Daz Install Manager (DIM) 1.4.1.69, Now Available! (*UPDATED*)
Daz Software
Posts: 35
Daz 3D is pleased to announce the next public version of Daz Install Manager!
- Version: 1.4.1.69
- Date: November 2, 2023
What is new in this version?
The 1.4.1.69 version makes improvements to, or fixes issues discovered since, the 1.4.0.94 General Release. More detail on specific fixes/changes/improvements can be found in the Change Log, which can be viewed online within the Documentation Center portion of our site. All new downloads of DAZ Install Manager will be of this version.
Highlights:
1.4.1.69 (November 2, 2023)
- While an Install Module/Set (automation) is actively being processed, only the tab for the active page is enabled
- The appropriate tabs for the online/offline state are re-enabled when processing completes or fails
- Addresses the fact that leaving the tabs for the inactive pages enabled caused confusion by allowing them to be clicked and immediately switching back to the active page
- In-App Notification
- The notification area on the Ready to Download page no longer unintentionally displays a horizontal scrollbar
1.4.1.67 (October 5, 2023)
- Installation
- Windows installers include the most recent versions of Microsoft C/C++ (MSVC) runtime libraries
- Addresses potential stability and/or security related issues
- macOS installers are codesigned/notarized
- Addresses an issue with the OS preventing the installer from being executed without relaxing security settings
- Windows installers include the most recent versions of Microsoft C/C++ (MSVC) runtime libraries
1.4.1.62 (August 31, 2023)
- In-App Notification
- Fixed an issue that caused the notification area on the Ready to Download page to be displayed even when an account had no notifications to display
- Switching between accounts with/without pending notifications now automatically minimizes (hides) the notification area on the Ready to Download page
- All notifications should be specific to the account that is currently logged in
1.4.1.60 (August 25, 2023)
- In-App Notification
- Enabled the in-app notification feature
- Relies on notification data for the logged in account being available from the store
- Made adjustments to the in-app notification framework
- Enabled the in-app notification feature
- Context Menu Options (Right-Click)
- Moved the Select > All Tagged "<tag>" actions to an "All Tagged" submenu
- Moved the Deselect > All Tagged "<tag>" actions to an "All Tagged" submenu
- Added a "From CSV File..." action to the "Deselect" submenu
- The "From CSV File..." actions now add to, or subtract from, the current selection by default
- Choosing the Select > From CSV File..., or Deselect > From CSV File..., action from a context menu will not modify the selected state of any package that is not discretely referenced in the CSV file
- Pressing/Holding the [Ctrl/Cmd] key when choosing the Select > From CSV File..., or Deselect > From CSV File..., action from a context menu modifies the behavior to apply absolutely:
- Select > From CSV File... will select only packages that are discretely referenced in the CSV file, and deselect all others
- Deselect > From CSV File... will select all packages except those that are discretely referenced in the CSV file
- Added a "Same Name" option to the "Filter Package(s)" submenu of the Ready to Download and Ready to Install pages
- Added a "Same Name" option to the "Filter Installed" submenu of the Installed page
- Look & Feel
- Made adjustments to styling of the main window header
- The Busy Indicator is now displayed to the immediate left of the Refresh Button
- The Filter Menu Button has become more integrated into the Filter Field
- Made adjustments to styling of the main window header
- Logging
- Made improvements relating to in-app notifications, home path, install modules, package deletion and message severity - see the change log for details
1.4.1.49 (July 28, 2023)
- Logging
- Made improvements relating to network traffic and message severity - see the change log for details
- In-App Notification
- Made adjustments to the in-app notification framework
- Implemented front-end widgets to support in-app notifications
1.4.1.47 (July 14, 2023)
- Installation / Automatic Application Update
- Fixed an issue where failing to download an intermediate certificate (SSL) would cause a warning message to be presented
- Windows only
- i.e., "Warning : Problem running post-install step. Installation may not complete correctly. There was an error downloading the file."
