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Actors, Figures, People, Presets, Characters, Shapes... how do I make sense of all of these?

Eric LagelEric Lagel Posts: 65
edited December 1969 in New Users

I have been getting a good number of characters in the store, and I desperately try to find them all in the same place.

As explained in the title, I will find some of the characters either under the smart content categories Figures, People, Presets or Shapes... some of them being labelled either as Shapes, Actors or Characters, or INJ.

I am really lost. All I want is just have one place in the smart content pane (be it Figures or anything), where I just have to double-click on a character and it would be loaded correctly in the scene, fully textured.

Have you guys found a way to structure this?

I am going to look at the metadata page to try to find a solution, but any tip you guys have will be welcome!

Comments

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,583
    edited December 1969

    In August they reorganized the default metadata categories to get a comprehensible standard, but not everything has been updated.

  • Eric LagelEric Lagel Posts: 65
    edited December 1969

    So, are you saying that you have the same problem and that you live with it, or have you found a way to organize that mess?

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,583
    edited December 1969

    I have my own set of categories that I started back in DS2, so I continue to categorize things that way, and use that most of the time. I mainly use Smart Content for things like finding textures for clothing or hair, rather than modifiers for Genesis itself.

  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Not all Figures/(sets) are Point click and use. Some things need you to DIAL the setiings to get the results shown in the Promo images. Examples would be Some (most) of the Creature Creator for Genesis, Exolution Morphs for Genesis and Evolution Muscle Morphs for Genesis. They need to be Dialed to the setting you want to use. They are not designed to be one click works sets.

    Morph sets are designed to be used by the user so you can add as much or as little as you like for any figure you design using them.

    And as said before we all must learn how to set up things to work for us. I use Catagories to group stuff so I can find it easy and know if it is a Full one Click figure or something I need to set the dials for myself.

    I hope this helps you understand things a bit.

  • Eric LagelEric Lagel Posts: 65
    edited December 1969

    Well this helps me understand that it is completely messy :).

    I start to arrange things together through the categories, but it will take a long time before I can actually easily drag and drop each of the characters I have purchased. I assumed it would be that simple, but I have to deal with it I guess.

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited January 2013

    It is simple to Catagorise Content it just takes time and patience...after all we all like to organise our content to our own personal taste. But I don't bother with Catagories anymore opting to install content in to separate content folders from the start....all Buildings go in my Buildings folder, clothing, characters, Sci-Fi etc etc all together I have over 30 content fodlers all on an USB Hard Drive and all backed up on another USB HDD. My way of organising content http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/11176/#160909

    Post edited by Szark on
  • Eric LagelEric Lagel Posts: 65
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for the link. Once I've got a hold of how all of these files relate with each other, I'll be able to sort it out better.

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    Which files that relate to each other? Maybe we could help with that too.

  • Eric LagelEric Lagel Posts: 65
    edited December 1969

    I actually made a post about it. Would be appreciated if you can give it a look and let me know if I got something wrong :)

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    For anyone else here is the link http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15003/ to the post mentioned above. :)

  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    edited December 1969

    Szark said:
    It is simple to Catagorise Content it just takes time and patience...after all we all like to organise our content to our own personal taste. But I don't bother with Catagories anymore opting to install content in to separate content folders from the start....all Buildings go in my Buildings folder, clothing, characters, Sci-Fi etc etc all together I have over 30 content fodlers all on an USB Hard Drive and all backed up on another USB HDD. My way of organising content http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/11176/#160909

    Pete how do you make these content folders? Is it done in explorer or right in DS4.5? Is there a tutorial for doing this?

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited January 2013

    I make them first via Windows Explorer then load the path in the Content Directory Manager as shown in the link I provided in my last., Then I start to install the content.

    As for a tutorail I am not sure sorry. But if you have questions fire away.

    Post edited by Szark on
  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    edited December 1969

    Szark said:
    I make them first via Windows Explorer then load the path in the Content Directory Manager as shown in the link I provided in my last., Then I start to install the content.

