dzinstall.ini is not crated by Install Manager, it was created by the manual/stand-alone installers Install Manager can read it to see what their paths were. It isn't needed for a purely DIM/Daz Central path to application installation.

Richard Haseltine said:

Only the current version of the General Release will be opened from Daz Central or by double-clicking a native file - the betas are not set to be a default action, and any version you move to a new location will lose its file associations.

Good for any of us Beta users and older GenRelease to know this in b/w.  It seemed like a reasonable explanantion, based on my descrip above.  Now its clear.  Thx for b/w confirm.

This still leaves me wondering why my latest 4.21.0.5 recognizes Limbstick dse right from DS, and not so for others.

Only the current version of the General Release will be opened from Daz Central or by double-clicking a native file - the betas are not set to be a default action, and any version you move to a new location will lose its file associations.

I tried what you said and it didn't work. That way all the morphs are reset, the problem I have is that only a few of them are reset. It's happened again with a new scene and exactly the same. The duf file still shows the original image, but quite a few morphs have been reset. I've seen it also happen when I simulate clothes, but that's reversible by pulling back. I think all this is happening to me since version 4.21, but it's a I think.... I tried restarting daz studio from daz central and it didn't work.

kwannie said:

Since I have a brand new build, I have to move everything over I was simply going to log on and download a new DIM to the new hard drive and could not find where to download the latest version of DIM all they have is DAZ Central. Has DIM gone by the wayside? I have it installed on my other system and it is stll working fine. Dhould I just use the current installation executable for DIM that I already have, or are we going to have to start using DAZ central?

https://www.daz3d.com/install-manager-info

Since I have a brand new build, I have to move everything over I was simply going to log on and download a new DIM to the new hard drive and could not find where to download the latest version of DIM all they have is DAZ Central. Has DIM gone by the wayside? I have it installed on my other system and it is stll working fine. Dhould I just use the current installation executable for DIM that I already have, or are we going to have to start using DAZ central?

Richard Haseltine said:

NorthOf45 said:

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... 

The files are in the same place relative to their content directory, the system doesn't need special metadata beyond isntallation method to tell it where to look in each case.

The difference I saw in the case I referenced,was a difference in data such as compatibility, category, etc., i.e. the guts of what makes Smart Content smart.

Unfortunately, still no success. Tried it at least five times and installed it through Central and Install Manager, and even had an attempt in installing manually – nothing works. 

NorthOf45 said:

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... 

The files are in the same place relative to their content directory, the system doesn't need special metadata beyond isntallation method to tell it where to look in each case.

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... 

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.

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

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.

If you are sure that the Connect version is uninstalled try reinstalling through Daz Central/Install Manager and see if the error finally goes away.

rlewisfr said:

 

Ok, thanks to the advice, I have put Rory in a corner to think about what she has done for a while, and now all of the ladies are showing their true, fine colours.  I had to go in to the /data/.../morphs/ folder and remove references to the Rory morphs (as I do manual installs rather than auto from IM or Central), but after that it is great.

Again, can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Ooh, now that I look at Rory's product page, I can definitely see where the extra features came from. I'm glad it was just that easy to take care of. I had at one point downloaded something from a Patreon and it overwrote the G8 core character, so even uninstalling everything from the character I bought didn't help - I also had to purge G8 Essentials. I learned to be a lot more discerning after that.

SapphireBlue said:

rlewisfr said:

SapphireBlue said:

@rlewisfr I think something else is going on here - those faces are not the proper faces of those G8/G8.1 characters. I think you might be in the unfortunate situation, where any G8 or G8.1 you load is loading in with an extra morph. It sometimes happens due to an error in a recent character purchase, where the character is dialed in with each other character you load.

In DS, select one of those G8/G8.1 characters you rendered before and check your parameters / shaping tab. Select the "Currently Used" option. Check through the list there to see if you've got some other character dialed in that the one you loaded. You may want to uninstall that other character for now to prevent this from happening. Others may have a better solution. Hope that helps!

EDIT: I'm going to hazard a guess that maybe you've got Dolly's head dialed in with those other characters. If I remember right, Dolly might have been a free gift for new members, and she has those features of big eyes, narrow chin etc. Just a guess!

Wow, thank you so much SapphireBlue, much appreciated.  Yes, turns out there was some LY Rory Head morphs and a double on the RY Xara Head (Non HD) being added for some reason:

When I removed the offending morphs, things got WAY better and closer to the advertising material.

Is there any way to prevent this from happening to each G8/G8.1 load I do, or is this something I have to check each time I fire up a model?

Again, thank you so much for the assistance, I really do appreciate it!

I'm glad it helped! 

So firstly, you need to put RY Xara's morph back in!! The 2 RY Xara morphs are 1 for her head shape and one for the HD details - they're not doubling up. The HD details add the finer details for close up renders. You can dial that down for distance renders etc, but the first one is her actual head shape. Without that, your render now is back to the basic G8 head shape only but with RY Xara's skin. 

If you notice that LY Rory is dialed in everytime you start DS and load in G8/G8.1, then my only suggestion is to uninstall her for now and send a ticket to DAZ to see if there'll be an update for the character fixing that issue. Others here may know how to fix the issue in her files, but I don't have a clue about that I'm afraid. Right now, it seems LY Rory is the only problem here, so uninstalling her should prevent this from happening each time you load a G8/G8.1 character. So now I hope you can go back to appreciating their totally non ET faces like the rest of us do...  

