SMART CONTENT panel sometimes displays options, sometimes does not
I hope I can word this clearly so as not to be confusing.
First of all, this is not a problem with there not being any Smart Content at all (I had that problem quite some time ago, found the solution on these forums, and have not had the problem again).
My problem is that the large space on the left of the pane -- the one that is suppose to contain options such as: Animations, Lights, Materials, Poses . . . etc. -- sometimes is there when Daz Studio boots up and sometimes is blank. This first happened months ago, and, when it came up blank, I thought Daz must have decided that it wasn't needed and that an update had gotten rid of these options. So I learned to live without it since my Smart Content was still there (i.e., by clicking on "All" - which did not disappear - and typing Wardrobe or Pose,etc., or typing in a specific item in the "Enter text to filter by..." box, I would get a list of thumbnails for either files or for products in that category (depending on whether I had selected the Files or Products tab - which, also, never disappeared). I also could select "Filter By Context" if I wanted, because that option also never disappeared. So I went on like this for several months, wishing Daz had left the options list in the Smart Content pane, but at least getting along okay without it.
Then a few weeks ago, I booted up and, lo and behold, there's the options list again. Cool! But the next day it was gone again. Now this has happened a couple times in the last 2 or 3 weeks, and I can't figure out what's going on. I've looked for settings within the pane, thinking I must be doing something wrong, but I can't find anything that makes the options visible or not visible.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? And does anyone have a solution for it? I'd like to work with the options list visible -- it greatly simplifies things, in my opinion.
Thanks ahead of time for whatever help anyone might give in this matter.
I'll try to attach a pic of the Smart Content pane with and without the options..
Comments
What's the exact version (e.g. 4.9.2.53)?
The version is 4.9.1.30 Pro Edition (64-bit)
Strange. I have the same problem occasionaly in 4.8, I just close Studio and reopen it, and all is well. Seems to happen the first time I open it after I use DIM.
Petercat, I wish my problem was so easily fixed, but closing DS and reopening it, or even rebooting the entire computer, doesn't necessarily fix the problem. Sometimes the Smart Content options are there, sometimes they're not, and so far I've discovered no rhyme nor reason for it.
You have selected "Filter by context", so it will only show what mach whatever you have currently selected.
Uncheck it or select an matching item and you should see Categories again.
Genneraly I like to work with "Filter by Context2 unchecked in the Product Tab and checked in the Files Tab
Renomista, I have the same issue whether "Filter by context" is checked or not. Yesterday and today, DS is behaving when I boot it up, meaning that the options such as Wardrobe,Scenes, People, etc. are showing. But, from past experience, I expect any day to boot it up and find those options missing, regardless of whether the "Filter by context" is checked or unchecked. I wish the fix was as simple as you suggest.
You are running Windows?
When the Smart Content is NOT showing up, bring up Task Manager and look for several instances of Postgre running...
The strange part is that the CMS must be running, since they can see items and search, only the list of categories on the left is missing.
Right, Fixmypcmike - that's the problem in a nutshell.
mjc1016, I am running Windows - Windows 7 Professional vs 6.1. I had seen all those instances in Task Manager of multiple Postgre running, but my research ruled that out as the likely cause of this particular problem.
There should be about 5 to 10 Postgre processes...usually around 7. If there is less than that or something is blocking the connection to the database strange things happen...
At present, I have 16 instances of Postgre running. Today, Daz Studio is working as it should, with the options showing in the space that is otherwise blank. The next time DS boots up with the space blank, I'll bring up Task Manager and see how many Postgre are running.
If that proves to be an issue, I hope someone knows a quick fix. Remember, I went for months with the space being blank, even after multiple fresh boots of the computer. So, if Postgre was the problem, a cold boot obviously didn't take care of it, and therefore for all practical purposes the problem remains.
I'm sincerely hoping that Postgre isn't the problem and it's something simple like...I don't know, maybe a setting or something that I've missed. . . . ? Or something easily fixed.