Organizing Older Poser files in Daz - Is there a Better Way?

3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287

What's the easiest/best way to organize older Poser models for Daz? I'm trying to organize all my purchased products (such as this 1961 AM Roadster) but I'm finding the task to be extremely frustrating. The files seem to be EVERYWHERE and tracking them all down is a pain in the bottom to do for every product. The example product (like many older products here) doesn't have a Read Me - so there's nothing to tell me where to find the files. When I search for the files manually in Daz it pulls up a bunch of different files for the product from various locations. Right clicking on each file and choosing "Browse to File Location" tells me where I can find the file in the library. However, it tells me that the files are ALL OVER THE PLACE.

The Car itself is under "Character >> AdR Speedworks". The mats/colors for the car are under "Pose >> 61 Vette". The ragtops for the car are under "Props >> AdR Speedworks". Trying to find all the different locations for a product's files (without a read me) and navigating to each of those locations to try to get the files organized is insanely frustrating and time-consuming. Who thought it was a good idea to put important files for one product in three different locations and then not even provide a Read Me to tell the customer where the files are?

There has to be an easier way to do this? Organizing my purchased products into my custom categories for ease of finding in the future is very important to me, but there has to be an easier way to gather and organizing the files for a product like this. Please tell me that you guys, who've been using Daz Studio for a lot longer than I have, have found a better way to organize older Poser products in DS?

Comments

  • OdaaOdaa Posts: 1,548

    I just went through the Character/Pose/Prop folders in the runtime one weekend and physically created subfolders based on type of content (people, animals, vehicles, sets, weapons, etc), and subfolders based on type (mediterranean sets versus modern versus victorian, for instance, or V4 versus M4), and then copy-pasted each item into the correct categories. Any subfolder named for the PA, like the character/prop folders in your example, got discarded or renamed. Whenever I buy new stuff with poser files, I go to those three folders in the runtime and find homes for the new files. When I need Poser content I go to that directory in DS, and can find the stuff I need fairly quickly.

    Is that a faster or easier way? Not necessarily. Both times I've had to do this (once on my old computer, once on the current one), it was an 8-12 hour job. (I recommend a full day for the character/pose directories then breaking and resuming the next day to work on Props for a few hours). But once organized, it *stays* organized, and I don't have to put up with any nonsense about Allegedly Smart Content eating my custom categories.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287
    edited January 2018
    Odaa said:

    I just went through the Character/Pose/Prop folders in the runtime one weekend and physically created subfolders based on type of content (people, animals, vehicles, sets, weapons, etc), and subfolders based on type (mediterranean sets versus modern versus victorian, for instance, or V4 versus M4), and then copy-pasted each item into the correct categories. Any subfolder named for the PA, like the character/prop folders in your example, got discarded or renamed. Whenever I buy new stuff with poser files, I go to those three folders in the runtime and find homes for the new files. When I need Poser content I go to that directory in DS, and can find the stuff I need fairly quickly.

    Is that a faster or easier way? Not necessarily. Both times I've had to do this (once on my old computer, once on the current one), it was an 8-12 hour job. (I recommend a full day for the character/pose directories then breaking and resuming the next day to work on Props for a few hours). But once organized, it *stays* organized, and I don't have to put up with any nonsense about Allegedly Smart Content eating my custom categories.

    That's what I'm doing. I'm organizing my purchases into my custom categories. The thing is, once you purchase a few new items and then go into find the files to put them in their proper categories is insanely time consuming when the older Poser products (which I've bought many) usually don't have a Read Me that tells where the files are and then scatters the files across several different categories that makes tracking all their files down very time consuming and frustrating.

    I'm just trying to find out if there is an easier/better way to get these stupid older poser products properly categorized. I want to sucker punch whomever thought that it was a great idea to spread important files for ONE PRODUCT all over people's libraries in several different categories  - part of the product here, but if you want to change the color of the product, oh those are over in this other part of the library, oh and if you want to put the top on this car it's over in this other part of the library. It's really stupid and frustrating. I was just hoping that someone had come up with an easier way to gather all these files from all the different library locations easier. Or at least have found an easier way to track them down when there isn't even a Read Me to tell you where they are.

    I hope that doesn't come across as an attack on you or anything (if so I'm sorry, that's not my intention), I'm just trying to express my frustration in a really stupid categorization system that I guess probably makes sense in Poser (I guess? maybe?) but is just maddeningly idiotic in Daz Studio. And my hopes that someone has come up with a better way to get those types of products organized. 

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • srieschsriesch Posts: 4,241

    This won't help you for older content that's already installed (and I'm unsure if it still applies in newer versions of DS), however this might help for the future. 

