Show folders in Content Library and tips for posing

christian_7b918e060d

I have 2 questions and didn't want to open 2 separate threads.

Q1: In the Content Library there is a scrolling list with the folder hierarchy on the left and the contents of the selected folder on the right.

However the contents does not show subfolders. I'd like folders to show up in the content pane on the right, like in a windows explorer window. Can I turn that on with an option?

Q2: Has anyone got some hints and tips how to set up the interface so it is friendly for an old Poser user. Esp figure posing feels very different to what I am used to.

Thanks for the help.

 

BeeMKay

Q1: You tried clicking on the small triangle next to the name? Or are there no triangles? In that casem can you please post a screenshot?

Q2: Can't help you with that, as I have the same problem the other way around. But when I learned Studio, I found that the easiest way to fine tune poses or move characters is by using the parameter tab, and then the "general" section. I also click on the bone in question in the preview window (if the character isn't selected, you'll have to click twice), then use the parameter tab for posing. I almost never use the "drag" function.

wolfgangzeiler_9d28beaba3

Q1: There should be the subfolders to be seen if you click on the trangles, (if some exist), if not, something is wrong. Post the screenshot for Bee, he/she seems to know everything about the Daz structure. 

 

Q2: I never used Poser, so no help possible with that. As Bee said, if you click on a bone you can use the appearing three-circle or three-arrow tool (or some others) in the preview window or the sliders in the parameter tab. I usually use the window tools. With the sliders (bend/side/twist/directions/rotations) you usually have more control about the movements. You can also type in numbers for the smallest moves if the sliders are to inaccurate. Beware, sometimes the moves by using the window tools strangely are in other directions than the moves by the sliders.

You can also open the Powerpose pane from the Windows tab, if you then click the character/object, you see in it all nodes together and can easily choose them. That's also helpful if for some reasons (overlay) you cannot click a node in the preview window directly.

What made my life much better was to define shortcuts for the rotation and the direction tools, so you can change between them very quickly without moving the mouse.

BeeMKay

@wolfgangzeiler_9d28beaba3  LOL I wish I knew everything. But sometimes, the layout's just a bit "folded", and then it's easier to use doodlings on the screenshot to show where to click and "unfold".

christian_7b918e060d

Thanks for the replies. I can't post a screenshot right now, but my issue is convenience, not functionality. I do see the triangles to expand folder hierarchy on the left panel. I find it annoying that I can't just keep my attention on the content pane on the right and I'd like that to show the folders. Hopefully there is an option to turn that on.

BeeMKay

Er... I'm not quite sure I understand what you are trying to say...? (sorry, non english native speaker here)

When you click on the trangle, you have the subfolders displayed to the right, and when you reach the folder that has content in it, the content is displayed below it.

An you want the content to show up on the further right?

brimstoneomega

Your content library window/pane doesn't look like this?

BeeMKay

Actually, you can switch the layout of the display (if that is what you are looking for).

Click on the small listing symbol in the top right corner of the content library, In the menu that opens, the top three items give you listing options.

christian_7b918e060d

Hi,

A picture is worth more than my attempts to describe it in text.

Surely there is a setting somewhere so I can see the subfolders, like any other file browser would display them.

Thanks for your replies.

BeeMKay

You can only see content when you are in the actual subfolder that contains content. You will not see subfolders in the folder, as in Windows.

That functionality doesn't exist. The only "Workaround" is if you change the layout to "View as List", as you can see in my image. But even then, it is limited to the display of the folders directly below.

christian_7b918e060d

OK, thanks. Am I the only person that doesn't like this? Your attention has to flick back and forth between the windows when looking for something.

Trying to file an enhancement request.... Is there a forum thread for that or should I open a ticket?

Thanks.

BeeMKay

I'm fine with the listing option that you can see in my screenshot - it gives me all the subfolders of a folder. I don't see the use of displaying the subfolders of the subfolders plus the entire content, to be honest... it would confuse the heck out of me. Probably one of the reasons why I don't like Smart content.

I strongly recommend that you actually TRY the List option. I think that is closest to what you want.

Anyway, for any communication with DAZ, you need to file a Customer Support ticket. The forum is a nicer place to discuss, but whatever is said here doesn't go into the official channels. Even the mods have to file tickets when they "inquire" about a problem to DAZ.

jestmart

You were given the answer, switch from View As Tree to View As List.

Heckbarth

christian_7b918e060d said:

OK, thanks. Am I the only person that doesn't like this? Your attention has to flick back and forth between the windows when looking for something.

Trying to file an enhancement request.... Is there a forum thread for that or should I open a ticket?

Thanks.

Nope, you're not - thanks for raising this issue! 

I'd even like to have the possibility to get the DAZ specific content of all subfolders of a selected folder, combined with a setting of how many nested levels should be scanned.
Like in Smart Content, but w/o metadata match.

Find it extremely tedious to all the time click myself through the many nested subfolders.

B.t.w. - list view doesn't change anything regarding displaying combined subfolder content, it's just another way to select a (sub)folder.

SixDs

The important thing to understand is that the DAZ Studio Content Library is not a file manager/file browser like Windows Explorer at all. It does not display the contents of your hard drive(s), but the contents of the DAZ Studio content database. While the database itself updates when new content is added (or removed) from your Content Library on your hard drive, the database is not itself based upon the folder structure/heirarchy of your drives. Windows Explorer is for managing your files, the DAZ Studio database is for accessing your content from within DAZ Studio. While having the Content Library behave like Windows Explorer, displaying the complete folder.directory heirarchy could be built into the database, most people would find drilling down through all the folders and subfolders to find what they are looking for tedious and frustrating. I, like you, am quite accustomed to rummaging around in Windows Explorer, but I am afraid that we are becoming dinosaurs. Even Windows Explorer itself has become less functional IMO over the last several Windows incarnations with the emphasis on the nebulous Windows Libraries (which so far I have simply disabled and removed entirely from Explorer). Didn't mean to rant, but I don't see what you are asking for happening. And I don't see Microsoft fixing all the annoyances in Windows Explorer, either.

jestmart

Only the Smart Content pane and Categories and Products in the Content Library pane uses the database.  The Studio Formats and Poser Formats in the Content Library will show all usable folder and files in a properly installed and mapped library.