Where are My Download Links

1246

Comments

  • VitachickVitachick Posts: 135
    edited December 1969

    vitachick said:
    I have various items in my cart. Haven't purchased from Daz since they started version4. (works now)

    Just wondering....If I check out will there be any problems???

    Well check out was ok but Look At My Hair isn't working in 4.5.. Have
    contacted the vendor.

  • SileneUKSileneUK Posts: 1,969
    edited December 1969

    OK I'm really feeling stupd here. I just got DAZ/Poster etc recently (end of March). I was constantly being nagged to use the "new" DAZ Install Manager, so I did. But just lately the products I buy don't show up as "ready for download" for up to a day or so. Mostly were for characters/materials, etc.

    Today I bought Cararra as I'm fed up with going back and forth between DAZ and HEX... HEX hangs all the time. I'm a newbie so it's probably my fault, but anyways, Cararra seems to do it all and will give it a fair go.

    My problem is....Cararra hasn't shown up in my DIM all day! It's in my Product Library so I manually downloaded it and am OK. The DIM worked great when it worked, but how long do you have to wait for the files to appear? The email I get which says my order is complete says to IMMEDIATELY download my new files with DIM. What's going on? Is it the DIM that is being dumped and we are to use Product Library? If so then they should remove that DIM reminder from the receipt emails for purchases.

    Cheers..... perhaps it's something I am doing wrong, so please tell me if it's me!

    :) Silene

    FAO JADERAIL--- I LOVE your hides/furs you use for your primatives. Are they available to purchase anywhere on DAZ or elsewhere? I saw them on Deviant Art.

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited December 1969

    DIM only works for content, not for programs, which is why Carrara wouldn't have shown up in it.

  • SileneUKSileneUK Posts: 1,969
    edited December 1969

    Arrrgghhhhh.... they need to put a note on their header then that it's only for content. It looks like a one-size-fits-all utility from this email.
    So DIM is going to stay ...


    Thanks so much. Silene

    Cararra_SCR.png
    682 x 692 - 181K
  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited December 1969

    laurenwbr said:
    Arrrgghhhhh.... they need to put a note on their header then that it's only for content. It looks like a one-size-fits-all utility from this email.
    So DIM is going to stay ...


    Thanks so much. Silene

    DIM does look as if it will stay, at least until something better comes along. Although with the way so many are used to running very customized runtime setups I have a feeling many will opt to download files manually from the Product Library. The big change for them is they will have slightly smaller file sizes since no space is taken up for the installer routine. So it'll save them on drive space. The down side is that so far the DIM doesn't appear to be using any quick way for users to determine if they in fact have the latest version and this will be very frustrating for those same folks who like to do things their way. If so then Daz will start hearing a lot of complaints soon if they're not hearing them already. I don't see why it should be an issue and daz couldn't just use the same naming convention before which did indicate version number, I mean all you're doing is changing the file extension from .exe to .zip

    As to the issue you had yeah the DIM only handles content which is best since people also like to have control over where programs are installed for performance reasons. Also as I understand it the DIM is currently only installing Daz Studio and Poser content and that for now it won't install content for Carrara or Bryce.

  • SpottedKittySpottedKitty Posts: 7,232
    edited December 1969

    The down side is that so far the DIM doesn't appear to be using any quick way for users to determine if they in fact have the latest version and this will be very frustrating for those same folks who like to do things their way. If so then Daz will start hearing a lot of complaints soon if they're not hearing them already. I don't see why it should be an issue and daz couldn't just use the same naming convention before which did indicate version number, I mean all you're doing is changing the file extension from .exe to .zip

    I have a feature-request bug note up about it, just waiting to see if I get a useful reply. Apparently changing the file name to track version changes breaks DIM's ability to know that an updated file is the same product as an older file. Fingers crossed — I'll be extremely dischuffed if the only way to handle this is to install DIM. >:(
  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited May 2013

    Although with the way so many are used to running very customized runtime setups I have a feeling many will opt to download files manually from the Product Library.

