First impressions on the entire DAZ onnect thing...
On first impression, this is pretty much doing the same thing like DIM - you log in just like with DIM, but inside the DS rather than the DIm application. The program then started downloading ALL meta data of the content I bought at DAZ store. On the laptop, I only have installed a handful of items for general stuff, so I was rather surprised.
Then, I tried to download something. This is where it gets rather tedious. You go to Smart Content, and under "products" you can now see all content you bought as thumbnails. That is, all content that has metadata. So no chance for older content to be found here!
To download, simply double click on the item you want to download. But there's no way to batchdownload things. This is rather annoying fot someone like me, who wants all of the bought content on disk, rather than cherry picking for whatever I'm working on. However, the new feature is making installation/deinstallation easy. I haven't figured out how categorizing is supposed to work in this, but if you right-click on the icons, you have various options available, including a direct link to the Readme-file at the DAZ-Page.
At this moment, I am still very much on the fence in regards to this DAZ Connect thing. I can see the advantages, but right now, the disadvantages cleary outweight the advantages for me.
On the plus side, the Iray and 3Delight updates are quite impressive, i.e. 3Delight looks awesome.
Here are some screenshots:
Login screen before and after login.
Looking for Scott6 I downloaded with DIM in the content directory - no such luck.
His image is colored in the Smart Content, all other content is greyes out as it is not downloaded.
Scott's files in their encrypted version as they are stored in the default folder that I'm using.
First impressions on the entire DAZ onnect thing...
On first impression, this is pretty much doing the same thing like DIM - you log in just like with DIM, but inside the DS rather than the DIm application. The program then started downloading ALL meta data of the content I bought at DAZ store. On the laptop, I only have installed a handful of items for general stuff, so I was rather surprised.
Then, I tried to download something. This is where it gets rather tedious. You go to Smart Content, and under "products" you can now see all content you bought as thumbnails. That is, all content that has metadata. So no chance for older content to be found here!
To download, simply double click on the item you want to download. But there's no way to batchdownload things. This is rather annoying fot someone like me, who wants all of the bought content on disk, rather than cherry picking for whatever I'm working on. However, the new feature is making installation/deinstallation easy. I haven't figured out how categorizing is supposed to work in this, but if you right-click on the icons, you have various options available, including a direct link to the Readme-file at the DAZ-Page.
At this moment, I am still very much on the fence in regards to this DAZ Connect thing. I can see the advantages, but right now, the disadvantages cleary outweight the advantages for me.
On the plus side, the Iray and 3Delight updates are quite impressive, i.e. 3Delight looks awesome.
Here are some screenshots:
Login screen before and after login.
Looking for Scott6 I downloaded with DIM in the content directory - no such luck.
His image is colored in the Smart Content, all other content is greyes out as it is not downloaded.
Scott's files in their encrypted version as they are stored in the default folder that I'm using.
I clicked an empty spot on that pane and pressed CTRL+A to select everything , then I right clicked the first item and selected "Download from cloud", then I went about making my render.I was able to run my render (iray) at the same time Daz connect downloaded everything else.
What nonsense. Do you understand what a user-facing file is?
Depends on what you mean by user facing. Take Rails, for instance. You conform to a very specific layout of code and templates, or it's a nightmare and fundamentally out of whack with how other folks will work with your code.
Are HTML templates, images, javascript files, CSS files and such more to your liking as 'user facing files'?
I used the Java standard library as an example, but I could have used Maven's repository structure (essentially opaque to developers, and if you mess with it, it breaks everything) because it's almost identical to the way DAZ is going to be installing standard content. I could use gems in Ruby, or RPM repos in RedHat, or...
Seriously. No.
I get that people have an itch about this, and I hope they find a way to let folks scratch it, but no...folks who take their tools seriously, want them installed in a consistent way, that is the same across usages, so they know where to reach for their tools. It's even called Knolling in the physical trades, apparently.
The CTL+A works for items in the same category, but if you have items in various categories, you'll have to go and search for them. Unless you mean, mark the ntire Smart Content library and download everything....
In any case, what I'm currently missing is a decent way, like in DIM, to select and group what I want to download,rather than the Smart Content Search Item thing there is now.
All of your existing content will still work in 4.9, even without doing any sort of online connection. There is a new and faster version of 3Delight and an improved version of Iray in there as well.
While Daz Connect has been a big focus of the discussion there are many other new elements of 4.9 that you don't even need to touch Daz Connect in order to use.
Then can you please put an unmistakable setup option in DAZ 4.9+ that allows us to completely disable Connect and make absolutely certain that DAZ Connect is default OFF on first launch?
If any developers I worked with wanted to willy-nilly move around where standard headers and libraries are included from, I'd thwack them on the scalp with a rolled up newspaper.
Let's take some Java examples...
