IceCrMn said:

Wouldn't they need to have different metadata? They have different folder structures?

Not sure about Central, but Connect certainly uses different names for the folders.

Asset location is one thing, the files cannot be ignored, but the associated data (Content Type, Default Category, Compatibilities, etc.) should be the same. I do not know how DAZ manages it, but if it doesn't come from a common source, there will be no end to the chaos.

And, what @Barbult said... 

NorthOf45 said:

Smart Content organizes/categorizes the content based on the metadata, wherever it comes from, and whatever it might be, good or bad. If Connect and DIM retrieve different metadata, well, that's just wrong (timecode notwithstanding).

Back when I used to allow Daz Studio to log in and when I used Daz Connect, I personally witnessed DIM metadata and Daz Connect metadata having different content for at least one product. The Connect metadata was bad and the DIM metadata was good. Of course, as long as I allowed Daz Studio to log in, it would use only the faulty Daz Connect metadata. I don't know if the differing metadata issue still occurs, because I never let Daz Studio log in now.

I'm going to rant now. Feel free to ignore me :

• I have completely given up on Daz Connect because of the numerous frustrating problems that I incurred. (scripts that didn't work if installed with Daz Connect, scripts and plugins installed with DIM that couldn't find content that was installed with Daz Connect, product updates that were corrupted and broke previously working products, etc.) 
• I really got fed up when customer service told me to reset the database, and I discovered that there is really no recovery from that action with Daz Connect, except to reinstall everything. If you reset the database when you use Daz Connect, it shows EVERYTHING as being uninstalled. I had to redownload EVERY product, even though the files were all still on my computer. Daz Connect did not just download changed files; it downloaded every product entirely as far as I could see. Good thing I had unlimited bandwidth with my ISP! With DIM, if you have to reset the database, all you have to do is reinstall metadata from your own computer. It is all finished in a minute or two. You don't have to even be connected to the internet.
• The ONLY advantage I ever saw with Daz Connect was the ability to select a product to install by its thumbnail image instead of just the DIM product name. You still need DIM or some other method to install the things that Connect can't install. Why make your life harder by having to manage two installation methods?
• I have spent countless hours in the forum and PMs helping customers resolve issues with double installation. If a user allows Daz Studio to log in, every product installed with DIM will show an icon saying the the product is available to install with Daz Connect. Customers misinterpret that icon and think they have to install it again from inside Daz Studio. They end up with double disk space usage, all files installed with DIM are ignored by Daz Studio. DIM updates to those products are ignored by Daz Studio.

Wouldn't they need to have different metadata? They have different folder structures?

Not sure about Central, but Connect certainly uses different names for the folders.

Smart Content organizes/categorizes the content based on the metadata, wherever it comes from, and whatever it might be, good or bad. If Connect and DIM retrieve different metadata, well, that's just wrong (timecode notwithstanding).

NorthOf45 said:

Smart Content is not DAZ Connect. Smart Content is a metadata-driven database function, and you get the same metadata from Connect as you do from DIM/Central. You do not need Connect to use Smart Content. Connect is a method of content delivery, nothing more. It has certain functions that might appeal to certain users, as Richard mentioned.

... I don't think anyone is saying that Smart Content is DAZ Connect?

Having said that, DAZ Connect (and even DAZ Central) definitely does retrieve different metadata, especially purchase metadata, from DAZ's servers -- or at least the server throws back a different UTC code than what is actually stored in the server itself because DIM definitely shows the correct information. This can be proven by installing something in DIM, then logging into DAZ Connect and checking the metadata that was overridden with something different. Poking into the database with PostgreSQL verifies this problem.

This has been an ongoing issue, with a recent thread back in November-ish that detailed the still-existing problem.

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/604761/daz-central-arbitrarily-changes-order-on-items/p1

Okay, money put aside now.

The Medieval Tavern is one I just finished loading into the MacBook Pro and adding metadata, and I love how it looks in your promo. I made sure all of the Faveral sets I own were loaded up. Now they will be enhanced.

Thank you so much @Totte.

Mary

Smart Content is not DAZ Connect. Smart Content is a metadata-driven database function, and you get the same metadata from Connect as you do from DIM/Central. You do not need Connect to use Smart Content. Connect is a method of content delivery, nothing more. It has certain functions that might appeal to certain users, as Richard mentioned.

DAZ Connect is useful for the installation of content because it groups content to whatever filters/categories are used in Smart Content. However, it's also incredibly broken because it can't sort by Purchase Date back when the store broke during the migration to the new storefront -- which means it's (almost) impossible to find recently purchased products to install. Even worse is that if I install something through the DAZ Installer, because Connect will override a lot of the (purchase date) metadata that it pulls from the DAZ servers.

The workaround is to sort the uninstalled items by Install Date, which will, weirdly, sort the recently purchased items first.

This is tangentially related to the OP too -- DAZ doesn't have enough people on staff to address technical issues. I've passed this ticket onto DAZ several times, to the point where I stopped using DAZ Connect sometime earlier this year when it was still broken.

Imago said:

Ruthven said:

Io quello che vorrei DAVVERO TANTO è che mettessero a posto i metadata sui prodotti più vecchi e sul sacco di roba che finisce nei "Lost & Found" (oltre a sistemare quelli che sono categorizzati male). Per il resto io sono una grande fan dei database e lo Smart Content mi risulta molto comodo.

Ti basta trascinare le voci nello spazio apposito (o che preferisci) e automaticamente crea i metadata che saranno poi salvati nel tuo profilo. 

Ho qualche difficoltà a capire (abbi pazienza, arrivo a casa coi neuroni bolliti dal preparare buste paga); con "Voci" cosa intendi, i singoli file degli item? "Spazi appositi" sarebbero le varie categorie dello Smart Content? Sii buono e fai conto di parlare a uno A-B-Norm...

