could you please clarify how to create custom categories and the process to make the logical links you mentioned? There are definitely items I would love to reference in more than one folder.
From the Content Library, you can categorize folders, or entire branches, with a right-click on the source and selecting "Create a Category from -> [Selected Folder... | Selected Folder & Sub-Folders...]. Simple as that. You seem to already have a good idea of what kind of hierarchy you want, and you can create that structure before you actually populate it, or use the existing Content Library structure when it already corresponds to how you want to organize it. Many products are installed to a quasi-standard layout that would be quick to copy, and then tailor to your needs later.
However, if you have a lot of content, and some of it does get installed in strange places, and not always obvious, you might want to do each product as you install it. That way you will not miss anything as you fill that drive. So, you can create a category structure ahead of time (all empty) and fill it as you go. When you categorize a folder, you are presented with a tree structure in graphical format asking where to place this new category. A few clicks to expand the branches and select the new home. You can create new sub-categories (right-click) while navigating if you need one you haven't defined yet. Individual files can be categorized also, but you get a different interface, but still with the goal of navigating to the target folder and checking a box.
You can then refine the custom categories by cutting or copying references from one folder and pasting them in another, and moving or duplicating categories. You can rename, copy, move your categories at will, but be careful, there is no undo function for those operations. If you delete a category folder by mistake, you have to re-create it. The custom categories are strictly references to the assets, you do not alter the original files in any way. Custom Categories are considered User Data, which can be exported into User Data files, which you can copy somewhere else as a backup in case of the catastrophic.
Making logical links is pretty much the same idea, right-click on a file or files from the Content Library and select "Create Link for Assets..." You will get a standard explorer dialog to navigate to the folder of your choice. Again, it would be faster if you already had them defined so that you don't have to stop and think each time. I don't see how to do entire folders, so having to create one for every product folder and subfolder when making the links would be a whole order of magnitude of extra work. (Personally I don't use them). All this is done at the file system level through Studio, and would appear in the Content Library. Having a separate library tree for the links would help keep them in their own environment, away from the real assets, in case you move or delete the wrong one, and would be easier to back up.
So, with some preparation, you shouldn't have too many problems. Break a leg...
Yeah, since I am going to do a completelty fresh (re)install of everything, I plan to create the custom categories in advance, then populate as I go. I may even leave out a lot of stuff I find I really don't use to keep things more streamlined.
Thank you for the detailed explanation! Makes more sense now.
I will definitely do this. Is the process of reading this data back in to reconstruct a custom setup in case of a disaster a fairly simple/obvious process?
Custom Categories definitely seems like an easier way to go. I will definitely experiment with that approach. One thing that's still not clear to me is what needs to be put into a custom category folder beyond a "top level" product folder. For example, if I had a custom folder such as "G8F", is it sufficient to copy/paste just the top level character folder or is there anything else that would need to be added so the functionality of what can be accessed remains unchanged?
It's going to be a long process, but worth it in the end!
Quoting that and separating it would be a nightmare, so I'll just answer the questions...
The Content DB Maintenance utility has the tools to export and import metadata, among others. Exporting User Data creates the files you would later import to restore it, including custom categories, any additional data you add to products, and maybe other stuff I don't know about. You can import all product metadata and user data in one operation in the worst case, or be more selective. You can also re-import metadata for individual or sets of products from DIM. There is often more than one way to do some things.
For Custom Categories, you can make them as deep or as shallow as you want, whatever works for you. I use something like what Daz Formats library uses as top-level, but without all the misplaced and misnamed folders. My library has almost 150 top-level folders, as installed by DIM, most of which are in the wrong place and have very little content. My custom category tree has 15 top-level folders, with further sub-folders below that, sometimes 5 or 6 deep. Since the references are to the original files, the original structure is what counts when resources are used, and making categories does not affect functionality. For your G8F category, for example, you could have that top-level, or maybe under People, like the Daz Formats library. You can always move it around later.
Just a note about the custom categories: Create sub-categories under the Categories root, not under Default (that's where the product-defined data goes) so as to not mix them together. That would be a tangled mess.
Thank you very much for all of your input and advice. I've started the process...probably re-emerge in a few months
You're welcome. Months, yes, that's no joke. Have fun...