Loading...
> >

Running Multiple Instances of DAZ Studio On the Same PC...

onimushaonimusha Posts: 195
edited July 2022 in Daz Studio Discussion

I have been told that [Running Multiple Instances of DAZ Studio On the Same PC] this is a bad thing to do and that it can cause problems with DAZ Studio.

However, I have done it for years and have never had a problem. Actually trying to render with multiple instances open has led to difficulties, but I've had four or five instances of the software open at the same time and haven't had any other snags.

It seems, for some reason, that it's no longer possible with 4.20. I'm wondering if anyone has a workaround for this or if it can somehow be changed back to how it was?

I've tried copying the .exe folder to a different drive, but that doesn't work. Running the copy of the .exe just brings you back to your already open version of the program. My next attempt is going to be trying an older version of DAZ studio along with 4.20. I'm just worried that further down the line, using older versions will cause more problems. Though I have to say that DAZ does a good job of making sure newer versions of the software open even my oldest .duf files.

Having multiple instances of the software running on the same machine gives me insane levels of workflow. I can work on multiple elements of a scene at once, like a character in one instance and the rest of their scene in another, merging them later. Given how long it can take some complicated .duf files to load, sometimes up to 10 or 15 minutes, this saves me massive amounts of time as I can continue to work on a scene while a second scene loads.

I would love to see whatever changed this in DAZ to be reverted back if possible, though I imagine that's probably a tall order that might not be doable.

Post edited by Richard Haseltine on

Comments

  • DoctorJellybeanDoctorJellybean Posts: 8,464

    onimusha said:

    I have been told that this is a bad thing to do and that it can cause problems with DAZ Studio.

    However, I have done it for years and have never had a problem. Actually trying to render with multiple instances open has led to difficulties, but I've had four or five instances of the software open at the same time and haven't had any other snags.

    It seems, for some reason, that it's no longer possible with 4.20. I'm wondering if anyone has a workaround for this or if it can somehow be changed back to how it was?

    I've tried copying the .exe folder to a different drive, but that doesn't work. Running the copy of the .exe just brings you back to your already open version of the program. My next attempt is going to be trying an older version of DAZ studio along with 4.20. I'm just worried that further down the line, using older versions will cause more problems. Though I have to say that DAZ does a good job of making sure newer versions of the software open even my oldest .duf files.

    Having multiple instances of the software running on the same machine gives me insane levels of workflow. I can work on multiple elements of a scene at once, like a character in one instance and the rest of their scene in another, merging them later. Given how long it can take some complicated .duf files to load, sometimes up to 10 or 15 minutes, this saves me massive amounts of time as I can continue to work on a scene while a second scene loads.

    I would love to see whatever changed this in DAZ to be reverted back if possible, though I imagine that's probably a tall order that might not be doable.

    The ability to run multiple instances was removed a few years back. However, one can launch multiple instances by running a script. See this post for more details and the actual script.

  • LeanaLeana Posts: 11,692

    DoctorJellybean said:

    The ability to run multiple instances was removed a few years back.

    The ability to launch multiple instances using the same DS shortcut was removed. It's still possible to have multiple instances running, you simply need to give each one a unique name (which is basically what the script does).

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,804

    Leana said:

    DoctorJellybean said:

    The ability to run multiple instances was removed a few years back.

    The ability to launch multiple instances using the same DS shortcut was removed. It's still possible to have multiple instances running, you simply need to give each one a unique name (which is basically what the script does).

    and the script can be used to generate the command line for a shortcut, if desired.

  • onimushaonimusha Posts: 195

    Thanks!

  • onimushaonimusha Posts: 195

    Soooo... how do you run this script?

    Not really finding any instructions on how to use it in the forums.

    Again, thanks for the help.

  • onimushaonimusha Posts: 195

    Nevermind, I figured it out.

    It worked like a charm, you guys are awesome.