- Added a fallback for installing an embedded copy of an intermediate certificate (SSL) if the download request fails
- Windows only
- Relates to some users experiencing download failures due to SSL handshake errors
- Fixed an issue where failing to download an intermediate certificate (SSL) could cause other post-install steps to be skipped
- Windows only
- Could manifest as Visual C++ libraries not being installed, potentially causing the application to be unlaunchable (on new installs)
- Fixed an issue where an adjacent package supplement was being created in the package archive for an application update
- Application updates are handled discretely and do not participate in the package archive
- Updated installer progress feedback
- Fixed an issue where failing to download an intermediate certificate (SSL) would cause a warning message to be presented
- In-App Notification
- Added the initial framework to support in-app notifications
1.4.1.44 (July 10, 2023)
- Logging
- Made improvements relating to network traffic, CMS connection, and message severity - see the change log for details
1.4.1.42 (June 30, 2023)
- Automated Install / Install Modules / Default Install Set
- Fixed timing issues that caused the install phase of an automated download/install to fail
- Fixed issues that resulted in package downloads unnecessarily re-occurring
- Package Archive
- Fixed issues relating to cleanup of old/conflicting packages and adjacent package supplements
- Error Notification
- Fixed an issue that could cause an error during install to be missing important contextual information
- Logging
- Made improvements involving timing, elapsed time, install modules/sets, package archive maintenance and network traffic - see the change log for details
- Filtering
- Updated Default Filters - see the change log for details
1.4.1.36 (June 13, 2023)
- Look & Feel
- Added an option to the Login dialog that temporarily reveals the contents of the "Password" field while pressed
- This option is disabled when the "Work Offline" option is checked and/or when no value has been entered
- Added an option to the Login dialog that temporarily reveals the contents of the "Password" field while pressed
- Security (Windows)
- All exe/dll files are Extended Validation (EV) code signed - can be inspected/verified to have been digitally signed
- Helps to establish a level of trust with security vendors and mitigate aggressive isolation/quarantine
- Installers automatically download/install an intermediate certificate used to ensure secure connections between the application and the store/services
- Serves to address SSL/TLS certificate chain validation - i.e., SSL handshake errors
- All exe/dll files are Extended Validation (EV) code signed - can be inspected/verified to have been digitally signed
- Configuration
- Target Application Version Support
- Extended support for application versions:
- 3ds Max (2024)
- Blender (3.4, 3.5, 3.6)
- Cinema 4D (S22, S24, S26, 2023)
- Daz Studio (5)
- Maya (2024)
- Unity (2022, 2023)
- Unreal Engine (4.25, 4.26, 4.27, 5.1, 5.2)
- ZBrush (2023)
- Extended support for application versions:
- Target Application Version Support
- Filtering
- Updated Default Filters - see the change log for details
1.4.1.22 (February 27, 2023)
- Look & Feel
- Header / Pages
- Reduced visual complexity
- Ready to Download, Ready to Install, and Installed pages now provide hover feedback
- List Views
- Reduced contrast between top-level items and sub-items
- Increased contrast between highlight/background colors
- Scrollbars
- Fixed inconsistencies between platforms and operating system versions
- Fixed inconsistencies when High Contrast accessibility mode (left Shift + left Alt + PrtSc) is enabled on Windows
- Does not cause the application to apply the High Contrast color scheme, causes the application style to persist
- Checkboxes
- Added a discrete checkmark for checked and indeterminate states
- More clearly differentiate between checked, unchecked, and indeterminate states
- Spinboxes
- Added up/down arrows
- Color Palette
- More faithfully reflects the store/brand palette
- Softened contrast between brightest/darkest values
- Header / Pages
- Install Errors
- Fixed an issue where the list of potential applications/versions/bit-architectures in the "Install Errors" dialog could be empty when installation of a package could not be completed due to a target application not being defined
1.4.1.19 (February 16, 2023)
- Look & Feel
- Fixed an issue where the text and background colors of list views could be nearly indistinguishable when High Contrast accessibility mode (left Shift + left Alt + PrtSc) is enabled on Windows
- Styling of check boxes and radio buttons are now consistent with the rest of the style, across all supported platforms and operating system versions
1.4.1.18 (February 6, 2023)
- Look & Feel
- Added the ability to toggle the display of various data/columns