    You can just use DIM to download.

    The down side is that so far the DIM doesn't appear to be using any quick way for users to determine if they in fact have the latest version and this will be very frustrating for those same folks who like to do things their way.

    Do you mean if stuff they installed with the old installers is up to date? Yes, a perpetual problem. What I've done is install using the installer and the DIM zip to dummy locations and compare them -- found quite a few updates I didn't know about. After that, you can either (a) install to a dummy location with DIM -- you can then delete the dummy location and DIM will still know if you have the latest, or (b) keep the downloads in DIM's download folder. Either way, DIM will then let you know if there are updates.

    If so then Daz will start hearing a lot of complaints soon if they're not hearing them already. I don't see why it should be an issue and daz couldn't just use the same naming convention before which did indicate version number, I mean all you're doing is changing the file extension from .exe to .zip

    I've asked for this, although given how rife with errors the file naming approach has been, I'm happy to have DIM's checksum-based system.

    As to the issue you had yeah the DIM only handles content which is best since people also like to have control over where programs are installed for performance reasons. Also as I understand it the DIM is currently only installing Daz Studio and Poser content and that for now it won't install content for Carrara or Bryce.

    http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/install_manager/change_log

    Post edited by fixmypcmike on
  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited December 1969

    Apparently changing the file name to track version changes breaks DIM's ability to know that an updated file is the same product as an older file.

    No, it doesn't -- I've seen many DIM updates with changes to the zip file names. I think they just don't want to waste time (and users disk space, if they keep the zips) with an error-prone manual system when there's a much better automatic system.

  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited December 1969

    Although with the way so many are used to running very customized runtime setups I have a feeling many will opt to download files manually from the Product Library.

    You can just use DIM to download.

    The point wasn't about how to download though it was about trusting the DIM to install for you. So yeah you could use DIM to just download but I'm inclined to believe that if it's an issue of having control as I suspect it is for many, then they'll be more inclined to use the Product Library. Now if the day comes that the Product Library option is taken away from customers then those people may start using DIM to download but I suspect the type of people I'm talking about will resent being forced to do something differently then they used to be able to do and preferred.

    The down side is that so far the DIM doesn't appear to be using any quick way for users to determine if they in fact have the latest version and this will be very frustrating for those same folks who like to do things their way.

    Do you mean if stuff they installed with the old installers is up to date? Yes, a perpetual problem. What I've done is install using the installer and the DIM zip to dummy locations and compare them -- found quite a few updates I didn't know about. After that, you can either (a) install to a dummy location with DIM -- you can then delete the dummy location and DIM will still know if you have the latest, or (b) keep the downloads in DIM's download folder. Either way, DIM will then let you know if there are updates.

    Not necessarily stuff that is installed. To illustrate an example I'll talk about how I used to do things and how this impacts me. Every so often things happen that I have to rebuild my runtime. I like to have just one central runtime under poser although another runtime is created for Studio. I rarely use that though since most of the time when I use Studio I can just access things from the Poser Runtime with Studio (after I've let Studio look on my drives for content). Given the size of my collection and how big my runtime gets with everything installed I've not been able to find an affordable effective way to back up my runtime. So whenever I rebuild a runtime or used to before these changes, I'd compare each items installer with the file sizes that used to be listed on the product pages. If they matched I'd install what I had and if they didn't I'd reset the download on that item because it had been updated. Now it's a hassle to have to do it this way but Daz stopped notifying customers with emails about updates, then they stopped automatically resetting downloads for updated files, then they stopped having a sub forum specifically for notifying customers of updates (all three methods of which were preferable to how I had to do things and/or the method you're suggesting above). Now yes one could do as you suggest but it's a lot more work and greatly slows things down. The way I used to do things (going to the product page and comparing file sizes before installing) slowed things down a lot too causing it to take me months to rebuild a runtime complete. The way you suggest is much slower because of the process of installing to dummy folders before comparing and would likely increase the time to rebuild my runtime from months to more then a year and likely by the time I finished a number of the items would likely have been updated again. Really the best solution though would be for Daz to come up with a new way of doing things such that every time they update Studio or improve Genesis they don't create a need for so many products to have to be updated to keep working. Before Studio 4 and Genesis this almost never happened and updates were mostly to fix errors in products that should have been caught before release but weren't. I never had to update Victoria 1,2,3 or 4, Michael 1,2,3 or 4, Freak, David Stephanie, Aiko, etc just because a new version of Poser came out.