    As for a tutorail I am not sure sorry. But if you have questions fire away.

    Lets say the supersuit..I want it all in one place I could create a directory called Supersuit and everything I install to that folder, then how do I make it show in the content library?

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited January 2013

    if you look 9 posts up, including this one, you will find a link to all the info you need but here it is again http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/11176/#160953

    Post edited by Szark on
  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    edited December 1969

    Szark said:
    if you look 9 posts up, including this one, you will find a link to all the info you need but here it is again http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/11176/#160953

    SzarkI checked out the link and understand how to make the directories and find them in content directory. what I am not sure of is when you install to my library the install process puts files into different folders throughout the library directory...following your method where do the support files end up like mats. textures etc? Say I am installing a clothing item to the Clothes directory, would the subdirectories be created there too or would I still find them under my library in subfolders?

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    If you look at the thread toward the top of the page you will see my folders on my Hard Drive...If I point the installer/s to say Buildings all files for that building set will be installed to Buildings including all the support files. Yes the Installer does make new subdirectories in what ever folder you point the Installers to.
    Nothing will be installed to the Default "My Library" unless I point the installers there.

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    Ok I hooked my wifes Laptop up to my USB HDD so I could take a screenshot of the my Buildings content folder expanded. All I made was the Folder called Buildings highlighted with the red box...all the folders inside were made by the installers.

    My_content.jpg
    764 x 1001 - 514K
  • DekeDeke Posts: 1,631
    edited December 1969

    I appreciate the attempt to explain the confusing file hierarchy, but even in your set up you have inside the Buildings folder sub folders for Buildings, Architecture, Scenes and Environments (all three of which sort of mean the same thing). Is there anywhere an explanation as to the function of various file types? For instance, why is there a sub-folder for "Lights" in the "Buildings" folder. Why isn't this located in the "Light Sets" folder?

  • KharmaKharma Posts: 3,214
    edited December 1969

    thanks for helping Szark I will learn eventually :)

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    dkutzera said:
    I appreciate the attempt to explain the confusing file hierarchy, but even in your set up you have inside the Buildings folder sub folders for Buildings, Architecture, Scenes and Environments (all three of which sort of mean the same thing). Is there anywhere an explanation as to the function of various file types? For instance, why is there a sub-folder for "Lights" in the "Buildings" folder. Why isn't this located in the "Light Sets" folder?
    ROFLOL Now I didn't say it was logical.
    To be totally honest with you I have no idea why but it is the Vendors that set the hierarchy up. All I can say that if you want you can move any Daz Studio files to anywhere you want just don't touch the Runtime folders, they need to be left well alone.

    This has been a bone of contention for a while, same with Metadata as there seems to be no standard that all Vendors adhere to.

    Kharma yes you will as most of us did but it does take time and one day it will all snap in to place and you will see the light. Took me a good month to get my head around it all but that was with reading anything and everything I could find about Daz Studio and Poser related content.

  • DekeDeke Posts: 1,631
    edited December 1969

    Glad I'm not the only one who finds it....not logical to say the least.

    What do you mean about not touching the runtime folders? I bought some poses and installed them in a mylibrary/people/genesis/poses file and what was installed was a runtime folder. Should this have been installed in the my library/runtime folder?

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    lol
    Sorry I meant don't move anything inside a runtime folder on your Hard Drive. Most Daz Studio content on the Hard Drive can be moved around without affecting Daz Studio finding the content, though I don't do this myself I know of others that do. But without knowing the full details myself of what can and can't be moved I wouldn't attempt it.

  • fixmypcmikefixmypcmike Posts: 19,583
    edited December 1969

    dkutzera said:
    Glad I'm not the only one who finds it....not logical to say the least.

    What do you mean about not touching the runtime folders? I bought some poses and installed them in a mylibrary/people/genesis/poses file and what was installed was a runtime folder. Should this have been installed in the my library/runtime folder?

    You need to install to "My Library" - the Runtime folder has to be directly under your content folder or DS won't see it.

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