How can I organize all of this mess?

ToothtailToothtail Posts: 34
edited August 2017 in New Users

I'm wondering if there are any good tips for changing metadata and getting stuff out of "lost and found"! I'm afraid to break things by moving and renaming files, but it's hard to find stuff if it doesn't show up in smart content. Is there a way I can get stuff to show up properly in smart content by changing the metadata so that the "filter by context" actually works? (When I try to edit metadata, it's all greyed out and doesn't let me change anything)

Or alternately, could I maybe move away from smart content entirely somehow? How do I find my stuff in that case, and make sure that my organizing system doesn't mess anything up?

Edit: Also, If I want to try organizing things but want to be able to restore its state should I mess up, would it be sufficient to just make a copy of the DAZ3D Library folder on my computer? 

 

Also, bonus question: sometimes when I try to translate fitted hair to match a model, it doesn't move. Only the little arrows move. How do I adjust fit?

Edit: Bonus question solved (Moving it from "hip" usually works!)

Post edited by Toothtail on
«1

Comments

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565

    For myself, I categorize everything using a system that makes sense to me, whether it comes with metadata or not.  It takes a while to get set up, but I find it's worth it.

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565

    Fitting hair often locks the translations on the root node, try going one step down to the Hip and translating there.

  • ToothtailToothtail Posts: 34
    edited July 2017

    THANK YOU for that hair tip!!!! However, I'm finding for some of them trying to translate it upwards at the hip just causes it to jitter and rotate. Is there a secret to getting it to move up? I'm mostly trying to convert hairstyles to and from genesis 3 males

    For the metadata, I'm not sure how to edit it--everything seems greyed/locked out.

    Post edited by Toothtail on
  • SixDsSixDs Posts: 2,384

    One problem with translating hair to get a proper fit sometimes arises when the hair is "fit to" the figure. I find that when this occurs the "fit to" utility locks many of the parameter dials. The solution is to change "fit to" to none. This may cause the hair to jump to another position, but you can then use the dials to reposition it correctly. I usually then parent the hair to the figure's head with the "parent in place" box checked. This will allow the hair to move with the figure during posing.

  • ToothtailToothtail Posts: 34

     

    SixDs said:

    One problem with translating hair to get a proper fit sometimes arises when the hair is "fit to" the figure. I find that when this occurs the "fit to" utility locks many of the parameter dials. The solution is to change "fit to" to none. This may cause the hair to jump to another position, but you can then use the dials to reposition it correctly. I usually then parent the hair to the figure's head with the "parent in place" box checked. This will allow the hair to move with the figure during posing.

     

    Thank you!! I will try that!

     

    Another organization question

    For myself, I categorize everything using a system that makes sense to me, whether it comes with metadata or not.  It takes a while to get set up, but I find it's worth it.

    This is a noob question, but what do you mean by that exactly? Is this a system of folders within your directory?

  • ItsCeoItsCeo Posts: 471
    Toothtail said:

    For myself, I categorize everything using a system that makes sense to me, whether it comes with metadata or not.  It takes a while to get set up, but I find it's worth it.

    This is a noob question, but what do you mean by that exactly? Is this a system of folders within your directory?

    *Raises hand* me too.  Having 1/3 of my stuff in 'smart place' and 2/3 in 'dumb list place' is frustrating.  I have this cute purple fairy outfit.. someplace.  I tried looking for it to no avail last weekend.  I ended up closing Daz in frustration.  I need a way to organize stuff / to understand how to otherwise Daz will be just an endless series of searching for items.  

     

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565

    I set up my own system of categories outside of Default, and I categorize everything when I install it.  I've modified it over the years, which is pretty easy once you've got it set up.  So whether the product was Smart or not, I've got it all in one place.

  • ItsCeoItsCeo Posts: 471

    I set up my own system of categories outside of Default, and I categorize everything when I install it.  I've modified it over the years, which is pretty easy once you've got it set up.  So whether the product was Smart or not, I've got it all in one place.

    Ok... so... as a total noob.  What exactly does that mean?  You have said twice that you have your own system of catagories. 

