How to use DIM and avoid a mess
deeahr2169
Posts: 482
Adding content to studio by using DIM creates a huge mess of files that are installed with no apparent logic, though of course there has to be both logic involved and reasons why the system does this.
If I install content from my account by making a download copy of something, I have the control to copy each part of the file to the appropriate folder within studio. This seems to work well and allows me the option customise where exactly within DS I choose to put content like for example clothing. The individual download file contains the necessary components to instal the item and I can place them into DS myself.
With DIM the item loads into DS but each part of the item seems to be allocated in a random manner. For example the textures of clothing can end up in a folder called poses. The end result is very confusing and makes the use of DIM very difficult. I have to assume that there is some method for directing DIM to load each part of a file into a folder in the same way that manually loading content does. If this is so I have failed to figure out how to set up DIM to do this. Can someone please explain how to use DIM to avoid the mess I end up with….
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DIM basically just installs stuff where the package tells them to (Manifest.dsx) and that is determined by the PA who made the product (I believe). The package will go via Daz QA but they do not correct spelling mistakes or other languages in the folder names and there is no hard and fast rules about where stuff must go. So, as someone who also likes things to be more neat and tidy I just try and avoid looking in the content library folder and access stuff via Smart Content - although that is a different problem given that this is often incomplete or just missing. I guess if you only buy a few things every now and then you can afford the time to place it where you want but if you buy a lot of stuff then that could quickly become a chore :(
Thanks for the explanation which kinda helps...
My problem is I have recently had a number of issues with my machine and have had to re install DS. I cant find anything using DIM and I dont actually use smart content because, as you say it isnt reliable. This means having to install all my content manually to keep things tidy. That would be fine but me being me I keep making errors with the installation and having to star over which is really frustrating. Just have to remember to back up to my external drive each day I suppose...
In answer to your original question, you can't.
But, you dont' have to go full manual install to fix the situation.
As a few options...
1. Organize via CMS.
Just install regularly with DIM, but use Categories to organize your content.
It's not perfect, and has some potential issues. The main one, if the database gets corrupted, you lose everything.
The advantage, however, it doesn't take up much drive space, compared to the next option.
2. Copy/paste.
There's a couple different ways to use this.
The first is to just use the default layout, and copy/paste user facing files, DUF, DSA, CR2, etc., from their default directory to ones of your choosing.
You can do this within studio, so no need to open windows explorer.
The second is to make an install directory, and a working directory.
The install directory is where you point DIM to, and the working directory is where you copy and organize files to and use when working in studio.
The main advantage to copy/paste, you're not reliant on a database to maintain organization.
The main drawback, you'll have double the number of user facing files, meaning a lot of drive space used, and you'll need to manually delete/update the copies if you remove assets, or an update comes up.
3. Link files.
Link files(DJL), are a pseudo copy of any user facing file in studio and work the same as if you'd done a copy/paste, but take up way less space(1KB/file).
This Script automates the process of creating link files, so you don't have to go folder by folder. It can take a long time to run, if you have a lot of assets though. 3hrs is my current record, i have a stupily large libary.
I will suggest creating a separate directory for your link files, and place it at the top of CDM(content directory manager), since the script will place the DJL files in the orginal directory if you don't.
The advantage, in addition to the space savings and not relying on a database, you can rename the files(DJL) to something you understand, and it won't cause problems. Updates won't be a problem either, unless the PA changes the path to the original file. If that happens, you just need to make a new DJL, or edit the existing one. Also, if you use poser files, DJL's allow you have them in the Daz studio formats, so you don't need to switch between the two formats.
The main drawback, is the same as copy/paste, you'll have to manually delete the DJL's if you remove the original file. Also, don't perform a copy/paste or drag and drop with a DJL in studio, it will create a full copy of the original file to be created in the new location. Because of this, only move DJL files in Explorer.
Regardless of which method you choose, organization is going to take time.
This will depend on your asset libarary, and how far down the organizational rabbit hole you want to go.