    I install a small number of easily distinguishable products at a time, then sort out all their files that appear in the Default > Unassigned category right away where it's easy to tell what's what until Unassigned is completely empty.  The base figure is in props or character, materials and poses are in pose, mc6 material duplicates are in materials, DS formats are in the other folders like people, environments, etc.  Sort 'em out and categorize them right away when you can easily find all parts, and if uncertain what something is, quick try it out right there before putting it somewhere.  I don't touch the actual files or folders on disk (unless the product is broken and needs fixing), I just use the content library.

    You could just do one product at a time then you know EVERYTHING is for that product, but since it takes so long to scan for content I usually do a bunch at once that I can't possibly mix up; one vechicle, one clothing item, one figure, one random prop, one shader set, etc.  Or if I have a set of materials I'll do them right away with the base product, or if it's a bunch of older content that probably only has one base item and one material, or it's content that looks obvious I'll do a whole pile of them at once. 

    It's still slow and painful, but less painful than trying to find stuff buried and lost mixed in with everything else.

  • OdaaOdaa Posts: 1,548
    edited January 2018

    No, I totally agree, it is really stupid, although I think the blame ultimately lies with Poser for structuring the runtime like that. 

    A couple of things that can speed up the process a little:

    -you should be able to search within Windows Explorer for the name of whatever you're looking for. When it pulls up a file that looks relevant, right-click on it, and select "open file location". This will take you to the folder where the file is located, which makes it easier to to copy/paste stuff to where you need it.

    -You can have multiple Windows Explorer browser windows open at once, which can speed up the copy/pasting/moving aspect of things, and also allow you to refer back to how you set up "Character" directory when you're working on the Pose or the Props directory.

    -If you are lucky enough to have multiple screens with your computer (I got used to that setup at work and eventually splurged and bought myself dual monitors), be sure and make the most of it.

    Post edited by Odaa on
  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,550

    If you were a poser only user back in the beginning, this format made sense as that was how it was. Then DAZ introduced their file system and users had to learn both. Over a third of my content is from my poser days, so i have a huge folder full of poser runtimes (V4, M4, creatures, props, hair, etc) that all follow the format you are having problem with. since i install everything manually, I just see what file structure the addon has and that determines which place it goes, to the normal DAZ content folder or to the Poser runtime folder and both are mapped in the content directory in DS, so it all works fine for me.

  • OdaaOdaa Posts: 1,548
    edited January 2018

    If you were a poser only user back in the beginning, this format made sense as that was how it was. Then DAZ introduced their file system and users had to learn both. Over a third of my content is from my poser days, so i have a huge folder full of poser runtimes (V4, M4, creatures, props, hair, etc) that all follow the format you are having problem with. since i install everything manually, I just see what file structure the addon has and that determines which place it goes, to the normal DAZ content folder or to the Poser runtime folder and both are mapped in the content directory in DS, so it all works fine for me.

    Yeah, alot of my poser content was bought pre-DIM/Daz Connect, so I had to manually download the files and dump them into the correct folder, which made it easier for me to remember where everything was in the early days, and also sped up the process of getting them sorted into my custom subfolders, once I had those. It was a habit I'd gotten into when playing with Elder Scrolls fanmods (Morrowind a little, Oblivion a lot)-I didn't trust the mod-manager tools to install everything right, so I got pretty familiar with the games' content directories as a result, and the Poser-style runtime that went with my early Daz Studio purchases seemed similar to that.* 

    But that's not a lot of consolation to someone who already has a bunch of poser content and is trying to find a better way to organize it, just an explanation of how people managed in the "Old Days".

    *Frankly, I find the default setup of the Daz directory, outside of People and Animals (which come pretty well organized, at least nowadays), to be kind of a trainwreck and in some ways worse than the Poser-style runtime.

    Post edited by Odaa on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558

    Poser content is my own nightmare lol. I’ve only recently started a new runtime for new Poser content  the old one is a lost cause. It includes all that old Daz Studio content that used to be formatted the way. I used to go in and bundle it all together in a product but that was before Studio kept dropping my custom categories. Now I pretty much don’t bother. It is mostly so old I don’t use it.... much except for some well made props. I’ve converted the poses and don’t use m4 or v4 any longer anyhow.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287

    Thank you for the suggestions. I don't have Window's Explorer and the search for Windows 10 is pretty much garbage (at least, I've not been able to get it to do proper searches). I guess there really isn't an easier way to do this. Oh well, I'll just tackle it slowly (I bought way too much older poser content ...oy). And going forward I'll remember not to buy those types of items anymore. It's just not worth the headache of trying to track down all their files. At least the older character's seem to be ok - the material files are usually with the character's morphs and not scattered around all over the place (at least the ones I've purchased). It's the other types of items that often have their files scattered around in different places.

    Going to need a BIG pot of coffee and a lot more patience to get these purchases categorized properly. lol Wish me luck! 