    So... when I get a free item or buy elsewhere, it creates a 'materials', 'people' and  'runtime' (for example) set of folders that I copy/paste into my base DAZ library.  Do I change the paths?  Maybe before it said Runtime/people/genesis 3 female/clothing/corp ad name/bikini.   So do I create a Runtime/clothes and insert bikini there if I really want to bunch all my clothes in one place regardless who can wear it?  And what about the other paths, does it break them if I do that?

    And is this even what you are talking about when you say you have your own system of catagories?

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565

    Instead of changing the folders or filenames on disk, which can lead to problems if you aren't familiar with all the restrictions, I use the Category function.  Daz products that come with metadata have their items classified in categories under Default.  I find that the system of categories under Default isn't set up in the way I find most useful -- for example, I like to have the materials for an item in a subcategory of the item, rather than in a separate Materials category.  You can have an items classified in multiple categories -- for example, if an outfit comes with weapons, I can categorize it both as part of the outfit and in my separate weapons category.  I have y own set of categories alongside the default categories -- when I install an item I categorize it in my categories, whether it comes categorized in the default categories or not.

  • PetercatPetercat Posts: 2,315
    edited July 2017
    ItsCeo said:

    I set up my own system of categories outside of Default, and I categorize everything when I install it.  I've modified it over the years, which is pretty easy once you've got it set up.  So whether the product was Smart or not, I've got it all in one place.

    Ok... so... as a total noob.  What exactly does that mean?  You have said twice that you have your own system of catagories. 

    So... when I get a free item or buy elsewhere, it creates a 'materials', 'people' and  'runtime' (for example) set of folders that I copy/paste into my base DAZ library.  Do I change the paths?  Maybe before it said Runtime/people/genesis 3 female/clothing/corp ad name/bikini.   So do I create a Runtime/clothes and insert bikini there if I really want to bunch all my clothes in one place regardless who can wear it?  And what about the other paths, does it break them if I do that?

    And is this even what you are talking about when you say you have your own system of catagories?

    To categorize an item, or to create custom categories, remember that everything in your runtime will be in your content library somewhere, whether it was manually loaded or via DAZ Install Manager.

    Inside Studio, click on the Content Library tab.
    At the top of the pane, click on "Categories".
    Click on "Default".
    You will see a whole bunch of categories there. Right click "Default" and select "Create a Sub-Category".
    Name it "Custom". A new category will appear in that bunch of categories, named "Custom".
    Now, go through the other categories, and find the items you wish to have in that folder for easy access.
    Let's use figures, since that's close to the "Custom" category you just created. Go to Default-figures-people, right click on "People", and choose Duplicate Category.
    Pick "Selected Category and Sub Categories". A window will open up with "Categories" in it. Click on the little arrowhead, do the same for "Default", and click on "Custom". Then Accept.
    You now have every person that you own in a custom folder!
    Create a folder for every category that you want, name them appropriately, and you're good.
    You can also select individual items and copy/paste them into your custom folders.

    You can also go to the Content Library tab-DAZ Studio Formats-My DAZ 3D Library, etc and find a folder that you'd like to have show up in the Product listings, and right-click on that folder and click on "Create a Product From...". Give it a name, and it will appear in the Products alphabetical listing under that name.

    Explore and experiment!

    Post edited by Petercat on
  • PetercatPetercat Posts: 2,315
    ItsCeo said:

    So... when I get a free item or buy elsewhere, it creates a 'materials', 'people' and  'runtime' (for example) set of folders that I copy/paste into my base DAZ library.  Do I change the paths?  Maybe before it said Runtime/people/genesis 3 female/clothing/corp ad name/bikini.   So do I create a Runtime/clothes and insert bikini there if I really want to bunch all my clothes in one place regardless who can wear it?  And what about the other paths, does it break them if I do that?

    You don't have to disturb the runtime at all. Everything that (I think) you want to do can be done in the Content Library within Studio.

  • PetercatPetercat Posts: 2,315

    To use Mike's example, if you have a shirt called, for example, "Adonis Shirt for Genesis", and two add-on texture packs for it, you can have all of the textures appear in the Products listing with it. Just create a folder titled "Adonis G1" and copy and paste everything from the shirt and the textures folders into it, then right-click on the "Adonis G1" folder, choose "Create a Product", name it "Adonis G1", and it will appear in the product list, shirt, textures, and all.

