How do YOU organize your content?
PVGames
Posts: 68
This never really was a problem before... well, before since DAZ had a bunch of sales! I find myself pretty much overwhelmed with the sheer number of models contained within far too many numerous folders in the content tab, and the smart content tab isn't that much better off.
So, my question is, how do some of you who have a large number of models keep them all organized? Do you manually move them around in the directory, or do you do something within DAZ itself? I'd like to do some 'spring cleaning' soon and try to organize everything, but I am not really certain what the best way to go about it is.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
224 S 200 W, Suite #250
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2024 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
In the past I reorganized the files on the hard drive -- DAZ Studio never had the restrictions on file locations Poser did before Poser 8. However, since Categories were introduced in DS2 I've used that method. It allows you to categorize items in multiple categories, put DS and Poser versions of files together, and so forth, without danger of breaking the content.
I have top level categories for Animals, Hair, Props, Mil2, Mil3, Mil4, Genesis, and so on.
I'm with Mike, ever since Catagories in DS2, I've been a complete convert. I'm also a bit CDO... That's like OCD, but only alphabetical @$^*^#.... ;)
That seems like a pretty good idea. Thanks guys! I will give it a shot and see how that works out :)
Runtime organization is a matter of personal preference. Some prefer multiple runtimes, some prefer one runtime and even then you can view it different ways in DS. Eventually you will need to get your hands dirty and start organizing yours. The main advantage of learning to organize it is that everything becomes easier to find. You will also learn the Poser Runtime hierarchy which will be very useful when dealing with freebies that were not packaged correctly.
My personal preference is to use a single runtime. I find it neater and faster to setup when reinstalling DS or Poser as a clean install with no previous registry entries left. To begin my method you will need two things:
1. A file compression utility like 7zip. (your choice)
2. One empty folder on your hard drive!
3. Patience and time!
I admit its time consuming upfront but this method will save you a ton of time later if you need to reinstall any amount of content later on. It also allows for combining packages and makes updating content easy as wll.
Whether you need to organize content that came as a zip file or a exe your first step will be to extract the contents to the chosen empty folder. After extraction is completed you can go in and organize your folders as you please including the renaming of folders if so desirered. (I am going to assume you already have an understanding of the hierarchy) Once organization is complete, go to the folder level above the runtime folder and select all relevant files and folders (runtime, readme, ect...) and compress them using the utility of choice. Once that is done, you now have a pre-organized package of your content that can be quickly and easily installed to any location you disire. To unpack this in your runtime make sure you choose the Content Folder as the destination if using DS.
Now from there it will be up to you if you keep the original downloaded file but I personaly do not. Regardless or zip or exe, once I have my organized package, I delete the original (as long as I did it right) since its redundant.
When installing a massive amount of content you will find this method extremely fast and far less mind boggling then running each installer over and over for two reasone. First (using 7zip) you can select an entire folder full of compressed packages and tell 7zip to extract to (in my case) E:\xDaz\Studio\Content\ and from there all i do is wait for the first warning of overwriting a file and choose to either do so nor not to all and let it go from there. Its automated and I dont have to babysit it. Secondly, its organized!!!!!!! I dont have to go back and redo the whole process. Very handy for runtimes of any size! Did I mention its organized?
Now for combining packages some of it can be straight forward. For example, if you want to combine Baby Doll Hair with the Love Me Tender package you simple install both to the empty folder at the same time and organize and compress. Its very simple. If you want to combine the Gen4 character packs its just as easy as long as you remember to install the base character first and remember to let the installer initialize the files as well. This also allows for easy addition of newer figures later on.
To give an example of how my runtime is organzed I attached several images. The first is my Figures Folder, the second is the Aiko3 Folder and subfolders in Figures and the third is the Aiko3 Folder in Poses.
http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/postimages/origimage_1_2301531.jpg
http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/postimages/origimage_2_2301531.jpg
http://forumarchive.daz3d.com/postimages/image_3_2301531.jpg
That's exactly the same way I've been doing it since Studio 2. I have 1 single Content (Runtime) tree and use it for everything from poser through the last 3 versions of Studio.Then Sort into Catagories as I install new stuff in Studio (Versions 2-4).
I have too much content to organize it through Studio. I'm using Smart Content only for Genesis and Studio stuff that is specifically for DS4.
If a product has both Studio and Poser files (with only a few exceptions including Maclean and Songbird stuff) I install the Poser files in a runtime and use only the mat files from the Studio install which I combine with the Poser mat files using one of Richard Haseltine's scripts. (everything installed to a temporary folder first.)
I organize all the Poser files into the character library. IE, Vicky 4 has a folder in character, under which are folders for POSES, MATMOR, CLOTHES, EXPRESSIONS, etc.
