I want a New Smart Content Library
EportsBlade
Posts: 71
First off, I am going to use a word that is not understood by some. So here is the word (Esoteric) and it's meaning. A: Intended for or understood by only a small group, specialized knowledge or interests. B: Relating to or being a small group with specialized knowledge or interests.
I think the Smart Content tab is great. But! I whould like a new easy/simple to use Smart Content tab or Content Library or both. One that is not so (esoteric) that I have to spend a term to learn. What I would pefer is one that is as simple as giving a file a name. Such as cars, spaceships, hats or whatever one wishes to name his or her file. With the ablity to search for that file and the items put into it. Look at it from a real world perspective. If you had to sort out nuts and bolts by size or the stuff one has in his house: chairs, sink, dishes, pots and pans and so forth. And a file clerk/search engine who knew every bin/file he had by name, date and the creator who made it. Now! That would be a perfect library!
Can it be done? Well! I am wishing for it!
How about it Daz? You guys have done great things for Studio so far, can you add one more?
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Are you aware of DazStudio's ability to create sub-directories? It's a way that you can set up directories filled with specific stuff. So you could create a sub-directory just for Genesis 8 Female, or one for just Furniture, or one just for Sci-Fi themed items. It's really pretty handy. I have one set up just for developing new content, so that I can it separate from the rest of my runtime. And the nice thing is that you can point DIM to load the content into the sub-directory of your choice.
Here's the steps to setting this up. First you need to go to your hard drive, where ever it is you want your new sub-directory to live on your computer. Just create a new folder and name it whatever you want. "Orange Things", "Genesis 8 Males", "Vehicles". You can create however many sub-directories you want. Then go back into DS and in the Content Tab up in the scene hierarchy pane, highlight the "DAZ Studio Formats", and then right mouse click on it and select "Create Base Directory". Then you'll get a new window pop up, and from there you navigate to where you just set up your new sub-directory folder and that's it.
Then you'll need to point DIM to your new directory that you want to populate with your specific items. I don't recommend dropping the main directory, because it's good to have a main content library as a fall back. And it's fine to have products loaded into multiple sub-directories, so you don't have to move anything from the main runtime. Just remember two things. When you add a new sub-directory, in the scene hierarchy pane, you won't be able to alphabetize the sub-directories. And the other thing to remember is that when you point DIM to one sub-directory, it stays on that directory. So you have to keep that in mind so that you don't accidentally install content where you don't want it. (My tip is to install content into the main runtime and then install it in your sub-directory and then point DIM back to your main runtime so you never have to think about it, and you're installing the content in your main runtime as well.)
While it's not a perfect solution, it at least will get you your content isolated in ways that you'll be able find it when you need it. I'm all about sub-directories and when I learned about them, they've made my life so much easier getting around in my runtime.
There are also tags, which allow you to assign keywords to an item and search by them (or, having found one item, click the tag name to search out the rest).
Oh, that's cool, Richard. I didn't know about the tags. Hmm...that'll make even further refining my sub-directories much more complete to how I want to find things. Cool!
I just manually organize my content on my own especially things like poses. I take them all out of their vanity folders and create categories based on pose type and generation. No more hunting. So now If I look for a couples pose I can find them. I have zero time to navigate the current system which puts content in so many odd places.
i don’t think the current system can be fixed but they could start to implement a new system which would put environments in the environments folder not say in props... I wouldn’t mind dealing with the messy legacy
B-b-b-but...I love my vanity folder.
(J/k. Lol) I think it's fine to move content around to where you want/need it. That's one thing that I appreciate about DS is that ability to move the content around to where I want it and not have the program flip out.
As an aside, I think Environments shouldn't be showing up in the Props folder. It's one thing if it's just a prop for a particular environment, but then it should still be under the Props folder without the whole environment.. But there shouldn't be an Environment set under the Props folder. I think that might've been an older product before DAZ started having us formalize where we put our content when we make them. But without knowing the product in question, I'm only making a guess here.
There are lots of instances where products get misfiled because of the age of the product. I can probably rattle off ten or twelve off the top of my head. This is why Daz a few years ago came to the PAs and asked us to set up our product content files a certain way. But the way we set things up is NOT to say that customers can't come in and move things around to how they would prefer content to be located.
As a relative beginner, I can't tell you how much it cheered me up to read that a noted PA is still finding out new stuff. Where would we be without Richard?*
*And a great many other helpful, knowledgeable souls, of course.
Yeah I admit to probably weeding out vanity folders. Probably about the only ones I leave are yours an i3s. I keep i3s together because of their penchant for partial poses which is useful to find In one section. But I also make duplicates and add them to my various folders like couples and combat etc for ease of use.
I do remove characters from vanity folders because it’s just another layer I have to click through and I don’t know all the vendors names. I do know the characters names though.
