How to use your file manager system to organize your content.
DAZ_Spooky
Posts: 3,100
I have been asked how to set up Daz Studio to use the file system to organize content the way many of you are used to doing. Note this has been jokingly referred to as 1995 mode. 
While it isn't the recommended way to do things, because we believe a relational database is the best way to organize your content, we do recognize that many of you prefer to do things this way. We have included a method to allow this while, at the same time, allowing content to be updated using Daz Connect.
Remember that while there isn't a limit on how many content directories you can have, Daz Studio works best with 10 or fewer.
Step 1: Install your content using Daz Connect.
Step 2: Create a Content Directory (folder on disk) where you want to host your content. (In this example I am using the same directory where Daz Connect is installing content, but that is not necessary.)
Step 3: Using the Content Directory Manager, make sure your directory is added to Daz Studio.
Step 4: Either in Daz Studio or in your file browser, create any sub-directories you want.
Step 5: In Daz Studio, from your choice of Smart Content, Products (Content Library), or Categories (Content Library), copy and paste or drag and drop to the appropriate folder that you just created. Note this does work with multi-select and can be a temporary folder if you prefer. This will create a small (approximately 4K) file in the location you chose with a .djl extension.
Step 6: You can use Daz Studio to go to your folder in the file browser.
Step 7: You can now move these files around using either Daz Studio or your file browser, and you can organize them however you want.
Important notes:
- These djl files are links to the original files, like Shortcuts or Aliases in your OS, so they will not uninstall if you uninstall the actual content using Daz Connect.
- Also like Shortcuts or Aliases if the name of the base file changes then the djl file will no longer work.
- Unlike Shortcuts or Aliases if you move the location of your Daz Connect installed folders, these will still work.
- These djl files can only be within Daz Studio base directories. (They do not work in Poser Runtime folders.)
- If you put a thumbnail and/or a tip file with the same name next to the djl file then that will be what is displayed. If you do not then it will read the image from the base content that it was created from.
- You can rename the djl files and it will not affect how they work.
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Comments
Outside of DS, can you double-click a .djl file and have it open DS and load the content? In other words, is .djl a registered file type to the OS?
Out of interest, why not just use a standard operating system link file (.lnk in Windows)?
How does one overcome the Local User "umbrella" folder where previously created user data has been dumped into?
Also I've noticed that when I log in, which I'll probably do for the foreseeable future, the Smart Content pane holds DAZ Studio hostage for up to a minute while it's doing it's thing. That's really not optimal!
Also, IF we are stuck with this Local User thing at least let us assign a main icon to it rather than that unattractive one that's there. I'd put my Wolff head on there and since I use that allot I'd see it. I'd much rather have my home spun user metadata along side the rest of it. I'll need to touch base with Hivewire. The old system would have the Hivewire content with images in the Smart Content but now items like Dusk, Dawn, clothing for them and the Hivewire Horse are all those generic icons .... So not sure what happend there.
The .djl shows the correct icon and content type overlay, and group I think, which might be tricky (and slow) with a generic shortcut. It's also then clear which are shortcuts to content and which to, for example, folders left theer to help with content organisation in a file browser.
If you mean the Cluster Directory on your system drive, you can copy it where you like with Studio and the CMS closed, then reopen Studio and update the directory there, before deleting the original. I've never let any programs run files on my system drive that weren't absolutely critical, especially since switching to a SSD. I read that long-term repeated file overwriting can lead to dead sectors, (moreso than disk drives) so I do what I can to make the drive last for as many years as I can get out of it.*
Make sure to point the cluster setting to the same relative folder, "cms," not one inside it. If you're referring to one of the content folders, I believe the same procedure should work with the other settings. All of my folder settings and relevant folders are aimed away from my C: drive. The system will get confused or lock you out if you try to move things with the program running and it may give you an error if it tries to load something you moved while it wasn't looking, but once you have everything where you want and tell it where to look, Studio should be as happy as you are.
* - Rethinking, it may have been file fragmetation (due to rewriting or moving) that was the route of my decision there, as the fragmentation can eventually prevent larger files from fitting into any given sector. I don't remember the details clearly, but defragging was said to be a bad idea and is usually not necessary on drives with no mechanical read delay.
OK, so I've located my cluster f... folder ;-)~ All the files are encrypted so I can't even look to see if there are doubles or something that's causing this weird "Local User" thing. See below for the icon in the Smart Content pane and then what's inside that icon when it's double clicked. So you think moving my Content Cluster directory elsewhere will repair this? Are you suggesting that I start from scratch if so why not just delete all the folders and files in the default location and have it rebuild from there??
Well, thanks for trying Daz but this 1995'er was looking to sort files, not set up links. I personally was hoping Connect could be made to DL to a temp folder and sorted from there like DIM does.
I don't use smart content so I've never worried about breaking metadata and I've never called CS to help me find my files. :) You can even have your encryption if I can have my file sorting. LOL
I'll just use 4.9 like any other release without Connect and keep hoping you don't shut Dim down.
But again, thanks for trying. I'm sure others will be happy enough with this solution.
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Did you have your user data categorized in DS4.8?
Yes, I did and it all showed up along side all the rest of the categorized content regardless of where it came from!
So your own categories did not migrate over? Did you export user data in 4.8 and try re-importing metadata?
Hmmmmm. That makes sense, I suppose, but I'm not really convinced that the answer to the requirement is to implement this link system. Without speculating too much I would have thought that the answer to this lies in metadata attributes combined with a filing system view that is enhanced by them. So an item "Up in the Air.duf", which is physically stored in "... Cloud/SKU_nnnn", or whatever, has an attribute "UserLocation" which is set to, say, "People/Genesis 2 Female/Poses/Impossible Positions/Up in the Air.duf". When the Content Library View browser opens the branch "People/Genesis 2 Female/Poses/Impossible Positions" it reads (from an indexed table in the CMS) all the UserLocation attributes for that branch and displays those as assets just as if they were physically there.
