How Do You Organise Your M4/V4 Content?
Superdog
Posts: 765
I've mainly been using Genesis but recently, since the sales I've bought more M4/V4 stuff.
One of the problems I'm having is finding stuff in the Poser content library. Sometimes products are listed by the devs name, other times by the product name or even by a completely different name. Also materials are in 'Pose' or sometimes in 'Materials' with MAT into front of the name or not. Not to mention that the category 'Props' and 'Figures' seem to have no logic sometimes with buildings in props and guns in figures. I also own a number of M4/V4 characters but I'm having difficulty finding them.
I know the DAZ content library isn't perfect but my Poser content library seems like a real mess in comparison. Yesterday I spent over an hour trying to find the materials for a shirt I wanted to use with M4. How do others organise their content so that it makes sense or are we suppose to learn to remember where everything is? I'm pulling my hair out trying to work out where everything is so any advice appreciated.
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This is my personal method here - http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewreply/32068/
The early Poser versions required material to be arranged by extension for it to load properly. This limitation is gone but things are still packaged that way. As far as I know DS NEVER had the restriction.
I usually put everything for the same garment or set in the same folder
I usually install a new item to a dummy runtime and then move everything to where I'm going to use it.
I also use Runtime Repair to correct the references I invariably mess up when I do this.
This was the "standard"
A prop was supposed to be an unrigged item with the geometry in the pz2 file
A figure or character was a rigged item with a reference to an external geometry (obj file)
An articulate prop was actually a (rigged) figure with moving parts, but not a living creature
Funny, I find the DAZ content area to be much more of a mess because there are no rules. The old Poser rules made some sense, but I still end up using Windows Search a lot. The one area I did a big re-org on was the Runtime/libraries/Pose folder. The Pose folder contains a ton of things that are not "poses". What I did was create a few sub-folders under Pose: "! Clothes" "! Figures" "! Hair" "! MATs". Whenever I get a new item, I unzip it into my Unzip folder, then check the Pose folder. It it's a human/animal figure, the product folder with all the pz2's in it goes in ! Figures. If it's MAT poses for hair, it goes in ! Hair. Clothes go in ! Clothes. MAT poses for anything that's not hair, clothing or figures go in ! MATs. For some well known PAs, I leave their items in their named folder under Pose. I still end up using Windows Search, though.
DAZ Studio does recognize Poser PZ3 files, but only if they are located in the Runtime/libraries/Props folder. (Maybe this changed in newer versions.) I created a !PZ3 folder for them there. Some of them work, some not so well in DAZ Studio.
I reorganized the DAZ content into folders too. I put all the shaders into "!!Shaders" because I go there a lot. I created folders for Environments, Hair, Lights, Materials, People, Pose, Props, etc. Some of these were already there, so I was just collecting strays into those folders.
Phew! This looks more complicated and time consuming than I imagined. I'm going to try to organise content by assets in zip files as Mattymanx suggests but will think about other suggestions too. What I'm worried about is reorganising content and then older scenes won't load properly. I suppose DAZ will ask to locate the missing files which might still be a bit confusing to locate even if I've reorganised the content folder. I'll create a back up of my runtime and then create a fresh one based on as suggestions. At least then I can return to the back up if necessary.
I'm thinking about a hierarchy something like this for example:
Clothing/
M4/Textures
V4/Textures
Other/
Aiko 4/Textures
Freak 4/Textures
and so on...
How long do people devote to this task? Days, weeks..?
A4/V4 are the same textures. M4/Freak4 are the same textures. No real point separating those. With V4, content providers usually refer to "VAGS4" which is short for V4, A4, G4, S4. All MAT files for these are the same, though the character morphs are different.
There are only a few cardinal rules for the Poser content folders. One is that thou shalt NOT move anything in the Textures folder. That will break the pz2 MAT files (DAZ MATs too). The other thing that really irks me about the Poser Runtime folder is that every content provider under the sun created their own folder for the INJ/REM pz2 files that are called from the pz2 files in the Pose folder. There should have been a "Morphs" folder that content creators were required to put their files in that got called from the Pose folder. This is not the case. Moving any of the morph files will break the pz2 files in the Pose folder.
For me, the Pose folder was the biggest. That can take a few hours to go through. Organizing the Props folder should not take as long, if you bother with that. In Props, I created folders for Cars, Guns, Planes, and Weapons (other than guns).
I prefer to use Categories to organize rather than moving the files on the hard drive, that way nothing can get broken.
