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Okay, time to update the steps based on the latest information, since this may be useful for anyone else who wants to install assets on the D:; then, if they reinstall Windows or get a new PC and so do a fresh install of Daz Studio, Daz Studio will be able to find and use those installed assets exactly as before, so they don't have to download and install the assets all over again.
STEP 1: PREPARATION
If necessary, uninstall all current Daz stuff from the PC to start fresh.
Use Daz Central (DC) or Daz Install Manager (DIM) to uninstall Daz Studio (DS) and content (whichever one you used to install DS in the first place), then uninstall DC/DIM through Windows.
Then do any manual cleanup - see the instructions at https://helpdaz.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055963392-How-do-I-uninstall-delete-Daz-Studio- but note that some of the folders names may be different, and the guide misses out a few folders (e.g. I had a Daz 3D folder on the root on my C: that needed deleting).
STEP 2: INSTALL AND RUN DIM
Download DIM from https://www.daz3d.com/install-manager-info/
Install DIM on the C: at its default location.
Run it, tick "Work Offline" (so you can set preferences). This will temporarily disable the password box. Enter your email and click Start.
STEP 3: SET UP DIM
We want to set locations on the D:, so they can be easily backed up and will also survive Windows reinstalls.
In the top right corner is a small Gear icon (Settings). Go to Settings>Advanced Settings.
Go to the Downloads tab – this is where we set the location to save the files you download from your store account.
It has two options. There is a Package Archive C:/Users/Public/Documents/DAZ 3D/InstallManager/Downloads and a Thumbnail Archive C:/Users/Public/Documents/DAZ 3D/InstallManager/Thumbnails
Package Archive is the zip files downloaded from the Daz store.
Thumbnail Archive is apparently optional, some kind of preview in DS. Nothing is added to it by DIM installing assets, so things are probably only added by DS. However, since it will get downloaded anyway, and they don’t take up much space compared to the main assets, it makes sense to back them up too.
Since I want to back them up, and they are different content types, I will be using a nested folder structure where the downloads and installed files all go under D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\
So I set the Package Archive as D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\downloads
and the Thumbnail Archive as D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\thumbnails
Leave all other settings alone.
Next go to the Installation tab. This allows you to set and add Content (Runtime) install paths.
Again, there are multiple options.
There is a Manifest Archive at C:/Users/Public/Documents/DAZ 3D/InstallManager/ManifestFiles
There is a Content Database Base of C:/Users/NA/AppData/Roaming/DAZ 3D/cms
And there is a Recommended folder of C:/Users/Public/Documents/My DAZ 3D Library (which has an ellipsis after it but clicking it does nothing).
Manifest Archive is for the files that DS uses to track what it has installed.
Content Database Base is the database used by the Content Management System. It is accessed and managed by PostgreSQL and has no DS content in it. DS and DIM update it based on product metadata. To avoid losing any metadata it should be on the D: drive and included in back ups. This location will be the same as the ContentCluster path you can set in DS Edit>Preferences>CMS Settings.
So I set the Manifest Archive as D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\manifest
and the Content Database Base as D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\cms
However, I had an issue with this step! Every time I changed the Content Database Base to D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\cms, and Accepted it, then went back in, it had reset to C:/Users/NA/AppData/Roaming/DAZ 3D/cms (there were no error messages). This seems to be a bug. One option was to skip this step temporarily, let DIM go online, install DS, then try changing it inside DS (Edit>Preferences>CMS Settings, the ContentCluster location). But I found that once I installed DS and logged in, then came back to DIM, DIM then let me finally change the location of the CMS, so all was good. For some reason it would only let me after I installed DS.
We also need to set a folder (a fifth location) for the actual files that DIM unpacks from downloaded zips and installs, which is the key ones to move to the D:. By default this is the Content Folder, which shows as C:/Users/Public/Documents/My DAZ 3D Library. First click the + in the bottom left of the window. Give the path a label such as “content” and choose a location on your D: (for me it was on my D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\content). Any added locations will be available in the Content Path Shortcuts drop-down selection box above, so change it to the one you want there. You can then delete the original default option so you only have the D: option for content.
