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The AppData is not the program itself, but data created by the program. The software needs the folders/files there to store temporary items and oither data it expects to be there while you are working, and unless you change the defaults it will recreate the folder when launched. In addition to making the settings changes in DIM, you need to go to Edit -> Preferences in Daz Studio and chalge the location of the temoprary files and DSON Cache Files under the general settings. I am not sure if this will remove the entire DAZ3D folder under AppData as there may be other things it keeps that that you cannot change, like .ini files, etc.
On my system, with the software installed in the default location (to take advantage of my SSD) and the data installed on a network drive to free up space, the actual Daz Studio program files along with the PostgreSQL CMS is located in C:\Program Files\DAZ3D and the temp files and database cluster are under my AppData. If you tried to uninstall via DIM and DAZ is still launching, you may want to see if you can delete the contents of the Program Files folder to remove the actual executable. YMMV with that, though.
I don't see in the task manager anything that looks like the postgres. There's some activity in several "service host" processes when I install and then uninstall cms.
Then I deleted the DAZ 3D in the roaming folder, and tried to change the CMS folder definition in DIM to the D location. But the DAZ 3D folder in the roaming returned faster than me. So I deleted it again and very fast changed the folder definition in DIM. Then DIM crashed (no drama, the window just dissapearing quietly).
When I open DIM again (with my email and password, no "work offline") I get the usual "Default Install Set" offering Studio, PostgreSQL and basic bundles. When I click cancel, I get DIM with nothing installed or downloaded, and all folders in installation back to their C drive defaults. In the meantine the DAZ 3D folder is back in roaming.
I have no clue what this shows, but I'd give up and install CMS in C, hoping the rest of the installation remains in D.
The Appdata folder is used for data and settings, it has nothing to do with the installation path. The Daz Studio temp folder can be moved (via Edit>Preferences) and the database folder (/daz 3d/cms/ContentCluster/) can be moved from seveal places (including Edit>Preferences>CMS Settings) but otherwise the only way to move the files is via a low-level OS adjsutment like a Directory Junction.
OK, time for Windows 101.
By design AppData is the place for applications to store initialization and configuration files. Note that this is a Microsoft, not Daz, decision. Note the name: AppData; Application Data - information required for an application to run correctly.
When you first fire up DIM it creates DAZ 3D/InstallManager and records your configuration in the Settings directory for example.
Define the path to the CMS Cluster (database)? That goes into DAZ 3D/cms/cmscfg.json (and Studio will create it if it doesn't exist, with the same defaults DIM uses).
On my system the entire AppData/DAZ 3D directory eats a whopping 2.02 GB; I've got cruft in there from multiple Studio versions, DIM, leftovers from playing with Carrara early on, and other such accumulated over the last ten years.
If you set DIM up the way I outlined the actual Postgres database will end up in D:/cms/ContentCluster -but if you keep whacking the AppData/Roaminng/DAZ 3D/cms/cmscfg.json, Postgres will creatte it at install time with the same defaults as used by Studo and DIM - with the database on the C: drive.
namffuak, I'm not sure what you suggest. If there's a way to convince DIM/Win to put the Postgres on D, I don't see it, and haven't manage it yet. I'm no expert myself on Windows, and this is Win 11 so probably more unknowns.
It does seem annoying to me that the installation lets you "configure" where you want each component, and then descides for itself. But I can manage 2 GB in drive C. It's a new desktop with a 1 Tera SSD. My motivation in the first place was not to save room on C, but to prevent the situation I currently have on my laptop, with DS constantly downloading morphs and textures and whatever from OneDrive. I hope this can be prevented by putting the rest of DS/content on D as you showed me, and hopefully from the OneDrive end.
So I think I'll try installing on D except for postgres. Unless someone thinks there's a problem with that? Thanks again for the help, and to anyone else who chimed in.
Just remember that the process will create a number of configuration files in Users/<username>/AppData/Roaming/DAZ D; they're essential and need to be left alone.
The database itself, which is the big thing, can be wherever you want - see my post above.
In DS, Edit -> Preferences, what folder should I put in Daz Connect Data? Assuming namffuak folders as in the previous page.
I put folder D:/Library in DAZ Studio Formats and in Poser Formats. I put D:/CMS in CMS Cluster Directory.
In Preferences->General, I changed the Temp path to a folder under D
Can I do the same with the chache path?
Anything else I forget?
I had to go look up what I did - D:/connect - and I have the cache on a temp folder, so D:/temp/cache should work. TBH, I set most of this up years ago and I no longer remember the why and have to look up the where.
Well, if it worked for you...
DS seems to work well, it is now dowloading everything. I'll report back about the CMS situation, for future references
Thanks all of you for the help.
An update: after a few days and installing my DAZ content, my DS in Drive D seems to work fine, and is noticably easier to navigate due to a much simplified library structure (in comparison to what DAZ Central chose on my laptop).
I still have, for some reason, a ContentCluster in Roaming/DAZ 3D on drive C that is currently about 370 MB in size, in addition to the ContentCluster in the folder I created in drive D, which is currently 440 MB in size. I haven't looked at all into the question of why and what is redundant. I also didn't try to link Onedrive back yet.
I still consider where I want to install the content from Renderosity and others. Any suggestions?
Changing the database location doesn't miove the existing databse across, so the old one wills tay wheer it was.
What Richard said on the cms - if in doubt, check the date stamps on the files and folders.
I have a D:/3rd-party directory that I use for non-Daz content - defined as both Studio and Poser format to Studio. You'll need to be sure that your D:/library directory is the first (top) DAZ Studio format directory; some things that get created/saved by definition go into the first defined Studio directory, and some of them didn't play well if it wasn''t where the related item(s) were. At least that caused me issues five or so years ago; I don't know if that's still the case.
(I really wish notifications were working!)
Thanks. In a quick sample, the files on the D content cluster are later. Does this mean the C content cluster can be simply deleted? Just delete files that are duplicate and earlier?
The first library under "DAZ Studio Formats" is now "Daz Connect", and there's one DAZ Asset in it. So this apparently happened because I added a Connect folder under Daz Connect Data in preferences -> Connect -> Content Directiory Manager? Did I missunderstood your direction above regarding this?
Yes, but only the Content Cluster folder - the file in the root cms folder has settings and is needed wherever the database is.
That is a "virtual folder" - if it has contents then you have products installed through Connect, which will be used in preference to any other installs. Right-click on one of the files, Show Assets In>Products, then right-click on the product cotnainer 9the folder) and select Uninstall to get rid of it.
Thanks Richard, This worked for both cases.
;-) That's nice.
I know I had redirected the install folder, I know that the first batch went to the correct folder. I know that the second batch did not. Today I found some log files and apparently DIM had not written in/kept the redirect information, had its default location instead. As I was cleaning up files, this folder has now been deleted too.
I checked with some 'how to' videos from the wizards that make these systems, my system does not look like those in the instruction videos. Amongst the annoyances is its desire to keep rebuilding deleted folders. I think I figured out why so renamed the folder it insists to keep and chose for its icon that great big red "X" so hopefully nothing gets manually put in to it. D/S opened without any error messages and that's the bottom line.