With environments I remove them from the weird subcategories like architecture and outdoor. Those aren’t used consistently. I then make subfolders like bedroom, sci-fi, etc. I have even been known to take props out of the props folder and put them with the corresponding environment because furniture for the bedroom is much easier to find if I put it in the bedroom folder under environments..
it’s not an environment but it’s easier to locate kitchen accessories in the kitchen environment folder than to check two sections.
i try to put all Iray lights together and all hdri together. Lights are another one that are in multiple locations. I honestly don’t care why some are in lights and others in light presets and other in environments.
Props can be abused and misused and poses with props tend to get moved to the poses folder since I’m more likely to look for a restaurant pose set with poses than I am in the folder containing drink props or in the environmrnt folder.
i try rather unsuccessfully to put all food together. Unfortunately short of going back to making products I don’t have a way of dealing effectively with Poser food content which is about half of my food props.
Ive started a secon runtime for the newer Poser content but older stuff from Daz that still installs in Poser directories is quite difficult to find.
One thing I get frustrated with is when couples poses are split up by gender. If I have to go to Genesis 8 female reposes category to find the corresponding female pose I just copy and paste them in with the men. Since I tend to gender bend poses I want all in one location. I also move all the couples poses in the Genesis root folders the Genesis 8 male couples folder. It makes it easier to find. I also move weapons to one folder and poses for weapons into the combat poses folder
My goal is to be able to find stuff faster. It doesn’t always work but my categories make better sense to me and reduces the clicking
All right guys! So far you all have being a great help. But I still say the above could be even more simplied and user friendly. And of course, not be so esotric for new users.
With any new tech, the users always coin new tech terms. And it is understanding these new terms that is key to getting a newbe like myself (to Daz Studio) started on the right path to being a good pilot of Studio. That being said: FeralFey you used the terms: Main Content Libary, Main Directory and Main Runtime. Are these all one and the same terms? Off hand, I am an old Poser user of 10years. But that does not fully count to my know how with regards to Studio. The way the content is set up in Studio is the other side of the moon in Poser. All in all, I just want to make sure I understand you correctly with you (Main) this and that references.
Also, the term Vanity folders was used. Can someone please tell me what that term is, just so I know.
FeralFay your know how on sub-folders was very, very helpful. Thank you!
Vanity folders are folder named after the PA or group of PA's that make the product.
AH! Now I understand! Thank you Serene Night! Now your info about poses makes sense and that in its self is very useful.
Hey EportsBlade! I'm glad I was able to help. And to answer your question, Main Content Library/Main Runtime/Main Directory are pretty interchangeable. I should've just stuck to one of those terms in order to avoid confusion. So, I apologize for that. So allow me explain a little further.
When you install DS, it creates two specific directories - Daz Studio Formats and Poser Formats. (It might also create Other Import Formats, but it's been a while since I've done a clean install. My content upper field (the area above where you'd find the products in your Content Tab - and for the moment I've completely forgotten the name of the field) has it included, as well as a Products and a Categories folder.
Under the Daz Studio Formats you'll find find the Daz Connect folder (which is a runtime and a directory itself), My Daz 3D Library (which is also a runtime and a directory) and probably a My Library (again it's another runtime/directory). It's under the Daz Studio Formats where you'll want to set up your sub-directories. Each of these libraries will have sub-folders (ie: Environments; People; Props; Shaders; Scripts; etc...) And it's kind of similar to how Poser's library folders are set up. (Props = Props; Figures = People; Camera = Camera; Lights = Lights), however where Poser has a Materials; Clothing; Hair; Pose; Hands folder, DS puts the those folders in the same folder(s) as the product. It makes it easier to find the texture files for an outfit, if the materials folder is under the outfit in the content hierarchy. Same thing for the poses, hair, clothing, and hands. It's a slight difference, but once you understand where to find what you're looking for, it's pretty simple. Or at least I think it's pretty simple. But I totally understand that if you've been doing something for a while, it takes a bit of effort to learn the new way of dong things.
I hope this helps. And I hope that if you have any more questions that you do not hesitate to ask. I love to help, as do quite a few of the community members. (Personally, I figure the more folk I help to find their way around DS, the more they'll use it and and want to keep using it, which ensures that DS will be around for a while. I love making content, and I want to keep doing that. Plus, DS is a pretty decent program.)
here is my problem, there is a certain point when organizing models singlely is nearly imposible.
If you have thousands of packages and each of them has 20-50 items....good luck sorting.
I am hoping someone smarter than me comes up with a good solution :-P
You can caegorise a whole set, or even several sets, by right-clicking on a folder in the Content Library under one of the ... Form,ats headings and choosing Categorise.
Ok everyone. Thanks for your help and for pointing things out for me. All of it is very useful with the current Studio program. As a side note: I had forgotten that I had bought a tutorial on the subject "Mastering Daz Studio Content". It was just under 2 hours and was very informitive. With this new know how and your info under my belt: I still have to say we need a new streamlined and "simplified" content libarary of some sort. One that can be categorize/sorted in whatever way the user would like it. But having it as simple as moving ones file/files, dragging and dropping in whatever order the user needed. And still have tabbing and the ablity to keep it in date order or name order and all the the other orders one could think up. But the key importance is keeping it simple, so simple, that a new person could understand it right off the bat.