No, you don't decide 'Oh, I think java.util.List should actually be oracle.util.Lost because I think it's funny...'
You don't decide that you're going to put 'java.lang.Array' in the same package as 'javax.swing.JTable' because they're both representatives of a list of items...
No. Programmers don't do that kind of thing, sorry.
-- Morgan
I get to install version 1, 2, 3 of an api in parrallel in whatever damn folder I want, putting updates into a new directory each time, instead of overwriting. I can dig around in the folders and compare the old version and the new version, or do spot file replacements, or edit one version into two or three versions which I can then have all installed, in parallel, using one version with one build, one with other. I can download a fork of a library, edit it, build it, or whatever, and spot replace files.
Until now, .DUF files have been uncompiled source code which I've been able to edit myself, apply patches, and fork.
Now, all I will be able to get is precompiled .libs (or .dlls if you prefer) which I link, but I can't modify.
The CTL+A works for items in the same category, but if you have items in various categories, you'll have to go and search for them. Unless you mean, mark the ntire Smart Content library and download everything....
In any case, what I'm currently missing is a decent way, like in DIM, to select and group what I want to download,rather than the Smart Content Search Item thing there is now.
Yes, that's what I did.
On the Products pane with "All" selected at the top. I used the select all keyboard shortcut.I didn't have anything selected in the scene , so it grabbed all of stuff in one go and made it fairly easy to download from the cloud.
I have some thoughts about some potential solutions for those of you that want to manage your content like it's still 1995 ;)
I have 10 years worth of content from various stores and freebies sites, that I organized in a way that is logical to me over the years. I have no intention to spend hours adding metadata in the database so that "smart" content can see more than half of it and has meaningful tags on the half it acknowledges, or re-categorizing everything so that whatever appears in the category system makes sense to me.
Moreover I use my content in other applications too from time to time, and those can't use the DB but see the directory structure pretty well....
edit: I did try the content management features as they were released, but beside the DS specific aspect they don't bring enough to me to justify all the work I would need to do in order to make them useable on a large scale.
Account switching is possible...with only 1 download/install of the content IF that content (which according to a user report is the first mapped content directory) is in the 'public' documents folder. Due to restrictions in place by most operating systems if the first content folder isn't a public folder each user would need to have a separate download, because private user folders are NOT going to accessible by any other user. So this would also mean that not only does existing content need to be where the DIM installed it, but rather where the DEFAULT install location should have been (since DIM defaults to the public floder).
Also, in order for any account switching to work, currently, one needs to have an active internet connection.
You are adding an awful lot of assumptions here to get to your conclusions. Your first statement and your last statement are both accurate. Otherwise I don't have a clue where you got the information.
1. If you are using DZ Connect to install your content or control your content, and if you have more than one person on the computer with a Daz 3D Account then when each person logs in, they can only see the content that is from their account. Regardless of the number of accounts as long as you are using mapped directories, and as long as you are not using directories that are locked to a specific machine user, you only need one copy of each piece of content.
2. If the content is not installed by or controlled by Daz Connect, then none of 1 applies.
3. There is no requirement to use a folder on your C drive (Windows), or OS Drive (Mac). There is no requirement to use default directories. There is no requirement to even have the public documents folder on the c drive.
DIM installs, by default, to a PUBLIC folder. IF one changed it to the older DEFAULT location, of the content being in MY USER folder then what is installed there will, because data sharing, without massive hoops, between user account folder just isn't going to happen just be usable in MY ACCOUNT. Hell, even with admin privileges I can't access other user accounts on the various Windows machines from MY account.
In order to convert all the already installed data, if one chooses to go the Connect route, it must be where DIM put it to begin with...true or false?
So, IF one has all their content in a USER folder and wishes to use Connect, it would probably be easier to just download and install everything fresh, if one ever wants to have a chance of having account switching work, in order to NOT duplicate several to several hundred gigs worth of content...
On first impression, this is pretty much doing the same thing like DIM - you log in just like with DIM, but inside the DS rather than the DIm application. The program then started downloading ALL meta data of the content I bought at DAZ store. On the laptop, I only have installed a handful of items for general stuff, so I was rather surprised.
Yeah, it gets all the meta data for all your products so you can see everything you own and find things which will work with what is selected in your scene, both installed and uninstalled, so that it is easier to take more advantage of items you have. Most of you heavier users have so much content, its hard to keep track of everything you have that you could use, so the idea is you don't have to (provided it has metadata that is, and more and more older products are getting metadata added that will be set up that will automatically sync with your systems if you own the product).
Then, I tried to download something. This is where it gets rather tedious. You go to Smart Content, and under "products" you can now see all content you bought as thumbnails. That is, all content that has metadata. So no chance for older content to be found here!
