'Duplicate Formulas Found' - Message Appears After Loading Every Character - Windows & Mac
Steve_S
Posts: 12
This message appears after loading & right before opening completely each CHARACTER.
I have hundreds of characters installed (but not all loaded at once), and do not know if this may be a possible cause.
All character files do successfully open, but each one triggers this message to appear right before opening completely.
This same behavior occurs on my Windows 11 Pro & my M1 Mac Studio systems.
Other files, such as props and architecture of various complexities, DO NOT trigger this message to appear.
My attached log file may reveal the cause, but I'm ill-equipped to decipher its content to track down the exact 'culprit'.
DAZ STUDIO 4.24 PREMIER
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DUPLICATE FORMULAS FOUND
Duplicate formulas found in files.
Make sure that the content is properly installed.
See the log file for more information.
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Comments
I looked briefly in your log.
It looks like some VOOTW characters are conflicting with each other. It looks to be VO Afra and VO Hyman.
I would suggest to try to uninstall one of them and see how it then looks.
From the log, duplicate formulae are found in four characters from VOOTW, VO Julie, VO Ava, VO Afra and VO Hyman....related to some proportional body modifers.
I'm afraid you have to uninstall at least three of them ~~ then fill a support ticket.
Thank you, fells & crosswind, for taking time out of your day
to locate the critical log file data to narrow down the cause of my error message.
It's reassuring to know there's a reliable, competent source, in this case,
the Daz3d forum, to get a resolution to an issue in a timely manner.
I greatly appreciate both of your assistance with this.
Here's the sequence of steps that I took to get to the root of the problem.
The tried & true process of elimination.
This certainly saved me from deleting hundreds of files & starting from scratch.
My first set of AFRA figures files that I uninstalled DID NOT resolve my issue.
Vo Afra HD for Genesis 9
10/08/25
1.1 GB
Vo Afra Young HD for Genesis 9
10/08/25
8.7 MB
My second set of AVA figures files that I uninstalled DID NOT resolve my issue.
Vo Ava HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
1.0 GB
Vo Ava Young HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
18.2 MB
My third set of HYMAN figures files that I uninstalled RESOLVED my issue
Vo Hyman Hair for Genesis 9
10/09/25
431.1 MB
Vo Hyman HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
782.7 MB
Vo Hyman Male HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
311.3 MB
Vo Hyman Young HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
11.5 MB
I will re-install all of the figure files to ensure this issue is completely resolved.
I will report back with my results.
Reinstalling the same version will just recreate the same problem. Check to see if there are updates for the products.
It means one of the pairs of links will not be set up, so if you use that morph then some or all of its correctives will not be applied - indeed, if it is linking Name FBM to name head and Name Body then the main character slider will do nothing. Not to mention that it means there is a name clash, which will cause other issues (especially where it involves a main morph).
UPDATE 10/12/2025 - 05:00 PM PACIFIC TIME
It's fortunate that I took additional time (as tedious as it is)
to document each step that I've been going through.
I re-installed the first 2 set of files: AFRA & AVA
I DID NOT re-install what I thought was the cause of my issue:
the series of HYMAN files
Vo Afra HD for Genesis 9
10/08/25
1.1 GB
Vo Afra Young HD for Genesis 9
10/08/25
8.7 MB
Vo Ava HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
1.0 GB
Vo Ava Young HD for Genesis 9
10/09/25
18.2 M
Unfortunately, I opened a new figure and, once again, after the loading process,
but right before it loaded completely, the same message appeared.
barbult commented:
Reinstalling the same version will just recreate the same problem.
Check to see if there are updates for the products.
My response to that comment / suggestion:
I'm using the DAZ Install Manager when downloading content.
Perhaps there's another source to acquire more updated versions
of content that I'm not aware of.
Please advise assuming that's an option.
Another question arises:
If all of my content (unedited by me) is derived from
the Daz Install Manger system, how is it that file conflicts
such as the one I'm confronted with can exist?
This is a problem that must be addressed by the
Daz technicians.
As an end-user, my only option is to delete those
conflicting figures (files) from my content.
I'm wondering if a refund is possible since I'm
unable to resolve my issue as an end-user.
UPDATE 10/12/2025 - 07:00 PM PACIFIC TIME
Now I'm getting down to the minutia.
The Ava figure (base model) does not cause any conflicts.
However the Ava HD figure does cause that
error message to appear during the loading process.
To be clear, despite the error message appearance
in all cases, figures eventually load.
My concern is the figures loading after the error message,
are ones that are going to have issues with some of the morph features.
UPDATE 10/12/2025 - 07:05 PM PACIFIC TIME
The Hyman figure (base model) & all associated components (morphs)
definitely triggers a conflict, so that figure cannot be installed at all.