- Product/Package Thumbnails (All pages - "Name" column)
- ReadMe (All pages - Information icon)
- Date (All pages)
- Size (All pages)
- Launch/Open ("Installed" page)
- Also controls the presence of the "Launchable Products" section
- Metadata ("Installed" page)
- Options are accessible via the context (right-click) menu of product view headers
- Option state is common across all product views - e.g., disable display of thumbnails in one view, thumbnails are disabled in all views
- Adjustments to column widths in product views
- Narrowed the width of the "Action" column
- Remains wide enough to support display of individual package progress indicators
- Made adjustments to the minimum widths of columns
- Narrowed the width of the "Action" column
- Added the ability to toggle the display of various data/columns
- Product/Package Thumbnails
- Added support for PNG format thumbnail images
- PNG is now the preferred format, JPG is supported as a fallback
- Downloaded thumbnail images are now automatically converted/saved to PNG format
- If a PNG is successfully created, the corresponding JPG (if any) is automatically deleted
- Added support for PNG format thumbnail images
1.4.1.16 (January 31, 2023)
- Look & Feel
- Styling of the application has a more modern appearance
- Useful information is more readily accessible
- Added a Release Channel column
- Added a (contextual) Date column
- Added a (contextual) Size column
- Improved ToolTip data
- Improvements to visual cues
- Thumbnails (small) are displayed for products/packages that have them (if downloaded/created)
- Use of color/pattern to convey additional information about state/status
- Color
- Orange/Red - Alert! (failed download/install, try again - check the log for details)
- Yellow - Update! (cautiously proceed - want to backup first?)
- Green - Go! (safely proceed)
- Gray - Non-primary focus (available if necessary)
- Pattern
- Solid Outline - Normal/Complete
- Dashed Outline - Partial/Incomplete
- Color
- Improved item hover/selection feedback
- Added the ability to "Launch" or "Open" packages from the Installed page
- Properly configured software packages provide a button to launch the installed application
- Properly configured content packages provide a button to guide users to the installed product within the corresponding application
- Maintained a familiar workflow for the majority of the application
- Efficiency/Performance
- Made significant improvements to population of the Installed and Ready to Install lists
- Eliminated unnecessary saving of supplemental data files
- Product/Package Thumbnails
- Added the ability to delete from context menus
- Filtering
- Updated Default Filters - see the change log for details
- Configuration
- Added a "Thumbnail Max Height" setting to the Download page of Advanced Settings
- Target Application Version Support
- Extended support for application versions:
- 3ds Max (2023)
- Blender (3.1, 3.2, 3.3)
- Maya (2023)
- Unreal Engine (5)
- Extended support for application versions:
- Custom Package Support
- Made improvements relating to support for custom packages - see the change log for details
- Logging
- Made improvements involving operating system version, timing, elapsed time and message severity - see the change log for details
How do I get the latest version?
If you have previously installed the Install Manager application and the computer it is installed on is connected to the internet, you can simply launch the application and log into your account. Once connected, you will be notified that an update has been detected and you will be prompted to "Update" or "Work Offline". Click the "Update" button and the application will take care of the rest.
Optionally, you can locate, download and install the application from the Product Library (once you are logged into your account) by entering "Install Manager" into the text field near the top left of the page and clicking the "Filter" button, or by clicking one of the following links:
If this is your first time downloading and/or installing Install Manager, simply follow this link, click the "download free now" button on the page and then run the downloaded installer.
*Note: If you experience a crash during the uninstaller phase of the update, it is recommended that you download the installer from the Product Library (see above) and run it manually.
Is there any documentation?
Yes, documentation is located here. Clicking the "Help" button in the top right corner of the application main window will launch your [default] browser to the same location.
Post edited by rbtwhiz on
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Comments
The speed increase on loading is tremendous - usually, with a big library on an external drive, DIM takes about fifteen minutes to be ready. With this new version it waw well under one minute (the local tabs were populated before the Ready to Download tab).