Older content without metadata that can be supported by Daz Connect, if not in Smart Content (there is also a lost and found category in smart content now for front facing files that don't have any metadata), you can go to Content Library and view, by product alphabetically, any product that is working with it. To give a rough idea of what will work, essentially any DIM package will be tagged CloudAvailable is it can be installed with Daz Connect (its a new tag being implemented) which, is over 98% - 99% of the products in the store that works with Studio 4.5+. So, the oldest product I was able to load up and use was the original Millenium Man.
To download, simply double click on the item you want to download. But there's no way to batchdownload things. This is rather annoying fot someone like me, who wants all of the bought content on disk, rather than cherry picking for whatever I'm working on. However, the new feature is making installation/deinstallation easy. I haven't figured out how categorizing is supposed to work in this, but if you right-click on the icons, you have various options available, including a direct link to the Readme-file at the DAZ-Page.
You can actually queue up products to install. If you multiselect (shift click, ctrl click, command click depending on your OS) to select a bunch of products, and then right click and hit install, it will grab them all. So you can just set a bunch to download and walk away while it goes instead of doing it one at a time.
All of your existing content will still work in 4.9, even without doing any sort of online connection. There is a new and faster version of 3Delight and an improved version of Iray in there as well.
While Daz Connect has been a big focus of the discussion there are many other new elements of 4.9 that you don't even need to touch Daz Connect in order to use.
Then can you please put an unmistakable setup option in DAZ 4.9+ that allows us to completely disable Connect and make absolutely certain that DAZ Connect is default OFF on first launch?
It is already off by default -- you have to click the Login button and enter your login and password. If you don't it doesn't connect.
The CTL+A works for items in the same category, but if you have items in various categories, you'll have to go and search for them. Unless you mean, mark the ntire Smart Content library and download everything....
In any case, what I'm currently missing is a decent way, like in DIM, to select and group what I want to download,rather than the Smart Content Search Item thing there is now.
shift-click works as a range select and ctrl-click as an individual selection/deselection for me - you can always use the filter box on All.
First impressions on the entire DAZ onnect thing...
On first impression, this is pretty much doing the same thing like DIM - you log in just like with DIM, but inside the DS rather than the DIm application. The program then started downloading ALL meta data of the content I bought at DAZ store. On the laptop, I only have installed a handful of items for general stuff, so I was rather surprised.
Then, I tried to download something. This is where it gets rather tedious. You go to Smart Content, and under "products" you can now see all content you bought as thumbnails. That is, all content that has metadata. So no chance for older content to be found here!
To download, simply double click on the item you want to download. But there's no way to batchdownload things. This is rather annoying fot someone like me, who wants all of the bought content on disk, rather than cherry picking for whatever I'm working on. However, the new feature is making installation/deinstallation easy. I haven't figured out how categorizing is supposed to work in this, but if you right-click on the icons, you have various options available, including a direct link to the Readme-file at the DAZ-Page.
At this moment, I am still very much on the fence in regards to this DAZ Connect thing. I can see the advantages, but right now, the disadvantages cleary outweight the advantages for me.
On the plus side, the Iray and 3Delight updates are quite impressive, i.e. 3Delight looks awesome.
Here are some screenshots:
Login screen before and after login.
Looking for Scott6 I downloaded with DIM in the content directory - no such luck.
His image is colored in the Smart Content, all other content is greyes out as it is not downloaded.
Scott's files in their encrypted version as they are stored in the default folder that I'm using.
Thank you for going out and giving it a try. Even though you aren't totally on board with the whole Daz Connect thing I appreciate that you gave it a shot and were able to see at least a little bit of the benefit we are bringing with it.
I realize the folks at Daz have their hands full explaining how things will work, but some YouTube videos of some of the concepts behind Connect would be helpful. It's handy if users can actually see how:
1. Daz Connect authenticates
2. Packages can be kept in the cloud or downloaded for local storage
3. Pointer files can be placed in arbitrary folders, as we do now, and load content kept in a managed location
4. How managed folders can be hidden if we want to use our own instead (okay, I just made that one up, but I think it would be a nice feature for the pros)
... and so on. Much better than repeating yourselves.
I would only ask that the presenter not sidestep the underlying concern of the questions that have been asked here. For example, specifically lay out instances when Daz Connect will be *required*, and when it won't be.
Yes, it's also up to us to actually test the software, but it's much better from the viewpoint of understanding to see an experienced user go through the steps. This will help remove a lot of confusion and uncertainty.
That is a great idea and one we should do a couple screencasts on. Let me talk with some people in the office about it and see what I can get rolling.
"So no chance for older content to be found here!"
That isn't strictly true. LXV furniture and flight of the swan are both super old and have been updated with proper meta data for smart content. I've noticed quite a few older products getting updates recently as well. I also know that someone is working on getting meta data implemented/organized. Not just new products as they come out, not just old products that predate meta data, but all of them.
