It is all Gone! Re-install...
EportsBlade
Posts: 71
Hi Daz,
This is a product suggestion for Studio.
First off, my reason and need: over the last few months I had a few issues with bad Windows updates and a dead harddrive. This as you can guess, had me doing clean installs of Windows and of course, the reinstall of all my (Back Ups) art programs and Poser content/runtimes. This in it's self takes hours, but is doable and atomated because of the back-ups I keep....
But! With Studio, that is not the case. It is possible I am missing something or don't understand something being I'm new Studio user. (Those in the know, can correct me and point the way.) But each time the above happened, I had too re-download all my smart content. Sure! The content manager is smart and well thought out... but it takes hours!
So what I would like and I think many others would like, is a (simple) one click button back-up/re-install soultion for Studio content on a local drive. I would even be happy to pay for it, if it works well and saves me time.
Thats my wish and my product suggestion.
Thanks
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Comments
It took me about 3 hours to deinstall & reinstall all my local HD cached DAZ products using the DAZ Install Manager. I have about 2000 DAZ products.
They do have a check mark in DIM where you can check all products at once and then 'install after download' which means if you've already downloaded the content all the installs run by themself after you've started them off.
I surely would not want to manually install separately manually downloaded DAZ products or download again to install as you have to do with the integrated DAZ Studio Content Manager
I feel your pain, having just had a major hard drive failure. My library was backed up, but according to DIM and smart content, Daz wants me to reinstall everything. If I search a product I already have installed I get a connect download link. No thanks. I have always used DIM to find products and where they are installed, buy since going to backup I can no longer do that as DIM sees them as not installed.
Yes, in the 'pecking order' of whether a product looks to be as installed in DAZ Studio 'DIM' installed seems to take precedence. Sometimes I seem to get metadata refreshes that make it look as if a product is not installed some time after installing with DIM, in those cases I install with the DS Content Manger. I have huge library of duplicate DIM & Content manager installs now.
I know this doesn't help in your situation, but I don't use DIM or smart content. I also keep a current back up on an external of my current DS and poser runtimes. When I got my new rig a few months back, I just copied them over to the new system and set the paths in DS, worked perfectly.
Thanks for the info so far. I should have said before and made myself more clear. I do not use DIM except for keeping a backup of my content. As nonesuch00 said, he ends up with duplicates and I found that I get the same thing also. So now I only use Das Studio to download my smart content, It seems Studio has less issues this way. And with everything else, I do manual installs from zips.
FSMCDesigns: As I said before, I am new with Studio. I have 10 years experience with Poser but that doesn't help when it comes to Studio's file system, I found it is completely different and I do not understand it (yet). If you could part with your know how on this subject or direct me to this info, it would help big time. Because in the past I have had no luck on getting what you said to work for me. My mistake could be as simple as copying the wrong file or files. I do know how to use the "Content Directory Manager" to set up the Poser directory. So it is most likly that I am backing up the wrong file or files. For now and the future, I just need a simple solution. Any help would be great!
And as I said before, a simple back-up and restore button from a local drive would be ideal for Daz Studio and its users.
Typically when you install manually you should re-import your metadata. If you installed everything with dim its a simple 2 step process in a very short amount of time, but doing it in DS takes a bit of time depending on how big your library is. What is your objection to using DIM? Does it not work right? Do you just not understand it?
You need to be backing-up the manifest files that DIM writes so it knows what is installed.
Hi frank0314, I know how the Dim works, it is in fact very simple to use and straightforward. I have being collecting content for well over 10 years, so as you can guess, it is huge and a lot of work to re-install. I guess you could say I am experienced too. But not in Studio, I am still learning and will get it right at some point with the help of these forums.
My main reason for posting here is to make a suggestion for a choice. I would like a back-up and restore button built into the "Smart Content pane" so I could have a choice between the Dim and my suggestion. I like the "Smart Content pane" it is very effective and easy to use. It would be a more effective workflow. Think about it, everything could be in one spot.
As a side note and question: Why does a Daz Studio user need the Dim? When he/she can just download his stuff straight into the "Smart Content pane" inside of Studio. And after, with my suggestion, back it up!
Hi jestmart, thanks for the info. As I said before, I am new with Studio. Could you direct me to this manifest file? Where does it live on ones computer?
Hi FSMCDesigns, I know what your talking about on backing up files. I am fine on Poser files, that is simple. But Studio files and getting it to work correctly with the "Smart Content pane" has never worked for me. I end up with missing and ghosted and double install icons. It is a real mess. It is my reason for sticking to just using the "Smart Content pane". I do not get all the those glitches. Anyway, as I said, I was just posting for a product suggestion that I think would be more effective for all of use Studio users.
That is all!
I dislike "Smart Content" and using "the cloud" to store my files that I have the ability to store locally, which is why I use DIM.
It would be nice if the Content Manager tab allowed a seperate local installer cache to be configured to download content on external disk cache and then installed to DAZ library like the DIM does.