+1 (and add "hand made product meta-data" if you like,, to see them ,in product pane of smart content)
(I do not against anyone, we should choose most confortable way for eac,,
but I recommend new user,, categorize as you like , but not move each file )
the reason for me,,
If I change actual path to categorize each file of one product package,, DIM can not auto serch the directory.
just believe , all files are located to the directory where I set DIM install with relative path.
when I need to uninstall for up-date or serch one files of package,, etc,,
DIM can not un-install or overwrite all files of product, correctly. and I can not access the file from DIM,
(eg tweak dsf or check dsa etc) . it is same about usuall installer.exe or zip offered with read me.
Need to manually remove each files to up-date , but I can not remenber where each flie
of one package,, was located by my self.
but if keep the first insltaed directory,, or just locate as same as zip package with read me.
DIM and I must find where each files are installed clear..
even though I keep realtive path from root,
the more root content directory(or runtime), the more I may feel difficultiy when I need to gather
them, without I order DIM to install , origina categorize root, about each package,,
How do I organise content using categories? I usually search for content using the folders view because the smart content view doesn't seem to show all my content.
you can use content ribrary>categories section .:)
It should show all items in the category whch you set "without compatiblity ",
(or already catgorized by vendors offered with meta-data,)
you can add multi category for one assets too.
Then you can add sub categories as you like,, or re-categorize all assets with your original categories ,
and sub category, if you really like the way,,
eg you can add each vendor name category as root,, and you can copy and paste all items
from daz offer catogries to your original categories
( I do not touch the daz offered Default categories though,,)
they only change add, remove the reference to the category,, so that it never change actuall file and file path.
But,,, about texture , image files,,we may still need to use exproler, these items can not directly show
in daz studio,, then I need to use folders (DAZ smart Formats, or Poser Fomats) still,,though,,^^;
Though,,, I can not keep clean , it is because I am so lazy^^;
(but I can achieve it if I need,, then may use category,, not move actually directory)
I use smart content for DAZ Genesis/Genesis 2. For Poser I have so many runtimes for different reasons and changes in how I wanted to separate content or needed to add new runtimes on a external hd etc. so I just leave it all where it landed and use PzDB to find stuff... its a product you buy from another 3D store.
I err... cheated.
I added metadata to all my Gen4 content so that it shows up in the Smart Content tab. It means that I can select K4 and see all of the compatible outfits, skins and hair. I just find it generally much easier than browsing through countless different folders for different PA's items.
I have been deep believer of " meta-data and smart content system".
(so that did not overlook when daz offered wrong meta-data fro ther product,,
but nowdays most of them seems clean and no problem,, I become more deep believer of meta-data. (- /\ -)
but make all meta-data for all assets which downloaded correctly
(and if you need try to make product meta-data too,, for A3 or V3 etc,, about all package which you get,,)
is actually kill many time,, sometimes easy frastrate user untill they used to be,, though I have done.
then at start pooint,, I think many user may simply try to categorize , as they like seems best,,
may not need to set compatibility declare,, set scene ID ,gather them in product ,
add small pic, etc,,.
untill they hope to shown them in smart content as same as genesis with stable or multiple comaptibilities.
But I hope all user become meta-data believer like me.. (- /\ -)
That should never be a problem — the files you can reorganise, mostly saved scenes and materials presets, contain links relative to wherever the content folder is pointing to the files for textures and Geometries (for Poser content) or mesh data (for D|S content). These files must never be moved, which is why the whole system works. The links are one way only — you can't break a link by moving a materials preset or a scene file, because the texture etc. files referred to haven't moved.
The Biggest reason to not move files at all IF you use DIM is it breaks DIM as Kit points out. If you get a file update in DIM you can not then just run the update as you moved files. DIM can not remove the files that have been moved. Only the User can do so at that point. That alone makes the best part of DIM useless. Categories can take full customization and will do so for all content installed, Smart content from the Smart Content Tab or content only view-able in the Content Library Tab. I find this better for my work as I can build things exactly as I personally will use them and name the folders things that mean things to me.
Nothing has really been moved on the HD but everything is right where I put it when I want it. And all updates work. No extra step needed except to Export my User Data after every category update I do.
Alas my experience of DIM was not that great which is why I now install everything manually but I'll create categories to organise my content rather than move files.
DIM is just a install manager, it has to be properly configured to be useful but once done I find it very handy. I wish it would handle third party content as well as DAZ 3D content but that simply can not be at this time.