  • PetercatPetercat Posts: 2,315

    Also, if you save character presets, custom poses, sets, etc. to folders on your hard drive, you can add them to your content library.

    Say you have a folder titled "My Creations" that you save custom characters to, so that you can use them again. It's on your "E:" drive.
    Again, Content Library and right-click on "DAZ Studio Formats", pick "Add a Base Directory".
    In the window that opens, go to your "E:" drive and find the "My Creations" file. Select it, then click the "Select Folder" button.
    Now, in the Content Library pane, left-click on "DAZ Studio Formats", and scroll down the list (It's not in alphabetical order - look at the bottom.) until you reach the "My Creations" folder, click on it, and you'll find all of your custom characters in one spot.

  • ItsCeoItsCeo Posts: 471

    Wow - Thanks Fixmypcmike and Petercat!  Looks like I will be organizing and re-organizing starting this weekend!  laugh

  • PetercatPetercat Posts: 2,315
    ItsCeo said:

    Wow - Thanks Fixmypcmike and Petercat!  Looks like I will be organizing and re-organizing starting this weekend!  laugh

    Fix your meals in advance and stick them in the freezer to microwave later.
    Or have your phone ready to order pizza.
    It's gonna be a loooooong weekend!

  • RitaCelesteRitaCeleste Posts: 625

    I don't use smart content. I just created a catagory with my name as the folder name. I have folders for V4, Genesis, Genesis 2F and M and Genesis 3F and male(okay he's naked!) in those folders I have folders for hair and outfits.  That way I know what I can fit to what and can answer those pesky autofit questions.  My places folder is a nightmare but I stuffed all my props and scene stuff in it.  I have a folder for making a character with skins and sys textures etc. for G3F. One for Iray hair shaders to dress up old hair quickly for iray.  It speeds up making and dressing a girl. I don't have a quick system for creating a scene yet but I am thinking on it.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    I have examples and a detailed explanation of how to do categories here with pictures

  • PedroCPedroC Posts: 192
    Toothtail said:

    For the metadata, I'm not sure how to edit it--everything seems greyed/locked out.

    Smart Content>Lost and Found>Select the product pack not the items>right click (or right upper corner mini-menu)>Edit Metadata... (or Edit Product Metadata)>Product or Asset tab>select the item(s) and change that you want.

  • Oh my goodness THANK you for all these responses! I'm going to go home and try to implement these suggestions. 

    I have examples and a detailed explanation of how to do categories here with pictures

    Okay, this is seriously beautiful and satisfying to look at. I'm so motivated now to organize.

    I barely know where to start, though. What I really want is for Smart Content to work--so when I click on a figure, only the compatible products show up. In particular, I want the products I have ADDED (usually from pose converter) to show up there as well so I don't have to hunt them down. In addition to categorizing the items, can I set their metadata to say which figure they're compatible with?

     

    One more organization-related question--when I'm trying to find pose files for the Genesis 3 Pose builder, I can never find what I'm looking for. I inevitably have to go to products, right click, and show enclosing folder---and most of the time it brings my to a mysteriously folder within "cloud" that just has a bunch of numbers in its name. Is daz purposely trying to obfuscate where their files are hidden or something?

     

  • john_antkowiakjohn_antkowiak Posts: 327
    edited August 2017

    Hi, Toothtail. My answer here also gets to your other thread about Manual Install preferences. For whatever it's worth, when I first tried DAZ a few years ago (having no other 3D experience), it took me many months to figure out that older content for V4 and Genesis was organized for the Poser application because the two companies started out as one. With Genesis 2, the file structure seemed to be changing. Content packages used to come with separate PoserCF and DAZ Studio versions; I always delete the Poser stuff since I never use that platform. By the time I figured it out, I already had collected a bunch of content incompatible with DAZ because I didn't know any better, plus a lot of clothing etc. for obsolete figures like Dawn, Dusk, and David. And Victoria 4 although some would burn me for blasphemy for saying so  lol...Anyway the point is, here I had all this stuff that I couldn't find in DAZ, but even when I could navigate to the correct folders, its files were invisible. (You can make DAZ display thumbnails for .cr2, .pp2, and .obj files, but you have to learn how. You can import them but you can't just open them in DAZ.) And Smart Content was the worst because it didn't make me feel smart. More like an idiot because I couldn't figure it out. So I never touched Smart Content or metadata or any of that. Eventually, once I figured out the structure I wanted, and how to integrate it into the native DAZ plan, I had to use Windows Explorer to reorganize the whole library. But it was worth it. Now I do manual install only, just as a couple of others have suggested. Because it mirrors the way I think so I always know where to look for stuff. I like to keep things simple. So here's my two cents:

