DAZ Studio Mac version: Practically Nothing Works as Promised!
I've had DAZ for several months now and have yet to complete my first render, other than the one that results from the intro tutorial. Every time I try and use this program, I get so frustrated that I quit after about an hour of fruitless attempts to get it to work.
I downloaded the basc DAZ 3D Studio and DAZ Install Manager package and initially had problems with the PostgreSQL-CMS connection that took a very long time to correct - it was eventually corrected after installing v. 4.12.2 BETA for Mac and using a file that had been created by a user, not a DAZ employee.
Now, about all I can do is open a character - sometimes double-clicking on clothing, hair, etc. will work as it's supposed to. Other times, it won't. I have never been able to change the hair color by double-clicking on the Mats - something appears to be happenening, but no change in hair color results. This same thing happens with clothing, props, and every, or nearly every (since I don't keep track after a while due to the frustration!) other character modifier. Sometimes something else occurs: I get an error message that tells me "An error occurred while reading the file; see the log file for more details." But where IS the log file and why is this happening????
These problems are happening with the files that come with the DAZ 3D Studio download and were installed with the DAZ Install Manager.
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Comments
The error is usualy the result of double-clicking some kind of preset with no target selected.
How did this file fix theb PostgreSQL issues? Your other problems ould be down to a less than complete fix.
I use mac and here are all ok!
The error you report is as Richard said, you need to select the object that you want to apply the MAT on scene tab, and after double click on MAT you want.
To pose your chracter is the same thing, if you select a hair for exemple and double click in a character pose, you hair will assume the pose, not you character... you need to select the charater to work propertly.
Like any software, DAZ Studio on Mac does have its quirks (the latest version fixed a very ugly bug that crept in) but I've found it generally very usable.
What version of the OS are you using, and what kind of system do you have? (The "About this Mac" option will give you a useful summary of your software and hardware).
You can find the log file on Mac in '/Users/<yourname>/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D/Studio4/log.txt', where '<yourname>' is your user name. The Mac has taken to hiding the Library folder from users, so you may need to use the 'Go To Folder' command under the Finder's 'Go' menu to get to that.
The log file is often a bit cryptic, and you may need to be more familiar with the program to make any sense of the information in it. However, as Richard said, that error is very often the result of double-clicking a preset when you don't have an item selected (or perhaps the wrong kind of item selected?) If you're clicking a preset for a hair material, for example, you'd want to make sure that you have the hair selected.
What file did you use to fix the Postgre-SQL connect problem? I had the same issue and had to give up after weeks of fruitless exchanges with DAZ tech support. Their tactic seems to be to keep asking the same questions over and over until you finally give up and go away. I went back to DS 4.9.
Thanks for all the replies.
When I click on an object that I wish to add, the model is "highlighted" I guess - those lines framing the model are visible and there is nothing else in the scene.
I am using macOS 10.15.5 on a 2017 iMac 27" 5K, 3.4GHz Quad-core Intel i5 with 8 GB RAM and radeon Pro 570 4 GB.
I was wondering if the various objects in differeing Genesis versions can be comingled - for example, maybe the problem is trying to add and object (like hair) from the Genesis or Genesis 3 basic downloads to a Gen8 figure?
and for CWGraphics, this link was in an email I received from DAZ Support - it contains a .zip file with the fix. Let me know if it works - I'm not sure if I can include the actual file in a forum thread reply...
Links removed
Please don't post links to private fuiles, a simple description would have worked.
The model that needs to be hoghlighted is the model the preset is made for - if it's clothing, or hair, that is not the human figure. Usually the materials will be in a sub-folder labelled materials (or event Materials then Iray or 3deligth) while the mdoels themselves, if you have them rather than just a texture expansion, will be in the parent folder.
By the time my Mac failed last year, my annoyance that CUDA's inability to handshake with DAZ in a stable fashion was apparently the result of a snit between Apple and NVidia had completely soured me. I bought the Mac with decked-out state of the art (at the time) NVidias and never recouped my investment.
I had been a devout Apple fanboy.
I moved to Windows 10 and have never looked back. It is such a pleasure to ask the renderer to do things and then watch those things actually get done.
I was unaware that links were not allowed, but the link I had in my post was to a daz3d.com site and a description alone would not have helped the member who was having a problem with the PostgreSQL-CMS issue, but the link to the daz3d.com url I had in my post would have, so maybe you could post the .zip file that I received from Emma in DAZ Support that has the fix to the PostgreSQL-CMS porblem?
As for the rest of your relpy, then the hair, accessories, props, backgrounds, etc. will only work with the model(s) they are made for/included with? You can't use one model's hair, for example, on another model, not even one of the same version of Genesis? That kind of sux for people using DAZ, imho, though I'm sure it will make more moeny for DAZ.
The fix needs to be used onyl by those with the correct kind of problem, so it isn't made geenrally available for fear of doing more harm than good.
Materials are just changing the textures applied to a model - they can't do anythingin isolation. There are preset (Shader Presets) which can be used to apply settings to any selected surface on any selected object, but the result will depend on the object and on how it is set to wrap a rectangular map around itself.
sorry to hear about your Mac problems with DAZ
I have my own frustrations but I'm not going to spend hundreds of $ on a new windows computer just to use DAZ - I'll stick with Mac and hope that someday DAZ will develop a Mac version that works.
from his post, it seems that CWGraphics has the same PostgreSQL-CMS issue I had, so maybe you could contact him and tell him how to get in touch with Emma or someone else at DAZ Support who has access to the fix and can see if that's what he needs.
Oh, no, I hear you, I only did it because my Mac finally gave up the ghost in the machine. For what they wanted to repair it, it was a better investment to go all in on a new rig..
I've been a Mac user for over a decade. DAZ Studio has worked just fine. The only limitations I've encountered were due to limits imposed by Apple's choice of hardware. I found a fix for the PostgreSQL-CMS in a previous thread. Having said all that, I hope to buy or build a PC for use with DAZ Studio. My 2013 iMac just died.
I've given up. I can't get anything to work on my new MacBook. Studio freezes and has the spinning beach ball. The Mac version is beta software at best. I'll try again if they come out with an update.