Making custom folders?
Malandar
Posts: 776
in The Commons
I have been getting tired of not being able to find things when I need them so I decided screw it earlier and I deleted everything. So does anyone have any advice for making custom folders for your library?
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Open the File Explorer, navigate to where you want to keep your library, right-click with you mouse, choose New and then Folder. Then give the folder an interesting name.
So just make new folders for each category? Because otherwise, I will just be in the same boat I was in before I deleted everything, a library that has 20k items in it all mixed together.
Exactly. You will obviously want to keep clothing/hair etc. in subfolders pretaining to the figure generation, but how you categorise them and architecture/props is up to you. The main thing, in fact the only important thing is that you know where to find the items yourself. What is a logical categorisation for some may not be the same for you.
Edited for atrocious spelling.
Thanks, I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for answering me, both of you.
Just make sure you leave the data folder and Runtime folder where they install. Otherwise you can do what you like. I install everything into an Installation folder and cut and paste from there into my very well organised library which is a constant work in progress...I sometimes think I spend more time organising than I do using. And because when you have thousands and thousands of items you can forget you own them, I also use Everything to find things. Also, as well as moving things where you want them, you can also rename folders or items to make them searchable.
Edit: I install everything into a temporary installation folder. From there I move the data and runtime folders into my content library and then I organise and move the rest.
You don't tell us, what do you mean by "folders" - Do you mean the actual folders in your Content Library under "Daz Studio Formats", or some virtual view in "Smart" Content
I do the same. I never use Smart Content . Instead I organize and rename everything the way I want it using Windows Explorer. Once back in DS I just do a quick refresh and Voila! the folders are as I want them.
I do make my own props so I can organize these and related purchased content as sub folders under one main category/ folder. That way if I need a "house" or a "room" I just go to the "House" or "room" folder and find the relevent sub folder.
I also keep separate backups of my Runtime and Data folders in additon to full backups of my whole library. You never know when something might go astray or when Windows will crash and burn.
I mean the actual folders, in the actual library, on the actual drive. Iif you move the data or the runtime folders from your library folder, nothing will be able to find anything. I don't mean I leave them in the installation folder, they get moved into the main library first before I start organising the rest.
Hmmm, I only have whole library backup...though when my library drive was filling up I did move a lot of stuff I didn't use often to other smaller drives till I could afford to buy a bigger library drive. It's now half full and I'm already thinking I need a bigger one ;)
One can install a multi-Terabyte Content Library on a 100GB drive, without DS or Windows realizing they have been tricked.
There's two ways to do it;
1. Mounting an other drive(s) to a subfolder(s) on the drive that has the Content Library, for example one can set one drive to hold the "Runtime" folder and an other one as "Data" drive - This can be done with Windows standard tools in "Computer Management->Storage->Disk Management"
2. One can use Sysinternals "Junction" (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/junction) to redirect any folder on a drive to another folder on another drive.
I have been using both methods for at least three years without any problems, no need to get bigger drives anymore, as one can just add more drives.
That is very good to know, thank you!
I just keep those extra backups maily in case I need to reinstall home made stuff. That way I don't have to go through the whole re-import of the obj process. I just copy it from the back up and make sure I also copy the revelvent data folder enty. Otherwise you just get a blob when you open the prop in DS. If I need to find a lost texture I just copy it over too.
My DS library does "live" on my main C: drive for me to work off of. BUT I keep backups of EVERYTHING on an external I TB USB hard drive attached to the PC- Full DS library, separate runtine and folder backups, all my home made stuff AND all my DAZ purchases ( I download the zip files with every purchase). There's a backup of that external HD in my fireproof safe ( done once a week). There's another backup off site in the safe deposit box in the bank ( swapped once a month).
Yes it's paranoid but I learned the HARD way that you can never have too many backups!
runtime and data folders... I had thought the runtime folder was a leftover from when they were all poser compatible. But now that I know it is used leave it and the data folder alone and I can move everything else around?
Yes you can. You can create new folders, subfolders and copy/paste to your heart's content. I'm always mix and matching my home made stuff in folders alongside DAZ purchases and purchases from other sources. The tip given to install things into a temp folder and them move them around is a great one. It lets you see where things belong. Anything under "data" and "runtime" needs to go there. The rest you can arrange as you please.
With the exeption of products that use scripts to load stuff, for example Ultra Scenery and everything related to it, that needs to go where the creator intended.