OK, so -- apart from my prior questions not being addressed (and I do understand that this is a fast moving and somewhat tense thread) -- this seems to mean that the use of Content Library for newer content is effectively being deprecated. Is that correct?
Not exactly, but I can see how it can be interpreted that way.
Content Libary will still have the Products and Categories sections that apply to content installed by Daz Connect. Content Library will still be used for content from other sources if it doesn't use Metadata and you haven't decided to create your own metadata for that content.
Yes ... but the problem is that I, at least, found the Products and Categories section somewhat counterintuitive and thus never used them after a few early tries. I also tried the original flavor and variously revised Smart Content, and it didn't work for my approach. I prefer using the Content Directories, and that seems to be true of many people.
The ... Formats sections won't show Connect content, though you can place a loader script (or, if I understood DAZ_Jon in a previous post, a shortcut) in them. The Products and Categories sections will show the Connect content.
So basically we will have to use the categories or smart content to use it, no way to use the good old "file system" library. Well I'm definitely not happy about that.
I have some thoughts about some potential solutions for those of you that want to manage your content like it's still 1995 ;) , I'll discuss it with the development team and see what their thoughts are and if it could be something we include either in this release or a future release.
While I honestly believe that managing your content through the DB is the way to go for things such as being able to have content in multiple locations and being able to rename that content without breaking anything that might depend on it. I still understand that some of you may take more time and/or don't want to have to manually add all of that third party content into the db so we will see if we can figure something out.
It's not even just third party content. There's quite a lot of DAZ content that many users have put in places that were more intuitive/logical/effective for them. People were then able to combine that with how they had third party content organized to make what was, for them, the best way to work. It sounds as though, at best, Studio 4.9 will be confused by that approach, because things aren't where it wants them to be.
I do understand that it's frustrating that so few people are paying attention to the unarguable improvements. But for most people, the unarguable improvements are ... unarguable. While they affect our work in noticeable ways, they don't break a system that many users have spent years putting together. (Yes, yes, Content Library still there, everything still where we put it, all true. New Smart Content still breaks the systems that users have developed.) People will naturally focus on the parts that make their work more difficult rather than the parts that make it easier.
I do hope you're going to be able to find an easily workable solution for both you and for us, because it sounds as though building down to the lowest common denominator is thoroughly alienating your more experienced users. (Also, not going to lie, kind of astonished to find myself in that position, as far as this is concerned.)
To download, simply double click on the item you want to download. But there's no way to batchdownload things. This is rather annoying fot someone like me, who wants all of the bought content on disk, rather than cherry picking for whatever I'm working on. However, the new feature is making installation/deinstallation easy. I haven't figured out how categorizing is supposed to work in this, but if you right-click on the icons, you have various options available, including a direct link to the Readme-file at the DAZ-Page.
You can actually queue up products to install. If you multiselect (shift click, ctrl click, command click depending on your OS) to select a bunch of products, and then right click and hit install, it will grab them all. So you can just set a bunch to download and walk away while it goes instead of doing it one at a time.
Well, I guess what I'm missing is a list of the "recent purchases", like in DIM. Right now, all that I see in Smart content is tons of subcategories with hundreds of icons in it, but if I wanted to install just my newly bought content, I would have to search for each item according to my order. In DIM, I am able to do a simple list sort and my newly bought items show up on top.
Will products that read content like Pose Builder, Poser Converter, and Skin Converter work with encrypted duf files?
I obviously couldn't say for sure, but many of those actually read the objects from inside DAZ Studio; since DAZ Studio has an API for accessing that data, and DAZ Studio acts as the gatekeeper between the content and the API, it should work just fine. Now if something goes around that (e.g. DSON Editor by Dimension 3D) the answer is probably no.
But from within DAZ Studio, as long as the DS API is used, it sounds like everything should be transparent.
OK, so -- apart from my prior questions not being addressed (and I do understand that this is a fast moving and somewhat tense thread) -- this seems to mean that the use of Content Library for newer content is effectively being deprecated. Is that correct?
Not exactly, but I can see how it can be interpreted that way.
Content Libary will still have the Products and Categories sections that apply to content installed by Daz Connect. Content Library will still be used for content from other sources if it doesn't use Metadata and you haven't decided to create your own metadata for that content.
The ... Formats sections won't show Connect content, though you can place a loader script (or, if I understood DAZ_Jon in a previous post, a shortcut) in them. The Products and Categories sections will show the Connect content.
So basically we will have to use the categories or smart content to use it, no way to use the good old "file system" library. Well I'm definitely not happy about that.
I have some thoughts about some potential solutions for those of you that want to manage your content like it's still 1995 ;) , I'll discuss it with the development team and see what their thoughts are and if it could be something we include either in this release or a future release.
While I honestly believe that managing your content through the DB is the way to go for things such as being able to have content in multiple locations and being able to rename that content without breaking anything that might depend on it. I still understand that some of you may take more time and/or don't want to have to manually add all of that third party content into the db so we will see if we can figure something out.