     

  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,715

    Create a .bat batch file. (rename a text file .txt to .bat)

    you need something like

    "C:/Program Files/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4 Public Build/DAZStudio" -instanceName # -copyAppSettings PublicBuild -copySessionUI "Public Build" "E:\Documents\Daz 3D All Libraries\Default Scene.duf"

    The above script is what I created for my own purposes, based off the Script we were provided.

    You'll notice "E:\Documents\Daz 3D All Libraries\Default Scene.duf", which is where I have a scene located that I always load; I also use the Public Build as opposed to release.

    I've had five instances running at the same time; I've also had two of 'em rendering.

     

  • nakamuram002nakamuram002 Posts: 788

    In my experience, it is OK to run several instances of DS for doing things like building scenes and figures.  The problem comes when you render, run out of GPU Memory, and have to revert to using the CPU.  The more GPU Memory you have, the later the onset of this problem.

  • alan bard newcomeralan bard newcomer Posts: 2,174

    I've never had any issues running multiples.. but I have a feeling that if you have a 4g of ram and built in video...  you might have an issue or too. 
    --
    I keep meaning to figure out the script..  so while I have a 420 open I also run 412s as needed. 
    right now I'm working on a big scene in 20 but I'm also taking elements and adding morphs and changing surfaces names ... so I do that in aother instance so if geo ed has a bad moment  --- I just lose a small bit ... and usually don't because I'm adding morphs to a 9k object .. with 12 morphs it's up to 139k .. I can save every minute and it only takes a second. 
    but 420 is on the C drive and 412 is on E .. and I've got drives so I could just drag the program folder to another drive and Daz won't see it has the same? 

     

  • nicsttnicstt Posts: 11,715

    alan bard newcomer said:

    I've never had any issues running multiples.. but I have a feeling that if you have a 4g of ram and built in video...  you might have an issue or too. 
    --
    I keep meaning to figure out the script..  so while I have a 420 open I also run 412s as needed. 
    right now I'm working on a big scene in 20 but I'm also taking elements and adding morphs and changing surfaces names ... so I do that in aother instance so if geo ed has a bad moment  --- I just lose a small bit ... and usually don't because I'm adding morphs to a 9k object .. with 12 morphs it's up to 139k .. I can save every minute and it only takes a second. 
    but 420 is on the C drive and 412 is on E .. and I've got drives so I could just drag the program folder to another drive and Daz won't see it has the same? 

     

    "C:/Program Files/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4 Public Build/DAZStudio"

    That part of the example above is the path to the build, if you have different versions somewhere; for example: "C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build 4.15.1.96", then have a script with a path that points to the build version you want to use.

    You could have multiple scripts, each containing what you want; I would just label them accordingly.

  • alan bard newcomeralan bard newcomer Posts: 2,174

    nicstt said:

    alan bard newcomer said:

    I've never had any issues running multiples.. but I have a feeling that if you have a 4g of ram and built in video...  you might have an issue or too. 
    --
    I keep meaning to figure out the script..  so while I have a 420 open I also run 412s as needed. 
    right now I'm working on a big scene in 20 but I'm also taking elements and adding morphs and changing surfaces names ... so I do that in aother instance so if geo ed has a bad moment  --- I just lose a small bit ... and usually don't because I'm adding morphs to a 9k object .. with 12 morphs it's up to 139k .. I can save every minute and it only takes a second. 
    but 420 is on the C drive and 412 is on E .. and I've got drives so I could just drag the program folder to another drive and Daz won't see it has the same? 

     

    "C:/Program Files/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4 Public Build/DAZStudio"

    That part of the example above is the path to the build, if you have different versions somewhere; for example: "C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build 4.15.1.96", then have a script with a path that points to the build version you want to use.

    You could have multiple scripts, each containing what you want; I would just label them accordingly.

    Thanks for confirming just using them from different drives I have 6 in the machine and 6 assorted externals... 
    my 420 and my 412 are just loaded from shortcuts for the exe on their respective drives ... and I probably have installs on a couple other drives...  You can  never have too many backups and having been burned out once years ago... I know I should have off of property backups...  but if I get another 30tb I could find so much new stuff to put on them and use them here

     

     

Sign In or Register to comment.