What happend to the indication of whether the package has metadata?
Edit: Oh, I see it now on the Installed tab. It just changed in appearance, so I didn't recognize it.
I like the little product thumbnails!
What the heck did you guys do to the interface?? I have been running it at this size (which I belive is the default) since it was in beta, but now I can only see the first two letters of the product names.
Is there some setting I am overlooking?
Is there a way to hide the "Launchable products" tab? I don't really see myself ever using it, so it'd just be taking up space since there doesn't seem to be a way to move it below the "products" tab
Really? I have 16,152 items installed on an external HD and it's never taken more than a minute or so for me.
ADDED: Ah, wait, I keep the product files on my external(s), I keep the manifest files on my internal SSD, I have no idea how long reading the manifest files off of the external would take.
-- Walt Sterdan
Nice. Zero installed products.
Nothing has been uninstalled afaik. But Install Manager can't see that. It has one job. Management of installs. And it can't handle that.
Obvious issues: It wants to install Studio again, despite studio being installed. It wants to install databases, which will likely break them, if my experience with databases is meaningful.
I know it's a cliche that people only remember and remark on what goes wrong, but I want a solution that can manage my content, custom and not. Between the forced updates and new added lack of reliability, I gotta say it looks like IM isn't that solution. If it was reasonably clear how to get it to recognize everything is installed, I'd at least stick with it out of inertia. As it stands, I'm concerned it's going to break other things.
I'm under Windows 11 with a dark theme and I can't read anything, as you can notice it's written in black on a black background :( DIM forces black color for text and keep the system background color :( Usually when it happens, software developers should either force both foreground/text and background colors or use both ones from the system, mixing a forced color and a system color is not good :(
Updated and worked right away downloading bought stuff from yesterday. The fonts seem bigger but other than that not much different from the old one.
Is there a way to make it (the internal text and banners) smaller? It's all so unnecessarily... large. It only fits half of the products on the screen it used to.
I too would like to get rid of the 'Launchable Products' tab. Even minimised it's, again, too large and wasting space.
It is not really a seperate tab, instead of the launchable products being buried in the installed product list, they have been moved to the top under a seperate heading.
I think much of the issue with the product list is because the Download/Install/Uninstall buttons are far too large.
Is there a way to fix the sort order again? I tried sort by order date on the 'Ready to Download' tab and it defaults to '# A - Z order still. So if I buy an older product, I have to search for it by name. And there have been times I have missed one or two.
And is there anyway to adjust the color scheme? The light grey and pale grey background is hard on my old eyes. I would like to be able to go for a darker grey and medium grey for example.
This first experience has been on my DIM on a Win 10 laptop where I don't keep zip files. After I see what happens on the desktop Win 10 and MacBookPro M1 where I do keep files on external hard drives, I will note how long it takes. The MBP has been well over two hours since the last OS update.
To see the full screen, I spread the size of the frame out until I could read the names of the products. Not a problem with large screens but may be an issue is someone has a small screen footprint.
Thanks for the update
Mary
Edit to add, just found the little arrow on the left side to close up the launchable products. Something I wouldn't use.
Yes, it does take up more room now - I can't say I like it, but there are various pressures on the design and (for now at least) we have this. Part of the issue is that there are now more columns, with icons, eating space and the name gets what is left. It would be nice to resize the columns, the Action one could be smaller (I suppose Download Failed might be the determining factor).
Do you keep the zips? I do, and from past experience I think they were the big drag.
Are the the Manifest files still there, in the Manifests folder? There are various things that can break that (mostly local - over-zealous security software, hardware issue). The code for handling this area has not changed so it is unlikely the update is to blame in itself (I did have Malwarebytes decide that updating the thumbnails was a ransom are attack and delete the whole application, had to adjust its settings to resume that process)..
The Studio public beta doesn't show under launchable products.
Hexagon beta does though.
