Saving disk space by (ab)using DAZ Connect?
CypherFOX
Posts: 3,401
Greetings,
So, I've run out of disk space to store my content library on my main 1TB drive. A long time ago, I uninstalled all V4-specific stuff, but I've found that I still am running out of disk space as I bought more stuff. Sadly, my computer can't take an upgrade without extensive surgery, which I'm just not willing to do.
So I connected a sweet 480GB external flash drive, and moved a few Runtimes over to it that weren't controlled by DAZ's software.
Then I copied the entire 'My Daz Connect Library' onto the flash drive, and made a soft-link to it, and lo and behold DAZ Connect handled it just fine.
This is where I need help:
DAZ Connect and DAZ Install Manager aren't playing nice together. ~94% of my DAZ stuff is installed using DAZ Install Manager (or predates Install Manager).
There's a lot of products where I have both DAZ Install Manager installed versions (in My Library/...) and DAZ Connect installed versions (in data/cloud/...) and I'd like to uninstall the DAZ Install Manager versions. I want to do that, because the DAZ Connect versions are on my external drive, and that would free up disk space.
Is there any way to automatically 'true up' DAZ Install Manager and Daz Connect so that there's only one install of a given piece of content?
I can manually do it, if I must, searching for each SKU that's in the data/cloud directory and removing it from DIM, but I feel like there has to be a better way. Also, it seems like DIM doesn't 'recognize' when something is installed in Daz Connect, so I'd end up with a ton of uninstalled items in DAZ Install Manager.
Help?
-- Morgan
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Comments
I can't test this since I don't use Connect myself, but it looks like there's a simple way to do it in DIM.
Seems to work well for me. Thanks!
Yeah, Daz new 4.9 studio is very security concious. Daz is really pushing this Connect thing and it is annoying. Connect is always trying to get me to use it. I use DIM and Daz is adamant that I use Connect and it is only gonna get worse. I purchased some items and Installed via DIM and it would not show up it (was greyed out) and Connect wanted me to install that way I had to delete from inside Daz studio first and them Delete from inside DIM and re-download the file and Install with DIM twice before it would show up. So I feel your pain. Good Luck
Actually, that items don't show up in the database after DIM install is not something new to 4.9 and connect. I use 4.8 mostly, and I sometimes get this phenomenon, when PostgreSQL hasn't completely shut down after closing studio, when I start DIM (or for some other reason hasn't started properly). The content is installed and there, but not showing up. I don't use Smart Content, though and going though Content Directory and Cathegories usually gets rid of the entire Connect-shebang troubles.
Greetings,
See, there we go @Murgatroyd - no one of us is as knowledgable as all of us! Thank you SO much; I would never have found that on my own!
-- Morgan
When trouble shooting content problems get out of Smart Content and check the Content Library tab, all properly installed and mapped DIM content will appear there. If you can't find it in Content Library tab it isn't installed or mapped properly.
I uninstalled Connect stuff (SQL database stuff), which causes Connect to complain, but I'm ok with that; I have zero use for DRM products; or even a system that has it.
So whilst I have none of the features of connect (I don't consider them benefits) I also have none of the risks associated either. Plus when the DRMed products get unlocked, I might actually pick up one or two much cheaper, or I might have lost interest in 'em alltogether.
Just one thing that could be useful here, if you want to move something to Daz Connect that is already installed through DIM you should install through Daz Connect first and then uninstall through DIM. This way Daz Connect will copy the files (as long as they are the latest versions) from the DIM installed set of files over to the Daz Connect locations and only download anything that was corrupted/out of date.
Greetings,
@DAZ_Rawb Thanks! Right now I just wanted to clean up the duplicated stuff, but I definitely will be using that to move more DIM-installed items to DAZ Connect so they can live on my SSD drive.
I'm happy with the features that Connect adds for me, and now the ability to clean up some disk space from my internal drive makes it even better.
-- Morgan
and as long as they are compressed, I believe.
I modified a face texture and saved it as a copy in the data/cloud folder but studio wont let me use it from there it say's its "out of place" but it's where I need it in the same folder as the other associated files, so I dont have to go looking for it is six months.
I was about to rant about DAZ again but I wont...........
Anyone know how to fix this
AFAIK manually adding items in the Connect folders won't work: it's not referenced as a Connect file so DS won't look for it in the Connect folders, and it's not in a "real" DS content directory referenced by DS, so DS can't load it from its DS content directories either.
You'll have to put it in a regular DS content directory and then use categories / metadata so that it appears with the others in categories and/or smart content.
Discussed in another thread.