Loading...
> >

A way to better organize content

pcslayer777pcslayer777 Posts: 2
in Daz Studio Discussion

Hi All, new here.

Was wondering if there was a better way to organize content in Daz Studio. I can see that once one has a lot of items in the content database, remembering where a particulat type of clothing, pose or expression for that matter, will prove challenging to say the least.

Is there a way to do away with the name of the creator (With all do respect) and just have the item under say Clothing -> Item type (i.e. dforce skirt of some sort, etc.) and group items by function?

If some good soul could point me in the right direction, it'd be greatly appreciated...

Thanks to all in advance

BT

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,765

    I take it you are using the Content Library>Daz Studio Formats, sicne you are seeing the folders for the PA name (which, given th stylistic differences between PAs, can be quite handy).

    One option is to right-click on a file or files, Copy then in a different location (even a different Content Directory) go to a more logical, for you, loacation and right-click>Paste - that will create a link to the original file, so updates will still work and so will metadata, plus you don't waste as much disc space as you might with a real copy. There is a sample script which can be used to bulk-link a whole block of files (e.g everything for a particular product) http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/specific_ui/create_asset_links/start

    Another option would be to use categories, which appear in their own section of the content Library pane plus Smart Content and the Presets tabs in most property panes (e.g. Posing, Shaping, or Surfaces). You can catgorise seelcted files via right-click menu. Again, by leaving the files where they were this avoids the risk of breaking updates and doesn't consume as much disc space.

  • DrunkMonkeyProductionsDrunkMonkeyProductions Posts: 979

    Richard Haseltine said:

    I take it you are using the Content Library>Daz Studio Formats, sicne you are seeing the folders for the PA name (which, given th stylistic differences between PAs, can be quite handy).

    One option is to right-click on a file or files, Copy then in a different location (even a different Content Directory) go to a more logical, for you, loacation and right-click>Paste - that will create a link to the original file, so updates will still work and so will metadata, plus you don't waste as much disc space as you might with a real copy. There is a sample script which can be used to bulk-link a whole block of files (e.g everything for a particular product) http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/specific_ui/create_asset_links/start

    Another option would be to use categories, which appear in their own section of the content Library pane plus Smart Content and the Presets tabs in most property panes (e.g. Posing, Shaping, or Surfaces). You can catgorise seelcted files via right-click menu. Again, by leaving the files where they were this avoids the risk of breaking updates and doesn't consume as much disc space.

    Minor correction richard, copy/paste creates a copy of the DUF/PNG, not a 'link'(DJL).

    Also, link files can be broken by updates. If the file path, or file names, are changed in any way, it renders the DJL unusable.

    I've only had this happen a few times, but it can still happen.

     

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,765

    Huh, it actually copies both .duf and PNG. I was sure i had tested this before. Anyway, there is a right-click option to create a link, which opens a file browser to set the location.

    Yes, links files will fail if the file they point to is moved or removed, so that is something to check - the same applies to categorisation. Something to check, but at least the user isn't potentially left with an outdated copy of the file in the new location.

  • ValiskaValiska Posts: 82
    edited September 2023

    I eventually decided nothing was going to straighten out the unfindability problem except having multiple libraries. I have a passel of them.

    • Main (most buildings, prop sets not otherwise classifiable, shaders, lights, other utilities)
    • Animals 1 (old animal models)
    • Animals 2 (2nd generation animals)
    • Hair (all hair, since it's relatively easy to put hair on any generation)
    • Cloaks and MFDs (since a lot of cloaks and morphing fantasy dresses can share textures across generations)
    • Nature (plants and natural environments. A lot of Flink's stuff in here, manually installed.)
    • Hivewire (Dawn, Dusk, Luna, Diva, Hivewire Horse, etc., manually installed.)
    • Vehicles
    • Millennium 3 (Victoria 3, Michael 3, etc. I've been around long enough to have these.)
    • Millennium 4 (Victoria 4 and Michael 4)
    • Genesis 5
    • Genesis 6
    • Genesis 7
    • Genesis 8
    • Genesis 9
    • Resources (This is mostly stuff that doesn't get used directly in Daz Studio. I only put it in a library because it's the easiest way to download the giant tutorials.)
    • Incomplete Items (usually something where I accidentally bought an add-on before the main item. Sticking them here keeps them in mind.)
    • My Projects

    I do almost all my Daz downloads with Daz Install Manager. Some things, like brush sets, other non-Studio items, and items that might not show up in DIM, I may manually download and put elsewhere. Items from elsewhere I download, unzip, and install manually the old-fashioned way.

    In Studio I ignore the Smart Content tab and use the Content Library tab instead, because too many items don't show correctly in Smart Content.

    I added the above libraries manually to Daz Install Manager (gear icon, Advanced Settings, Installation). I decide which library an item belongs in when I download it, and manually direct DIM to install it there.

    I also added these libraries manually in Daz Studio, in the Content Directory Manager (in my installation, reachable from the hamburg menu near the top of the upper left panel.). Every library needs a Daz library section and a Poser section. Most of the newer content appears under Daz, but Millennium 3, Millennium 4, and some of my older animals, plants, etc. show up under Poser instead.

    It took me several days to figure out how to set this up, and then to reinstall everything to the right library. But it's the best arrangement I've tried so far. If I find something in one of my libraries, I usually know what it goes with automatically (or what I can easily mix it with, for hair, cloaks & MFDS). If I find only part of an item because it hasn't installed completely correctly, or it doesn't work right, I have some chance of figuring out where the pieces are supposed to be, and which files I might need to edit to fix it, or to add.

    Afterthoughts:
    1. Multi-generation products are usually a pain, demanding manual fiddling. If the DIM installers separate Genesis 6(2) from Genesis 7(3), no problem. But often mulitple generations are in the same installer, and they'll put multiple generations in the wrong library. There is often no help for this but to do multiple manual installation and prune the duplicates out of the library they don't belong in.
    2. It's been convenient for me to keep Hivewire stuff together. But, generally, separating by store isn't useful, since there are a lot of add-ons at other shops for Daz products.
    3. The main reason for separating Animals (and creatures) by generation is that I have some really old ones and they don't have the geometry of later models. I might not want to put them in close focus in a scene where other models are more recent.
    4. That's an argument that I should've done this with plants, too, instead of stuffing them all in the Nature library. Except I don't close focus on plants very often.
    5. So you might make other decisions about what libraries to separate, and what goes together, than I did.

    6. Backup your libraries. Old sysadmin here: if you don't have 3 copies, you don't have any.

    7. You'll end up making some decisions about which is more important, if you don't want to install to multiple libraries very often. Some people might want to install prop sets into the libraries of the figures they have poses for. I don't pay any attention to poses, since I always have to alter them anyway, so I toss most prop sets into Main, including props like a bunch of melee weapons with poses for, e.g., Genesis 6 Male. It means I can easily see my entire collection of swords across every era, but I don't automatically know which figures already have poses for them.

    Post edited by Valiska on
  • pcslayer777pcslayer777 Posts: 2

    Thanks a milion for all the replies...

    I don't use smart conent because of the resons mentioned.. I only use "content library". (Should've mentioned that).

    I'll take a look at the link and suggestions, looks a bit daunting, but I'll give it a go anyway.

    Thanks again for the help and suggestions

    BT

Sign In or Register to comment.