    If so then Daz will start hearing a lot of complaints soon if they're not hearing them already. I don't see why it should be an issue and daz couldn't just use the same naming convention before which did indicate version number, I mean all you're doing is changing the file extension from .exe to .zip

    I've asked for this, although given how rife with errors the file naming approach has been, I'm happy to have DIM's checksum-based system.

    I'd be happy with a checksum-based system too if I could also visually tell version numbers by looking at the file name. I'm sorry but Daz has had too much trouble with things that were supposed to work a certain way but didn't for me to completely trust the accuracy of DIM.

    As to the issue you had yeah the DIM only handles content which is best since people also like to have control over where programs are installed for performance reasons. Also as I understand it the DIM is currently only installing Daz Studio and Poser content and that for now it won't install content for Carrara or Bryce.

    http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/install_manager/change_log

    Near as I can tell it sounds like DIM still is having issues with Carrara and Bryce. I certainly don't get the impression from that change log that it's ready for prime time with those programs. Besides many of the old installers didn't properly install things in Bryce and Carrara to where they would work without the user having to do things first (import materials and objects into presets in the case of some Bryce files and some shaders and objects also had to be imported in the case of Carrara) so if the files have been simply changed from exe to zip then even if DIM is now able to install Bryce items it wouldn't do it correctly without requiring further user intervention. Which might not be a problem if one just had a handful of files but when one has hundreds of files it is a problem, a big problem.

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited December 1969

    I have never allowed anything, be it zip or installer or whatever to install anything straight into my Bryce iset ups. I always do it myself, either copy and paste or drag and dropping it where I want it to go,

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited December 1969

    Never mind. Try it and you may understand how it's better than the methods you describe, even if you only use a small part of its features. Or don't. But if you want to discuss what's wrong with it and what would be better, it would help if you actually tried it. Emails about updates, automatic resets, and the Product Updates subforum were so inconsistent as to be nearly useless.

  • SpottedKittySpottedKitty Posts: 7,232
    edited December 1969

    Now if the day comes that the Product Library option is taken away from customers then those people may start using DIM to download but I suspect the type of people I'm talking about will resent being forced to do something differently then they used to be able to do and preferred.

    Seconded. I'm (mostly) happy with the way the new Product Library works, the major issue for me right now is the question of updates. From what we're being told I'm getting the impression it's "DIM or nothing".
  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited December 1969

    Never mind. Try it and you may understand how it's better than the methods you describe, even if you only use a small part of its features. Or don't. But if you want to discuss what's wrong with it and what would be better, it would help if you actually tried it. Emails about updates, automatic resets, and the Product Updates subforum were so inconsistent as to be nearly useless.

    Agreed but they were only inconsistent because some one or some group of people wasn't able to keep on top of it. I mean if the system can identify who bought what then it shouldn't be all that difficult to send out an email to all customers who bought an item that was updated. Even easier with the sub forum, noting need be sent out, just a single post made saying what was updated and why. I just really don't see why the failure of people to do something so simple necessitates switching to a whole new way of doing things that leaves customers even less sure if they got all the latest most up to date files. Given that there were all these failures of past systems to keep customers on top of updates doesn't exactly inspire trust that this new system will be full proof.