Each set of clothing has its own folder inside the CLOTHES folder (with some figures I have made different categories under CLOTHES). All the mats and props that go along with that piece of clothing are placed inside that clothing's folder. The name of the vendor is appended to the name of the clothing.
And so on.
I also have a separate runtime for sets and props, critters toons and animals, and one just for hair. In all cases files only reside in the character library.
I've been doing this for years already so not about to change now. Except for, as I said, Genesis.
That's how I used to organize things, all files under Character, organized under there in much the same way you do. When DS2 introduced Categories I just created Categories out of those folders under Character, so it was easy to switch. I've actually begun moving my content back into the default locations -- it makes it easier when someone asks a question to know where the default file locations are, and it allows me to use my own scheme (via Categories) as well as Metadata.
I organized my content by the DAZ Categories system. But I have problems with the system. If my computer starts from standby the categories are gone. I have organized content but now the system does not work even I start the PC.
I use the latest DAZ version; DAZ Studio 4.5 Pro. No Virus or anything bad was found. And I did not change the program files.
Do anybody have the same problems or a solution?
Take a look at the Content Library tab -- if there's no triangle next to Categories, then the Content Management Service isn't running. Shut down DS4, then go to Start > All Programs > DAZ 3D > DAZ Content Management Service and click on "Start DAZ Content Management Service".
That's how I used to organize things, all files under Character, organized under there in much the same way you do. When DS2 introduced Categories I just created Categories out of those folders under Character, so it was easy to switch. Same...my set up looks like a poor man's version of Adam's. I'm still organising it to my satisfaction, but I love that I can have everything relating to a particular asset in the one folder. So if I'm looking for a short hair I go to Default\Hair\Static\Short and look for the file. All the poses and mats files are neatly in the same folder. Makes things so much easier.
What I would like to see is a user-friendly way to communicate to the smart content pane how and what a file is associated with. I was thinking either a system of key words (used in the file or folder structure) that would allow the smart content to know "hey this object is associated with these materials."
Another idea is to just use a standard txt file inside the product's "libraries" runtime that would again explain to smart content "hey this object is associated with these materials." Maybe even Smart content can associate all products of a vendor with each other as well?
My final (and favorite) thought is to keep vendors creating library assets as before, but allow the user to create their own associations via the category view. My library is pretty much set up in that way (People > Victoria 4.2 > Wardrobe > Goth n Punk > Black Cat > Materials) Why cant it take those same structures to produce the smart content on the fly? This would be the best option because if I was creating my own associations like I do categories; Then while I had a "casual" top selected in the scene pane, I could see all categories where other tops could be found (related or not) but they would be segregated by my own preference ie; goth n punk, exotic, elegant, basic and so on...?
Thoughts?
To answer the OP, I am currently working on re-re-re-organizing my library. When I have a substantial amount I will post a screen of it that reflects my third idea.
If I'm understanding this correctly, CMS already does this for smart content:
I use AdamR's categories (he's got a script somewhere in the freebies section), but I've never attempted to separate out all of the poses by type. I just have them under Figure > Poses > and alphabetically by package.
What I was talking about is a user friendly way to use the smart content panel without creating metadata before hand. The metadata would be generated on the fly based on the categories you set up in the content library. See, I have tried on several occasions to setup my own metadata for use in the smart content panel with absolute ZERO success. I followed tutorials and everything several times and it never worked for me and the worse part is that it is extremely time consuming and tedious work. My suggestion to have it created dynamically as you set up categories would make it very user friendly because we could create our own metadata based on our own preferences.
For instance; I installed a product called "Super Hose". In my categories it is laid out like this...
People > V4 > Wardrobe > Lingerie > Superhose
People > V4 > Wardrobe > Lingerie > Superhose > Colors
People > V4 > Wardrobe > Lingerie > Superhose > Ends
People > V4 > Wardrobe > Lingerie > Superhose > Presets
People > V4 > Wardrobe > Lingerie > Superhose > Styles ...and so on.
Now when I select it in my scene the smart content panel would be populated with four tabs down the left: Colors, Ends, Presets and Styles. When I click on presets, the pane gets populated with only what I have set up in the presets category. If yours already does that for all of your content then please tell me what I am doing wrong because my smart content pane is completely blank. If I set up categories in the "Content Library" then switch over to the smart content pane, I get nothing.
I don't think catagories you set up in CMS are meant to change the smart content, although I can't be sure, never liked the smart content stuff and stayed away from it myself. I use the CMS now, and organize the hell out of stuff, at least for the DS stuff. For poser stuff I organize the runtime manually the same way. I have 6 different runtimes for poser, and 3 different content folders for daz. I split everything up by figure, then from there make specific structures.
I know it doesn't work that way. I was saying if it did then it would be a very user-friendly way for a simple DS user to create metadata and and make all of the necessary connections required to use the smart content pane.