It's not even just third party content. There's quite a lot of DAZ content that many users have put in places that were more intuitive/logical/effective for them. People were then able to combine that with how they had third party content organized to make what was, for them, the best way to work. It sounds as though, at best, Studio 4.9 will be confused by that approach, because things aren't where it wants them to be.
I do understand that it's frustrating that so few people are paying attention to the unarguable improvements. But for most people, the unarguable improvements are ... unarguable. While they affect our work in noticeable ways, they don't break a system that many users have spent years putting together. (Yes, yes, Content Library still there, everything still where we put it, all true. New Smart Content still breaks the systems that users have developed.) People will naturally focus on the parts that make their work more difficult rather than the parts that make it easier.
I do hope you're going to be able to find an easily workable solution, because it sounds as though building down to the lowest common denominator is thoroughly alienating your more experienced users.
Remember that content library will still browse files just like it did in 4.8 and below. There were some changes to the database side of content library to include Daz Connect products if you go online, but for all of your files content library remains the same. The only thing that is different is that content that is installed by Daz Connect is squirreled away in a directory per product and isn't visible in the file browsing side of content library.
Thank you for going out and giving it a try. Even though you aren't totally on board with the whole Daz Connect thing I appreciate that you gave it a shot and were able to see at least a little bit of the benefit we are bringing with it.
How was the download speed for you?
Well, forming an opinion based on hearsay is usually not a good idea...
I'll have to give the Beta a bit more time to see how it works for me, but I can see that you put some thought into this, and some things are improved quite a bit... while others have become inconvenient to use.
So if using the Cloud feature, after the files it can see are read and meta data stored the download cloud icon won't be shown? I'd think not but wanted to ask.
I guess I want to ask can I run Daz studio 4 side by side with 5 when it comes out....simple answer is yes no matter what they do as long as it still imports OBJ and can make morphs ;) If that makes any sence to anyone. Its doesnt matter what they do there are ways around limitations everytime. as long as my own content doesn't get messed with Ill be doing upgrades with Daz. I hope they look into making the alembic format better and updateing the other aspects of Studio as well. CMS is not really important to me anymore utilities are (thats how I decide to upgrade). Don't really need upgrades that make things simpler, I need upgrades that make things more complex...lol (I know that not what all users want, but for me its always the deciding factor....not the content, and simplicity. When they can do what ZBrush or Houdini does then ill worry about putting alot of money in pockets. Houdini looks like its next on my long list of to buy. And see what happens here I love the creation tools on Studio...Guess I love spending money I don't have...lol
The ... Formats sections won't show Connect content, though you can place a loader script (or, if I understood DAZ_Jon in a previous post, a shortcut) in them. The Products and Categories sections will show the Connect content.
So basically we will have to use the categories or smart content to use it, no way to use the good old "file system" library. Well I'm definitely not happy about that.
I have some thoughts about some potential solutions for those of you that want to manage your content like it's still 1995 ;) , I'll discuss it with the development team and see what their thoughts are and if it could be something we include either in this release or a future release.
While I honestly believe that managing your content through the DB is the way to go for things such as being able to have content in multiple locations and being able to rename that content without breaking anything that might depend on it. I still understand that some of you may take more time and/or don't want to have to manually add all of that third party content into the db so we will see if we can figure something out.
So if using the Cloud feature, after the files it can see are read and meta data stored the download cloud icon won't be shown? I'd think not but wanted to ask.
Huh? Sorry, I am not understading what you are trying to say.
When the program imports all the meta data from your previous version I would THINK that the cloud icons to download from within DS would be disabled on the products you have installed already.
When the program imports all the meta data from your previous version I would THINK that the cloud icons to download from within DS would be disabled on the products you have installed already.
Ah... no, actually the cloud will still show, though the icon is not greyed, but colored. Check out M4 and Genesis? They were downlded with DIM, and their Metadata was redownloaded through DAZ Connect. They still have the cloud icon. Scott, downloaded with 4.9, doesn't have the icon.
The ... Formats sections won't show Connect content, though you can place a loader script (or, if I understood DAZ_Jon in a previous post, a shortcut) in them. The Products and Categories sections will show the Connect content.
So basically we will have to use the categories or smart content to use it, no way to use the good old "file system" library. Well I'm definitely not happy about that.
I have some thoughts about some potential solutions for those of you that want to manage your content like it's still 1995 ;) , I'll discuss it with the development team and see what their thoughts are and if it could be something we include either in this release or a future release.
While I honestly believe that managing your content through the DB is the way to go for things such as being able to have content in multiple locations and being able to rename that content without breaking anything that might depend on it. I still understand that some of you may take more time and/or don't want to have to manually add all of that third party content into the db so we will see if we can figure something out.