Important tips on organising your content manually:
This breaks smart content. Totally. If you manually organise, do not expect SMart cotnent or anything that reliys on it to work
Also - do NOT ever touch ANYTHING in the folders Data or Runtime/Textures. Things in there have hard coded locations in product files , if you move them your product will break. Leave those alone.
Things you CAN move - anything in Environments, People, Lights, Shaders, Props, etc etc etc. Put them wherever you like inside your content folder structure.
I long ago sorted all my clothing into categories like Historical and then by century, and props into categories like Landscaping, Plants, Furniture and so forth.
When you add new things you will need to go through and slide them into place, but in my opinion it is worth being able to instantly lay my hands on every single Dragon I have all in one spot, all lined up with pictures.
If you move the content using the context menus in the daz Studio Content Library then the metadata will be updated (barring a reset), or you can create links (which will act as if they are the files but are in fact just pointers to the files in their original locations).
The funny thing about Smart Content is that it was designed to overcome a problem Daz created for themselves by not enforcing a strict naming protocol/file structure for products. Items that should be for example be props/Mountain Ridge Ski Resort is nested in a vanity folder, so in your props folder it's named Kindred Arts, presumably along with all the other props the PA has sold. Good luck with finding that when you need it.
This, along with most other instances for clothing, hair and characters makes finding stuff in your content library a nightmare, and why many prefer to manually install content to where they can quickly find it for themselves. And why so-called smart content was invented to fix a problem that never should have never occurred.
Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't know.
Calling PA-name folders "vanity folders" is pre-judging - having content grouped by PAs is desirable for some and not for others (I am in both camps, for some types of content it is useful where different PAs (or other content creators) have very different, immiscible styles I like PAs to be grouped, for other types of content I don't greatly care, and for still others I'd prefer nott o have the extra level). In any event, we have tools - links and categories - that mean people can have what they want quite easily (just create links to the folder within the PA folder and place those where you want them).
If individual products were scattered across multiple themed folders (other) people would have complained about that. In any event, as someone who used to manually install and tried to keep things organised by sensible categories that way I am extremely doubtful that a strict naming protocol could be devised that would work for one user, let alone all. Even then, it would not deal with content from other stores or freebies, which are quite capable of ignoring the non-strict guidelines Daz has implicitly provided.
In any event, Smart Content is not what you mean - Smart Content is a tool for filtering by compatibility. What you are referring to is categorisation, which pre-dates Smart Content and does not depend on it in any way. The Smart Content pane is a separate, optional, pane that can be closed if not wanted. Categories and compatibilities are used by some features of DS and add-ons, but you can largely ignore them in use by sticking to the .. Formats containers in the Content Library pane, and you can avoid issues by using links when you rearrange those (the sensible approach would probably be to have a second content directory with your strictly arranged links, and leave the one with the actual files alone so that features that reply on them and updates work correctly).
Thanks everyone for continuing this, I have another question. I made a few folders I wanted to use as different categories, i put basic stuff in the original install location like genesis base stuff and a few characters, and then made folders for things like fantast science fiction and weapons and vehicles, and then changed to each folder through the advanced menu. so now it is all installed and I can't get DS to find the folders I made... Any ideas what is going on?
You mean content directories? Are they nested (one inside another)? If not just add them - right-click on Daz Studio Formats or use Content Directory Manager from Edit>Preferences (Daz Studio>Preferences for mac) in the Content tab, or from the Content Library option menu.
Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks, Richard.
Well ... now I have a different problem, I spent hours filling these folders with my content, and now there's nothing in them... And the HD space is STILL used... No clue what the hell is going on now... I got DS to recognize the folders just fine, but there is nothing in them, through DS or through my normal way of getting to the folders...
What do you see - nothing at all, or sub-folders without content?
Nothing at all no sub folders
I know what happened now... DIM did NOT put ANYTHING where I told it to put it, it put it ALL on my C drive in the My DAZ 3D Library folder, even after I made folders to put things into and even directed DIM to the folders before I installed them... so I am right back where I frigging started. With a jumbled mess of a library...
DIM will install to only one folder at a time, which you can select in Advanced Settings or at the bottom of the Ready to Install tab.
Apparently there was a step I had no clue about that someone else had to tell me about. The show details box on the bottom right corner, that didn't used to be there.
The feature has always been there, but apparently the label has changed (it used to be more specific - "Install to Where?") but it was there. http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/install_manager/referenceguide/interface/ready_to_install_page/start