It has been used on several Windows 11 systems during testing, I am told, without showing this behaviour. Do you have any add-on, system level tool for adjusting the display (fonts or colours, say)?
I don't curremtly have many files there to se the results, but with Show hidden enabled it seems to be sorting correctly for me. Is the label on the sort order button alsos ticking, or is it chnaging but not being reflected in the list?
I see this too - please report it, I would at least expect it to be consistent between the two applications.
done
Request #430219
Thank you.
Short answer : Windows 10/11 dark mode doesn't change the appearance of Win32 applications such as DIM. I didn't change anything else than using a unofficial theme (= a theme not done by MS).
Detailed answer :
Under all recent Windows versions (since XP), MS prevents users to use a custom theme on Windows, normal users can only use themes provided by MS. So I suppose DAZ developers only tried the Dark Mode introduced with Windows 10 (and also present under Windows 11), that only changes the theme of Metro/Universal apps, but not the theme of Win32 apps. If you put Windows 11 in Dark Mode and you launch any Win32 application such as DIM, the colors won't change and it'll still use the unique Windows 11 official (light) theme.
Some 3rd party softwares allow users to use customs themes that change the look of every Win32 applications such as Stardock WindowBlinds, UltraUXThemePatcher and so on.
When using Qt and even Win32 API, developers can get the color of each system element and paint them using the right color.
I attached a screenshot of one of my applications I coded with Qt (the same framework used by DAZ Studio and DIM), I didn't force any color and all widgets are using my custom theme color. As you can notice, the text is not black, but in DIM it is.
Edit : I submitted a ticket #430204
I used a dark theme since 2005 and, since I'm a C++ and Qt coder, I had the occasion to test my own applications with them :) I would be glad to help DIM developer(s) to correct this behaviour, it's only one line of C++ code to change (it depends if colors are managed in .ui files, delegates, QPaintEvent, etc...).
Nothing changed but the IM.
I figured it out. Not sure if this is a bug or feature but if feature it's kinda bizarre. IM can't read hidden folders/files. Hidden is a user facing setting. I enabled it to stop Everything displaying swathes of unrelated daz content on every search. This didn't obviously impact the previous version but based on the implication that code doe handling hasn't changed, I'm guessing that was because nothing had refreshed yet.
Everything is a superior search index for Windows with an unfortunate--non google friendly--name. It can be set not to display results in hidden and system. Everything itself had nothing to do the issue. I only mention it to explain the use case of hiding Daz files that have no day-to-day need to be user exposed in file browser or search.
Daz Studio has no issue with hidden files. I presume IM is using some part of the Windows file management API intended for user display rather than programmatic file access because, as with Studio, it shouldn't matter to IM if the hidden flag is checked or not. At least, no obvious reason for it to matter comes to mind. Thus kinda bizarre.
That's probably it, I don'rkeep the zips (I do back up the installed library regularly). So far it was a perfect update.
--Walt Sterdan
I am told this will be fixed in a forthcoming update.
This UI is far to big. I have been managing to use the tiny checkboxes on the left to choose files to install, I certainly don't need a Download button that is about 36x the size of the checkbox.
I moved the columns for Size and Date to the far right hoping that I could make the window smaller and hide them, but it just shrinks the name of the product - the most important part for me.
DIM v1.4.1.16 is pretty ugly. Huge, fat text rows with all the white space are unnecessary. Definitely a step backward.
What is the point of the little icons, if they're all the same? Which they are, no matter what kind of file it is. Just to take up space?
I'm a big supporter of good use of white space and large text for accessibility and ease of use, but I also agree the current UI doesn't work for me, the right things aren't prioritized visually.
Has the way updates display changed at all? I am hoping updates will still appear at the top of the installer list. It's possible that there is just something odd about the XI commercial center. I had an update just before DIM updated that I installed, but today I happened to notice in my ready to download list that there were an additional three installers that had a date of yesterday? Hopefully that is just some weirdness with that item. I thought the date column would show order date but that definitely wasn't the order date for that product.
*Richard already mentioned it, but the fast start up speed is greatly appreciated.