Look at it this way, we have being sorting stuff out from the medieval days. We put stuff in barrels, marked it with a name. Put it in a spot for barrels in some bulding and told the other person where it was and he could find it the next day or year and pick it up. And that is how simple it was at one point in time.
So why can't we do that now, on a computer for Studio? Keep it simple and easy to use for everyone!
Daz I hope I am not asking too much? But all in all, it is my wish and product suggestion.
The trouble is that "keep it simple" isn't really a concrete prescription - for a suggestion to be useful it really neds to give some ideas of how the process could be made simpler (or more intuitive or whatever) while still doing what is needed.
Hi Richard,
Nothing can really be put in concrete. Until it is created that is. What I am suggesting, is when it is created, they have an idea or a policy to follow, to keep the design simple and effective and avoid unnesessary complexites. If something can be turned into 2 steps instead of 10 steps to do one thing, that in its self is simpler. Right? One has to start someplace, with a plan in mind. And part of that plan could be, to keep it simple and effective.
Or if you wish, the policy could be to keep away from complexites. We did put a man on the moon with a calculator by todays standards. And the only plan they had, was, we can do it. And they did it!
I am not a coder by any means. But I do know if one puts their mind to it, almost anything can be achived in life.
And if it can't be done. Well I am fine with that too. Daz Studio still is workable and effective.
This is just a product suggestion and my wish for some improvements, thats all.
I know a lot of people get touchy about being told this content management thing is obtuse or in strong need of further improvement, but tell me how you would like to sift through the nearly 5700 DS products in my content database and categorize them (about 200 of which are not in my smart products group)? I've already got tons of folders and some stuff even appearing double, and I'm to go in there and make a new file structure and tell DIM to start putting stuff in there? To be honest, when I read suggestions like how others organize their databases, my eyes begin to glaze over and I'm left thinking what? Do what with the what? What about that other stuff? What do I do with that? So I end up doing nothing but letting Daz put it wherever it wants. Now, I've been around a long time, so I have under my content library these folders:
And then under my Smart Content I have these categories:
And if you look closely, you'll see Animals under which I may find Fantasy-SciFi - Air, but also you will see Figures, under which you will also find Animals, Creatures, Mechanical, People, but you will also see People, under which you will find Fantasy-SciFi, Female, Male, Real-World. Now, under which of those would you look for The Hunger if you couldn't remember the name or artist or a tag? It's under Figures, People, Male (because it's for Genesis 3 Male). But that's not where I would look first. Or even second. In this same place you will find Mouse (for Genesis), Hob Troll, Grave Walker, etc. So I sometimes I have an easier time finding a product by actually going into the store or onto Google and searching, than looking through the DS database.
I'd love to have a system instead of looking through dozens of figures in figures and people and who-knows-where, trying to find one person or creature or whatever, when I don't remember the name or the artist, I'd have a tab that isn't files or products or Content Library, but a separate tab that asks me how I want to categorize things when they are first installed. Let me create all the categories, let me tell Daz which cat or cats an item should fall into, then when I go into that category to look for something, if I click on it or hover over it, it shows me a web of all add-ons for that product, and if I have something that allows me to fit an item to a figure it wasn't meant for, it would show me those connections as well. If I hover over a dress, I see a web of all the figures I have that will wear it, even taking into account fits and scripts that Daz has sold or given me. I want Daz Studio to walk me through the process of organizing its content rather than trying to figure it all out on my own. I've invested heavily in this company, and I'm not asking for anything crazy. I don't think I'm wrong. The present system, if it's working for people wouldn't need to be altered, as what I'm suggesting would be an added on process/tab. Then, when I install through DIM, new content would offer me the option of check boxes for which of the categories I've created they would be filed under.
As it is, I'm worried that I'll just end up mucking things up worse than they already are. Look, this isn't personal. I've spent a lot of money for these products. I just want to be able to find everything quickly and logically so I can make good use of them.
I feel the same way!! My main problem learning DS is where my things are.
For Poser, I have a runtime for each main character. With Poser 2014 and 11, I use both, I can add as many runtimes as I want and put everything in under Characters.
I can set up a file called "V4" and Poser will see it as long as it has the folder "runtime" within the file.
Content Library pane>Daz Studio Formats>People>Genesis whichever will have (almost) all content for that figure, grouped by type (hair, characters, clothes...) Isn't that the equivalent, without having to check different libraries?
Is there any way to hide totally irrelevant folders? Something like zYYY Wings, which turns out to be somebody's OBJs. I can't move them because the runtime files (duf, pz2, pp2) are looking for them in that location and a lot of files are now encrypted, which means no "fixing* them. But I'm tired navigating thru dozens of these unnecessary folders.
Back-end files, like OBJs for Poser content, will not show in the content panes in DS unless the paths are very wrong.
Presets are not encrypted but they may be compressed - in which case they can be expanded with the Batch Convert pane or using anarchive manager (I use 7Zip).