  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited May 2013

    Now if the day comes that the Product Library option is taken away from customers then those people may start using DIM to download but I suspect the type of people I'm talking about will resent being forced to do something differently then they used to be able to do and preferred.

    Seconded. I'm (mostly) happy with the way the new Product Library works, the major issue for me right now is the question of updates. From what we're being told I'm getting the impression it's "DIM or nothing".

    Well not exactly, what we are being told is that the file name will not reveal to us what version a file is and so we won't be able to tell at a glance if something is up to date. Rather we will have to download whatever is there install it to a dummy folder and then install the old version we have to a dummy folder and then compare the two to see if anything is different. So 2 seconds to glance at a file name vs several minutes to download, install two separate files and then compare. My installation workflow would be significantly slowed down.

    Post edited by LordHardDriven on
  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited December 1969

    Rather we will have to download whatever is there install it to a dummy folder and then install the old version we have to a dummy folder and then compare the two to see if anything is different. So 2 seconds to glance at a file name vs several minutes to download, install two separate files and then compare. My installation workflow would be significantly slowed down.

    Or launch DIM and see at a glance if something was updated. As someone who is OCD about updates, using DIM has shown me just how woefully inadequate all of the methods previously used have been. Even the most recent iteration of the "version number as part of the filename" method introduced at the same time as DS4Pro, which was done far more consistently than any past method, has had an order of magnitude more errors than DIM (and only about 10-20% of the products in the store even got this round of installers, whereas DIM now has about 90%) -- check the "Updated Genesis Products" thread linked in my sig if you want to see how frequently it failed.

    I'm still hopeful that more of the technology behind DIM will be incorporated into the Product Library page, but the fact is that those of us who have used it extensively already know it is the first time this problem has been anything close to solved.

    It is certainly your right to ask DAZ 3D to implement all the features of DIM in the Product Library page.
    It is certainly your right to refuse to try DIM on principle.
    But the only thing significantly slowing down your workflow is your refusal to try DIM. You don't trust it to be reliable, while at the same time you are willing to trust methods which are demonstrably far less reliable.

  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited December 1969

    Rather we will have to download whatever is there install it to a dummy folder and then install the old version we have to a dummy folder and then compare the two to see if anything is different. So 2 seconds to glance at a file name vs several minutes to download, install two separate files and then compare. My installation workflow would be significantly slowed down.

    Or launch DIM and see at a glance if something was updated. As someone who is OCD about updates, using DIM has shown me just how woefully inadequate all of the methods previously used have been. Even the most recent iteration of the "version number as part of the filename" method introduced at the same time as DS4Pro, which was done far more consistently than any past method, has had an order of magnitude more errors than DIM (and only about 10-20% of the products in the store even got this round of installers, whereas DIM now has about 90%) -- check the "Updated Genesis Products" thread linked in my sig if you want to see how frequently it failed.

    I'm still hopeful that more of the technology behind DIM will be incorporated into the Product Library page, but the fact is that those of us who have used it extensively already know it is the first time this problem has been anything close to solved.

    It is certainly your right to ask DAZ 3D to implement all the features of DIM in the Product Library page.
    It is certainly your right to refuse to try DIM on principle.
    But the only thing significantly slowing down your workflow is your refusal to try DIM. You don't trust it to be reliable, while at the same time you are willing to trust methods which are demonstrably far less reliable.

    Well you're making things sound very different now. before you were talking about installing to a dummy folder and comparing, that you had found a number of updates that way and now you're saying that with DIM you can see at a glance which files have been updated. It was the idea that one might have to download unpack and compare files to spot updates that inspired the slowed down workflow comment. As for my refusal to use DIM show me anywhere that I ever said I would refuse to use it. I have not used it yet but that's a far cry from refusing to use it. Excuse me for not rushing out and trying it. Maybe after what I've seen here from Daz over the past several years I've grown a bit cautious and skeptical? I've been told before how great things would be only to find they fell far short. If DIM is the Holy Grail of content management you're making it out to be then great, it still doesn't explain to me though why it's so hard to get file sizes and number of files to an item, back on display on the product page like there used to be. Then if someone did want to refuse to use DIM they would still be able to check themselves and figure out if they have the most up to date files for a product. I guess I just don't get practically forcing people to have to use DIM which obviously cost money when all that needed to be done really is to make known information available on the product page like they did for years and like all their top competitors still do. Their largest competitor takes it even a step further and tells you the number of files and what their individual sizes are.

