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
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Spelling error are super easy to make if you building folder structure one folder at a time. I've done it a ton, but we had a testing group that caught all that stuff for us. Like I said I no longer have those problems because I have the saved empty folder structure that I put all my stuff in when packaging. I've even was giving it out to PA's to try and get some others doing the same thing so we had less of those mistakes. Maybe Daz can do that for the PA's, just give them a copy of the folder structure for them to save thir packs in. At leaset that could fix the spelling errors on the folders.
I agree so much! I also think we need custom folders too. I do it for poses and have pose fusion and plus but there should be custom folders for clothes hairs and characters too so I only see things with the theme I need and folders with everything with our own tags. Like we can tag stuff Steampunk and everything in the Steampunk folder we make is there or a practical footwear folder when there's a scene where heels won't work but the outfit the come with are great for it
Also vendors would have their own tags too and all tags would have their own folders but now it's randomly either by vendor or product instead of both
I wouldn't know how to fix it since they'd know the technicalities but know tagging brings up what you want and custom tagging can be allowed. And make everything neat like all HDRI's must go in this folder and all environments in that folder. I have a pose set that's under genesis 8 female although there are poses for males in it too and to make things worse it has autoscaling but that's no big deal since I can just set it back to what I have for the character
This is why I install manually. I also began making separate runtimes for each character and a general "stuff" folder back when D!S was still in beta. I'm sure some wouldn't like using my system but it helps me to locate what I have quickly and efficently.
I agree there should be a standard, but what about the other sites that sell or give stuff away how do we police them?
With manual installation. At least, if you buy mostly at DAZ3D, the 3rd party mistakes will be easier to find to manually correct. I'm personally more annoyed with the textures folder in the Runtime. But then, I'm constantly checking there.
Nope, I am one of those 20K+ people and I hand organize my library. I refuse to even go near a 'Smart' Content system, got my fingers burned by metadata early on and never went back. Everything is organised into folders and sub folders where I know exactly where to look for things, even going so far as to rewrite some duf files that have hard coded paths, json link files and the odd dsf data file. ('You can use my product but only if you keep it in a folder with my name on it, dare to move it and it'll break!') The only reason I have an 'Environments' folder is to hold the Ultrascenery products because there are far too many link files for me to rewrite right now. The only other things I struggle with is encrypted scripts for obvious reasons. Here is an example of my top line folders and the Scenery & Props subfolder (which themselves are subdivided). I'm betting most other people's doesn't look like this.
Does this take time, yes of course, but probably less time than some spend fixing metadata or trying to find products you know you have but can't find. I have it down to a science.
Haha, another of my bugbears. As mentioned above there's an 's' on the end of the Textures folder people! Let alone what goes on inside it. (Another of mine is random capitalisation of file names but that's just probably me, I know it's a preset, you don't suddenly have to yell 'PRESET' at me in the file name).
At one point we were required to because so many people where getting confused what was and wasn't a preset.
Wow, thank you for the explanation. Is that also why things like Normal Map material files have to have ON and OFF randomly in capitals?
VeNdOrS ShOuLd Be ReQuIrEd To TiTlE There stuff like that :P
And that says title not titie......
Apart from spelling issues and confusion between shaders, shader sets and materials, I would like a hybrid between categories and folder view.
Few changes I would make to Daz default categories:
1. Better indication of if the material is for Iray or 3DLight.
2. sort by generation first then by Characters/Clothings/Hair/Poses/Scripts/Tools/etc...This way it cut down on the number of items to look through since I know which figure I am working on.
3. Under Characters/Clothings/Hairs/... make a subcategory for each item, and put materials/presets/ect... that only work with that item in there.
EG:
Genesis 8 Female\Characters\ <--- main items goes here
Genesis 8 Female\Characters\{Character Name}\{item specific to this character}
For Wearables like hair/clothing/accessories/anatomy/
Genesis 8 Female\Clothings\{Body Region} <--- main items goes here
Genesis 8 Female\Clothings\{Body Region}\{Item Name}\Material\3DLight\
Genesis 8 Female\Clothings\{Body Region}\{Item Name}\Material\Iray\
Genesis 8 Female\Clothings\{Body Region}\{Item Name}\Script
Genesis 8 Female\Clothings\{Body Region}\{Item Name}\Poses
Genesis 8 Female\Clothings\{Body Region}\{Item Name}\{etc...}
Genesis 8 Female\Hair\Length\<--- main items goes here.
Genesis 8 Female\Hair\Length\Item Name\Preset
Genesis 8 Female\Hair\Length\Item Name\Material\Iray
For skins maybe:
Genesis 8 Female\Skins\ <--- main items goes here.
Genesis 8 Female\Skins\Product Name\Materials\Iray
Genesis 8 Female\Skins\Product Name\{other things}
For props: Props should go into as many categories it fit into as possible.
Props\{Type}\ <--- main items goes here
Props\{Type}\{item name}\{item specific stuff}
For Scene: maybe
Scenes\{categories}
Scenes\{categores}\{scene name}\{scene specific stuff}
Basically, a way to find stuff associated with the item I am currently working on, but done statically instead of using smart content which can be a bit slow.
Also it would be super useful if there is somewhere user-generated metadata can be shared like an official or unofficial site. Currently, it is possible to generate user metadata per product. If the community can agree on a common categories structure, then someone can sort a product into those categories, export the userdata, and upload it, then everyone else can just download the file, get daz to import it.
Doesn't even have to be 1 community standard, there could be a multiple way of organising things and people just pick the style they like the best.
Personally, I have my own categories defined into which I allocate my products. In an ideal world, I'd have everything categorised - but since my time is limited and my library seems determined not to be, I've just made categories for some of the the worst offenders: HDRIs, shader/shader presets (I know some people get very hung up over the distinction between the two, but I want them mixed in together because they essentially do the same thing), poses, V4 hairs that use the poser "hunt the thimble" structure.