That would remove the need to create a new file type, plus the overhead of link files all over the place. It does, however, require a good, properly indexed database design and a bit more work in the Content Manager. PLUS it puts everything in the CMS. But this is getting a bit too far into the realms of speculation so I'll leave it there.
Okay, your issue isn't quite what I thought it was, Wolf man. What I suggested could give you a little more control, but I don't think it's directly related to the Local User folder/file you have.
(Research, research, research...) Yeah, not related at all. I have not explored the Smart Content panel enough...much at all before 4.9, actually. It looks like Mike's on the right track regarding the user data import, as that product is a catch-all, according to documentation.
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/panes/smart_content/products_page/start
(DAZ is keeping documentation up-to-date, by the way. How weird is that? Not complaining!)
As I said, I've not used Smart Content, so it didn't even occur to me to export the user data in the first place. Between that and a mess of old Poser-format files, I've got 6254 assets in the Local User product. :P I'm a few years past needing to trim away files I'll never use and better organize what I still like.
Outside of encrypted content, you can simple locate your Connect folder, and then the product-ID of the item you are looking for. In that folder, you'll find the regular, unencrypted content structure that wou'd also find inside a ZIP file. You could basically move it from there to whereever, and sort as you please, as long as you don't mind updating, CMS and stuff like that.
Here's an example - I have 4.9 installed on my laptop, and my Connect folder is set to ".../Studio/MyLibrary". In there, DC creates a "data/cloud" subdirectory, in which you can see the subdirectories of the installed products. I opened one (1_19759) to show the subfolders you also have with regular installation in your ZIP folder. It misses the "content" topfolder, of course.
This here shows the subdirectores for Cory 6. You can see the "1_21417" product ID folder, and from there it drills down as usual. So you could just do your usual content sorting thing, of course not in the DC "cloud" folder but your own folder structure...
You can set it that way, but it is not registered with the OS.
As stated uysing OS means creates issues in most use case scenarios.
The vast majority of files that you can download using Daz Connect are not encrypted, though they may appear to be encrypted because they are compressed using Gzip. Now there are roughly a half dozen that are Encrypted, which are marked as such in the store, and those are indeed encrrypted.
Weird Local User thing? Your custom Metadata should be in the Local User "Product" that means the migration worked correctly.
Thanks for taking the time Bee! Ok.. so let me get this straight. :)
I buy Stonemasons new Cloud pack. DL through cloud and find the product folder. Open it up and there's a data folder, props, and runtime. I can just copy all 3 folders somewhere else and then use windows as usual to rename/merge into my existing library? And move on with my life? LOL
If true, I wish someone would have said this months ago and saved some of us some heart ache!
Just a note. This is not supported, not recommended and likely to break things.
You could do that, but Connect won't be able to update the files that you have moved so I don't really see the point of using it rather than staying with DIM in that case.
Yea, I did a backup of my user metadata and it DID import in but it's under that umbrella as I mentioned and posted screen shots of. It's not along side of the rest of the metadata, I have to dig a bit to find it.
Yea, and I keep saying I don't like my user data under some weird ass icon that I have to click a couple of times to get to it. It's not inline with the rest of the metadata. I wish you guys would of thought of a more ELEGANT way to keep user metadata INLINE with the rest of it like putting an additional inner tag on it to keep it safe rather than have it stuck under this umbrella with that HIDEOUS icon as the header.
Local User should show up as the product name. In categories and in the Files section of the Smart Content Tab they should show up as they did in 4.8.
They are not though, they are showing up under an umbrella icon called "Local User"
That is a product.
First, if I'm copying, Connect should be able to update anyway the same way DIM does updates even though I dl to a temp folder. :) All it knows is that I downloaded a file and now there is an update. :)
As far as DIM, who knows for how long it'll be around? They say no encryption for the near future and here it is. They say once DIM users drop off they'll shut it down. That could be tomorrow because we'd never know if it's true or not. Trust has become an issue.
I have no intention of giving up DIM. I'm just making a Plan B if I need to. LOL Because my other choice would be to not shop here anymore and I seriously don't want to do that.
Except for me this new system is broken already. What else would break besides smart content? I don't use it anyway. And they'd still be there where connect put them. :) But also safe in my library as files and not links.
Links are only good if the original files are there. If those crap out so do my links. My files are all safe and backed up multiple times.
I've been doing this what? 17 years? I have runtimes AND zips going back that far. So no, this new method will never work for me and I need to come up with a work around.
But as I said above, I'm sticking with DIM until it's not an option anymore.
Connect and DIM work a bit differently for updates though: DIM basically reinstalls the whole product while Connect can update a single file if needed. So it might not like not having the files where it expects them. Unless you simply copy them and not move them?
Considering that you can't install everything with Connect I don't see DIM going away for the moment: Connect doesn't work for Exp figures, can't install DS plugins or DS updates right now, can't install DAZ other softwares, and can't install products outside DS (content for use in other software or things like photoshop brushes for example).
Things have changed in the past 17 years. So again, not recommended, not supported and likely to break things, in addition to Smart Content. Use at your own risk.
Perhaps to you and who ever though this idea up but to me it's not a product but a bunch of products that have been stacked together under an umbrella. I guess until you guys decide to make this truly integrated properly I'll forego using Smart Content because this pisses me off to no end that I keep being dismissed like my thinking is wrong, it's not wrong, it's logical and this is not logical to MY way of thinking. Thanks!
You are looking at a product view. In order to look at a product view, you have to have a product, that is the product. Using the File view (Smart Content), or category view (Content Library), it will give you what you expect.