You can confirm the patsh etc in the main interface window “Ready to Install” tab: click on Show Details.
That’s five folders set, so the hard work should be done.
STEP 4: SET UP DAZ STUDIO
We have set up DIM. If you haven’t done it already, let DIM go online and install DS. DIM should have transferred all the correct paths into DS, but we can double check for peace of mind.
Open DS.
Edit>Preferences>Content tab>Content Directory Manager.
(You can also open preferences with F2.)
That lets you expand the path trees for where thinsg will be stored.
The CMS Cluster Directory should be whatever you set in DIM (D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\cms).
Content (in both DAZ Studio Formats and Poser Formats) should be whatever you set (mine were both D:\image creation\Daz 3D\assets\content as I expected).
Daz Connect Data isn’t something set by DIM, so will be a C: location. Daz Connect means installing content from within DS rather than via DIM (and doesn’t work for all content). As such, since we are using DIM, it makes sense to ignore that and install everything via DIM. So you can leave that alone.
This hopefully just confirms that DIM correctly set the directories and transferred those locations to DS.
I don’t think there’s a way to set a default for saving your scenes etc in DS, but I created a folder at D:\image creation\Daz 3D\my presets and will manually save scenes and characters there, so they get backed up and can also be transferred to a new PC or survive Windows reinstallation.
STEP 5: DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL CONTENT/ASSETS
Now that everything is set up, we can install all the assets we bought.
Open DIM. Make sure you are “Working Online” (enter your password).
The “Ready to Download” tab should be populated with everything you bought on the Daz Store, plus Daz Studio and some freebie starter content.
TIP to save space and time: hide anything that you don’t want to download and install that might be things you don’t need such as Hexagon, or a bridge for Photoshop (if you aren’t going to use that). To the right of each line is a right-facing triangle. Click that for a menu, and you can hide any items you don’t want to install and they’ll disappear (you can view the hidden items at any time by clicking “Display Hidden”, and unhide them in the same way).
My big tip is that many things I’d bought had the same file twice – once with ds at the end, once with ps. According to https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/28450/ds-ps they are pretty much the same thing, and the ds version will work better in Daz. Also, the ps (Poser) version would often not work as smart content anyway. So, we want to just download and install the ds versions, and hide the ps. Installing both just doubles the storage, and unfortunately that is the default DIM chooses. So it may be worth filtering it – type ps onto the top right filter box. Ignore false positives (e.g. files where ps are next to each other liks “special ops poses” but identify real ps files and hide them using the right triangle menu I mentioned. For me that prevented DIM downloading and installing 94 items, or 12.3GB of unnecessary files. The downside is that I had to hide all 94 items individually, two clicks for each (and since the button is small and right next to the install button, I accidentally downloaded a few and had to delete them again). The little menu ignores the fact that you may have selected multiple items with the check marks on the left, making you hide each individually. Also be aware that if you hide ps packages in DIM in this way, then if you ever you reinstall DIM (e.g. on a new PC, or reinstalling the OS), you may well find them all back again and offered for install, so will need to hide them again (another 188 clicks …).
If ever you use the filter box, remember to click the x in it when you are finished, to cancel the filter and reveal all the files again. Also, the filter box is handy for finding a particular item.
A big bonus of DIM is multiple downloads. Daz Central (and Daz Connect) only let me download items one at a time (if I tried to download multiple items in DC it cancelled previous ones and only downloaded the last one I clicked on). But DIM lets you download multiple items – or even everything – at once. You can re-sort the packages by size or name and select groups. If you tick “Install After Download” it will do it for you. Because I don’t have superfast Internet, and have to share it with my partner (and use the same network for work), it took me three days to download and install what I currently own. That’s why I don’t want to ever have to do it again if I get a new PC or reinstall Windows – hopefully this method means the content will be there on my D: for future installs of DS!
DIM downloaded and installed everything to the folders I set.
