Content shortcut?
AnnikasArt
Posts: 48
in The Commons
Lately I've been trying to learn how to use shaders but scrolling back and forth between content, like clothing I want to try, and the shaders to change how the clothes look is really tiresome. Is there a way to set a short cut or bookmark or something so jumping between areas of content is quicker and easier?
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On the "Surfaces" Pane there is a tab at the top called "Presets" I find very handy.
Select your item in the scene, then select the surface you want to apply a shader to on the "Surfaces" pane under the "Editor" tab.
Now switch to the "Presets" tab and you should see a list similar to the one in my screenshot.
You can drag the Content Library to the other side of the UI so you can have them both open at the same time.
If it won't let you drag-n-drop the panes around the UI they are locked.Press CTRL+U to lock or unlock them. You can also find it under Window>Workspace>Lock docking/undocking
The current and recent versions of DS do allow setting a location as a favourite, which may help http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/change_log_4_15_0_30#4_15_0_16
IceCrMn When I look under the Presets of the Surfaces Tab all I see are a handful of shaders that I'm guessing came with D|S, none of the other shaders I have are there, they are all in the Content Library.
Richard Haseltine I don't know what I'm supposed to do with a Change Log.
If you can please, would you post a screenshot of what you are seeing.
I need to see the Surfaces pane open to the Presets tab and the Scene pane with your item selected just like in my screenshot.
Shaders installed from the Daz store will have the metadata needed to use the Presets tab, shaders from other stores most likely won't.
What Richard is talking about is anew feature in Studio that allows one to make a "Favorites" list that shows up in the main menu.
For example:
Let's say I like Nirvy's clothing a lot and plan to use it very often.
(screencap001)
I scroll though "Content Library" pane until I find it.
Then I right click the folder named "Nirvy" it and Select "Create custom action"
(screencap002)
Then a popup menu shows up asking me a few questions.
Click the first drop down menu and you can choose what button on the main toolbar the location will be saved under.
I chose "Favorites".
The scripts entry is for single entries and usually often used scripts are saved under this one.
The second line allows one to add a sub-folder to help keep things tidy and organized.
I'll type "G8F Clothes" in this line. You can type anything you want.
The third line should already be filled in for you, so don't change anything here.
(screencap003)
Press "Accept" at the bottom and you should see a new menu entry on your toolbar called "Favorites".
(screencap004)
Now when you click on your new "favorites" location entry, your Content Library will open directly to that location without you needing to go hunting for it every time.
It's very much like saving a bookmark to a website you like to visit often.
edit: I should also note that when you open your favorites link, the Content Library pane may not focus directly to the folder you wanted. You may need to scroll down a bit to get it in view.
It's not a perfect solution, but for large libraries, it can save a few clicks.
I like to browse my library for things as it gives me inspiration as to what my scenes will evolve into.
Very few of my scenes are planned out. Most "just happen".
The chnage log has details - right-click on a container (a folder under ... Formats in the Content Library, or a product under Products, or a Category under Categories) and select Create Custom Action; in the dialogue that opens select Favourites or Scripts for Root menu (the entry in the main menu bar), optionally add a sub-menu (e.g. /Genesis 9 - use / to indicate divisions between menu levels) and optionally edit the text box, which is what will appear in the menu.
I can't show all the presets that are there, but I went through them and it's only the handful that have ever been there.
I never auto install anything.
Not sure what you mean by "auto install".
If those are the only shaders you have installed, then that is all that will show.
Do you have more shaders installed?
I manually install everything, I don't use installers. I first used D|S in about 2005, things have changed a lot, but back then I had tried using installers and I hated it. So, the 3rd or 4th time I was re-installing everything because I couldn't find things I resolved to put things where I wanted them. When I came back to D|S I just kept doing things the way I knew how. Honestly, the idea of having a tool like "Smart Content" that won't tell me where half my stuff is sounds like it would be more frustrating than anything else.
I have probably 1000's of shaders. Everytime I see a set I think, "Wow, those would be great for..." so I buy them. That's why I finally decided I needed to learn how to use them lol. And they are amazing, just not fun having to keep scrolling up and down my long list of content finding shaders and things I want to load to put them on.
ahh, ok, manual install.
I use Daz Install Manager (DIM) for everything. It's easier for me to manage nearly 6,000 assets that way.
I'm not certain if the metadata is included in manual installs, but I assume it would be if downloaded from the Daz store.
Other than the "Filter by Context" box is unchecked at the bottom of the pane, The only thing I can think of right now for why you wouldn't be seeing your long list of shaders would be that the metadata for those products for some reason wasn't imported to the database.
Maybe someone with more experience working with manual installs can help with that part.
Your screenshot shows at least a few of them did get imported.