Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
224 S 200 W, Suite #250
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
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© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.Daz 3D is part of
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
224 S 200 W, Suite #250
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
I prefer DazCentral to DIM because I can tell which of the many similarly named products I am installing. It even went automatically to my custom content directory. If people don't like it, they can stick with DIM.
I would like to see more filtering options and a boolean search. Even more important, more sort options like publish date.
To each his own.
Daz continues to ignore Mac users. :(
Problem is, some of us are suddenly having problems logging into DIM.
I just tried to log into DIM for the first time after installing this yesterday and I can confirm that I can no longer log into DIM.
- Greg
I haven't even installed it, I did download so I'm wondering if it installed itself - I hope that is not the case.
I changed my password via my account and it will now allow me to log in. But it seems strange that I have to do that and that the problem has popped up only when this new system is released.
To have (metadata), or not to have, that is the question. Many power users find it empowering if the content they download doesn't contain the metadata(categorization, tags) to their liking or style. That way they can start with a clean slate for categorizing and tagging each item rather than rely on the artist's perception. Those users have the necessary tools and knowhow to add their own custom metadata. Similary many artists realize this empowerment, so they publish their content with minimal required metadata or sometimes none at all. Some artists on the other hand, may find it an unproductive chore or don't have the tools/knowhow to add Daz specific metadata assuming(?) that most users don't use SmartContent so the cost/benefit equation doesn't weigh enough. In any case, not having appropriate metadata at the source (i.e. on the server) hurts the development of content management tools that rely on the presence of metadata at the source before it can help the user in deciding whether (if and when) to download the content based on their current needs.
Let me try to illustrate how DazCentral might approach this for Rendo (or any other site for that matter):
1) Authenticate with the external site (can be automated)
2) Navigate to the user's account section to retrieve the direct download links for assets. (can be automated)
3) Categorize the assests or try to identify tags without downloading those assets. (well....)
4) List the external assets in the DazCentral interface based on user specified criteria (gated due to #3 above)
I hope you can now see the importance of having metadata (or atleast some rudimentary form of categorization/tagging) at the source that is accessible within content management tools. That is where the need for standardization for content "repositories" across marketplaces wrt to Daz Studio come into play.
Does DazCentral detect the corrupted packages and the missing thumbnails ?
Agreed, we need an updated DS User Manual more than anything else. (As far as I'm concerned Daz3d can put Genesis 9 on hold until the manual is updated.) The current manual is for which version--DS 4.5? DS4.7? Pre-Iray & Pre-dForce, surely. At this point I find the manual useless.
Well it looks like the beta of this program obliterated some of my DiM files.. While my custom content directories are still there, the information to tell me what I had downloaded is gone..
How did SmartContent install assets before DazConnect arrived?
no, eg the cararra head caps that came out during Genesis. The Three Bears, Big Bad Wolf, and Toon Squirrel products are other examples of incorrect installer packages.
Thanks for once again piercing the darkness @DAZ_Rawb. Now, please copy this post into the OP so we can keep things straight.
DIM installs the metadata, or if you install manually you can Reimport Metadata.
Several users have reproted that it reset their content paths in DIM - which I would think is a bug. You should be able to reset the paths (including, I would guess, the manifests folder) and have everything correct again.
Agreed, but daz fixed it, and added something that wasn't popular.
I'm wary of this item.
That's your choice.
The only thing that bothers me about DIM is how unintuitive the UI is. There's still no easy way to find just your tutorials, for instance. And coming to the forums in hope that someone will provide a sequence of letters they can copy/paste into the filter box is not a substitute.
Daz is marketed as a consumer/hobbyist product, but its interface doesn't reflect that. So rather than design DIM so that it's easier for everyone to use, Daz Central will provide a colourful interface with what looks like fewer options that will frustrate users as soon as their requirements expand. Then they will be told to use DIM and just deal with it.
Okay thank you !
But I still want to know what I asked a page back: Why, if there is no Mac version, is a product named "DazCentral Mac64" sitting at the top of my Product Library list in my account? See attachment.
I hope this assurance holds despite the indication that DazCentral uses a different UI than DIM. And I hope that new features in DazCentral are not held back from incorporation into DIM due to incompatibility issues in UI, otherwise DIM risks running into obsolence.
