DAZ Studio folder structure and cleanup
punisher_1700138904
Posts: 33
Is there a list of the default folders that DAZ Studio looks for when trying to use smart content?
I have files purchased outside of DAZ ( a LOT of files over the years) and it seems like my Library folder is kind of a mess after them all.
I am looking for a list of all the default folders that DAZ looks for and what typically go there.
For example something like this:
Scenes> This is where the scenes go. *.duf files should go here
A list something like that. The main reason is that I have a bunch of similar folders which should be for the same thing.
Ex: I have folders like this: "Enviroments", "Environment", & "Environments" So I'd like to know the differnce.
Another example is that I have both a Character folder and a People folder. Does DAZ use both? If not, which is the main folder the stuff should go in? If so, what's the difference? Are there any 3rd party programs that can search my folders and recommend/move them to the best folders?
I also have a lot of folders by the artist's name which I want to move once I determine what they are.
Thanks in advance
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Comments
DS doesn't have defaults for content location in that way.
Then how does Daz Studio know which "environment" folder to look in for content? I'm definitely missing content in various folders and I've been thinking that some of it is in misspelled folders or something.
To be clear. I'm talking about Smart Content specificallly. I know if I go to the content browser tab I can see all the folders. I'm talking about items missing in the Smart Content tab.
Open up Daz Studio, Preferences, Content Manager... make sure everything is properly mapped i.e. the Daz Studio parts have to know where the content folders are and where the data folders are, and the Poser portion has to have the runtimes mapped. Specifically, Smart content uses a file and an image stored in Support in the runtime.
I am pretty sure that the mapping is correct. Are you sure about the runtime folder though? I thought that was mostly just used for legacy/Poser stuff. B
My content is installed here F:\Runtime Test In there are a bunch of folders installed by the Daz installer and other manual installs from different vendors. Folders like data, Pose, Poses, the environment folders in my example above, etc.. There is also a folder called runtime.
I was under the impression that Daz Studio was pulling the info from the other folders in this path and not the runtime folder. If what you say is true then are all those other folders such as data, people, etc.. that are in F:\Runtime Test really supposed to be in F:\Runtime Test]runtime?
If so, then why is the Daz installer putting them in F:\Runtime Test? I checked F:\Runtime Test\runtime and none of those folders are there at all.
IIRC, Poser had very specific folders that items needed to be in in order for them to show up properly so for example, all cameras needed to be in the Camera folder and not in Cameras or they wouldn't be found/recognized.
If I'm understanding what Richard is saying, then it doesn't matter where I put anything and Daz is supposed to just find it? So if I have a new character I can put it in F:\Runtime Test\scooby-doo and Daz should just know?
The main reason I am confused is that there are files (new Daz characters for example) that were installed by the Daz installer, but I can't find them in Daz Studio. This is why I thought there was something similar to Poser and that because the files were in folders with incorrect names (like my environment example) they couldn't be found by Daz. (I have had this happen in the past when I was strictly using Poser. a vendor accidentally mistypes a folder name and Poser couldn't find the new file in the correct category)
DS is more user friendly than Poser as far as the placement of the files is concerned, but still certain files must be placed under correct folders;
In your case, you use "F:/Runtime Test" as the base folder for your "Content", When you look at the files and folders inside the installation file, everything inside the "Content"-folder should be installed here (F:/Runtime Test") as it is organized inside the *.zip.
Textures should be placed under "F:/Runtime/Runtime/Textures", in their correct folders as they are in the installation file (*.zip)
Geometry files should be placed under "F:/Runtime/Data", in their correct folders as they are in the installation file (*.zip)
If you are not using "smart" content, you can play around with the "user facing" files, these are the files that are installed under /People, /Props, /Environment, etc... But everything and anything under /Data and /Runtime has to be installed exactly as it is inside the *.zip, otherwise they will not load correctly in DS.
So what do the folders that get unzipped to my root content folder, outside of the runtime folder, do?