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,140
    edited January 2018

    If you have Windows you have windows explorer hon :). Open a window and do a search on your hard drive. If you have indexing turned on, it *should* find what you're looking for if you get even a few letters of the name right :) If you have trouble finding things on your drive that way, you could try a small free program called Everything. It's windows search, but better :)

    Laurie

    Post edited by AllenArt on
  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,550

    Thank you for the suggestions. I don't have Window's Explorer and the search for Windows 10 is pretty much garbage (at least, I've not been able to get it to do proper searches). I guess there really isn't an easier way to do this.

    You should have explorer

    See here

    https://www.digitalcitizen.life/9-ways-open-file-explorer-windows-10

     

  • JOdelJOdel Posts: 6,250

    So long as the Geometry and Texture files are where the original Runtime wants them, if you are using a product in Studio, it *doesn't matter* where the rest of the "Library" files are stored. There is no reason why a product that comes with files scattered all over the Character/Figure, Pose, Materials, Props and whatever other folders there are in its original content runtime can't all be combined into ONE folder, named something that identifies it, and tucked into a folder in the "Library" area that makes sense to you. It can be one of the original folders, it can bw a new one that you've made yourself. With subfolders if necessary.

    One sample from my own libraries here. The actual products are inside the files that you see here. All the Poser-native stuff is in the Runtime folder, the rest of the stuff is Studio files. I haven't gone through all my content libraries and sorted and re-organized the Studio native files yet, but that is something to start thinking of during class break. 

    With the Studio-native stuff, it's the data files and the textures which need to be kept where the original package had them. \

    Mind you, I don't use any of the smart content or program-supplied search procedures, and install everything manually, so I'm the one who controls whrere things are stored.  That being the case, I have a good idea of where everything is.

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  • mark128mark128 Posts: 1,029

    I have always found the orgainization of files for the old Poser products to be crazy. I've never used Poser but presumably there is some reason for this organization in Poser.

    I have been reluctant to start moving files around in my runtime, so what I started doing a long time ago is to organize everything using DAZ categories. This alows me to create categories with all the files for a product under one branch.  This allows me to combine content from DAZ Studio format and Poser format content in a single organization.  Creating this organization and mantaining it is a lot of work.  Product updates sometimes break the categories if the content has been moved or renamed. 

    By the way, you do probably have readme files for these old products in your My DAZ 3D Library/ReadMe's folder.  They are usually in HTML format and you can open them in your favorite browser. If you use Install Manager, you can select the product, right click and select Show Installed Files ...  If there is a readme it will be listed in the installed files.  Clicking on the readme will bring up a windows explorer window with the readme file selected.  You can then just click on it to open it.

    Some new products that are missing online readme's do not have readme's included.  In that case Show Installed Files .... is the only thing you can use to find the content.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287
    edited January 2018
    JOdel said:

    So long as the Geometry and Texture files are where the original Runtime wants them, if you are using a product in Studio, it *doesn't matter* where the rest of the "Library" files are stored. There is no reason why a product that comes with files scattered all over the Character/Figure, Pose, Materials, Props and whatever other folders there are in its original content runtime can't all be combined into ONE folder, named something that identifies it, and tucked into a folder in the "Library" area that makes sense to you. It can be one of the original folders, it can bw a new one that you've made yourself. With subfolders if necessary.

    One sample from my own libraries here. The actual products are inside the files that you see here. All the Poser-native stuff is in the Runtime folder, the rest of the stuff is Studio files. I haven't gone through all my content libraries and sorted and re-organized the Studio native files yet, but that is something to start thinking of during class break. 

    With the Studio-native stuff, it's the data files and the textures which need to be kept where the original package had them. \

    Mind you, I don't use any of the smart content or program-supplied search procedures, and install everything manually, so I'm the one who controls whrere things are stored.  That being the case, I have a good idea of where everything is.

    Ummm I don't think you understand -that's what I'm doing. And it DOES matter that the files are scattered all over the place. That Is The Issue... If the clothing item is in "Characters" and yet the mats for the clothing item are in a totally different area like "Pose" and the adjustment morphs are somewhere else it takes ages to track them down to bundle them up so that I can put the clothing item in the proper category. If I'm going to USE said item along with it's textures I'm going to want them ALL TOGETHER. Tracking them down when they've been put into totally different areas of my Library (and if the site doesn't have a Read Me to tell me where they are) is very time consuming and just a big pain in the butt.

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287

    @AllenArt @FSMCDesigns I'll try to use it. Honestly though it's super slow and takes forever to find anything. That might be because most of my content is spread out into external hard drives though. Still, one shouldn't have to use an external search outside of the 3D program to find the files for a 3D product I purchased. :(

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287
    edited January 2018
    mark128 said:

    I have always found the orgainization of files for the old Poser products to be crazy. I've never used Poser but presumably there is some reason for this organization in Poser.