"How do YOU organize your content?"
I had it all more or less organised up until yesterday, when I decided to make some changes so I could "finally" install all my content via the Install Manager. What a mess!
It seems that a lot of people dislike Smart Content. Up until yesterday I used to really like it. Granted it's not completely there yet, but I like the product view a lot. Anyways... It's all gone now, ever since clicking on "Reset Database". And I can't get it back. The Smart Content tab is completely empty and I'm not able to get any of it back. Re-installing all my products via IM once more didn't help matters either.
Does someone know what I can do to get my Smart Content back?
I hate to say it but I am 99% sure you are out of luck (unless someone has a trick up their sleeve). You should have made a backup first. I had to learn that the hard way, but then again I am a web developer and have been burned by databases more than once.
My advice would be to uninstall all you can via the DIM, re-categorize all your non-daz content (freebies, rendo and so on...) Move over to the "Ready to Download" tab, change the sort order to "Order Date: Oldest First" and install 5 items at a time (make sure you install all installers for each product; for instance base figures have multiple installers and each one should be done at the same time, you don't want to set up a figure using poser mats only to install the DS mats afterwards).
Pace yourself and stay focused and you can get through 100 a day like I am doing... I only have 7 more days to go by my calculations. Good luck!
...Oh sorry, I miss-read... did not realize you were talking about the smart content.
No need to delete anything. Just go to the Content Library Pane, click on the context menu at the top, select "Content DB Maintenance", check "Re-Import Metadata" and then click Accept. Be patient. It will re-import all the default metadata and make Smart Content work again.
It's been sorted. I had to delete the Content Management Service and re-install the IM (which also re-installs the CMS). I have my Smart Content back. No more missing product images either.
Oh yeah, how I organise my content ... I'm gonna have separate Runtimes for content from DAZ and Renderosity and others from now on. I hoped I had done that ever since DAZ brought out the IM.
Before DS4 I had one Runtime only, from which I had the individual folders (Poses, Characters, Props, etc.) categorised into generation 1, 2, 3 & 4 Figures respectively, so it was a lot easier and quicker that way, to find content that was made for a specific base figure. I also took all of the material "poses" out of the Pose folder and placed them in the Character Folder, so again, it was a lot quicker to load the base figure and load the mats straight away without having to go into the Pose folder.
I wasn't happy when DS4 came out at first. DS3 had something somewhat more professional about it. It seemed a bit more like a toy than a tool to me at the time, but as time went on I started to like it more and more. Especially for the Genesis figure.
I might divide my Renderosity Runtime into categories. Hmmm ... It's tedious, but then again there are worse things than spending a lot of time on DS.
I have separated folders by figure: Aiko, Victoria, Michael, for animals, hair, poses, shaders, etc. But organizatiooon depend on your way to load items in scene.
I now use custom categories in DS4.6, my problem is in the big part of my content being freebies, so they don't have metadata, so I need create a solid metadata information for each freebie. It needs too much work. So I am exploring again Advanced Library for poser (also works for DS4.6) from http://neocron.webspaceforme.net/library/ , which need Pontari PRPC pluging from http://www.pontari.com/Products/DazStudio/PRPC/
Advantages:
1.- It doesn't depend on a declared "Runtime" root folder, so you can have separated folder for each product. Unfortunately DS4.6 search for runtime structure for references, so into the each folder runtime can't be erased.
2.- Items are displayed through subfolders, so if you click in the principal folder all poser/ds items in this and its subfolders are displayed
3.- Categorize folders or subfolders. You can categorize the same folder multiple times (like DS categorize)
4.- It woks with poser files and ds files, duf is incorporated too.
5.- You can set big size for preview png.
6.- A color label by file type. (Doesn't work for labeling duf)
7.- Textures are displayed as content.
8.- If item don't have *.png preview, it convert *.rsr to an alternative *.png.
Disadvantages:
1.- Unpractical in system with low RAM and poor CPU, I abandoned it at 2012 when I had only 2Gb RAM, DS consumption of RAM and this was too much for my old system. I only try to take up again with my new system and its new pluging for DS4.5 (working in 4.6)
2.- It appear to be impossible categorize individual items, so if you want categorize only pants, only shoes, only eyes mats, only nail mats, you probably can't. It have a tag system but I don't understand it, so I don't have idea if this can be used for individual categorization like DS4.6.
3.- Load items is tedious, doble click is desabled and only keyboard shorcut are posible to do load. I personaly hate keyboard shorcut when I have a pretty mouse and double click is a more fast move.
4.- With each change in folders, it is needed syncronize all folders again.
5.- Alternative *.png is *.alpng, you need erase "al" to obtain only *.png, easy but tedious, even with a file renamer. For textures also create *.alpng.
6.- A window out DS interfase. Annoing for me, but probably good for others.