I know this has been a long, frustrating day for you. There is no need to be snarky or condescending with your comment. I didn't even own a computer in 1995.
One of the biggest and most common complaints we get from customers is that they can not find their content that they just purchased.
Of course. When i open a DS-file and get an error message like "cannot connect to Postgresql!" you will not see a ticket for that. I just click the error message away and everything works just fine for the most part. Customer support does not know this.They have a limited view of the world. How many tickets do they get, saying "I moved files around, and everything works."?
The organization in the Runtime structure and the Daz Studio native content directories is confusing to most customers. They try to restructure things in those folders, as advised in various threads, without actually understanding what they are doing and it compounds the issue. Now, not only can the customer not find their content, but because they don't know what they did, Customer Service can't point them to their own content. This ability to move files around does not fix the general problem, it makes it worse.
Richard Haseltine writes later:
No, the files can't be moved - and you won't directly see the folders they are in anyway, so "vanity folders" and the like don't arise. From a thread earlier it sounded as if it will be possible to have shortcuts, and it will certainly be possible to have a loader script, either of which can be freely moved around in a file-based system.
As far as i understand it: "the file can't be moved" actually means "the files cannot be moved without breaking anything". So as an average user, without understanding what i am doing, i still can move files around, breaking things. Even more so, since i cannot look into the files to guess what they are actually good for. If it does not work i can open a support ticket. Only this time, the support team has to deal with encrypted files. With the plain old DSON files at least i could look into them and guess from their type what they contain (poses, figures, etc.). No longer possible with encrypted files. Sounds rather counter-productive to me.
Yes, some of you have been moving things around for years, and know what you are doing, so it has worked for you, but you are the exception, not the rule, and you should not have had to do that in the first place.
Since this is addressed to me (i have been moving around things without problems), let me assure you: your content support never has asked me what i was doing, so they cannot possibly know if i am the exception or not; they simply make this up!
I have some thoughts about some potential solutions for those of you that want to manage your content like it's still 1995 ;) , I'll discuss it with the development team and see what their thoughts are and if it could be something we include either in this release or a future release.
PLEASE. Make it a friggin' tick-box in Preferences or something, "Yes I want to handle my content like a baboon from 1995", just let us do it the hard way if we're that bone-headed to do it. Because some of us are, for a reason.
Comments
Okay... so I downloaed 4.9 on my Laptop.
First impressions on the entire DAZ onnect thing...
On first impression, this is pretty much doing the same thing like DIM - you log in just like with DIM, but inside the DS rather than the DIm application. The program then started downloading ALL meta data of the content I bought at DAZ store. On the laptop, I only have installed a handful of items for general stuff, so I was rather surprised.
Then, I tried to download something. This is where it gets rather tedious. You go to Smart Content, and under "products" you can now see all content you bought as thumbnails. That is, all content that has metadata. So no chance for older content to be found here!
To download, simply double click on the item you want to download. But there's no way to batchdownload things. This is rather annoying fot someone like me, who wants all of the bought content on disk, rather than cherry picking for whatever I'm working on. However, the new feature is making installation/deinstallation easy. I haven't figured out how categorizing is supposed to work in this, but if you right-click on the icons, you have various options available, including a direct link to the Readme-file at the DAZ-Page.
At this moment, I am still very much on the fence in regards to this DAZ Connect thing. I can see the advantages, but right now, the disadvantages cleary outweight the advantages for me.
On the plus side, the Iray and 3Delight updates are quite impressive, i.e. 3Delight looks awesome.
Here are some screenshots:
Login screen before and after login.
Looking for Scott6 I downloaded with DIM in the content directory - no such luck.
His image is colored in the Smart Content, all other content is greyes out as it is not downloaded.
Scott's files in their encrypted version as they are stored in the default folder that I'm using.
I clicked an empty spot on that pane and pressed CTRL+A to select everything , then I right clicked the first item and selected "Download from cloud", then I went about making my render.I was able to run my render (iray) at the same time Daz connect downloaded everything else.
Greetings,
Depends on what you mean by user facing. Take Rails, for instance. You conform to a very specific layout of code and templates, or it's a nightmare and fundamentally out of whack with how other folks will work with your code.
Are HTML templates, images, javascript files, CSS files and such more to your liking as 'user facing files'?
I used the Java standard library as an example, but I could have used Maven's repository structure (essentially opaque to developers, and if you mess with it, it breaks everything) because it's almost identical to the way DAZ is going to be installing standard content. I could use gems in Ruby, or RPM repos in RedHat, or...
Seriously. No.
I get that people have an itch about this, and I hope they find a way to let folks scratch it, but no...folks who take their tools seriously, want them installed in a consistent way, that is the same across usages, so they know where to reach for their tools. It's even called Knolling in the physical trades, apparently.
