Importing existing content into DS 4.9?
argel1200
Posts: 760
Is 4.9 still going to copy all my existing content that it understands/has appropriate metadata on, etc. into the new folder structure? Will this be automatic or will I have to manually do something to kick it off? If not, and if I don't copy it over, will Smart Content still work with the old file structure? Will there be a way to identify what was copied so I can clean up the duplicated content? With enough detail that I can script it? Also, will the new structure be in a new location (i.e. not "My DAZ Studio Library")?
Edit: I have slightly over 1/2 a terabyte of content. DAZ, have you looked into using symbolic links (actual symbolic links, *not* shortcuts) as an alternative to copying the content? Or an actual optional "move" option?
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If DS 4.9 does not aumatically copy old files over, can I tell it to at a later date? How will Smart Content be impacted -- i.e. do I need to import from content for the new smart content to work? I don't have enough room for the copy, so I need to understand if I can even install 4.9 and what the ramifications are.
Content (including Smart Content) already installed still works the same way in 4.9. Currently if you install using Connect it does not automatically uninstall the non-Connect version -- I believe they are working on a feature to offer you the option of moving the old files into the Connect structure (and only download files that have been updated, rather than downloading the whole product again), but I don't think that's available yet.
With existing content the simplest thing you can do is nothing. If you are using Daz Connect in online mode it will still get the metadata updates for your DIM installed products and they will be fully functional without having to move or redownload everything.
You can choose to install products through Daz Connect that are already installed through DIM and then Daz Connect will be able to do the per-file updates of the products. When you do this Studio will save you the download by reusing the already installed file as long as the checksum of the file matches the latest version available through Daz Connect it will then download any files that are missing or out of date. The DIM installed version of the product will remain until you choose to uninstall it with DIM.
and how will this work for those that despise your DIM and DAZ Connect and install things manually? Because you conveniently skip that part of the question?
Nothing will change. If you import metadata on your manual installs it will get updated if you log into Connect, otherwise nothing.
DAZ_Rawb understood the intent of my question and answered it 100% completely and 100% to my satisfaction.
I have a bunch of models, previously installed. Sadly, I had to reinstall windows. Upon installing DAZ 4.9 (with a really big struggle) I struggle to import my entire DAZ Library tree. I looked in preferences >> content library >> content directory manager , changed the DAZ Connect Data directory, to no avail. Add to the DAZ Studio Formats , also nothing happens.
How can I load my existing tree of content??
Did you reimport the metadata from the old machine, or a back-up of the database (though that will be specific to the paths on the old machine)? If not the quickest method would be, with the files in the current Connect data directory, would be to connect DS and reinstall - the system should find the files are already there and use only a very small amount of bandwidth to determine that the version on disc is current, at which point it will be added to the database and available.