    The basic DAZ file structure is a good start: My DAZ 3D Library/Animals (/Environments) (/People) (/Props) (/Vehicles) etc. But below that, most of the vendors package their files by vendor name, not by product name. Which makes sense if you're a vendor but it didn't work for me. When I'm looking through my mountain-of-clothes-pile for a sweater, I don't want to rack my brain trying to remember the name of the vendor who made it. The vendor name adds an unnecessary layer of file structure. Likewise, within each clothing item folder, you often get a Materials folder with nothing in it but two more folders: Iray and 3Delight. I hate that. If the sweater comes with its own prop (in a subdirectory called Props), then the prop also might have ITS own Materials folder with nothing but two folders in THAT. Good Lord!

    So I simplify. I discard Read Me and Documentation and Support folders because they hardly ever say anything useful. Read a few before you do that. Hang on to your Template folders in case your skills get advanced enough to use them, but be aware that they aren't necessary to make the products work. I remove the Vendor folder and add the name of the vendor to the clothing item in case I need to look it up later for any reason. (It's a good idea to have that for reference sometimes.) Also, if the files are in .cr2, .pp2, or .obj format, I add that to the folder name too. That way, I'll see that there's an item there AND I know it'll be invisible in the DAZ structure. No more confusion why things are invisible. Here's an example:

    My DAZ 3D Library/People/Genesis 3 Female/Clothing/Horror Survivors Luthbel/Iray (where Horror Survivors is the name of the outfit created by Luthbel).

    I still occasionally find some useful items for Victoria 4 but I never use the figure itself - so when packages come with the Poser-style Runtime/Libraries/Character/Pose file structure, I reorganize the entire thing. I discard the hand and foot poses for Victoria 4 (likewise Genesis and Genesis 2). I also discard 3Delight folders if there's an Iray choice, because I only use Iray now. Saves on disk space. But here's the thing: You can remove and restructure the Runtime/Libraries directory and the My DAZ 3D Library/People (/Animals) (/Props) etc. directories to your heart's desire, but don't mess with the My DAZ 3D Library/data or Runtime/Textures (and /Geometries) files. Things will break. And the advice works for all types of content. Feel free to correct vendor spelling errors in the two file paths, so you don't have one People/Genesis folder and a separate People/Genesiss folder. It happens. Another example: Props. One man's Prop is another man's Environment or Clothing item. You decide.

    Left untouched, your Props folder will be a MESS. I organize mine by the type of prop, not by vendor and not willy-nilly. I have the following folders under Props: /Fire Effects, /Energy Effects, /Plants, /Water Effects, and /Weapons, to name a few. Under Weapons I have /Archery, /Blades, /Explosives, /Firearms etc. with more categories below those if needed. Same goes for Vehicles or Environments if you collect too many for a simple list to be efficient.

    So therein lies the disadvantages of DIM and DAZ Connect or whatever it's called. They put the stuff where the vendors wanted it and expect you to know where it is, even though you didn't write down the vendor name and it wouldn't occur to you to look for it in Scenes instead of Environments.

    But that's just me. I'm a Libertarian, not a big-government one-size-fits-all kind of guy  : )

    Post edited by john_antkowiak on
  • Oh and by the way - this also helps with the "compatible items" question you raised. It helps to understand the chronology of figure development. David, Dusk, Dawn were some of the earliest; their stuff isn't compatible with anybody. Get rid of all of it is my advice. Then came Victoria 4 and Michael 4, then Genesis (with V5 and M5), Genesis 2 (with V6 and M6), Genesis 3 (with V7 and M7) and now Genesis... 8! With V8 and M8 so now all the same-generation numbers match. Or something.

