Category Icon Duplicates

Tiffanie Gray - IDLM

I prefer to use Categories rather than smart content (just my thing), but most of my categories now have 2 or even 3 duplicates of icons. All of the icons if you right click and follow back to the file, go to the same folder and same product. If you try to delete 1 of them they ALL disappear. If you delete them, and then categorize a new icon from the content library, it brings back 2 or 3 icons, whatever it had before.

I thought perhaps it was because I had 3 userdata files. I have deleted 2 of them, but it didn't change the number of icons.

Any clues how to fix this?

NorthOf45

In DIM, try re-installing (right-click -> Re-install Package(s)) to freshen the database, then uninstall. Go to the custom category and see if there are any orphaned references remaining. Select and remove them all. (Normally, when you uninstall, the references are removed, not orphaned). Install the product again, and the items should reappear in the custom category folder. Worst case is you have to re-categorize if nothing comes back, but there should be no more duplicates.

Tiffanie Gray - IDLM

Will give that a try, thank you.

Tiffanie Gray - IDLM

That didn't work. BUT, I finally firgured the whole thing out.

I had 3 userdata files, they were causing the duplicates, but, I also had to choose one of them, delete the others, and then re-import the Userdata Metadata.

I only seem to have lost a little bit of my custom cateogry work. On the other hand, things are cleaned up quite a bit now, I just have to redo the missing things, and then continue on with my work.

So, fixed now. And left here for posterity, when someone else has the same issue. Or when I forget how I fixed it....lol

 

NorthOf45

Not sure that was the source of your problem. The CMS database is what is used at runtime. User data files are an exported version of your customization from that database, and not used unless you explicitly re-import them. I am now up to 6 user data files when I export (they max out at about 32 MB). If your system exported three, you need all three to restore all your customization. Maybe the extra data was in one of the other two that you didn't use, along with the other stuff that you lost. Were they named UserData_1, UserData_2, UserData_3, created about the same time a few minutes apart?

Tiffanie Gray - IDLM

Yes, they were. But, as of this point, I'll just redo what's missing, after all I've redone it 4 times now....

All I know is that when I Deleted the database, then re-imported the meta data and the Userdata_1.dsx that it's all finally working again, without duplicates. But, I agree that there may be something else going on.

I was working on my other computer, which has a totally different set of user data, and it has "a few" (like 2-6) duplicates, that are acting the same way, and these are Poser icons (Chibi for Kids 4, Kids 4, SheFreak 4, a couple of others). I haven't gone and deleted the data base there, but maybe that will be the key.

 

Tiffanie Gray - IDLM

Well, now i have duplicates showing up again, for no apparent reason in my main custom categories. I'm totally at a loss.

NorthOf45

I've been digging in my own library, and I have uncovered a bit of a mess of my own. Over the years, changing computers, the conversion from Valentina to PostgreSQL, replacing drives, re-importing metadata, etc., has tangled things up a bit. Many entries in the Products section are empty, but I have made Custom Categories with items from those products directly from the Content Library. Verifying the categorization, I see the one I made, but for many, they are also in Lost and Found, a sure sign something isn't right. As for the Product, they are all in LOCAL USER, another bad sign. Very few DAZ products have no metadata at all, so something got lost during installation, or migration, or ...something.

Fiddling with the metadata doesn't seem to clear it up, I guess because there are bad links or references to those items that can't be cleared that way. I have found a bit of a hack that cleans things up without losing Custom categories. It is, infortunately, rather time-consuming, but thankfully preserves the customization. It seems a bit roundabout, but I have been able to do it successfully 99% of the time. 

The problem products invariably end up in the LOCAL USER product, and/or stay in the "Lost and Found" default category even if I assign to a custom category. You can check that out if you want.

Time to do something about it. I have found that "Re-Installing Package(s)" twice using DIM gets entries out of LOCAL USER and into the correct Product. (Don't ask how or why, it works, but you have to do it twice in a row). Go ahead and verify that the Product has the correct contents. (If it doesn't, well, let's assume it does for now). Go to your Custom category and (right-click) -> "Duplicate Category -> Selected Category & Sub-Categories..." to copy it somewhere. Keep it handy, we will be moving it back later (up one level is good). The copy should now have all the duplicate product references, good and bad. (If you made more than one custom category with that product, duplicate each one). If you copy before re-installing twice, you won't get the latest, hopefully good, references to the product's items.

Back to DIM, and Uninstall the product (it will be Installed again later). The original custom category folder (and the duplicate) should now be full of warning icons left over from bad references. Select them all and "Remove Orphaned References", and in every sub-folder, if any. This will remove the orphans from all folders that had them, and should clear out any remaining bad references in the database. Install the product one more time. Check the duplicate category folder, you should have one good copy of each item. The original folder may or may not have a good set of references. If it is all good, delete the duplicate folder. If it is empty, just delete it and move the duplicate into the original location. (Repeat for any other duplicate category folders).

Done. Repeat for any other products. 

If that doesn't clear it up, I don't know what else to do. It has worked for me every time except once (I probably forgot a step).

Good luck...