All beginnings are difficult, it also took us a long time to learn. Please don't import animations, that's a science in itself and not relevant for you now. Which scaling do you use for the export? Please only import *.obj from DAZ. All textures and all geometry data are imported.

Also worth considering is that you can get some morphs and adjust those eyes to your liking, or even import to some 3d modeling application. Sky is the limit!

brettnuckles said:

I was just coming here to say that I had just realized that option was there! And it works perfectly! Boy am I happy! Thanks for the help everyone.

Edit: Oh man, this is even better than I thought... you can import poses from a .duf with one click? OHHHH man! Why in the world is the "official" importer so much more limited than this?

HEY MAN Im having the exact same struggles as you.

How did you find the tutorial on installing difeomorfic? I like the official addon as its supser easy to install. Difeomorfic is a mess for me, cant find a way to install it.

Ruthven said:

Io quello che vorrei DAVVERO TANTO è che mettessero a posto i metadata sui prodotti più vecchi e sul sacco di roba che finisce nei "Lost & Found" (oltre a sistemare quelli che sono categorizzati male). Per il resto io sono una grande fan dei database e lo Smart Content mi risulta molto comodo.

Ti basta trascinare le voci nello spazio apposito (o che preferisci) e automaticamente crea i metadata che saranno poi salvati nel tuo profilo. 

You can upload the duf file saved as pose preset, it should be a small file.

note. The pose preset is the same file you have to use with "import action", in case you loaded the scene file instead that could be your issue.

semperequstri said:

The only ones remotely similar that I've been able to find are for sale at 3D model specific sites. The gurneys in the DAZ store are more hospital beds than an actual transport gurney- or they are MUCH older varieties.
Some sites can have pretty expensive options ( Turbo Squid) , but I found some workable and affordable options at CG Trader. They aren't morphable and some minor kitbashing may be needed. But you should be able to get something in an obj file format that you can import into DS. 
SketchUp's 3D Warehouse might have a free version. If you have Blender you can use the free SketchUp importer  add on to open the file in Blender and then export an .obj to use in DS

Thank you for the suggestion! I hadn't checked those sites yet. I usually reserve them for last resort. It sounds like you have found some good candidates, so I will take a look :) 

Padone said:

Please upload the animation file so I can test it. There's no way that import action is limited to 250 frames. Is this specific to one animation or do you get this behavior for any animation ?

I don't know, it's my first real attempt at animating in Daz and my first try to transfer an animation to Blender.

How can I upload the animation? Is there a file size limit?

Imago said:

Crios said:

Ok, grazie.

Mi piacerebbe capire perchè tutti ce l'hanno con il database e lo Smart Content e chiedono che vengano rimossi da DAZ Studio.

Io quello che vorrei DAVVERO TANTO è che mettessero a posto i metadata sui prodotti più vecchi e sul sacco di roba che finisce nei "Lost & Found" (oltre a sistemare quelli che sono categorizzati male). Per il resto io sono una grande fan dei database e lo Smart Content mi risulta molto comodo.

hansolocambo said:

It's impossible to express with words the behavior of ZBrush brushes. You're gonna have to practice ZBrush a bit more to understand how sculpting works.

Only advices I could give :

- Work in ZBrush with 3D Layers when doing morphs. Import Genesis with GoZ, or by importing an obj. As soon as Genesis is imported, create a 3D Layer (name it for example Base Genesis). This way if anything goes wrong, you still have the base mesh. And then add layers for each modification or morph you're working on. Be sure to always check that the 3D Layer you work on is the good one, and is in Record mode.

- Genesis is too small for ZBrush's world scale which makes sculpting uneasy. Create a second Layer (Name it for Example Genesis Scale). Then use the Gizmo 3D (Y) to scale Genesis once until your reach "10" (the maximum scale you can do with that tool). This will give you a better control over the brushes' draw size. Be careful to not move the Gizmo. And be sure of course to slide that scale 3D Layer back to 0 before sending the morph back to Daz.

- Then create a 3rd 3D Layer and work on a morph. A 4th 3D Layer and work on another morph. And so on.

- When working on any morph, it's preferable to subdivide the Genesis in ZBrush. 1/ It's a non destructive modifier so no worries, morphs will work in Daz 2/ it'll avoid any unwanted modification of the base wireframe 3/ it'll give you a more precise control when using brushes : the more vertices, the more control you have over your mesh in ZBrush.

The rest really is all about practicing brushes. Your "wrinkles" I guess exist only because they follow Genesis' polyflow around the eyes. So move your brushes following the flow of polygons and you'll avoid creating unwanted details such as this one. The movement of a brush is important when painting, it's also true in 3D sculpting.

Good luck.

Thanks for answering! :)
I tried the suggestion you gave and it worked perfectly for me with ZBrush! Especially you mentioned subdivide, I always thought it would break the character, when I added subdivide to smooth the character, it worked a lot better, thank you very much! :D

The only ones remotely similar that I've been able to find are for sale at 3D model specific sites. The gurneys in the DAZ store are more hospital beds than an actual transport gurney- or they are MUCH older varieties.
Some sites can have pretty expensive options ( Turbo Squid) , but I found some workable and affordable options at CG Trader. They aren't morphable and some minor kitbashing may be needed. But you should be able to get something in an obj file format that you can import into DS. 
SketchUp's 3D Warehouse might have a free version. If you have Blender you can use the free SketchUp importer  add on to open the file in Blender and then export an .obj to use in DS

Updated from 1310 to 1312 and I'm still getting all fingernail textures on my HD import.

anyone else still having this issue? Is there a workaround? I tried just applying textures once imported but the material zones don't seem right.