Editing .duf and .dsf for Custom Folder Structure

RevokedRevenant

Greetings All,

I wanted to experiment a bit in setting up a custom folder structure for DAZ content: specifically i've tried to take a simple item (for example a car) and instead of having meshes and morphs in data folder, textures in runtime=>textures folder excetera, i wanted to see if i could make the car item working in a structure like this:

Car Folder

•     Meshes/Morphs Folder
•     Textures Folder
•     Materials Folder
•     Car.duf

So, since .duf and .dsf are fundamentally JSON files, i set up the desired folder structure and tried to edit the files, changing each path-related line accordingly, and i've got this:

Car is loaded correctly, Textures are working perfectly, but Morphs are not being loaded no matter what.

So here's my question: does DAZ requires a specific folder structure for one or more data types (maybe Morphs)? And if the answer is yes, what is this structure and for what data types?

Thank You in advance!

Leana

Geometry .dsf for an Item from a Product made by a Vendor is supposed to go in /data/<ItemVendor_name>/<ItemProduct_name>/<Item_name>

Morphs made for that item have to be under the "Morphs" subfolder of the geometry folder, or DS won't see them.

Morphs assets files will be in /data/<ItemVendor_name>/<ItemProduct_name>/<Item_name>/Morphs/<MorphsAuthor_name>/<MorphProduct_name>/ where MorphAutor_name and MorphProduct_name are the "Author" and "Product" values you set in the dialog where you save the morph asset.

 

Using the "Runtime/textures" folder for textures is not needed in DS but is customary. It originally comes from how Poser content was setup, and was kept as is for two reasons:

• For content where a poser and DS version were provided, they could share the texture files easily
• The "runtime" folder and its subfolders won't show in DS content directories in the Content library tab of DS, so you won't see the directory holding the textures or the textures files themselves in DS.

Kainjy

Generally Assets (figure, props, clothing, etc..) and Materials can be saved in every directory.
Morphs no because they must stay into DATA directory (so DAZ knows where to look if you load a prop). When you load into the scene a figure/prop, DAZ every time scans all Data Directory looking for morphs (and UVs) compatible with loading item. This is why if you have many morph, loading a figure could be very time expensive.

I also don't suggest to change file structure, every user can find the item only because DAZ suggest this file structure for authors. Changing it could be a problem if you are going to share your work with other users.

RevokedRevenant

Thanks @Leana and @Kainjy for the detailed explanation!