    I have been reluctant to start moving files around in my runtime, so what I started doing a long time ago is to organize everything using DAZ categories. This alows me to create categories with all the files for a product under one branch.  This allows me to combine content from DAZ Studio format and Poser format content in a single organization.  Creating this organization and mantaining it is a lot of work.  Product updates sometimes break the categories if the content has been moved or renamed. 

    By the way, you do probably have readme files for these old products in your My DAZ 3D Library/ReadMe's folder.  They are usually in HTML format and you can open them in your favorite browser. If you use Install Manager, you can select the product, right click and select Show Installed Files ...  If there is a readme it will be listed in the installed files.  Clicking on the readme will bring up a windows explorer window with the readme file selected.  You can then just click on it to open it.

    Some new products that are missing online readme's do not have readme's included.  In that case Show Installed Files .... is the only thing you can use to find the content.

    ...Yeah, hunting down the right Read Me files in a sea of other Read Me files in my Runtime, to try and figure out where my purchased content is, isn't exactly what I had in mind. lol That would take just as long as doing a search for the product files themselves. Sadly, it looks like that whomever designed the categories for Poser content just wasn't thinking along the lines of "user friendly". lol Or maybe when the content was coming out back in the day it HAD to be categorized like that for some reason. I don't know. All I know is that it definitely makes things really hard on the customer to try and categorize their content. 

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • mark128 said:

    I have always found the orgainization of files for the old Poser products to be crazy. I've never used Poser but presumably there is some reason for this organization in Poser.

    I have been reluctant to start moving files around in my runtime, so what I started doing a long time ago is to organize everything using DAZ categories. This alows me to create categories with all the files for a product under one branch.  This allows me to combine content from DAZ Studio format and Poser format content in a single organization.  Creating this organization and mantaining it is a lot of work.  Product updates sometimes break the categories if the content has been moved or renamed. 

    By the way, you do probably have readme files for these old products in your My DAZ 3D Library/ReadMe's folder.  They are usually in HTML format and you can open them in your favorite browser. If you use Install Manager, you can select the product, right click and select Show Installed Files ...  If there is a readme it will be listed in the installed files.  Clicking on the readme will bring up a windows explorer window with the readme file selected.  You can then just click on it to open it.

    Some new products that are missing online readme's do not have readme's included.  In that case Show Installed Files .... is the only thing you can use to find the content.

    ...Yeah, hunting down the right Read Me files in a sea of other Read Me files to try and figure out where my purchased content is isn't exactly what I had in mind. lol That would take just as long as doing a search for the product files themselves. Sadly, it looks like that whomever designed the categories for Poser content just wasn't thinking along the lines of "user friendly". lol Or maybe when the content was coming out back in the day it HAD to be categorized like that for some reason. I don't know. All I know is that it definitely makes things really hard on the customer to try and categorize their content. 

    That was the normal system back then. Figures went in Character with all the other cr2s, poses and materials went in Pose with all the other pz2s, non-articulated items went in Props with all the other pp2s...etc etc.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287
    edited January 2018
    mark128 said:

    I have always found the orgainization of files for the old Poser products to be crazy. I've never used Poser but presumably there is some reason for this organization in Poser.

    I have been reluctant to start moving files around in my runtime, so what I started doing a long time ago is to organize everything using DAZ categories. This alows me to create categories with all the files for a product under one branch.  This allows me to combine content from DAZ Studio format and Poser format content in a single organization.  Creating this organization and mantaining it is a lot of work.  Product updates sometimes break the categories if the content has been moved or renamed. 

    By the way, you do probably have readme files for these old products in your My DAZ 3D Library/ReadMe's folder.  They are usually in HTML format and you can open them in your favorite browser. If you use Install Manager, you can select the product, right click and select Show Installed Files ...  If there is a readme it will be listed in the installed files.  Clicking on the readme will bring up a windows explorer window with the readme file selected.  You can then just click on it to open it.

    Some new products that are missing online readme's do not have readme's included.  In that case Show Installed Files .... is the only thing you can use to find the content.

    ...Yeah, hunting down the right Read Me files in a sea of other Read Me files to try and figure out where my purchased content is isn't exactly what I had in mind. lol That would take just as long as doing a search for the product files themselves. Sadly, it looks like that whomever designed the categories for Poser content just wasn't thinking along the lines of "user friendly". lol Or maybe when the content was coming out back in the day it HAD to be categorized like that for some reason. I don't know. All I know is that it definitely makes things really hard on the customer to try and categorize their content. 

    That was the normal system back then. Figures went in Character with all the other cr2s, poses and materials went in Pose with all the other pz2s, non-articulated items went in Props with all the other pp2s...etc etc.

