Problem: Default Content Organization
sumares_f2eb1f99b2
Posts: 38
Hello all,
I've been using DAZ3D off an on for a while, and I've been finding that every time I add new content, it gets stored in new and inconsistent directory paths. Bottom line, my content library is jumbled up and related things are hard to find. Does anyone know how to fix the organization so that it is more consistent, but the program still finds what it needs? And is there a way to make sure new downloads go to reasonable places?
Here are some examples of just where some of the hair content is spread out:
Poser Formats > My DAZ3D Library > Pose > Aldora Hair > Streaks
Poser Formats > My DAZ3D Library > Hair > DAZ Genesis 2 Female > Toulouse Hair
Poser Formats > My DAZ3D Library > Figures > DAZ Hair > Aldora
Poser Formats > My DAZ3D Library > Figures > EndOfSummerHair > Genesis
Poser Formats > My DAZ3D Library > Figures > Isla Hair
DAZ Studio Formats > My DAZ3D Library > Genesis > Hair > Isla Hair
DAZ Studio Formats > My DAZ3D Library > People > Genesis > Hair > Isla Hair
I have a 13-year-old who is interested in using this program to design outfits, but this weird organization is making it hard and discouraging for her. I'd appreciate any help.
Thanks!
Paul
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Comments
One problem is that it looks like you may be installing stuff you don't need, like PoserCF's if you don't use Poser. Do you use DIM or download manually?
If you make use of the Content Library's ability to create a custom categorization, you can organize your content in any way that makes sense for you and completely ignore the actual file paths on disk when using your content. (With the exception that if those locations aren't already the default that DAZ Studio knows about, you will have locate them exactly once to tell DS where they are, but you can ignore them after that.) The initial categorization of your entire content library will be a big undertaking though, it will only be helpful after that is done.
I always use DIM, and the Poser material is typically bundled with the DAZ content. To my knowledge, not all of the Poser material is duplicated under DAZ content but is often still usable within DAZ3D!
Anyway, the crazy organization exists under the DAZ Studio Formats directory as well, so even ignoring everything under the Poser Formats directory, the problem remains.
Paul
Is this what most folks do?
I can look for this categorization tool in DAZ3D. I just want to make sure the program still knows how to find the actual files when I'm done, and that the Content Library allows me to search using my categories and not by theinconsistent file paths created as a result of the loading/installing via DIM.
I'll try to some small changes first, and post back what I find.
Thanks!
Paul
If you set your Download Filters on the "Ready to Download" tab to only the software you use, it won't include the Poser files you don't need, just the ones you do.
I don't know what percentage of people use it.
Unfortunately you will not be able to use the Content Library pane's search tool to find your custom category names. The search tool searches for something else (I always use it to find a content thumbnail by the thumnail's name, there are actually 2 modes.). So you will have to know your way around your own custom category names. Luckily, you get to name and arrange them, so that shoudln't be too hard.
You will find it under Categories (which is right there alongside "DAZ Studio formats".) After you install new content and tell DAZ Studio where it is and to search for it, it will appear somewhere within Default. Sometimes it's Default > unassigned, and I think sometimes it's elsewhere too. I find it's best to install just a few products at a time so you can find it and categorize it more easily.
The reason why things are in different places, by the by, is that products are made by different people, and everybody has a different idea about what makes sense.
Me, I like having people -> Genesis -> Hair -> some_hair -> models, mats, and poses for the Genesis version of that hair
Other people like Hair -> Genesis -> some_hair -> all the models, mats, and poses for the Genesis version of that hair
Other people like Figures -> Hair -> some_hair -> all the models for all the figures it supports, Materials -> Hair -> some_hair -> materials for that hair and Poses -> Hair -> some_hair -> poses for that hair.
It really depends on how you think about the content you're trying to load. And each creator is different, just like each customer is different, so it's all a little higgledy piggledy.
Thanks, everyone, for the insights. I will definitely see how far the categorization tool gets me. It sounds like a reasonable solution, given the "multi-tenant" nature of the content.
