After converting Gen4 products to Genesis question
With converting clothes, morphs and textures over to genesis and gen2 once they are converted would you still need the original files installed for them to work or can you uninstall the original files? I am planning on converting as much as possible over using GenX and SRMS
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You need the original runtime/textures and the original materials, if it came with DAZ mats. I'd keep the original zip files as a backup just in case.
Thank you Sickleyield once again for a quick answer :) thought I could save some disk space if I didn't need the files once converted
Erm... actually, it will save a lot of disk space if you don't delete the unconverted files... I think. For clothes/figures, at least — when you save the converted file, it contains a link back to the original file. When you then load that item into a scene and save it, the link back is also saved. If there is no link back, the whole item data (which can be quite a lot more than the scene file on its own) is saved into every scene containing that converted item. After a while this can add up (and up, and up...) — but if the original files are kept, then all you have in the scene are links back to those original files which are only saved once, and the scene files are only "large" instead of "help-it's-huge-and-getting-bigger".
... unless I've misunderstood what we were told about conversions when the new .duf file format came out with D|S4.5.
The converted data is saved with the scene, unless you save it to an asset (which will save disc space if you sue the item in multiple scenes). The reference to the original file is used only if the converted data can't be found. Or that was the case, at least.
Thank you SpottedKitty and Richard for the explanations. I will leave them installed then as I do my conversions.
Richard do you mean saving as an asset as opposed to a preset?
Saving a converted item as an asset is the best thing to do - when you save an asset you will also save a preset to load the asset.
There can be some confusion around what is happening in DS with the DSON format, so I've "fleshed" out what Richard posted.
When you load a Poser format item it get's dragged kicking and screaming through the PZ3 importer, which converts it into something DS can use, this item is then held in RAM until you decide what your going to do with it.
Saving it as a scene, subset or wearable will result in all of that data in RAM being written out to the "data/auto_adapted" folder as DSF asset files, while at the same time references to the original Poser files will written into the DUF file, that way should something happen to the DSF asset file DS can reload the original files, and recreate the asset files from them.
Using autofit or the TU on it first removes the data from RAM and puts it into temporary DSF asset files, at which point the references to the original files are lost, as it's no longer Poser content. Saving it at this stage as a Scene, subset or wearable will result in the temporary DSF files being written into the "data/auto_adapted" folder, and using the exact same folder and file names that the Poser version would have been saved as, which can lead to some file corruption and overwriting if you already have the Poser version saved.
Instead of getting that you make sure the converted item is "fitted to" the figure and selected in the scene tab, then you use "Figure/Prop Assets" to save the converted item, that way you get a DUF with the proper code and the DSF asset files get saved in the "data/" folder.
This way any time you use that converted item, it saves DS from having to write asset files every time you save a scene or subset, as it just adds references to them in the scene file.
Bejaymac : thank you for that explanation. Does the same apply if you are using SRMS to convert clothes as far as saving fitted to the model.
Also is there a list of what all the different save presets do.. I have tried different ones and don't seem to save the right way. for Example I was saving a character and the skin saved but the facial expression was gone. Attaching which menu I am wondering about
Answered my own question, checked an item I had converted with SRMS and yes saved to the data/author folder in my library.