    So when you organize all your clothing by figure generation, you know where to look for compatible clothes. You can get a Wear-Them-All plugin that allows Genesis 3 Males, for example, to wear any previous generation's stuff (male or female if that floats your boat) back to M4. Others can tell you how to expand that list more, but that's all I need.

    Likewise with poses. My 3D Library/People/Figure/Poses/Name of Pose Set (and) Vendor. No more lost poses, ever.

  • AWESOME advice, thanks!

    I still occasionally find some useful items for Victoria 4 but I never use the figure itself - so when packages come with the Poser-style Runtime/Libraries/Character/Pose file structure, I reorganize the entire thing. I discard the hand and foot poses for Victoria 4 (likewise Genesis and Genesis 2). I also discard 3Delight folders if there's an Iray choice, because I only use Iray now. Saves on disk space. But here's the thing: You can remove and restructure the Runtime/Libraries directory and the My DAZ 3D Library/People (/Animals) (/Props) etc. directories to your heart's desire, but don't mess with the My DAZ 3D Library/data or Runtime/Textures (and /Geometries) files. Things will break. And the advice works for all types of content. Feel free to correct vendor spelling errors in the two file paths, so you don't have one People/Genesis folder and a separate People/Genesiss folder.

    So I have a question---I'm super interested in doing what you did and reorganizing and renaming all of my pose files by figure rather than vendor. If I tweak all of the folder names and move them, will that keep the items from showing up in my smart content folder, or is that purely governed by the metadata? (I'm still not totally sure how smart content "finds" the files. Does it automatically scan everything in the whole library for metadata, does it only look in the runtime folders, or something else entirely?)

    I'm nervous about permanently borking my library so one thing I'm thinking of downloading everything to a remote computer, verifying that it works in DAZ, and then drag-dropping the library into my real computer (after backing up the original). Would this be okay even if the remote computer was a mac, as opposed to a PC? The file structure seems to be the same at first glace, but I'm not sure if there are any subtle differences.

  • Well I have to say you've got me there, Toothtail. I don't use Smart Content because I could never figure it out in the first place. I can't advise you on either how to fix it or how to keep it up to date. But I do know that if Richard Haseltine doesn't know, he knows someone who does. If he doesn't chime in, you can send him a message. Plenty of others know too but he's who I would reach out to if it comes to that. Also I can't comment on anything Mac related... I hate to leave you hanging but I'm out of my depth on those two questions :(

  • ToothtailToothtail Posts: 34
    edited August 2017

    No, you've been super awesome! (Also, sorry for the ignorance, but who is Richard Haseltine? A Daz employee / wise guru?)

    I wonder if I shouldn't just move away from Smart Content. It really seems like the more experienced the user, the less they use it. 

     

    It's been a frustrating day for me trying to reorganize everything.

    • Every time I move something, it gets broken in smart content (I get a dead link with a caution triangle).
    • I'm utterly confused about what Runtime even is, and how Daz format is different than Poser format, and whether they can be converted to one another or if they have to live forever in separate folders. Which folders can I safely move, drag, and rename? It's a mystery.
    • On a separate computer (a mac), I've tried installing Daz and downloading everything one by one through install manager. It failed to even install the Genesis 3 starter pack properly--it's still greyed out even after deleting and installing repeatedly, and when I try installing it through Daz it gets put into the "cloud" folder that I hate so much.
    • On this second mac computer, the leftmost sidebar in my content library has disappeared and I can't seem to figure out how to get it back--the handle on the left has vanished. I can't really organize anything without it!
    • I went back to the first computer and moved all the files out of Daz in an effort to start afresh, reopened Daz to find a bunch of broken links instead of a "new" library (library info must be stored somewhere else). Made a whole other account on the computer and tried again--reinstalling Daz. 
    • Trying to move each of my files one by one over through install manager, I found that I cannot for the life of me get Genesis 3 female into my library. It says Genesis 3 Female Starter essentials is installed, but only male is in there. The DSON seems to be in the People>Genesis 3 Female folder, but it's neither in Smart Content nor in the Content Library. So same problem as before! I've made no progress at all. 

    I've never felt so computer illiterate in my life!