    That doesn't seem logical to have a clothing item in a totally different part of the library as that clothing items materials. Having the materials as a subfolder like Daz does it makes a zillion times more sense imo. Going to the "Character" file to find a dress. Load the dress but it's totally white. Then navigate to a completely different part of the library, "Pose", to track down it's materials. And heaven forbid it's a car or something with a ragtop (like above example) - then you're looking at navigating to three different categories just to load a complete car. And half the stuff is in "vanity files" in all three locations so that you have to navigate deeper into the files to find what you're needing just to load a SINGLE PRODUCT into your scene. lol It's nuts. :P

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • mark128 said:

    I have always found the orgainization of files for the old Poser products to be crazy. I've never used Poser but presumably there is some reason for this organization in Poser.

    I have been reluctant to start moving files around in my runtime, so what I started doing a long time ago is to organize everything using DAZ categories. This alows me to create categories with all the files for a product under one branch.  This allows me to combine content from DAZ Studio format and Poser format content in a single organization.  Creating this organization and mantaining it is a lot of work.  Product updates sometimes break the categories if the content has been moved or renamed. 

    By the way, you do probably have readme files for these old products in your My DAZ 3D Library/ReadMe's folder.  They are usually in HTML format and you can open them in your favorite browser. If you use Install Manager, you can select the product, right click and select Show Installed Files ...  If there is a readme it will be listed in the installed files.  Clicking on the readme will bring up a windows explorer window with the readme file selected.  You can then just click on it to open it.

    Some new products that are missing online readme's do not have readme's included.  In that case Show Installed Files .... is the only thing you can use to find the content.

    ...Yeah, hunting down the right Read Me files in a sea of other Read Me files to try and figure out where my purchased content is isn't exactly what I had in mind. lol That would take just as long as doing a search for the product files themselves. Sadly, it looks like that whomever designed the categories for Poser content just wasn't thinking along the lines of "user friendly". lol Or maybe when the content was coming out back in the day it HAD to be categorized like that for some reason. I don't know. All I know is that it definitely makes things really hard on the customer to try and categorize their content. 

    That was the normal system back then. Figures went in Character with all the other cr2s, poses and materials went in Pose with all the other pz2s, non-articulated items went in Props with all the other pp2s...etc etc.

    That doesn't seem logical to have a clothing item in a totally different part of the library as that clothing items materials.

    It made sense because of the way Poser looked at content. I hated the program so I don't remember what the specifics were. It did not function like DS does now.

  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281
    edited January 2018

    Do you install via DIM? If you do, once it's installed, right click on the product name in DIM, and choose "show installed files". A dialogue box pops up showing the exact file path of where everything was installed and they are links too. Then you don't need the readme at all. Then you can put them all in one folder or reorganize them in your different runtimes. 

    If you install manually (IE download the zip and then install), always install to a dummy file first. That way, you can put them all in one folder too (obviously not the geometries or texture folders, they must never be changed). 

    Post edited by jakiblue on
  • AlmightyQUESTAlmightyQUEST Posts: 1,956
    edited January 2018
    JOdel said:

    So long as the Geometry and Texture files are where the original Runtime wants them, if you are using a product in Studio, it *doesn't matter* where the rest of the "Library" files are stored. There is no reason why a product that comes with files scattered all over the Character/Figure, Pose, Materials, Props and whatever other folders there are in its original content runtime can't all be combined into ONE folder, named something that identifies it, and tucked into a folder in the "Library" area that makes sense to you. It can be one of the original folders, it can bw a new one that you've made yourself. With subfolders if necessary.

    One sample from my own libraries here. The actual products are inside the files that you see here. All the Poser-native stuff is in the Runtime folder, the rest of the stuff is Studio files. I haven't gone through all my content libraries and sorted and re-organized the Studio native files yet, but that is something to start thinking of during class break. 

    With the Studio-native stuff, it's the data files and the textures which need to be kept where the original package had them. \

    Mind you, I don't use any of the smart content or program-supplied search procedures, and install everything manually, so I'm the one who controls whrere things are stored.  That being the case, I have a good idea of where everything is.

    Ummm I don't think you understand -that's what I'm doing. And it DOES matter that the files are scattered all over the place. That Is The Issue... If the clothing item is in "Characters" and yet the mats for the clothing item are in a totally different area like "Pose" and the adjustment morphs are somewhere else it takes ages to track them down to bundle them up so that I can put the clothing item in the proper category. If I'm going to USE said item along with it's textures I'm going to want them ALL TOGETHER. Tracking them down when they've been put into totally different areas of my Library (and if the site doesn't have a Read Me to tell me where they are) is very time consuming and just a big pain in the butt.

    I think there may be some confusion here, if I'm reading these right. I think what JOdel is saying is that the files within the "Library" folder (so, not geometry and not textures) don't have to be in those locations if you use studio. This is important because they DO (or did?) have to be in those locations in Poser, which is why the different folders. So you had cr2 files in Character (Figure?), pp2 files in Props, etc. The point was that, when you are trying to organize it yourself, you are NOT restricted to those folders.

