Woes of using different directories

Years ago when I ran Windows as my main OS and Studio upon it, I tried several times to use different directories for content other than the defaults. They all ended in disaster. Not long ago I picked up a cheap Windows laptop, but the internal drive isn't large enough for all my content, so I tried an external. Studio and DIM installed well on D:, but no the content. Changing the settings on DIM went alright, but Studio complained. Sure enough, it can't find everything. Glad to see some things never change and my abilities have not improved. Maybe I can justify that larger SSD after all....

Comments

  • nemesis10nemesis10 Posts: 3,239

    Remember that you have to point DIM to the new content and use Daz Studio's Content Manager in the program preferences to pint Daz Studio to the content too...   The DIM change points installation to the content, DazStudio's Content Manager points the program to your content.  Also, remember mo nested content or runtime folders....  

  • Pack58Pack58 Posts: 750
    edited January 2019

    Not sure why you're having problems. My DIM installed content is mostly on a different PC from the two l generally use DS on and that works for me.

     

    Post edited by Pack58 on
  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479
    edited January 2019

    @brainmuffin, Nemesis10 has the answer to your problem. Not only do you have to tell DIM where to install the files, you also need to tell Daz Studio where to find them. Whether you have one directory or several, you set that up in Preferences (F2) in Daz Studio:

    1. With the Preferences dialog window open, click on the Content tab.
    2. Look for the "Content Directory Manager…" button near the bottom and click on that.
    3. Another dialog window will open where you will see "Content Sets" in the right column. Drill down to the DAZ Studio Formats.
    4. Locate your directories. By default, there should be listed a path to My Library and a path to My DAZ 3D Library.
    5. Right click on My Library and select Edit Base Directory from the popup menu.
    6. Now browse to the new loation of your My Library directory.
    7. Click on Select Folder
    8. Repeat Steps 5 through 7 for My DAZ 3D Library.
    9. Drill down to Poser Formats
    10. Repeat Steps 4 through 8 for the directories under Poser Formats
    11. Verify the paths in both sections are correct.
    12. When your're satisfied, click on the Accept button to return to the Preference dialog.
    13. Now click on the Accept button of Preferences to save your changes.

    And of course, make sure DIM is installing to these directories. You should now have access from Daz Studio to all your DIM iinstalled content.

    Post edited by L'Adair on
  • brainmuffinbrainmuffin Posts: 1,142

    Yeah, I did that. It would really be nice if the installs weren't so braindead and worked off the directories I told them.

  • nemesis10nemesis10 Posts: 3,239

    Yeah, I did that. It would really be nice if the installs weren't so braindead and worked off the directories I told them.

    How did you tell the installs where to be used?

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,517

    ...interesting.  I've been using a second drive for my content library/runtimes and never has ain issue of finding content. I only DL Daz Content though the DIM, never through Connect as I don't use the Documents folder on C: since the boot drive was only 256 GB (in the rebuild i am using a 240 GB SSD for the boot/programme drive and a 2 TB HDD for the library/runtime drive). I also am rebuilding my entire custom runtime structure as I don't use Smart Content since it takes up too much display real estate (and also does not reflect items form Rendo or the massive freebie collection I have). 

  • fastbike1fastbike1 Posts: 4,074

    @brainmuffin

    Studio isn't the problem. I have Studio installed on my internal D: drive and all content installed on an external drive. No compliants or issues from Studio. This isntatllation has been in place since Studio 4.5. i also use DIM for installes.

    So given that it isn't the software, it must be the ......... user.

  • SpitSpit Posts: 2,342
    edited January 2019

    It all works and coordinates as it should (I have several content and runtime folders both external and internal) ...

    UNLESS you change the location of content installed by DIM. The install location in DIM is held in the little manifest files it keeps and changing the install location in DIM and Studio for a specific library or runtime will only affect future installs. If you try to uninstall a product and its location has changed, I think DIM will start hunting through some other locations it knows about. I'm not sure about that though but do remember a time when it took absolutely forever for DIM to end the process.

    Edited to add that I don't know if that's been 'fixed' in DIM. I think it would be hard to do but there have been a couple of DIM updates since I last dealt with that aspect.

    Edited again to avoid confusion. Changing the location of an entire runtime does not stop Studio from finding and using the content (as long as you've changed it in Studio's list). DIM is the only thing affected if you want to uninstall anything from the moved library/content/runtime. If you ask DIM to show you installed files that are located in a moved library/content/runtime (right-click on name in DIM) it will still show the files but they will be in italics and won't be links.

    Post edited by Spit on
  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,714
    edited January 2019

    There aren't any woes to using multiple drives, directories and/or multiple Content Directories.

    Point DIM to where it is; manually instal content if that is your alternative. (I avoid Smart Content like I would the plague, so can't comment.)

    Make sure you point Studio to the same content folders.

    Edit:

    Just remember, each content library may have its own data, General, Runtime, Scenes (etc); may not will, as that will depend on what is in that particular library

    Post edited by nicstt on
  • brainmuffinbrainmuffin Posts: 1,142
    nemesis10 said:

    Yeah, I did that. It would really be nice if the installs weren't so braindead and worked off the directories I told them.

    How did you tell the installs where to be used?

    I established that in the first post. I haven't been able to keep Studio happy since 2.x.

  • nemesis10nemesis10 Posts: 3,239
    nemesis10 said:

    Yeah, I did that. It would really be nice if the installs weren't so braindead and worked off the directories I told them.

    How did you tell the installs where to be used?

    I established that in the first post. I haven't been able to keep Studio happy since 2.x.

    I think you just said that Daz Studio complained but didn't elaborate that you had an error when you adjusted Content Manager to the same settings as DIM?  What was the error?

  • boiteaulettreboiteaulettre Posts: 0
    edited January 2019

    I decided years ago to give a try of Daz3D and gave up right away because I have a SSD as the main drive and not enough space on it. Now I'm trying again, I specify my big harddrive and it installed 61.8Mo there and 6Go on my SSD and I'm talking of the main program only. When the download manager started it dowmloads and installs in folders on my SSD again no option to stop it and you can't change the folders it's running until I get install failled but with the DIM still running, I had to restart my computer to stop it.

     

    So what can I say? Sure you can configure where to install the content and make it work but it's not user friendly at all and you better have at least 10Go free on you main drive at the first launch or you're in trouble (edited ~mod).

    How hard it would be to add in the first install window an option to specify every folder and to have ALL the programs and content installed in that folders? Not much IMO, users with SSD as C: are not rare and it'll be very usefull for them.

    Post edited by Cris Palomino on
  • jestmartjestmart Posts: 4,449

    The change to auto download and install default was IMO a mistake on DAZ's part (I urge everyone to send in a feature request to undo the change).  It can be avoided simply by checking Work Offline the first time DIM is run then set it up the way you want.

  • fastbike1fastbike1 Posts: 4,074

     You just described what you did, which didn't work. People need screenshots of the Content Directory Manager and DIM install paths in order to help you.

    nemesis10 said:

    Yeah, I did that. It would really be nice if the installs weren't so braindead and worked off the directories I told them.

    How did you tell the installs where to be used?

    I established that in the first post. I haven't been able to keep Studio happy since 2.x.

     

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