     

     

     

    Edit:

    Also, dumb question of the year:

    How are these guys different? One of them lives in my Poser Format tree, one of them lives in my Daz Studio Format tree. Why two of them, though? Are they different somehow?

     

    You guys are awesome for all your help, by the way. I don't come from a graphic design / computer background and without this forum I would have given up a long, long time ago!

    Post edited by Toothtail on
  • I totally know that illiterate feeling, Toothtail. Most of us do I suspect. You might be overthinking it. But I well appreciate your caution. Before I get too far, Richard is at the very least a "super-user" but could be connected to the company too. Seems to me he's had some inside experience. I thought he had replied to one of your posts above but it wasn't this thread after all. Check your other one about the Install methods. If you find him, click his name to open his profile and send him a message. There's also a way to tag any user here by using @, but I just saw it for the first time a few days ago and don't know the syntax yet.

    So rather than trying to install DAZ on the Mac, couldn't you just copy your content file structure there? Then drag & drop onto a thumb drive and put each file where you want it on the PC?Alternatively, you could post some screen shots of your file structure here - or message me - and we could work on a strategy that way.

  • Runtime is a computer science term. A program is nothing but a bunch of lines of code. When it's executed, I believe that's "runtime" and it begins with the compiling process. It's been a long time since I did any programming. In the DAZ context, when you're in the program and want to load a new figure in your scene, you click the desired icon which is a link to load the .duf. Then Runtime begins - the first thing it does is figure out where the wire mesh is, where the texture maps are, what the morph values are supposed to be, etc. That's why all those files need to be in the proper locations. you get to choose where to put your icon links, but rest of the associated files need to stay in their default directories. 

  • jestmartjestmart Posts: 4,449

    Runtime is a term used for any library that a program can call upon to add unique content and scripts.  It was common in early days for this library to actually be named "Runtime" so the programs could index/map it properly.

  • Oops - I didn't see your addition to your post, about "How are these two guys different?" Yes, they're different. Check out the upper corners of each icon. The "Actor" is the "base mesh," the actual geometry that loads into a scene. The other I think is the Material for that figure, or the Texture Map - the 2-dimensional image that wraps around the mesh (it's also known as the UV Map, where U and V are 3-dimensional variables like X, Y, and Z. Someone else can explain the math, like they had to do for me but I forgot the details lol).

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,219
    edited August 2017
    • Every time I move something, it gets broken in smart content (I get a dead link with a caution triangle).

    Yes, the database (used by Smart Content, by the various preset tabs in parameter panes, and by the Categories and products lists in the Content Library pane) stores relative paths in the content directories - that is, it stores (say) \People\Genesis 3 Female\Genesis 3 Female Base.duf and checks for that location within each Daz Studio format content library until it finds the fiel or runs out of content directories. If you move files within a content directory then that relative path is no longer correct and the fiel won't be found.

    Toothtail said:
    • I'm utterly confused about what Runtime even is, and how Daz format is different than Poser format, and whether they can be converted to one another or if they have to live forever in separate folders. Which folders can I safely move, drag, and rename? It's a mystery.

    Poser and DS use different data structures in their files - DS can read most Poser files (it can't get the more advanced material settings, however, nor certain ways of storing morphs) but they are converted on loading - the operation is regarded as an import, not a simple open. Think of opening a Word file in Libre Office - it can be done, and you can also export the files to Word format, but a .doc or .docx file is not native and won't be fully equivalent to a .odt file.

    Toothtail said:
    • On a separate computer (a mac), I've tried installing Daz and downloading everything one by one through install manager. It failed to even install the Genesis 3 starter pack properly--it's still greyed out even after deleting and installing repeatedly, and when I try installing it through Daz it gets put into the "cloud" folder that I hate so much.

    Were you using the default locations? Install Manager and DS don't directly talk to each other (Rob has posted scripts you can run in DS to sync the folder lists, but before trying that we should figure out what is going wrong). One possible Mac-specific issue is that the cases of folder names are not entirely consistent (Data used, quite often, to be data and both Runtime and Libraries had lower case initials in older versions of Poser). If your Mac drive iss et to be case-senstive (I don't believe this is the default) then Runtime and runtime etc. will be seen as different folders, which can lead to files not being found.