    However, any poser content, at least any older poser content, will follow that structure because they had to.

    Now, this isn't a good reason why you would have a different folder name within each of those folders, like in your example. There could have been and "AdR Speedworks" in each of those folders, and that would make it easier to find them, but it still would have been in three locations in the original installation. If you choose to organize them manually though (I was doing this years ago, came back this year and reinstalled all my content, and not looking forward to trying that again), you can put them in a more logical structure without worrying about the different extensions like .cr2 and .pp2, etc.

    **Also, not sure if this is the case with older items, but as I've been organizing my DS native items in locations that make more sense to me, since I use DIM to install everything, I can go there and look at the installed file list rather than trying to track down the readme. That has helped me a lot.

    Also, if you do decide to go about manually organizing everything, once you get the currently installed files done, as long as you put them in a new folder name that isn't part of the standard Poser format (like a folder called "!Files" or something), then if you install anything new, you will quickly be able to see all of your new "unsorted" items more easily, and they won't get mixed in with what you already categorized.

    This is all assuming you don't go another route with Studio's ability to tag and organize content, I haven't worked with that at all so don't have any advice for that one.

    Post edited by AlmightyQUEST on
  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281
    edited January 2018

    If you install manually, and only use DS, you can move your folders - except geometries and textures - anywhere. I dont mean the base folders - characters, hair, poses etc - I mean the product folders. You can have a folder called "1961 Roadster" in Characters. And inside your "1961 Roadster" folder you can have a folder called "Roadster Mats", and another one called "Roadster Add On Props" (or whatever you want to call it. So when you want to use your roadster, you have all the mats and the add on props in that one folder and don't have to go scrolling around trying to find everything. You can rename the main product folder too, from "!!!VanityNAMEHERE_DressTHATIsGREEN" to "Green Dress G3F" or whatever makes more sense to you. 

    Tis old, but it still makes sense and still works if you are only using DS (not poser also) and install manually: http://www.sharecg.com/v/29425/browse/3/PDF-Tutorial/Reorganizing-Your-Content-in-DAZ-Studio

    Post edited by jakiblue on
  • Peter WadePeter Wade Posts: 1,603

    My method of finding where the parts of a product are in the Poser library is to look in the .zip file. I install Poser content manually but if you use DIM you can find the .zip files in it's download directory, mine is in Public Documents\DAZ 3D\Install Manager\Downloads

    Also, jakiblue's method of moving content around does work with recent versions of Poser. I use it in Poser 11, as far as I can tell Poser will now accept any content type in any directory as long as it is under one of the recognised main directories: Character, Pose, Props, Hair, Hand, Light, Camera, Materials or Scene.

    If you find any files in Libraries that are not under one of the above directories then leave them where they are. Some content creators put mophs that the conent loads automatically into their own directories under Libraries.

    One final point, the rule that you can move anything around except geometries and textures is true in almost all cases, but I have run into a few items where it doesn't because the content creator used non-standard ways of setting things up. I think all the ones I have found were things I bought from Content Paradise and a few odd freebies, I don't think any of my Daz content does this. If you do run into this problem you can get round it by copying the directory where you want it instead of moving it. You can fix it by editing pathnames in the files but if you're not a Poser user you probably don't want to get down to that level of detail.

  • tiggerspringstiggersprings Posts: 304
    edited January 2018

    I'm a Poser-only user who spent most of 2017 trouble-shooting and reinstalling Poser content in new runtimes.  In early 2017, the external drive that housed my runtimes malfunctioned, then I found ot my backup external was unresponsive, and then I found out that this Windows 10 Home computer can only read around one out of every three backup CDs and DVDs.  While I do have an old backup that goes to toward then end of 2015, I decided just to rebuild from scratch, since I'd still have had more than a year's worth of content to reinstall.  The runtimes on the drive dating back to 2015 was a mess because I'd just installed things in runtimes as vendors set them up and I know a lot of products had...issues... So, after I was able to get new external drives around the spring of 2017, I just started from square one.  It's been painful and slow, but I've actually learned a lot (and having been around since late 2005, I'm not a newbie).  There are a couple of things that I can can sort of pass on to hopefully help those organizing Poser content easier.  LOL

    Regarding Readme files and availibily. I don't use DIM to download. I downloaded all 4,000+ items by hand for better naming control.  However, so far a good number of things are lacking readmes.  I have found the "Daz Deals" browser add-on to be handy for hunting down product docs as well as the Documentation Center links.  There's only so much you can do there.  Barring all esle, I just unzip the file to a new folder and run a list maker (more on that in a bit) to get an idea of where things are... Having a list of where things originally were placed is better than nothing.