Paul
Attempts to create a sub-category under the top-level Categories folder results in an error, "Unable to create container 'Test Category'".
The context-menu for Categories offers little else except "Move Category" and "Refresh".
Not too helpful so far. :-(
The User Guide mentions a "Category View" on the left, but this appears to pertain only to the currently selected item, and does not show unused assets to choose from, only currently used assets.
How do I check if the "Content Management Service" (mentioned in the User Guide) is installed and running? My DAZ3D instance is behaving like it is not available, since nothing shows up when I view the "Smart Content" tab. Maybe this is related to the error I am getting above?
Paul
Does anything show up under the top level Categories? If the CMS is running there will be a category "Default" under Categories.
Yes. if the CMS is not running, then there will be no Smart Content and a bunch of other things won't work right, either (Categories being one of them).
OS (and version)?
No "Default" category.
I'm running MacOS 10.6.8. The User's Guide did not mention much about the CMS or how to get it.
Did you install PostgreSQL CMS?
No. I'll search this site for that and try to install it.
UPDATE: I see that it is already installed. Checking the documentation here (http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/artzone/pub/software/dazcms_check) to figure out why it's not running and there are no buttons in the Smart Content or Content Library panes to start it.
I found the service application as directed in that documentation, and started it, having entered my admin password as required. I saw in the Activity Monitor on my Mac that it was now running.
I then opened DAZ3D again (per the instructions), and found nothing different in the Smart Content or Content Library panes. I could also not create a category, as before.
I went back to the Activity Monitor, and saw that the service was no longer running.
Subsequent attempts to start the service do not work.
... Does it have to be opened in 32-bit mode?
I can even attempt to run the application as root from the command line, and after entering valid credentials, the service is still not started in the Activity Monitor.
DAZ3D is NOT running while I'm doing this.
sh-3.2# whoami
root
sh-3.2# open Start\ DAZ\ Content\ Management\ Service.app
sh-3.2#
That's the old Valentina CMS, not the PostgreSQL CMS. Start DS, then go to Help > Troubleshooting > View Log File, and search up from the bottom for a line that says either "Connecting to CMS" or "Unable to Connect to CMS"
I didn't see a reference to CMS anywhere, but I appended "START TEST" to the file and then reopened DS.
Here is what it logged:
START TEST ----
*** Scene Cleared ***
DEBUG: End DAZ Studio to Hexagon Bridge log...
--------------- DAZ Studio 4.6.2.120 exited ------------------
~
+++++++++++++++ DAZ Studio 4.6.2.120 starting +++++++++++++++++
Platform bits: 64
Qt Version: 4.8.4
Running on Macintosh OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
Current DateTime:
Loc: Mon Aug 17 14:33:58 2015
UTC: Mon Aug 17 21:33:58 2015
Temp Data:
Location = /Users/paulsumares/Library/Application Support/DAZ 3D/Studio4/temp
Disk Total: 111.4 GB (119690149888)
Disk Avail: 20.4 GB (21964193792)
Locale: en_US
No translator found.
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OpenGL features for current hardware:
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Current OpenGL Texture Quality Setting: Good Performance
RGBA color bitplane resolutions: 8 8 8 8
Shadow mapping supported
VBO supported
WARNING: /src/dzvalentinaobjectdatabase.cpp(38): DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
WARNING: /src/dzvalentinaobjectdatabase.cpp(38): DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
*** Scene Cleared ***
Loading plug-ins:
libaniMate2.dylib
libdazscriptide.dylib
libdz3dbridge.dylib
libdzalignace.dylib
libdzassetiofilters.dylib
libdzautofit.dylib
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libdzcustomizedlg.dylib
libdzdelightrenderer.dylib
libdzdformeditor.dylib
libdzeasyloader.dylib
libdzexpexporter.dylib
libdzfbxexporter.dylib
libdzfbximporter.dylib
libdzfiguresetup.dylib
libdzgoz.dylib
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libdzprimitives.dylib
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libdzpuppeteer.dylib
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libdzsavefilters.dylib
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libdzshaderbaker.dylib
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Error writing author data!