7.- Program become corrupt some times, I don't know if is the memory problem and now with a better machine it become more stable.
I think use AL meanwhile I complete metadata, and after let AL only for organize textures.
Please tell me there is a tutorial out there that will explain exacly where i need to go in my files to set this up. From the time I open the mydazstudio library to where I create the new files. I have tried a couple of the tutorials out there for earlier versions but none of the stuff matches. I'm a little ocd when it comes to being able to find things and I have spent hours trying to figure out how to do this. I understand that you create runtime fodlers but I don't know where exactly to put them without screwing everythign up.
The Runtime folder is for Poser-format content, and non user-facing files such as textures. it goes in the root of the content directory - My DAZ 3D Library or My Library being the default locations.
Do you mean "create folders named Runtime" or "create folders to put into my Runtime folder"? If you're new to all this, it's easy (maybe too easy) to mix up these two procedures — or even create a separate Runtime for each product installed. Unless you intend making separate content folders for different categories of content (as some people upthread have described) you should always put new content into your existing content location.
After a few changes at my PC and reinstallation of DAZ the Categoration-System in DAZ work very well. For everyone who do not know it follows a short description:
You install your content, search the Poser/Daz folder (which is normal My (DAZ) Library) in DAZ Studio, klick right at the content which you want to organize, klick on categorice, there you can creat own folders where you can categorice your content.
The categorice function does not change the place where the content is saved on your computer. It creats a short cut in the categorice folder. The organication of the content is saved in the content. That means, if you change the saved place (for example from Library to My Library) and you copy the categoriced content in the new folder the categoration is still there.
Another way to organize your content is the tagging. You can tag your content in DAZ Studion (in the Content Library under the field with the content pictures). When you tagged your content you can use the content search funtion to get a sorted and shorted content. For example you tagged every kind of shoe with boots. When you search your database content you will get every content which was tagged with boots and have boots in its name.
The tagging works even better if you use foragin languages or unique shortcuts.
Both organicatins systems need a little prework so they can work well.
I just did a fresh install of Daz 4.8 on a new machine and I seem to have no option for CATEGORIES in the content panel. As that's how I always organize my files, this is a bit of a problem. Anyone have any idea where I might have gone wrong?
It sounds as if the Content management System is not installed, or is being blocked from communicating with DAZ Studio. Is the Smart Content pane also empty?
I created an external CHM-file (which is basically a help file) which I use as a database. I copy and pasted all the information from the help center and the shop page. That way I can search for keywords and evaluate if I want to use that prop or not.
I created subfolders such as M4, Genesis1, Genesis 2, props for houses, horror scenes, etc..
It's much faster and efficient to work that way, because I wrote down the path to every product :P Later on I just need to copy and paste. It was a lot of work to compile that 500 MB file, but it was worth it.
Please forgive my lack of understanding of these issues. I've been around for several years, but until daz 4.5 I never got very serious with my dazzling (hah) obsession. So when I started reading this thread I saw things about the CMS that I haven't seen in a long time, and I'm guessing that's outdated. Then I see stuff about a content folder, but I don't see a content folder in my file folder structure on the hard drive. I know there used to be one, but when I re-installed the entire content of Daz studio today, the DIM didn't put one in. I also have been reading about how duf files are not supposed to be in the runtime folder, but after searching that folder straight off with a fresh install of all content, I actually find several thousand duf files in Runtime. So... I'm lost.I want to organize my content, and I want to make sure everything that is installed is available in Daz. I don't know where to begin because I'm kind of confused since some advice seems no longer to be relevant, and I'm not even sure where to begin. Just using the DIM, the top level file folders in my library are:
aniBlocks
Animals
Architecture
Camera Presets
Canary3D
data
DAZ Studio Tutorials
DAZStudio4.5+ SDK
DImensionTheory
Dreamlight
Dystopia
Environments
Figure Mixer Tutorial
Figures
General
Hair
Light Presets
Lights
Map Transfer Tutorial
P3DA
People
Presets
Props
ReadMe's
Render Presets
Runtime
Scene Builder
Scenes
Scripts
Shader Mixer Tutorial
Shader Presets
Shaders
Tutorials
Vehicles
I want this to be more organized. I want to drop the tutorial folders all inside Tutorials. I want to know if I need to figure out how to pull all those dufs out of Runtime or if they are okay where they are. I'm not kidding, there's like over 3,000 dufs under Runtime just with DIM installing all of my DAZ content. And I want to make my folder structure make sense to me, but I'm afraid of breaking something if I move it around. What can I do? Is there a current tutorial that is the standard for organizing content that contains only information that is still relevant? Any helpful information would be appreciated.
One content folder "My DAZ 3D Libary" and it all goes in there. If the main product gets installed in the runtime section it might as well be on another planet because I ignore it as "to old".