    First, Peter Wade and JOdel (above) are correct. Newer versions of Poser allow you to move just about anything except geometrties and textures.  There are a few exceptions even there, though.  If anyting calls for .pmd files you may have to open the item's file in a text editor and edit paths to the .pmd.  Also, if anything uses Python scripting in the MAT-Pose (material pose) or Materials files, if you're going to move things around, you may have to edit.  I made a right mess of one of outoftouch's Star sets (for the original Star) from Renderosity moving things around.  LOL  I did get it fixed by hacking things, but I really wouldn't recommend it to the weak at heart or weak of stomach. LOL

    My procedure is pretty constant now. I have folder on my desktop labled very lazily (or cleverly, if you prefer) "New Folder."  I plop the product zips for whatever I'm going to work on pre-installing trouble shooting in there and unzip it.  In this folder there is a Documents folder with three sub-folders: Extras, Readmes, and Templates.  Each product gets a folder named very carefully for each product, as required.  Placing things in the "Documents' set of folders I've created is usually my very first step.  To illustate things a bit more...  Extras is for anything like .psd files, backgrounds, ect that doesn't go directly into Poser's runtime format.  Not every product has an "Extras" folder.  Each product gets a carefully named folder within Readmes that contains not only the actual readme, but any tutorials, vendor-supplied screenshots, vendor supplied previews, ect.  Once in a while, for vendors like DM, Mapps, and Richabri that include full scenes (in Poser's case, .pz3 files), I've even been doing my own big previews and placing them in Readme folders so I cee what each scene looks like.  The "readme" folder also includes a simple text file of all the file locaitons once i'm done moving things where I want them for future reference (more on that later, when I come to Poser Product Checker).  Honestly, a lot of times, I delete UV templates, so not every product gets a templates folder.  If a vendor makes particualrly good color-coded or layered .PSD template I like, I may keep it.  Otherwise, i chuck them into the recycle bin because I can always save my own with UVMapper Classic or Stitch Witch (no longer available). 

    Once I get my "Documents" folders in order, I start moving things where I want them.  i have a bit of hodge-podge system going.  So far, I've been organzing my new runtimes per figure (I use mostly toons).  For some, I break their clothing down in to categories, which seems to be working best for me.  For instance, I'm now working on Kids 4's runtime. I put Predatron's  Princess set under Historical.  I moved the MAT-Pose files into the folder with the clothing, as well as the props.  I put any Pose files to hide body barts under a "Utility" folder.  In a rare instance of repetition, I also decided to keep a copy of the Magnets under Props >> Magnets >> Princess Predtron.  I can see the magnets being useful, so it's just thinking ahead a bit. I usually don't do a lot of duplication. 

    Since I'm a Poser-only user, I also delete any D|S related things from the folders as I organize.  That way my new runtimes will be lean and mean. 

    Once I have everything where I want it and have deleted all Daz Studio stuff, I run RuntimeRepair by Dimenson3D (@ Renderosity) on the "New Folder".  If I have to fix any file paths it pops on, I open the files in a text editor and fix them.  Then, I delete the .bak files using Windows Explorer and the wildcard *.bak.  If I did any path trouble-shooting, I run it again and repeat deleting the .bak files. 

    RuntmeRepair is avialable in two options:

    https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/runtime-zip-amp-repair/50759/ or https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/runtime-repair/50760/

    Next, I Poser Product Checker by EvilInnocence on "New Folder."  This cool little freebie does a couple of things.  It generates a new "packing list" of where everything is in my newly organized "runtime."  it also checks for incomplete, absolute paths, and missing files.  Once in a while, it catches a snag that RuntimeRepair doesn't, too.  Especially on incomplete paths. If PPC pops on naything, I open the file in a text editor and fix the paths there. 

    http://www.evilinnocence.com/shop/poser-product-checker.html

    I zip up the contents of "New Folder" and install it into my clean new runtime. 

    Once I'm sure everything is good, I delete everything out of "New Folder" leaving behind just my shell with my Documents sub-folders.   It's a good idea to run something like Ccleaner once in a while when working with this one-product-at-a-time inspect, hack, install, and delete method.  Yes, it's time consuming, but my shiny new runtimes work a lot better than the old ones ever did.

    Things I've learned from trial and error

    * If there is a "readme" file for a product, giving it a once over before starting to move things can elmiinate questions and referesh your memory about product specifics.  It's a no-brainer, but I've over-looked doing this as few times and regretted it later.

    * Don't be afraid to install products to a temporary runtime before starting the re-organization process if you question anything  you see. I wish I'd learned this lesson a bit sooner. It sounds like a no-brainer, but... Taking a look before I started moving stuff could have saved me re-dos in some cases.