For example. I unzipped a standard Daz IM*.zip file and it had these 3 folders in it: data, People, & Runtime. If I unzip it to my content folder I get the following paths:
F:\Runtime Test\dat
F:\Runtime Test\People
F:\Runtime Test\Runtime
The runtime folder only has a texture and support folder in it, so it seems like the People folder has the actual files that Daz Studio sees in Smart content and not the runtime folder (Not sure why it's in the People folder since this happened to be a pair of shoes, but that's a separate issue)
This leads me to believe that Daz IS looking in specific folders in order to show the files in the Smart Content section. Yes, the creator of the item can point the files inside of data or People or whatever to different folders, but Daz is still going to look into the People folder, in this case, to search for stuff to populate the Smart Content tab.
Daz Studio dooesn't look for files to go in Smart Content - the metadata that comes with the content tells DS what user-facing files are included and which category to place them in. The Shoes are in /People/Figure/Clothing/SOme folder - all add-ons for a figure will usually be in a sub-folder of the people folder (but not always - for exam,ple, poses for operating a proip are more likely to be in the folder for the prop itself).
/Data has the geoemtry, rigging, morphs, UV maps, and so on - all the native format asset files
Runtime has the maps (in textures) and metadata (in Support).
OK, so where does it get the metadata from then? Is it scanning every single folder in my Runtime Test folder? Assume I am not using Daz install manager and just downloaded a file from Renderosity that should support Smart COntent but is not an IM*.zip file. What if there wasn't a People folder in my example above but instead the vendor had a data folder, a runtime folder, and a folder called stuff(where they put the actual metadata? How does Daz Studio know that there is metadata in that stuff folder?
Basically, I seem to be missing a lot of content that I know I had (This is a recent clean OS install with a clean Content folder. I do have a copy of my old Runtime Test folder that had everything, but it is a mess of folders and I'm trying to work neater this time around (It also has content in it going back to Poser 4 which I don't need anymore)
Unfortunately, as this makes it possible for vendors to make a mess of everything either by making their own custom folders or misspelling the default category folders, creating "alternative" folders (like in OPs example with the "Environments" folder).
I don't use "smart" content, but as far as I know, metadata is stored in /Runtime/Support
Yes, but it is still a cleaner mess than they did in Poser
The metadata for smart contents is stored in a database, Daz Studio uses PostgreSQL for this. You can access all that by either clicking on a folder in your content library pane and selecting "Edit metadata", or you can do this by right clicking on the content library pane tab and selecting the option "DB manager" (not the exact name, I'm not behind my PC right now).
Keep in mind that "mapping" is only one part of making this work. "Base products" as I like to call them also need to "manifest" themselves. With base products I'm referring to items for which exras are available (like hair for which material (colors) are available). These base products manifest themselves by adding an entry to the main database. You do this by selecting the item in the scene and then right clicking the 'scene' pane tab; it should list an option mentioning the selection of the compatibility base.
If the iem is in a DIM-friendly zip it wil be added to the database there; if not, but it include a metadata file in /Runtime/Support/, then ti will need to be manually imported using the reimport metadata comment in the Content DB Maintenance dialogue (avaialble for the Content Library option menu).
OK, SO if I have 3rd party content that should be smart content compatible and it is missing from the Smart Content tab, where would I start the troubleshooting process?
One hiccup is that I don't have a specific item in mind just yet, I just know I am missing a lot of content that was there before I wiped my OS but is not showing up anymore.
I also think some of my Daz content isn't showing up, like Genesis 8 base figures but I'd have to double-check that.
Does the 3rd party products have the appropriate .dsx files to put in the runtime support folder?
I'm not sure to be honest. I'm doing a reinstall so I'm just doing mass extractions/copying right now, I have gathered way too many items to do by hand one by one. I just know that there seem to be things missing. nothing specific I can recall, I just remember that there was a lot more Smart Content prior to me redoing my OS.
I was assuming it was because of the folders being different names and such now, I'm not sure what's the problem.