    I'll likely end up using DIM down the road given what I'm learning about the directions things are going but it's not really how I want to have to manage the things I buy and I'm not really feeling the need for it other then the simple fact someone at Daz decided for some reason unknown to me that Daz would no longer let people know how many files there should be and what their total sizes are.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,201
    edited December 1969

    DIM has a manifest file that describes the content, and it compares that with the details of the files on the server to see updates. The manifest is available either in the folder you download the installers to, if you don't delete them, or a copy is stashed when you install (currently on the C: drive unless you trick it, but we hope that will change with the next update) - you can delete the actual content, installed to a dummy directory, or move it to custom locations without deleting the manifest and as lng as that remains you will get a notification of updates. So something has to stay on your system, but the something is much smaller than the content itself.

  • edited December 1969

    I have a problem. I purchased 2 of Dreamlight's tutorials. They do not show up in the DIM, and I have a somewhat slow internet connection at times. When downloading large files (such as lengthy video clips and software packages), I try whenever possible to pause the download and wait for a bad connection to better itself. While trying to do this today, it wouldn't let me resume my paused download.

    Is there a fix for this?

    Seems to me that anything you sell at the Daz store should show up in the DIM, which would make my issue moot, I think.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,201
    edited December 1969

    At the moment only Poser and DAZ Studio content work through the DIM, tutorials, brushes and content for Bryce and Carrara don't. Unfortunately all I can suggest is using a public computer, or WiFi hot spot, to get your files if your domestic connection isn't stable enough.

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,565
    edited December 1969


    Well you're making things sound very different now. before you were talking about installing to a dummy folder and comparing, that you had found a number of updates that way and now you're saying that with DIM you can see at a glance which files have been updated.

    My apologies for being confusing. I'm rather anal-retentive and wanted to see if the installers I had, which I had always tried to keep up-to-date, matched the zips that DIM provided. So I installed to dummy folders and compared them, and found many which had been updated that I didn't know about, and not recently. That's not necessary, particularly if you're rebuilding your runtimes. But once you download from DIM, it can tell you about any subsequent updates.


    As for my refusal to use DIM show me anywhere that I ever said I would refuse to use it. I have not used it yet but that's a far cry from refusing to use it. Excuse me for not rushing out and trying it. Maybe after what I've seen here from Daz over the past several years I've grown a bit cautious and skeptical? I've been told before how great things would be only to find they fell far short. If DIM is the Holy Grail of content management you're making it out to be then great, it still doesn't explain to me though why it's so hard to get file sizes and number of files to an item, back on display on the product page like there used to be. Then if someone did want to refuse to use DIM they would still be able to check themselves and figure out if they have the most up to date files for a product.

    Again, my apologies for misunderstanding. Incidentally, file sizes are back on the download pages; number of files never was, although the number of installers is. Download sizes aren't a very reliable way of checking for updates, however -- fixing wrong paths in .cr2's, for example, is unlikely to add up to enough of a change to be noticeable.

  • edited December 1969

    At the moment only Poser and DAZ Studio content work through the DIM, tutorials, brushes and content for Bryce and Carrara don't. Unfortunately all I can suggest is using a public computer, or WiFi hot spot, to get your files if your domestic connection isn't stable enough.

    Seems rather counterproductive to advertise the DIM as a download option after I purchase content that won't work with it. Maybe a disclaimer of some kind would be helpful at the moment. :-)

    Thanks for trying to help.