-- Morgan
The CTL+A works for items in the same category, but if you have items in various categories, you'll have to go and search for them. Unless you mean, mark the ntire Smart Content library and download everything....
In any case, what I'm currently missing is a decent way, like in DIM, to select and group what I want to download,rather than the Smart Content Search Item thing there is now.
Then can you please put an unmistakable setup option in DAZ 4.9+ that allows us to completely disable Connect and make absolutely certain that DAZ Connect is default OFF on first launch?
I get to install version 1, 2, 3 of an api in parrallel in whatever damn folder I want, putting updates into a new directory each time, instead of overwriting. I can dig around in the folders and compare the old version and the new version, or do spot file replacements, or edit one version into two or three versions which I can then have all installed, in parallel, using one version with one build, one with other. I can download a fork of a library, edit it, build it, or whatever, and spot replace files.
Until now, .DUF files have been uncompiled source code which I've been able to edit myself, apply patches, and fork.
Now, all I will be able to get is precompiled .libs (or .dlls if you prefer) which I link, but I can't modify.
That is not cool.
Yes, that's what I did.
On the Products pane with "All" selected at the top. I used the select all keyboard shortcut.I didn't have anything selected in the scene , so it grabbed all of stuff in one go and made it fairly easy to download from the cloud.
I have 10 years worth of content from various stores and freebies sites, that I organized in a way that is logical to me over the years. I have no intention to spend hours adding metadata in the database so that "smart" content can see more than half of it and has meaningful tags on the half it acknowledges, or re-categorizing everything so that whatever appears in the category system makes sense to me.
Moreover I use my content in other applications too from time to time, and those can't use the DB but see the directory structure pretty well....
edit: I did try the content management features as they were released, but beside the DS specific aspect they don't bring enough to me to justify all the work I would need to do in order to make them useable on a large scale.
DIM installs, by default, to a PUBLIC folder. IF one changed it to the older DEFAULT location, of the content being in MY USER folder then what is installed there will, because data sharing, without massive hoops, between user account folder just isn't going to happen just be usable in MY ACCOUNT. Hell, even with admin privileges I can't access other user accounts on the various Windows machines from MY account.
In order to convert all the already installed data, if one chooses to go the Connect route, it must be where DIM put it to begin with...true or false?
So, IF one has all their content in a USER folder and wishes to use Connect, it would probably be easier to just download and install everything fresh, if one ever wants to have a chance of having account switching work, in order to NOT duplicate several to several hundred gigs worth of content...
Yeah, it gets all the meta data for all your products so you can see everything you own and find things which will work with what is selected in your scene, both installed and uninstalled, so that it is easier to take more advantage of items you have. Most of you heavier users have so much content, its hard to keep track of everything you have that you could use, so the idea is you don't have to (provided it has metadata that is, and more and more older products are getting metadata added that will be set up that will automatically sync with your systems if you own the product).
Older content without metadata that can be supported by Daz Connect, if not in Smart Content (there is also a lost and found category in smart content now for front facing files that don't have any metadata), you can go to Content Library and view, by product alphabetically, any product that is working with it. To give a rough idea of what will work, essentially any DIM package will be tagged CloudAvailable is it can be installed with Daz Connect (its a new tag being implemented) which, is over 98% - 99% of the products in the store that works with Studio 4.5+. So, the oldest product I was able to load up and use was the original Millenium Man.
You can actually queue up products to install. If you multiselect (shift click, ctrl click, command click depending on your OS) to select a bunch of products, and then right click and hit install, it will grab them all. So you can just set a bunch to download and walk away while it goes instead of doing it one at a time.
It is already off by default -- you have to click the Login button and enter your login and password. If you don't it doesn't connect.
shift-click works as a range select and ctrl-click as an individual selection/deselection for me - you can always use the filter box on All.
Thank you for going out and giving it a try. Even though you aren't totally on board with the whole Daz Connect thing I appreciate that you gave it a shot and were able to see at least a little bit of the benefit we are bringing with it.
How was the download speed for you?
That is a great idea and one we should do a couple screencasts on. Let me talk with some people in the office about it and see what I can get rolling.
"So no chance for older content to be found here!"
That isn't strictly true. LXV furniture and flight of the swan are both super old and have been updated with proper meta data for smart content. I've noticed quite a few older products getting updates recently as well. I also know that someone is working on getting meta data implemented/organized. Not just new products as they come out, not just old products that predate meta data, but all of them.
Yes ... but the problem is that I, at least, found the Products and Categories section somewhat counterintuitive and thus never used them after a few early tries. I also tried the original flavor and variously revised Smart Content, and it didn't work for my approach. I prefer using the Content Directories, and that seems to be true of many people.
It's not even just third party content. There's quite a lot of DAZ content that many users have put in places that were more intuitive/logical/effective for them. People were then able to combine that with how they had third party content organized to make what was, for them, the best way to work. It sounds as though, at best, Studio 4.9 will be confused by that approach, because things aren't where it wants them to be.
