"My library"; and help me understand categories
Hi all,
I'm relatively new to Daz, having dabbled with it last year and picked it up again just now. I've just done a clean reinstallation, using DIM. So I've got a "MyDaz3DLibrary" (which I've successfully migrated to a storage drive, following tutorials here). But I remember struggling with organization my last time around, so I have two questions:
1. I still have a "My Library" folder in my DazStudio and Poser Formats folders within Daz itself. I assume this is used when one does NOT use DIM. So I assume I can't delete it? I know I'll be installing some things manually; will these by default go into "My Library"? Can I customize where non-DIM-installed content goes? E.g., have a Renderosity folder here?
2. I've read several tutorials on categories, but I still don't quite "get" them. Are they like tags? Are they just another way to organize content, in addition to the MyDazStudio3D library and the alphabetical one? Also, should I put new categories under the "default" categories, or should I make my own new non-default categories? (I love the idea of categories, because I remember last time that the "MyDazStudio3D" library became almost unusable, as different content providers had radically different folder structures, with redundant or similarly-named subfolders that confused me.)
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
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Comments
There is nothng special about the My Library adn My Daz 3D Library folder names, they are just the defaults - My Daz 3D Library for Install Manager installs and My Library foe user-created files and other installs. Having a separate folder for your own files and for installed content does simplify backing up. You can add more content directories, for diffrent stores or different types of content, or consolidate them as you wish - as long as you tell DS what has happened, and don't place one cntent directory inside another.
Categories are a way to organise content without moving the files on disc (which makes maintenance easier), and to have a single item in multiple places from only one copy of the file. How you categorise is up to you - I do prefer to have everything together rather than split, but using the User tree is recommended as products won't meddle with it.
Many thanks for your reply. Very helpful! But what do you mean by the "User tree" -- do you mean the Default tree within Categories? Or should I be adding a User tree to sit alongside the Default category?
Thanks again!
If you open the Categorised dialogue there should be a A top-level category User, and another Themes, below the Default category.
Thanks for your further reply. When I right-click on an asset, I do see the option "Categorize," and when I choose this, I'll see my categories mixed in with the default categories. Mine are marked "U", presumably for User. But I don't see any separate "top-level" listing of my catergories. Nor do I see any "Themes" at all. Maybe I misunderstand what you mean by the "Categorize" dialogue?
What I'd like is my own simple tree of categories, independent of the Default categories. Right now my (few) categories are mixed in with a huge ocean of default categories.
Apologies if I'm being dense! I think I'm missing something. Maybe I'll look for a video explanation.
Please post a screen shot of the Categorise dialogue - thugh snce I am using the same database that I have had fr a while it's quite possible I am seeing something different from a user starting clean.
I appreciate your taking the time to help me. I'm happy to upload screenshots; in this case a picture is probably worth 1000 words. I'll post two screenshots. First, this is what I see when I look at the Categories menu. It's just one big "Defaults" category. I would like to make my own, separate "Selek" category, with a small amount of stuff at first, so I can keep track of what I'm adding carefully.
Second, this is what I see when I right click on an asset and choose "Categorize...". Essentially it's the same list of folders shown above. If the only way to use it is to start slotting things into these default categories, I guess I can do it that way, as they are modifiable. I suppose I could delete most of them for now, in fact? But it would be simpler to start a second "Selek's Categories" list, separate from these defaults, I would think. Anyway, here's the picture:
Incidentally, I have more newbish questions; I assume I should post them in separate threads in this forum? Just one more question for now... Thanks again.
And if you collapsse Default there's nothing else below it?
Correct! I can post a screenshot of that too, if you like.
No, I was just checking since it wasn't in the screen shot. As I said, it's possible what I see is a legacy of an older default setp - in any event, you certainyl can add your own categories at any point via right-click menu.
OK, thanks very much. I'm going to start in on categorizing tonight. Thanks!
If it's any help, I keep all my custom categories separate from the Default tree. Mine will only have what I put there, and nothing else. Of course, now everything is categorized, but I can find what I want quickly, or at least much quicker than before. I did it chronologically by purchase to make sure I did not miss anything, but that took literally over a year, but I think I will make that time back not searching for things in about as much time, and be less frustrated.
NorthOf45, that does help. I've created my own custom Categories tree and am slowly populating it with stuff I acquire.
One silly question: should I categorize my own Scenes and sub-scenes? (That is, scenes I've created and saved.) For some reason I found a couple in the default Categories. I'm inclined to remove those references. The files are easily found with the File menu, so I'm not sure I see the point of categorizing them.
Saved files automatically get saved in the Default -> Saved Files category and sub-categories. The actual files have to be saved somewhere, but what I do is make a category sub-folder for a scene and then folders or references for each product used (if I remember to do it). That keeps everything handy in case I want to modify something instead of trying to remember what I used and jumping around looking for each piece (I know there's a script for that). If you only have a few scenes it might seem excessive, but as your portfolio grows you will want to stay organized.
Ah, that sounds like a good idea. You've got your own documentation for each scene you make! Sounds like a good way to remember what you did and how you did it. Thanks for the suggestion.
There's actually a few products that can take organizing to a new level. Turbo Content, MF Content Bookmarks, VisualMenus, Map Manager, Scene Optimizer, Super Save, Iray Memory Assistant, and probably a few more.
Wow, products dedicated to organization! Cool. Thanks. :)