If there has been an update, it would appear automatically in your DIM Ready to Download tab. If there is no update in DIM, then there is none available. You can submit a help request and report the problem. It may or may not ever be fixed. If you purchased these four models within the last 30 days, you can submit a help request and ask to return them for a refund. That is what I would do. VOOT has a bad reputation for creating models with these conflicts. I do not buy from that vendor, because of that problem. I don't know whether the vendor has ever corrected any of the conflicting models or not. Other people may know.
I don't have the ava figure, so i can't verify the issue with that one, but i do have Hyman and Julie, and the fix is fairly trivial.
If you open the Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf (data\Daz 3d\Genesis 9\Base\Morphs\VOOTW\VO Hyman) in Notepad++ and use the Replace function, all you need do is replace Julie with Hyman.
The specific lines of code are 16, 44, 52, 60, 68 and 76.
Easy peasy.
Afra doens't appear to have the problem, so i'd say Ava is the issue and probably has the exact same problem, needing to replace Afra with Ava.
Thank you for your responses, barbult & DrunkMonkeyProductions.
Greatly appreciated.
barbult:
You bring up a very important aspect of these figures &
characters in general that I often overlook to my detriment.
They are created by many different creators.
Overall, I find it amazing that all of this content is able to
co-exist & function harmoniously within the Daz environment.
The fact that I have hundreds of figures and other content
and, so far, have not run into any other major issues that have
kept me from completing a project indicates to me that
Daz has a pretty good handle on its massive operation
and the many creators involved.
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DrunkMonkeyProductions:
Thank you very much for providing your information on editing a specific file.
I will edit that file and report back with the results.
This does require a good editor. I suggest Notepad++ in windows. It also requires that you uncompress the DSF files using batch convert within Daz.
And you should still report the issue officially. Someone in the future will buy there two assets and get the same issue if no one reports it.
DrunkMonkeyProductions:
What is the best method to transfer that file
that is inside of the Daz Install Manager app
& get it into the notepad++ editor to edit it?
Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf
When I open Notepad++, I'm not able to
locate that file through the file / open menu.
Just install it via DIM.
It's not a compressed file, so you'll just need to right click and select "Edit with Notepad++" in windows.
The default path is C:\Users\Public\Documents\My Daz 3D Library\Data\Daz 3d\Genesis 9\Base\Morphs\VOOTW\VO Hyman.
You can go through explorer manually for the file or use the three dots to the right of the content listing in DIM under the Installed tab. In the Installed tab's menu, you select "Show installed Files", which will open a file list and you can click on the particular file to open an explorer window.
In this case, the DSF's aren't compressed.
It's not necessary to use batch convert, any decompression utility will do, winrar, 7zip(my personal choice), etc., you'll just have the added steps of deleting or changing the extension of the old file, and changing the extension of the new file.
Personally, i find this method a bit faster, when dealing with a single file, than going through the batch convert process.
When dealing with a lot of files, definitely fire up batch convert.
Well, on the contrary, I personally always recommend using Batch Converter which can be even faster and safer. One can have the decompression done just with a couple of mouse clicks... no matter with a single DSF or multiple DSFs.
- Open Batch Converter from DS toolbar.
- Drag DSF file(s) to DS > Batch Converter dialogue box.
- Apply.
You've apparently never benchmarked the two methods, otherwise you'd know how insignificant that difference is.
In my benchmarking, your method is 2 seconds slower, with a default install and studio layout.
Under my setup, it's 4 seconds slower.
Hence why I said a bit faster.
As for "safer", i have no clue what you could even be talking about.
If you mean data corruption, there's effectively no difference in the risk of decompression methods.
If you mean a PBKaC issue, that risk is the same regardless of method used.
If anything my method is the 'safer' method, as the user isn't futzing with the original file, during editing. If they royally screw something up, they just delete the moded file and decompress the original again, as opposed to pulling up the zip and pulling the original file from there.
Another thing, Batch convert isn't part of any default layout's tool bars in studio, that i'm aware of, so the only method to bring it up is via the Menu bar's Window menu, or by right clicking on a Pane group.
Of course I ever "benchmarked" different methods of getting this job done.
1st, DS users can always customize layout or whatever... to speed up the workflow, that's why most of the folks / PAs place the frequently-used tools onto toolbar which can make "one-click access". Obviously, what I said "from DS toolbar" was based on this good practice.
2nd, I do believe my way is faster than using 3rd-party tool let alone I myself can get this job done just within 3 ~ 4 secs (ps: average speed...) ~~
As for safer consideration, the reason is very simple: I'd rather always trust the embedded tool in DS rather than 3rd-party software. As for screwing sth. up, the SOP is always there to prevent such an issue from happening... if one really knows how to safely modify a DSF and test it by using an Editor.....
Anyway, no need to argue with me, I just recommended my way ~~
Here are the series of HYMAN & AVA DATA files.
I don't see anything in either set of files that might
trigger the conflict error message I continue to
get. The message continues to appear no matter
whether one figure or both are installed.
As soon as I uninstall these figures, the conflict
error message no longer appears
This behavior is the same on both my Windows & Mac
systems.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hKaIyXbZTiQjhB8nkgs903zDeIRznB6_/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104282755464688265936&rtpof=true&sd=true
Not sure exactly what is behind your link as it asks for permission to access it, but you're not allowed to share files from a product.
