Organizing old stuff

lexbaird

I decided to sort my content into separate libraries for convenience, with, for example, a library of just scenic sets, another of just G2 characters and assets, etc. But, here is my problem.

I have old stuff from Poser, from sets to V3, V4, and so on, that all seem to install under Runtime subfolders in a randomly organized manner. MAT textures in the "Pose" folder and not with the item, props in the "Character" folder and so on. Is there a way to get this stuff into the standard Daz structure, with sets in the main "Environments" folder, V4.2 characters under "People/V4", the guts in the "Data" folder, etc. and not break the files? As it is, I have a jumble under "runtime".

Richard Haseltine

The best way to do this is with categorisation, which allows you to freely mix content types. Poser formats will not load directly from a Daz Studio format directory, the only workaround is to use a script (which will) to load the Poser file.

SpottedKitty

An alternative to using Categories is to convert the Poser-format items into proper D|S-format Figure and Prop Assets. This has the advantage that the content files end up saved properly in the familiar D|S folder structure, but there are a few drawbacks.

It can take a bit of getting used to; you must know what you're doing when it comes to specifying how the converted items are saved. Some Poser items don't convert well into D|S format, and some don't convert properly at all. And sometimes the conversion will be an impossibly hard slog, if the single Poser item that loads into your scene is made up of dozens or more individual figures and props. (The conversion process can only be done one item at a time.)

Materials are also something to be aware of; it's good if the Poser items include proper D|S materials, but if there are only Poser materials you'll have to convert and save them yourself. Depending on exactly how the Poser files are set up, this can vary from fairly straightforward, to a complete rebuild of the materials. And don't forget, if you do Iray renders that will require another set of converted materials.

lexbaird

Thanks for the advice! In a related question, since I am organizing all this stuff on a removable drive, where are the "category" settings saved? I'd like the reference files to be portable with the drive, so I can take the stuff with me when I plug into a different computer.

 

(Note: using a Mac setup)

Richard Haseltine

The database, including the categories, is stored in the Content Cluster directory - set in Edit>Preferences>CMS Settings tab (DAZ Studio>Preferences>CMS Settings for a Mac).