I also make use of the Products structure in the Content Library - remember the name of the product, find it in the list, show asset in mapped folder. That's the only way I find environments, because I know it's futile to look for them any other way. Occasionally I'm stymied because the product has a different name in the database to the one it has on the website. That's really annoying.
I'm all for setting up my own custom installation...however...it should be noted that it will break any smart content. I don't use smart content for everything...but it is nice when I'm looking for shaders and all I have to do is type in "ice" and my ice shaders come right up.
Not true if the texture set comes from an addon. It irks me because sometimes I find a texture pack, and I don't even know what clothing it is meant for.
Especially when even the thumbnails for the materials don't show the whole item they are meant for.
That hasn't been my experience, but I'm not sure how many post-launch add-ons (other than some PC sets) I've bought recently.
This is a thumbnail for a hair product, yes the hair, not the character. To be fair this was a major issue around the Genesis 2 era and things seem to have improved since then so thumbs up to DAZ/vendors for that :)
He said "are usually allowed," in which they are. The person making the pack chooses where they want to put them but they ARE allowed to be in a subfolder of the main product which is where a good majority put them.
There are certainly some frustrating decisions made by both PAs and by Daz QA for where things end up. I really love KindredArts products but it's so inconsistent on where I can find the various products (especially the decals stuff) I have to end up searching for them or even forget I have them.
Another silly example of lack of location QA is https://www.daz3d.com/cyberpunk-gadgets-for-genesis-8 where it comes with a Props.png in the root folder therefore it allocates the product's custom icon to the base Props folder, instead of a "/Props/3D Style.png" which would allocate it to the PAs folder. Whilst quite harmless, I reported it to Daz and their response was that the PA intended that and it was ok. They simply don't care.
And don't get me started on environments and where the find them...
I'm still very new to Daz, but it hasn't taken me long to lose track of where things are. I realize one can organize the content on their own, but it would help A LOT if there would be at the very least some standardization to where things go. Of course, Daz may argue that sure, they'll do that, but what about [name of any other content provider]. I get it; but it really shouldn't be this hard.
Riddle me this. Why do I have to remember the creator's name, just to find a prop I want to use?
Well, I have been working for +20 years now implementing electronic content management systems in pharma. All of those systems do have "folders", but they are just a visual representation of a query. DS already HAS a CMS in place. Why notr built on that? The Content Library can be implemented as stored queries against the CMS database. It then would just not matter where and how the files are organized. Smart Content is a first step.
I am running a private eCMS on my Mac (DevonThink) to organize my personal files. It stores files in its own logical structure. Nevertheless, I can orgainze it in "folders" or add metadata to it. I personally think Smart Content is the right direction. It JUST would need proper maintenance, and that is 100% up to DAZ. So, the tools are already there. It just requires implementation. Hell, I would even offer my experience for FREE, if this content desater sees any fix in the future....
I've seen that one. And also "John Henry" and "John_Henry" sorted together eg. TWO occurrences of essentially the same PA name in a list that's supposed to be more like "animals mineral paper rock scizzors vegetables", not "Dick Harry and Tom".
*sigh*
When Rendo, Turbo, Hivewire, Share-CG and DAZ et al gather in Salt Lake for the annual "3D" awards we should have our own, concurrent awards show.
"May I have the envelope please... hmmm, let's see... And the "horsing around" trophy for most undecipherable search and sorting methods goes to... DAZ 3D!!! Woah Nelly, will you listen to that crowd... they are just going wild here in the DAZ Center!"
Sorry, I am having a lot of fun with the Daz trophies set by Silent Winter so I just had to stick this in, heh heh. The bat trophy is for a woman in Australia but you could also say that search is making me "batty". Also I think "Catoon" by Vyusur is very cool.
Additional credits: Concert crowd pose for G2M by Feral Fey. Bat model by Silverkey.
All good suggestions...
As far as the "Other" vendors go, I think it is just a matter of Daz extending the olive branch a bit and reaching out to get them on board. I am a believer in "a rising tide lifts all boats". I would imagine that it would be easy enough to contact the bigger players and say,
1) Here is what we are thinking of doing in regards to standardization...
2) Do you have any input/suggestions for the standardization before it is implemented?
3) Can you help with the dissemination of the new structure to your PAs so that everybody in the Daz 3d family is on board?
I'd like to think that everybody would play ball... You want to be a PA at XYZ? Here are the standards for submission... I'd like to think that the Major Vendors have some standards they are handing out now... its just not everyone is on the same page.
Back in v3 of Daz we could move the content folders about within Daz Studio, i'd drag & drop all the materials & addons into the relevent parent object's folder, so eblank's addons went to the dress's folder, I had all my Star Wars freebies in one folder, vehicles that had seperate pose addons... etc
It wasn't cleaning up the mess of the file structure, but tidied up the content folders inside Daz
I just got another "dazzling" (more like puzzling) response from support re: missing content. My issue is with the "Empire Armor" for the centaur for G3M. Can't find it, and of course for me the Roman-type helmet is de riguer for my avatar instead of this silly orange toque. But anyway.
Daz proceeded to disclaim any responsibility for finding lost stuff, and they promptly rubber-stamped my problem as having been "solved"!!!!!!!
You'd think they'd have a sort of "Master Computer" on site - the only one in the world where the "Smart Content" pane and the "Search" and the metadata actually works. But no, apparently not.
And ― unlike some other 3D stores ― there is no clear packing list! Or if there is one I forgot where it went. Oh well, I suppose I can try Fileseek, searching all of drive C: for anything that has the string *helmet*.* in it.