Stop uninstalling and reinstalling, it's not going to fix anything, the files in the zip have an error and each time you do this it's just putting a broken file back on your drive.
Here's a step by step to fix this problem
1. Install the assets.
2. In windows explorer, if using a default installation, navigate to C:\Users\Public\Documents\My Daz3D Library\data\Daz 3d\Genesis 9\Base\Morphs\VOOTW\VO Hyman.
If your install paths are differeht, then use those.
3. Open the file Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf in a text editor, prefarabbly Notepad++.
If you have notepad++ installed, right click on the file and choose Edit with Notepad++
4. In notepad++, use the short cut CTRL+F, this will bring up a multi-function popout.
5. Click the Replace tab in the popout.
6. In the Find what box type Julie.
7. In the Replace with box type Hyman.
8. Click the Replace All button.
9. Click the save icon. Looks like a blue floppy disk.
The conflict between julie and hyman is now eliminated.
Be sure to make a backup copy of the modified DSF, so you won't need to go through this process again if you need to reinstall the asset at some point.
I don't have ava, so i can't verify the issue with that character, but looking at afra, it's probable the same issue exists in ava as hyman.
To get into detail on this issue.
The Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf, for some reason is using the ID and references for the julie version of this morph.
If you look at lines 16 and 17, or 87 and 88 you'll see the issue clear as day.
LIne 16: "id" : "Vo Julie_Figure_ctrl_Proportions-0xa37ae40",
Line 17: "Name" : "Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions",
LIne 87: "id" : "Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions",
Line 88: "url" : "#Vo%20Julie_Figure_ctrl_Proportions-0xa37ae40",
Lines 44, 52, 60, 68, and 76 also use the Julie ID instead of Hyman.
Functionally, the error is caused by line 88, but all the lines need to be corrected,otherwise the Julie proportions control won't work, at all.
Thanks for taking the time explain the procedure to correct
the issue I'm facing.
FYI: The INSTALL / UNINSTALL actions that I performed
were only to be able to access a list of the files for
observational purposes. I never thought those actions would
resolve my issue.
I'll move forward with the information you've provided &
report back with the results.
I followed your instructions, but, unfortunately, the conflict error message still appears.
If the attachment you posted is correct, you didnt follow my instructions properly.
Hyman should not be in the "Find what" box, that should say Julie, and the "Replace with" should say Hyman.
Even if you do this correctly, you're still going to get the "Duplicate Formulas Found" error in studio, but if you check the Log, you won't have the conflicts between Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf , and Vo Julie_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf anymore.
You should still have the conflict between Vo Ava_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf and Vo Afra_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf, which is why studio will generate that error dialogue.
As i don't have Ava, i can only best guess as to the problem, which would be that it's using Afra when it should be using Ava in its references and ID.
If you check Vo Ava_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf and it has Afra listed, then the procedure for fixing it is the same as the Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf, I listed above.
The only change would be to put Afra in the "Find what" box, and Ava in the "Replace with" box.
Hope that clears things up.
DrunkMonkeyProductions:
For your examination, I've attached a screen shot
of my /data/Daz 3D/Genesis 9/Base/Morphs/VOOTW/Vo Hyman/Vo Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf file
inside of Notepad++ so you can view each of my entries line-by-line.
FYI
In Notepad++, I encountered an unexpected 'bug' which repeatedly replaced
Julie with Hyman in the FIND tab each time I entered Hyman in the REPLACE tab.
That said, one of my options was to enter each Hyman manually replacing Julie.
I look forward to your reply.
Welp, you managed to do the same thing most of us do the first time we edit one of these things, you broke the file.
While you did change the Julie references to Hyman, you also managed to change lines 4, 29 and 30, removing Hyman from the names.
For line 4, it should read "/data/Daz%203D/Genesis%209/Base/Morphs/VOOTW/VO%20Hyman/VO%20Hyman_figure_ctrl_Proportions.dsf",
Line 29, "name" : "VO Hyman_figure_ctrl_Propotions",
Line 30, "id" : "Vo Hyman Proportions",
Correct those three lines and it should be good to go.
--------------------------
As for notepad++ screwing up, that's a new one.
Unfotunately i can't really help you on that one, as i'm a very basic user, and run older versions of the program, that i can't seem to replicate your issue on.
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Lastly, i'd recommend not sharing files in the forums, even in screenshot, as it might be a TOS violation.
If one of the mods could chime in here i'd appreciate it.
Thanks for providing the correct lines for 4, 29, & 30.
Just to confirm, as you mentioned previously, even though
the file has been corrected and saved,
the "DUPLICATE FORMULAS FOUND" message
will continue to appear. And that will also be true
for the Ava figure file which, judging from your comment,
i will not revise due to my limited experience editing
these types of files.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my posts
and educate me about editing these DAZ3D figure files.