  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited December 1969

    I'm wondering something, I've been trying to download all the .exe's before the May 15th deadline and I've been puzzled by what I'm seeing. In some cases items have been switched over entirely to the zip format but in some files from the same "group" still have .exe's available. Like for example the Dream Home Series, some Dream Home Items have switched entirely to zips with no exe options while some offer both zips and exes. So I've developed a theory based on that the updating has been done in stages and wonder if this is a correct way of interpreting things. My theory is that where exes exist alongside the zips for DIM are cases where the exe installer had already been updated prior to DIM. Where no exes exist is where the file was the original one released and so switching to DIM was the only update it had ever seen.

    I hope I'm explaining that in a way the appropriate people to answer, might understand because I'd like to know if my theory is correct? If it is then that will tell me things about the files that will aide me in knowing what to bother with downloading and what to skip. At least until the point I actually do start using DIM.

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited December 1969

    Some products which used one particular version of the installer exe were indeed converted to zip format some time ago. This was simply because the Newer Mac OS Xs could not deal with that version of the installer.

  • LordHardDrivenLordHardDriven Posts: 937
    edited December 1969

    chohole said:
    Some products which used one particular version of the installer exe were indeed converted to zip format some time ago. This was simply because the Newer Mac OS Xs could not deal with that version of the installer.

    That's not what I meant. I understand they've been going thru and updating files over time but I found that some files released roughly around the same time and in the same category (Dream Home) Some had been converted entirely to DIM format and there were no exe installers available while other Dream Home Items still had the old Mac and exe installers as well as the new DIM format. So what I'm speculating is the reason and trying to confirm is that, are the ones already converted entirely to DIM format files that never needed an update for any other reason and so once converted to DIM it made no sense to keep the .exe installer around? I'm thinking older files that have been updated for various reasons in the past are maybe being left available for now for whatever reason. If what I'm thinking is correct then that means when I see an item in the product library that has been fully converted over to DIM I can just conclude it has not been updated and therefore I don't need to worry about it.

    What I'm attempting to do is assemble a complete and up to date back up of .exe's of all of the several thousand items I've bought over the past ten years. Once that's done I'll likely set it aside in a back up somewhere and then build an entire collection of DIM files of the several thousand files I've bought over the years. The exes will likely be a backup to DVD for offline storage while the DIM files would be my online storage backup since presumably they're smaller then the .exe's. I'm just trying to find visual clues to help me sort thru the many pages I have in my product library to sort thru seeing as how yesterday they started phasing the .exes out and I'm not done going thru everything yet.

  • Keyser SozeKeyser Soze Posts: 1
    edited December 1969

    DS 4.6 free DL/upgrade:AWESOME! DL the new downloader/installer:COOL, THAT'S AWESOME! Wait, there's an upgrade, gotta DL 1st:er, ok, Why didn't I just get the newest version in the original DL? Update, fill in info, and DL DS4.6:nope, don't see it anywhere.No, no, I see it in the invoice but can't access it in any way. No more links, Shiny New DL/installer doesn't see it, (although it sees everything else that I have ALREADY DL'd)and another hour of my life is wrested away from me, with ZERO results.
    DAZ, I was addicted to PC for years, had to lose the acct when I moved 3 yrs ago. This is, quite frankly, a poor path you have taken, you used to be so much more customer friendly, your customers shouldn't have to jump through soooooo many hoops, just to get their dl's.
    This is not enticing me to return.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,201
    edited December 1969

    The DS installers are in the Product Library available from the top row of links, under the store header, on your account page.

  • Thetis_Thetis_ Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    my product library is not available

    I get only an error message

    How can I get to the download links now?

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 96,201
    edited December 1969

    Which browser are you using|? Are you allowing scripts on the site?

  • Thetis_Thetis_ Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I tried firefox and Internet explorer. Scripts allowed.

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited December 1969

    Try clearing your cache and / or a hard refresh and try again

Sign In or Register to comment.