Hi daywalker03, I hear you on the "cloud" thing. With me it is always an ownership thing, if it is on my harddrive and I paid for it I own the rights to use it. Thats why I still use the Dim to download my content/zips on to a drive. If something every happened to Daz and they went missing in action, I whould still have a copy to work with.
But from what I have experienced using both options, my choice is the "Smart Content" option. I guess in the end, it is always what works for you the best.
Who knows, maybe after I become more experienced with Studio I may change my choice.
Thanks for your input.
Smart Content is just a filter mechanism. The filter tags are contained by the product itself so whether you manually download & install, install by DIM or by the DAZ Studio integrated Content Manager - if the product has Smart Content tags then it is Smart Content ready.
The "cloud" is in reference to how the files are sourced, not how/where they are stored once installed... which is locally.
There are no installers for Daz Connect... the individual files are sourced from a distributed network (i.e. a CDN, aka "the cloud") and downloaded to a ./data/cloud/#_# directory on tbe local drive. If you want to backup the "cache", backup the ./data/cloud directory.
Hi Cris Palomino, Ok, if I understand you correctly. All I have to do, in order to back up my "Smart Content" data is to copy the cache in my user location i.e. ./data/cloud directory. Meaning the data stored in "My Daz Connect Libarary" And at another date in the future I could just put this data back into "My Daz Connect Libarary" and I am ready to roll. Well! If that is all I have to do, you will have made my year!
So is my understanding of your info correct?
OK, and later then it's simple a matter of copying them back to my new install I guess.
How to though tell this DAZ CMS database to re-scan & rebuilt this local copy of the cloud products installed after say when I do a new clean Windows Creative Autumn 2017 Install?
You will also need a back-up of the CMS database, or you will need to let DS "reinstall" the content (which should involve it cpomparing the checksum for the restroed back-up file to that on the server and then deciding it doesn't need to download, unless there was an update in the meantime).
I am afraid I don't remember exactly the default path to the manifest files as I changed it (and DIM's download folder) so all my content is in sub-folders of a "Content" folder. They where probably somewhere under C:/Users/Public/Public Documents
I see no UI to the CMS database to backup & restore it? Is it in the DAX Studio menu somewhere?
No, it's in C:\Users\YOU\AppData\Roaming\DAZ 3D\cms\ContentCluster for Windows (Application Support/DAZ 3D/cms/Content Cluster for Mac).
See! This is my reason for wanting a back-up/restore button built into the "Smart Content pane" Just so it can be simple for the new guys and easy on the old guys. Daz, I think this would be something that is needed and wanted.
Anyway, thanks for the added info Ricard Haseltine. I see this is not going to be a simple back up of a file. What I would like to know now, is where this data comeing from re; the statements made by Cris Palomino and Ricard? And Is this info documented someplace so I can look at it myself or is this from your own experience using Studio?
Can we make it clear and understandable for everyone? What are all the steps (put in order) to make a correct back-up and also the info to restore it, to a working "Smart Content pane". Is it truly as simple as backing up the files stated by Cris Palomino and Richard? or is there more?
Can someone help on this? Come on guys, I know there is a wizard someplace who knows it all... be nice and share your know how.
Thanks. I copied that whole roaming DAZ 3D directory once (along with the manifests & such from DIM and all the other DAZ stuff) but DAZ Studio gave me lip when I just tried to restore via copy of the old copied data. I'll try it again I guess with Windows 10 Creator Autumn is released I guess.
Just noticed this was in product Suggestions, which is for suggesting products or looking for existing products rather than for help. Move it to Daz Studio Discussion.
I'm not sure how much of this is actually documented, but it has been covered in various threads (backing up was covered seveal times when Connect was first introduced). A full content back-up requires the database (the Content Cluster diectory) and the content folders. If you use only DIM you can achieve much the same by using the Export User data command from the Content DB Maintenance dialogue (Content Library pane option menu - the lined button in the top corner or right-click the tab) and backing up your content dierctories, then on restore using the Reimport metadata command from the Content DB Maintenance dialogue; that way your own CMS data will be written out (to an XML file in the \Runtime\Support folder) and restored, along with the store data, by reimporting. That will not restore the entries for anything installed via Connect, though it will restore the entries for saved scenes containing Connect-installed files and - as I noted above - reinstalling the Connect filse will be quick as the actual content files will not need redownloading.
I had to do a back-up and restore when I reinstalled Windows in February - annoyingly my layouts didn't come across (they semi-loaded on the first run, then reverted to the most basic layout on the second launch of DS), but the content database did - including the Connect stuff.
It was a Product Suggestion from the start, but it turned into something else. Anyway, I am done with this, I gave my suggestion.
As for the other topic, I will go and dig up the info and educate myself on the subject.
Sorry about blowing off topic.
All in all, thanks for the related info.
Needing to reinstall my content I support this suggestion big time :)