(Also, I did NOT click “Delete Packages Once Installed” on the “Ready To Install” tab; this way, if something goes wrong with my plan, at least I can reinstall the assets from the downloaded files, saving the three day task of downloading them all again. The downside is content appears twice on my D: and takes up twice the space – once as the installer, once as the installed version. Maybe one day, if I find this system works even after reinstalling Windows or getting a new PC, I will then have the confidence to delete the downloaded installers and free up a lot of space – currently the installers alone take up 119GB).
STEP 6: TEST CONTENT IN DAZ STUDIO
Check the items show up fine and work in DS, showing up as Smart Content if applicable, that there are no problems that might require a refund.
Note that in DIM the installation tab shows if a product has installed Metadata. If so, there will be a checkmark underneath the “Smart” column, letting you know it will show under “Smart Content” in DAZ Studio 4 and higher. Most items will have metadata, but some may not have user-facing files (e.g. morph sets may add new sliders to the figure without having any presets to click). Additonal parts of a file that is so big it is in more than one part may not show as having metadata either. If there are properly installed products which don't have the data to appear in database-driven views (Smart Content) but which do have user-facing files you should still be able to find them in the Content Library pane under daz Studio formats (or Poser formats) and then the content directory name. This often applies to older items.
I have noticed one problem: some items I installed via DIM show up in DS, but are greyed out, as if they aren’t installed. I’m not sure what has happened there, or how to fix it. If I right click install within DS then it uses Daz Connect, so would download the item again (when it is already downloaded and stored on my D: by DIM), plus it would store it on the C: unless I change that path too. Using multiple install methods is perhaps asking for trouble, so I want to work out why DIM is not working for some items instead. Is this a known issue? Some of the items it applies to: Genesis 3 Starter Essentials; Rocker Outfit for Geneis 3 Females; Shadow Thief Outfit for Geneis 8 Females; Genesis 8 Starter Essentials; Nyala HD for Genesis 8 Female; Daz Studio Iray HDR Outdoor Environments; and others.
STEP 7: REGULAR BACKUPS
I do a full backup of my D: regularly. So this would now mean I am also backing up the downloaded asset zip files in one folder, the installed Daz assets in another (doubling the storage requirements but meaning I am covered for a few potential scenarios), and things like the cms, thumbnails, manifests, and my presets in other D: folders. I also save one caleld “previews” which lets me browse what I have bought – each product gets a folder within a structure that categorises it (people, hair, lighting, poses etc), with a link to the product page, a txt file with the full description, and all the preview images from the product page. This is really useful to store as products are sometimes withdrawn, and that information is no longer available – there are a few items where I can no longer get the preview images, which si a shame as they give ideas for how to use the content, or illustrate all the options. Ideally all that info would be available in a zip for everything you buy, which would save manually having to save every image via the browser.
NB: do backups only when DS, DIM, and other applications using the cms are all closed and there are no PostgreSQL processes running.
STEP 8: REINSTALLING WINDOWS / GETTING A NEW PC
If I reinstall Windows, or get a new computer (where I'd copy my D: backup contents to the new PC's D:) I would perform steps 2-4 above, choosing the same paths (so they actually now point to installed content on the D:). That should mean DIM and DS see and use all my existing content, so it doesn’t need redownloading or reinstalling again, saving me days.
Worst case scenario is that I reinstall Windows then all the Daz software, as above, but DIM and Daz Studio don't "see" the previously-installed Daz assets. In that case, as long as DIM can see the downloaded zip files, I can manually delete the installed assets from my D:, leaving that folder empty; then point DIM at my previous downloads and reinstall everything from the downloaded zip files. (Which at least saves downloading everything again.)
OMG, you are a huge life saver bro. Almost all the posts I came across people weren't really explaining stuff in detail and was assuming we can understand everything at one go especially since DAZ thing isn't easy to deal with.
But your instructions were a gem and one thing I would like to add is that people might come across the error of not being able to connect to CMS especially after a reinstall and they are pointing DIM to backed up directories. It will think you have CMS installed but you don't. So uninstall it in DIM and reinstall it and everything should be working perfectly :)
My pleasure! I really wish Daz was much simpler in terms of transferring installed and saved files. Not so many interconnected parts. Then I might be able to get it running easily in Linux as well (since I only boot Windows for Daz!)