Total class factories: 1257
Creating interface
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Executing startup script...
Started in: /Applications/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4 64-bit
DAZ Studio Started
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Compiling OpenGL Shader...
Fragment Shader:
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Shader Program successfully linked.
Okay, that's a pretty old version, and it's not connecting to Valentina. I'm not sure when PostgreSQL was added.
Since the service isn't starting at all, see if you can locate the database files -- under Windows there are 5 files, 4 of them start with ContentDB. Delete those files, and then see if you can start the service.
I removed the following 4 files, and double-clcked the "Start DAZ Content Management Service.app" file to restart it.
After entering my valid credentials, it still did not show in the Activity Monitor.
After opening DAZ3D again, and checking the logs, I still see these errors related to the inability to access the DB server:
WARNING: /src/dzvalentinaobjectdatabase.cpp(38): DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
WARNING: /src/dzvalentinaobjectdatabase.cpp(38): DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
DB Register Open error: Cannot establish VC_Connection with remote server.
Make sure the server address and port number are correct.
Paul
PS: I also removed the 5th file, master.vdb, and tried to start the service. No luck.
In (I guess now, as it was a long time since I used DS 4.6 with Valentina) /Applications/DAZ 3D/DAZ Studio 64-bit (there are also aliases where the Valentina CMS is located) to two Applescripts called something like "Start Contentmanagement services" or so. Also, in the CMS folder there is a .ini file, in that there is a setting "debug level", set that to 3 and save the file (edit with textwrangler or similar editor), then you will get logfiles from the CMS.
There is a reason DAZ dropped Valentina in favour for postgres and you're having one of them right now.
Strange thing, though ... PostgreSQL is all there, under Applications > DAZ3D > PostgreSQL CMS.
It seems that DS is not configured to use it.
Is there a way to configure it to use all of the postgres files that were installed? And I think I read something about a converter that was offered for updating your installation to postgres (data migration, I assume).
4.6.2.120 may be too old to use PostgreSQL CMS -- I don't recall what version added the PostgreSQL CMS option, but it was somewhere in the 4.6 series.
Since these PostgreSQL files got intalled without any manual intervention by me, I assume there is a way to configure DS to use it. If you happen to know where there is documentation on how to do this, please do let me know.
Otherwise, it looks like the folks at daz3d.com have it in a release note or on some support page that I'm supposed to find.
If the version of DS is too old to use PostgreSQL then it won't. Does DIM show it in the Installed tab? AFAIK DIM won't install it automatically.
Understood, but my reasoning was that if DS installed it, it must be a version that was not to old to support it.
I see both PostgreSQL CMS (Mac 64-bit) and Postgres SQL CMS From Valentina CMS Conversion in the Installed tab.
Do third-party content providers sometimes bundle this?
I see that Valentina indicates 0 bytes in the Status column and a blank screen when viewing the Package Files. The other indicates 158.1 MB and a whole bunch of content in the Package Files display.
I also see that Valentina was installed 2 minutes after the other one.
Not sure if I should uninstall Valentina, or try to reinstall it. It doesn't seem like it really installed successfully, yet DS is trying to access it. Perhaps uninstalling it will default DS to using PostgreSQL CMS?
Anyone have thoughts on this?
DS didn't installed it, you installed it with DIM. No version of DS installs PostgreSQL CMS.
I guess the lesson here is to carefully review current DS support of all bundled files that come with third-party content. Is that what most people do to avoid this?
I know for a fact I never went out and specifically found a download for PostreSQL CMS (Valentina flavor or otherwise), and then used DIM to install it. It must have been bundled with something else.
Thanks for your help in analyzing this case, Fixmypcmike. I'll try uninstalling the Valentina flavor, and if necessary, searching the forum and web for how to configure DS to use the "good" version.
Paul
I don't think 4.6.2.120 will use PostgreSQL CMS.
PostgreSQL CMS is bundled with DAZ Studio 4 and Carrara 8.5.
Valentina CMS is the older version.