    * Don't be afraid to install prodcuts to a temporary runtime once you're done organizing and zip, if you have any doubts. Pretty much the same reasons as the first.  If you biffed getting things exactly where you wanted them or missed getting texture references fixed in your text edtitor... Bettter to know before you put it in your clean, but fiinal runtime than have to rip it all back out and do-over. Especially if the vendor who made the product you're organzing and trouble-shooting used sub-folders in texture folders, things can go wrong fixing paths, for instance. 

    * If you had to fix multiple things, like texture paths, in a product, may be handy to leave a note to yourself detailing what you fixed somewhere.  Once I figured this oune out, i started leaving occassional !!note.txt files in my new Readme folders for this purpose. I usually put the month and year as the top line of the text file and then write myself any notes that I may want to refer to later. It's also hadny for noting things like if a product was a gift from a vendor, ect.   I also make note if I deleted anything that I couldn't fix (it happens sometimes, particularly if it's an old product from a store that no longer exists, so support isn't an option).

    * Since I'm a Poser-only person, I find P3DOExplorer essential in converting .rsr thumbnails to .PNGs.  No more shrugging-shoulder-guy.  I have had one instance of P3DO not being able to do convert one, for whatever reason. I just looked up an old product page from Rendo and made a thumb based on a chunk of a promo and saved a .PNG.  I decided not to keep .rsrs at all, so I have P3DO Explorer set to delete them once converted. 

    Documentation.jpg
    630 x 310 - 40K
    K4 Princess.jpg
    1067 x 402 - 67K
    RRepair.jpg
    755 x 405 - 73K
    Post edited by tiggersprings on
  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,714

    I tend to look in Pose first, as that is where everything so often is.

    If I plan on using it (textures I convert using Blacksmith Pro), and they are then placed in a custom folder (for use on G8 or possibly G3).

    Other items I save them as new Figure/Prop Asset, or if issues as a Scene Subset. If neither of those work, it would get returned; so far that hasn't happened for recent purchases (nor for old stuff, which is fortunate).

  • hphoenixhphoenix Posts: 1,335

    There is also another option, instead of trying to re-org everything, use DS links.  There is a utility to do this for entire folder structures, described here:  https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/198151/poser-content-links-in-daz-library

    It lets you have folders (however you like) of links to the actual Poser content.

  • JOdelJOdel Posts: 6,250
    edited January 2018

    With a any size of library it takes time to reorganize everything to how you want it to be set up. And, since I've never used the internal categories that Studio provides, I don't know whether they work as well as rolling your own.

    I do know that my own first major re-org was in the wake of an inadvertant disk wipe. Fortunately, I'd kept just about everything I'd downloaded on a separate library disk. So I didn't lose much. But it did take me close to a month to rebuild the library in a form where I could find everthing myself, rather than letting the installers put the files where their script told them to.  

    At that point, I was not yet using Studio 4, since Studio 3 was such an unmitigated pain to work with that I didn't want any more problems. But once I had thing reorged I did start using it, and found that it had fixed a lot of 3's worst issues already.

    Someone who uses both programs may not have the leeway of moving their files all over the place, but Studio reads just about all of the Poser library file formats, but .mt5 (if someone knows how to convert those I'd be grateful for a heads-up) without a problem, pretty much indescriminently. And Studio itself uses .duf for everything, so those can also be swapped around to fit whatever makes sense to the user as well. 

    It's just along dreary slog to get it done.

    ETA: I suspect it was easier to reinstall things from that backup, one group at a time, and organize as I went than it would be to have to reorg an existing content library. But starting over from scratch is a last resort measure. Although it did mean that I was finally able to get all of my 3rd-party add-on textures into the same folders as the original items where I could *find* them, and not forget what they were -- or that I even *had* them.

    Post edited by JOdel on
  • jakibluejakiblue Posts: 7,281

    i've done this before, converted mt5 to mc6 which I believe DS can read (although obviously you still have to fiddle with surfaces, but at least it will load the textures etc). Uh, I can't recall which tutorial to follow as it's been a while, and I think I have also converted to pz2, so there are a couple of links I found. 

    Batch converter 

    mc6 to pz2

    the last one there looks familiar to me and I suspect that's the one I followed. It is mc6 to pz2 but I think you should be able to follow it for mt5 also. Hope these can help. 

    JOdel said:

    ..... but .mt5 (if someone knows how to convert those I'd be grateful for a heads-up).....

     

  • CybersoxCybersox Posts: 8,754
    jakiblue said:

    i've done this before, converted mt5 to mc6 which I believe DS can read (although obviously you still have to fiddle with surfaces, but at least it will load the textures etc). Uh, I can't recall which tutorial to follow as it's been a while, and I think I have also converted to pz2, so there are a couple of links I found. 

    Batch converter 

    Ooo!  Useful!  I missed this one.  Thanks for posting. :) 

     
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