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That was painful! I reset while not connected to the server. That destroyed all of my information. I reimported my UserData and I was still missing everything. I reconnected, chose Re-import Data and selected all of my products by not my UserData, and said OK to that. Then re-ran re-import and only chose the saved user data. My fingers are crossed. NO DOUBT this is all wrong. This is the most ridiculous installation fiasco I've seen in my life.
NOW it's worse than it was before. How to fix this. My god!
Right, reset clears everything out then reimport metadata reimports the local metadata - exported user daya and the files installed along with the content by DIM.
So now what? I have to uninstall and reset again? Why does my backed up User Data not provide the same database metadata I had before all of this?
Now, every product is black and white.
I reset just now and I am uninstalling everything. After that, I will reinstall AGAIN with everything offline. Then, re-import my metadata. I fear it won't work. Will it?
Can I delete everything from the Content/Meta folder before re-importing the UserData again?
I am going to have to clean out the lost and found again! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
There was no need to uninstall anything, just reset the database (so it's empty, and with not downloaded metadata there should be no content showing in any of the database-driven views) then reimport the metadata (which would bring in the installed content metadata and the user data)
Too many steps that have to be followed in a specific order. The average user will find it to be way too intimidating. I consider myself to be one of those average users. If DAZ wants to sell more products then they should cater to our average users. Make it as close to plug-and-play as they can. The old days of choosing to install through DAZ Studios ONLY should be eliminated. DIM should be given as the only effective install workflow. DAZ Central is too glitchy to use; either eliminate it or make it work just like DIM, only with perks for those who like it. What perks? Incorporate the graphics, news, or whatever-- just keep the installation faculties the same as DIM. That's my 2 cents. Giving users a step-by-step for install has become a frustrating waste of time because DAZ is constantly changing things and their minds. Just keep it simple and straightforward.
The whole point of Daz Central is to provide a simpler experience, since Install Manager was proving to be confusing for many new users. It is plug-and-play, sysem issues aside, that is its reason for being.
Install Manager will stay as it is useful for many people, especially if using other applications alongside or instead of Daz Studio.
Connect is also plug-and-play for content, but it doesn't work for plug-ins and sadly few scripts are written in a way that is comnpatible with it. it's also not from the "old days" - DIM is older, and Daz Central is pretty much just a skin on DIM.
Except Connect (installing through DAZ Studio) absolutely relies on the database and Smart Content which a lot of us old timers do not like. Further how would use content from other sites that cannot be installed with Connect (nor DIM or Central so needs manual install) and most like won't have metadata either so needs to used from the Content Library pane.
That means, it is still reading the DAZ Connect related information, as nothing else is able to tell DS that you have this product but you have not installed it - That is DAZ Connect logic and preserved for future use inside /Cloud/Meta/ - Remove everything from that folder and it is impossible to see any BW thumbnails or white circles ever again, unless you log in to DS again.
"DIM is older, and Daz Central is pretty much just a skin on DIM"
So it is already what I suggested.
".../Cloud/Meta/ - Remove everything from that folder and it is impossible to see any BW thumbnails or white circles ever again, unless you log in to DS again."
OK. I did that. I'm home from work and I had both my Desktop and Laptop re-installing from the saved product files while I was away. Now, I look to see what it looks like without anything in the .../Cloud and /Meta/ folders. My fingers are crossed. What do I do if some products lack a product image and won't load?
Now that the "meta" folder has been scrubbed and all of my products installed through DIM and product folders saved to my hard drive, what are the disadvantages of connecting once to the server? I did so and the metadata folder is filling up. Problem, or OK-- once?
Well, that didn't help the imageless products. I'm deleting the Meta folder content again. Any advice on how to deal with those products that lack images on the front-end thumbnail? How about going into each one of those, selecting DB Maintenance, and then selecting those products by SKU number to re-import that metadata specifically?
Re-importing the metadata was a mistake. I deleted all of it again, but now I'm stuck with black and white thumbnails again. Do I have to uninstall everything and reinstall them again? Is there a better way to get rid of those? If I reset the database and then re-import my data again, will that work?
You should then have only installed prodcuts and things you edited yourself
Thanks for that step-by-step. I did do exactly that, but absolutely nothing appears after I re-import my data. What could cause that?
Did you get a fairly full-looking list of products to reinstall in the dialogue that lets you choose which metadata to bring in?
I did. All I chose was the User Data. You're saying I need to choose everything? If so, should I choose the entire list and not the User Data, then come back and choose the User Data only? Or, select everything including the User Data all at once?
STATEMENT to everyone here: I appreciate everyone's input, but I am going to follow Richard's line of thought because he's directing me the way I want to go (finally, I wised up). I tried it other ways, but the frustration factor was too high. Now, I'm going with a method of install that uses DIM and then without connecting DS to the DAZ server. Others have been suggesting that route but I didn't feel comfortable with it. Now, I will be, I just need to deal with the leftover issues, like blank thumbnails.
Richard, I answered your previous question above this post. Note that I edited the word 'finally' to say that I meant me, not you.
Finally! Go back and read through your old posts in this thread. Every time you chose to to go back to DAZ Connect you undid all the work you did trying to fix things. Go on, you can actually read it in your posts.
Yes, you need to reimport the product metadata - the system distinguishes between products, each with their own entry, and user data, which is all lumped together. Product data is saved to disc (or placed by the isntaller) while user data has to be explicitly saved through the export option (and then is a snap shot of its current state, so you should certainly do an export after a major session of categorising or when you've saved files for which you want to keep the metadata)
'Go on, you can actually read it in your posts.'
Yes, I know. My problem was in trying to resolve the white boxes in the upper right of the Library thumbnails. Since I did not, and still do not, understand how DS and DIM work together (or not) I tried to piece together the different advice. Richard gave me a step-by-step for one aspect, which is what I need because otherwise, I don't know the order of steps.
'...and then is a snap shot of its current state...'
But do I load those separately-- the products and as a separate move the User Data?
You can import them all in one go.
It's done. I am now in line with all advice that says no more live connection to DS and installs only through DIM. That leaves two issues to resolve: the Lost and found filled up again and there are a LOT of products without thumbnails (see attachment). I suspect that the L&F is full of duplications that need to be deleted, but I'll have to revisit each one to determine that. As for the thumbnail issue, I have no clue. I am not connected to the server through DS.
And you brought those boxes back every time you re-connected. That's why people kept telling you to stop doing so.
Those a renot duplicates, a product will appear in Lost and Found if it has any files in the Lost and Found category (products are not categorised, only files) as it will appear in any other category for which it has a file. Of course it's possible that some of your previous attempts to deal with Lost and Found may have created duplicate products, do you have entries under the correct categories that do have thumbnails showing?
After the hard reset, DIM only installs, and DB Maintenance re-imports I do not. So it's NOT about duplicates. An hour ago I deleted the entire Lost & Found folder, which had over 300 products in it. After that, I am going alphabetically through the products, selecting products with a white thumbnail and exclamation marks and then selecting one listing from the right-click drop-down-- show in smart folder. If nothing comes up I delete that product in both DIM and DS and then re-install if fresh. Those items then drop into my recreated Lost & Found folder. All of those have no thumbnails. So on those I still need to find a thumbnail image solution. Any ideas?
"...do you have entries under the correct categories that do have thumbnails showing?"
No. As I go through each item that lacks a thumbnail I do not find any one of those with a thumbnail elsewhere.