In my case, i'm at 2, coming up on 3 years, of off and on work to get my content organized, and really cleaned up. And i havent' even gotten through my Genesis 8 Female clothing.
Part of the reason is i'm organizing everything. Jewelry, shoes, coats, pants, etc, as well as their material and/or pose presets, that are part of an asset pack, get Link(DJL) copies in related file folders,
I'm also cleaning up the files themselves. A lot of content has some pretty bad issues, such as pose presets for shoes, resetting the entire body of a character to default.
As such, i'm testing each file, making new presets, correcting issues in DSF files(Support assets), renaming the loaded asset if it makes no sense or is just too generic, creating new zip files, and generally tearing my hair out(lol).
Also, i'm full manual install, but not just for organizational reasons.
If you want to stick with manully installing content, i'll give you a few warnings and pointers.
First, don't mess with the DATA folder. if it's in there, leave it alone. It's far too easy to break things if you don't understand the files and what you can and can't do.
Next, Runtime is kinda complicated, if you're using Poser content. If you're not, just leave every thing alone here. Don't worry about some random texture file(s) in the pose directory, you won't see them when working in studio.
For poser content, only worry about user facing files that are in one of the 10 poser Libraries directories. Those are, Camera(CM2), Character(renamed to Figures in studio or poser, CR2), Face(renamed to Expressions in poser or studio, FC2), Hair(HR2), Hand(HD2), Light(LT2), Materials(MT5, MC6), Pose(PZ2), Prop(PP2), and Scene(PZ3).
Anything outside of these folders, regardless of file type, don't mess with, as they won't show up in studio and you'll break content if you move them around.
Next, moving user facing files from their defaul locations can cause problems. For example, if you move the material preset for a certain character, it may result in the material no longer loading properly when using the character preset. the only ways to corret this is to change the path to the material preset in the character preset, or to make a new character preset, with the new path applied.
Lastly, other than due to dependencies, user facing studio and poser files, can pretty much be put where ever you want.
The only limitation for poser files, is that you must have at least one of the 10 Libraries directories for user facing files for the files to show up in studio.
Hope this helps.
if you have any questions, i'll be lurking as usual.
I have to thank you for your comprehensive reply and the advice contained therein, very helpful. For myself I am neat freak, and I am retired so messing around with DS keeps me out of mischief, sometimes! I wanted to try and use the old V4 content of which I have a lot, but decided that instead I would concentrate on G3 and G8, right now G9 is a step too far for my brain to cope with. The number of files involved is however still huge and while I know I wont have the patience to spend the amount of time that you have, I have been working at it in the lated attempt, and only have about 30 million files to go, so heres hoping....Again thank you so much for you advice
I use a version of option 2, copying and pasting content into a completely separate file structure. It took about a week to get everything organized, and it does require updating files when I install new content. However, the time I save by knowing where my files are and not having to search through Content Manager is well worth it. I don't have to spend time trying to figure out which PA made which item or try to remember the (usually, oh-so-dreamy) name of a particular item.
I let Content Manager install everything into their default folders and have set up several new folders at the top of the directory tree. As DrunkMonkey indicated, DO NOT MESS with the default folders -- just set up new folders in whatever logic makes sense to you and copy/paste your content there. For example, my top level folders are people, lights, shaders, effects, cameras, architecture, nature, etc. Inside of those I paste content. One of the main advantages of doing it this way is that I can name things anything I want and place them into whatever categories I want. So, instead of a dress named perhaps "Calypso Blue", I can put it (and all of the files associated with it) inside the "dresses" folder and call it "light blue dress".
I can also put content into multiple folders. For example, I can put all of the content for an item into one folder, and then put any of its effects or shaders into the "effects" folder, "shaders" folder, or into both if I wish. So, yes, it's a bit of a chore to copy content into these folders, but the advantage is that files are organized for the way that I use them. As a result, I can find content quickly and not waste time searching endlessly for stuff and asking myself the question, "wait -- where is that item again?"
Doesn't this create duplicates of the files? How do you copy the items to the new folders?