I do understand that it's frustrating that so few people are paying attention to the unarguable improvements. But for most people, the unarguable improvements are ... unarguable. While they affect our work in noticeable ways, they don't break a system that many users have spent years putting together. (Yes, yes, Content Library still there, everything still where we put it, all true. New Smart Content still breaks the systems that users have developed.) People will naturally focus on the parts that make their work more difficult rather than the parts that make it easier.
I do hope you're going to be able to find an easily workable solution for both you and for us, because it sounds as though building down to the lowest common denominator is thoroughly alienating your more experienced users. (Also, not going to lie, kind of astonished to find myself in that position, as far as this is concerned.)
Will products that read content like Pose Builder, Poser Converter, and Skin Converter work with encrypted duf files?
Well, I guess what I'm missing is a list of the "recent purchases", like in DIM. Right now, all that I see in Smart content is tons of subcategories with hundreds of icons in it, but if I wanted to install just my newly bought content, I would have to search for each item according to my order. In DIM, I am able to do a simple list sort and my newly bought items show up on top.
Greetings,
I obviously couldn't say for sure, but many of those actually read the objects from inside DAZ Studio; since DAZ Studio has an API for accessing that data, and DAZ Studio acts as the gatekeeper between the content and the API, it should work just fine. Now if something goes around that (e.g. DSON Editor by Dimension 3D) the answer is probably no.
But from within DAZ Studio, as long as the DS API is used, it sounds like everything should be transparent.
-- Morgan
Remember that content library will still browse files just like it did in 4.8 and below. There were some changes to the database side of content library to include Daz Connect products if you go online, but for all of your files content library remains the same. The only thing that is different is that content that is installed by Daz Connect is squirreled away in a directory per product and isn't visible in the file browsing side of content library.
Well, forming an opinion based on hearsay is usually not a good idea...
I'll have to give the Beta a bit more time to see how it works for me, but I can see that you put some thought into this, and some things are improved quite a bit... while others have become inconvenient to use.
Time will tell.
So if using the Cloud feature, after the files it can see are read and meta data stored the download cloud icon won't be shown? I'd think not but wanted to ask.
I guess I want to ask can I run Daz studio 4 side by side with 5 when it comes out....simple answer is yes no matter what they do as long as it still imports OBJ and can make morphs ;) If that makes any sence to anyone. Its doesnt matter what they do there are ways around limitations everytime. as long as my own content doesn't get messed with Ill be doing upgrades with Daz. I hope they look into making the alembic format better and updateing the other aspects of Studio as well. CMS is not really important to me anymore utilities are (thats how I decide to upgrade). Don't really need upgrades that make things simpler, I need upgrades that make things more complex...lol (I know that not what all users want, but for me its always the deciding factor....not the content, and simplicity. When they can do what ZBrush or Houdini does then ill worry about putting alot of money in pockets. Houdini looks like its next on my long list of to buy. And see what happens here I love the creation tools on Studio...Guess I love spending money I don't have...lol
Huh? Sorry, I am not understading what you are trying to say.
When the program imports all the meta data from your previous version I would THINK that the cloud icons to download from within DS would be disabled on the products you have installed already.
Ah... no, actually the cloud will still show, though the icon is not greyed, but colored. Check out M4 and Genesis? They were downlded with DIM, and their Metadata was redownloaded through DAZ Connect. They still have the cloud icon. Scott, downloaded with 4.9, doesn't have the icon.
I know this has been a long, frustrating day for you. There is no need to be snarky or condescending with your comment. I didn't even own a computer in 1995.
Of course. When i open a DS-file and get an error message like "cannot connect to Postgresql!" you will not see a ticket for that. I just click the error message away and everything works just fine for the most part. Customer support does not know this.They have a limited view of the world. How many tickets do they get, saying "I moved files around, and everything works."?
Richard Haseltine writes later:
As far as i understand it: "the file can't be moved" actually means "the files cannot be moved without breaking anything". So as an average user, without understanding what i am doing, i still can move files around, breaking things. Even more so, since i cannot look into the files to guess what they are actually good for. If it does not work i can open a support ticket. Only this time, the support team has to deal with encrypted files. With the plain old DSON files at least i could look into them and guess from their type what they contain (poses, figures, etc.). No longer possible with encrypted files. Sounds rather counter-productive to me.
Since this is addressed to me (i have been moving around things without problems), let me assure you: your content support never has asked me what i was doing, so they cannot possibly know if i am the exception or not; they simply make this up!
PLEASE. Make it a friggin' tick-box in Preferences or something, "Yes I want to handle my content like a baboon from 1995", just let us do it the hard way if we're that bone-headed to do it. Because some of us are, for a reason.