    Toothtail said:
    • On this second mac computer, the leftmost sidebar in my content library has disappeared and I can't seem to figure out how to get it back--the handle on the left has vanished. I can't really organize anything without it!

    Which side bar? The folder list? That can be collapsed, to leave more room for viewing files once you are in the right place - you can, if that's the issue, bring it back by looking for a slightly dark area in the middle of the left edge of the frame mid way down (or at the top, in the bar under the search box, if you had the list at the top - which is the default).

    Toothtail said:
    • I went back to the first computer and moved all the files out of Daz in an effort to start afresh, reopened Daz to find a bunch of broken links instead of a "new" library (library info must be stored somewhere else). Made a whole other account on the computer and tried again--reinstalling Daz. 

    You can edit the directory list either one-by-one by right-clicking on the main folder name (e.g. My Library under Daz Studio Formats or Poser Formats) to remove or by right clicking the whichever Formats header to add a new folder. To clear the database you need to open the Content DB Maintenance dialogue (from the Content Library pane option menu - the lined button in the top corner, or right-click the pane's name tab) and check reset Database. This is of course drastic.

    Toothtail said:
    • Trying to move each of my files one by one over through install manager, I found that I cannot for the life of me get Genesis 3 female into my library. It says Genesis 3 Female Starter essentials is installed, but only male is in there. The DSON seems to be in the People>Genesis 3 Female folder, but it's neither in Smart Content nor in the Content Library. So same problem as before! I've made no progress at all. 

    That sounds very like an issue with content directories. If you right-click on the Genesis 3 Female Starter Essentials entry in the Installed tab of Install Manager and then in the menu on Show Installed files the top of the window that opens will show the location used - what is it? Is that location set as a Daz studio content directory - you can see the full list by going to Edit>Preferences (Daz Studio>Preferences on the Mac), then the Content tab in the dialogue, and clicking Content Directory Manager - in the dialogue that opens exapnd the current entries to show the paths and take a screenshot.

    Toothtail said:
    Also, dumb question of the year:

    How are these guys different? One of them lives in my Poser Format tree, one of them lives in my Daz Studio Format tree. Why two of them, though? Are they different somehow?

    The both load the same thing - Poser can't read daz Studio format files, but for the slightly older figures (Genesis and Genesis 2) Daz has the DSON Importer plug-in for Poser. The importer needs a Poser format file and the DS .duf file (plus a Python script). When DS sees a Poser format files and a DS format file with the same name in the same place it adds a scroll icon to the thumbnail and, when the file is double-clicked, loads its own file: this is usually used to apply DS materials to Poser format models on loading, but here it amounts to nothing more than an alternative route to loading the native file for the figure. For DS you don't need the PoserCF (Companion File) installers at all.

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • ToothtailToothtail Posts: 34
    edited August 2017

    Thank you for the awesome answer, Haseltine! 

    Which side bar? The folder list? That can be collapsed, to leave more room for viewing files once you are in the right place - you can, if that's the issue, bring it back by looking for a slightly dark area in the middle of the left edge of the frame mid way down (or at the top, in the bar under the search box, if you had the list at the top - which is the default).

    I'm an idiot! It was on the top instead of on the side--I don't even know how that happened! No wonder I couldn't find the handle. Is there a way to get it to go back onto the side? (While I'm asking, how do I get rid of panes that I've accidentally docked into the main viewport area? I usually have to restart or reload the workspace to get rid of it, since dragging and dropping doesn't seem to do anything)

    So I thought maybe I could put a real example in of one of my Smart Content / Database problems, which might be easier to walk through than an abstract question.

    Here's an example issue: I bought the "i13 heated debate" pose set from daz and installed it via connect, but it isn't showing up in smart content when I have genesis 3 male or female selected. 

    Here's the product in question

     

    image

    Here is where it is located

     

    It wasn't showing up in Smart content for my genesis 3 figures, so I went into edit metadata as suggested and changed "not delcared" to genesis 3

     

     

    ...But it still doesn't show up ("heated debate" missing below when filter by context is checked)

    I think I must have overlooked something--what exactly would I do to get it to show up corrrectly in smart content?

     

    Post edited by Toothtail on
Sign In or Register to comment.