I tried using DazCentral from the perspective of a new user and found a conflicting installation issue. Lets say, a new user somehow manages to get both both DIM and DazConnect configured and functioning properly. They then decide to install an asset using DazCentral, which by default, "transparently" installs the asset into their DIM path. Now the user decides to open the content in DazCentral. They are guided to the SmartContent tab in DS to locate the asset and are simultaneously introduced to the capabilities of SmartContent. Fair enough, so far. Now the user decides to explore the SmartContent functionality in DS by trying to install assets from within SmartContent tab using the context menu of an available asset. Again, SmartContent "transparently" installs the asset, but this time into the DazConnect path. The naive new user finally navigates back to DazCentral to verify if the installed asset (via SmartContent) shows up as installed, of course, to be greeted with an unpleasant surprise...
I don't suppose this is a bug, may be, my DazConnect/DazCentral configuration was not in-line with whatever approach Daz was trying to promote here. But I cannot ignore the fact that DazCentral can potentially confuse the new user with "inconsistent" installation approaches that are being handled transparently under the hood across DazCentral and SmartContent especially when DazCentral is guiding the user towards SmartContent. Was it a conscious choice or just an oversight?
Same problem to me. I lost the capacity to uninstall the products installed by DIM. the dim list was erased. Custom categories in DS, even DAZ default categories were erased too, no problem because I have the custom categories in their metadata and re-import it had solve the problem, however being able to uninstall is important to eliminate old generation files versions when I get conversion to genesis 8. My fault, I needed control for my curiosity. A beta is a beta.
Smart content itself doesn't install anything, it's a way to access your installed content. Before Connect there was no option to install content from within DS, just the categorization and content access features.
If you meant "how was metadata added to smart content before Connect", then it was done exactly in the same way as you do it now when you don't use Connect, there's a metadata file to install along with you content.
Still installing and organizing manually like its 1999.
Thanks Daz, but no thanks.
Effectively, I delete even the genesis 8 well made metadata in favor of the mine.
Then, other people want the official metadata. I see now.
No thanks. Daz 4.10 and I agree that DIM is still fine and does a pretty good job of keeping track of things.
I went to use Mesh Grabber a half hour ago on my desktop that I tried DazCentral out on and later uninstalled it, and found that the Mesh Grabber tool was completely missing. Investigating and comparing the desktop's plug-in list to my laptop's plug-in list shows that I am now missing 17 plugins. I guess I can uninstall and then reinstall in DIM, and then add the serial numbers back in if I need to, but this is a pain and a half. I had a render over 80% converged when I saw a poke through on a knee and wanted to fix it and rerender. Not do file maintenance.
Daz, please note, leave file structure alone. Leave plug-ins alone.
Update: Uninstalled in DIM, Reinstalled in DIM; had to save/close my scene; close DS; reboot; reopen DS, my Tool Settings show Mesh Grabber again and Measure Metrics and others are back in the Panes. Only one I can't find, couldn't find it in DIM either. Will have to deal with it tomorrow. This is not fun.
Thank you, at least DIM now logs in again.
Don't really have anything I'm in a particular hurry to install at the moment, but it's good to know there's a solution - thanks.
Still strikes me as odd, though, since I'm still able to log in to the forums. Same email and password . . . aren't they the same database?
- Greg
+1, considering the search option in the Daz Store not being accurate AND search function not working in the same DazStudio, AND having custom folders on F Drive , I'm out.
Sure - then a simple "no" would be fine.
I never stated or implied in any way that the request was trivial. As a business decision, the cost to DAZ of dealing with what you describe is completely relevant.
At the same time, virtually everyone in here (not new users, trust me, I know the names - rough guess pegs 95% to 5+ year users), owns and uses content from Rendo, Hivewire, Pre-DAZ-RDNA, PoserWorld, etc., let alone the zillions of *randomly* packaged freebies from sharecg and other sources... So the question to us not-new users is probably one of *the* features that would still interest us most! That's what I would expect 'we heard your voices' to reflect, and the question still goes unanswered.
Proof of this need is the existence of incredibly sophisticated tools like Riverside Arts's Content Wizard here at the store (and a few variations) that have been written to help us create home-made DIM packages and Smart-Content Meta-Data. Perhaps Riverside will be able to extend their great product to integrate with this tool, which would be great for everyone.
The original question is still legit, and still hasn't been answered formally by a DAZ rep anywhere I can see, and I find that telling - in information and attitude, but that's just me.
Either a simple 'we may someday', or 'sorry, no' or even 'sorry, no, DAZ doesn't do foreign data' would be *fine* with me, or... better yet, 'yeah, that's coming, but it's pretty complicated, given the many variations of foreign data out there. We may add support for the fairly regimented Poser Runtimes like we still sell at the store here first, and see how that goes... but we're going to work get the core under control first...'
just sayin'
Given the recent comments from DAZ_RawB that indicate that it is for *new* users (which is fine), starting the announcement out with "We've heard your voices" really begs the question, though doesn't it.
Thanks for the response.
--ms