Ok, thanks to the advice, I have put Rory in a corner to think about what she has done for a while, and now all of the ladies are showing their true, fine colours.  I had to go in to the /data/.../morphs/ folder and remove references to the Rory morphs (as I do manual installs rather than auto from IM or Central), but after that it is great.

Again, can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

Deleting won't help, you need to unisntall from the right-click menu. If you don't DS will keep looking for the deleted files and will give the error, even if you still have files from Install Manager/Daz Central.

Richard Haseltine said:

lenplplpl said:

Oh, I have a similar problem.

I'm a new Daz user (Daz 4.21, MacBook Pro). I plan to model and animate characters in Daz and then export them to Blender for rendering. 

I want to animate benchpress training. I imported the barbell, pinned hands with pins to stay in the same position, and attached IK chains to each hand and the barbell, but as probably more advanced users could guess, it didn't work out as expected (hands sliding etc.). I looked out for solutions and came across the LimbStick script, as it seems to be the perfect tool for such animations. I purchased it and tried to install it, but unfortunately, the error pops up whenever I try to run it ("An error occurred while reading the file, see the log file for more details").

2022-12-15 16:19:24.072 [INFO] :: Loading script: /Users/xxx/Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_83712/scripts/3d universe/limb stick/3du limbstick g3+8.dse
2022-12-15 16:19:24.108 [WARNING] :: /src/pluginsource/DzCustomizeDlg/dsaddonwidgets.cpp(1024): File: data/3D Universe/LimbStick/3duLS.ui does not exist
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [WARNING] :: Script Error: Line 149
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [WARNING] :: TypeError: Result of expression 'wLogoWidget' [null] is not an object.
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [WARNING] :: Stack Trace:<anonymous>()@/Users/xxx/Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_83712/scripts/3d universe/limb stick/3du limbstick g3+8.dse:149
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [INFO] :: Error in script execution: /Users/xxx/Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_83712/scripts/3d universe/limb stick/3du limbstick g3+8.dse

The first time I installed it via DIM, found the LimbStick in the Smart content section, installed it again within Daz Studio, and added it to the script tab. Then I uninstalled it both in the smart content and DIM, and installed it again. Then I uninstalled it and installed it in Daz Central – still the same. Also, I have the impression that the files I installed at the beginning are left in the content library even after uninstalling. I even tried reinstalling Daz (in Daz Central). Nothing seems to work. I guess I can try installing it manually, but as a newbie, I'm unsure which folder I should choose for unzipping. There are plenty of tutorials for 3rd party clothing and hair assets, but I'm not sure if the LimbStick should have the same directory – I really don't want to mess anything up. Also, as it's available on the official Daz website, it feels like it should have been doable in Install Manager.

According to the log it iss till installed through Daz Connect. Right-click on the product icon/container and select Uninstall to get rid of that.

Thanks, I've deleted the files. But what is the best way to successfully install the LimbStick and run it? 

lenplplpl said:

Oh, I have a similar problem.

I'm a new Daz user (Daz 4.21, MacBook Pro). I plan to model and animate characters in Daz and then export them to Blender for rendering. 

I want to animate benchpress training. I imported the barbell, pinned hands with pins to stay in the same position, and attached IK chains to each hand and the barbell, but as probably more advanced users could guess, it didn't work out as expected (hands sliding etc.). I looked out for solutions and came across the LimbStick script, as it seems to be the perfect tool for such animations. I purchased it and tried to install it, but unfortunately, the error pops up whenever I try to run it ("An error occurred while reading the file, see the log file for more details").

2022-12-15 16:19:24.072 [INFO] :: Loading script: /Users/xxx/Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_83712/scripts/3d universe/limb stick/3du limbstick g3+8.dse
2022-12-15 16:19:24.108 [WARNING] :: /src/pluginsource/DzCustomizeDlg/dsaddonwidgets.cpp(1024): File: data/3D Universe/LimbStick/3duLS.ui does not exist
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [WARNING] :: Script Error: Line 149
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [WARNING] :: TypeError: Result of expression 'wLogoWidget' [null] is not an object.
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [WARNING] :: Stack Trace:<anonymous>()@/Users/xxx/Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_83712/scripts/3d universe/limb stick/3du limbstick g3+8.dse:149
2022-12-15 16:19:24.112 [INFO] :: Error in script execution: /Users/xxx/Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Daz Connect Library/data/cloud/1_83712/scripts/3d universe/limb stick/3du limbstick g3+8.dse

The first time I installed it via DIM, found the LimbStick in the Smart content section, installed it again within Daz Studio, and added it to the script tab. Then I uninstalled it both in the smart content and DIM, and installed it again. Then I uninstalled it and installed it in Daz Central – still the same. Also, I have the impression that the files I installed at the beginning are left in the content library even after uninstalling. I even tried reinstalling Daz (in Daz Central). Nothing seems to work. I guess I can try installing it manually, but as a newbie, I'm unsure which folder I should choose for unzipping. There are plenty of tutorials for 3rd party clothing and hair assets, but I'm not sure if the LimbStick should have the same directory – I really don't want to mess anything up. Also, as it's available on the official Daz website, it feels like it should have been doable in Install Manager.

According to the log it iss till installed through Daz Connect. Right-click on the product icon/container and select Uninstall to get rid of that.