Returning to Carrara - need some help please
jrm21
Posts: 140
Been away for a while. While I really like Carrara, I always end up getting frustrated and walk away for a while. Been doing this since the Ray Dream Designer days and it seems not much has changed. :)
Just reformatted my Mac with a clean system install and a brand new SSD boot drive. Figured I would try a clean install of some DAZ software and tyr to have some fun. Unfortuneatly, I am more furstrated than ever.
Installed Studio first, figuring I would need the content management system. That didn't go so well. I want to keep the content files off my SSD and on to my other spinning drives. Plenty of TB to store things there. I just want to keep apps on my boot drive. I specifiy some folders in DAZ Studio and things started to break. Ended up uninstalling and strating over. Things seemed to work (although I never found Studio to be very intuitive - can never seem to find "content"). Of course, Studio consistently locks up when trying to quit (until you figure out that you need to go into "work offline" mode prior to quitting).
Next up, I installed the Install Manager. Set my preferred directories... apps to the boot drive and content to an external drive. Installed C8.5 Pro along with all the support/content files. Then installed some other content from my account.
First off, the install manager ignored my directory settings for some items, while it respected the settings for others. I recall the days when the installer was broken and didn't install the "core" content in the application package. Now I see how good things were when they were "broken." With just a few installs, Carrara has blossomed to about 2GB. Tons of content have been installed to the "Presets" folder inside the package.
To compound matters, most of that installed content does not show up in the browser. I can't even add it manually.
Example... Cloud Nine Lighting Solutions. All the files were installed in various "presets" folders. Some of the content shows up in the "Scenes" tab (under "Lighting"). However, there are also many other files, including some nice HDR backgrounds, that I cannot find in any tab. They are sitting the the "Textures" folder, but nowhere in the browser. I remember these were all accessible in my previous install. The folders cannot be added manually either... the folder will appear, but shows as empty in Carrara's browser.
I installed "Ecomantics" (Carrara version). All the files were installed, but absolutely nothing shows up in the Carrara browser.
Content management is difficult enough... "smart content" is still a mess in Carrara, there are rarely clues as to which product will work with which. Tried to load in "Micheal 5" and kept getting errors with no useful information. Through some guesswork, I realized that "Genesis" must be loaded first. My seem like old hat to you regulars, but how am I supposed to know that M5 = Genesis? Not exacty intuitive. I see there are Genesis 2 and 3 now. Trying to find them is no small task either... don't look in the "people" folder (too easy). You have to look in the '"figures" folder. Then look individually through both top level and the various subdirectories to see what's avaiable. No idea how you all keep it straight.
To have gigabytes of data copied but totally inaccessible just adds insult to injury. I have never been so quickly reminded why I walked away from Carrara. Usually it takes me a few weeks to get this frustrated.
When you finally get a figure loaded, things get more interesting. Under the shaders tab is a "skin" category. I was led to belive these are Carrara shaders for the figures. Skin->Genesis->Michael 5... no shader avaiable. There are some subfolders with shader files for Benjamin, James and Philip. Try to apply one of those and things go south. A file selector box appears, apparently looking for missing files. Problem is that there is no clue as to which file is missing (why is is missing on a fresh install?). Takes about 20-30 "cancels" to finally get rid of the file selector
Sorry for the rant. It seems many of you have Carrara set up and running well. I'm hoping you can share the secret. :) I have read through several "getting started" posts here. I have watched some vids on YouTube. None cover the missing files/inaccessible files issues I am having.
What the heck am I doing wrong? I'm game for a fresh install it that's what it takes.
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Comments
HI Jrm21 :)
nice to see you back
It's probably going to be easier, for you to install Carrara, and any other apps you have, onto your main big hard drives.
the Access time,. and read/write time from a modern large format drive is pretty fast,.
The "benefit" from an SSD should be faster boot and OS performance,. and generally faster access to programs , but size/cost is the main problem with SSD,.
I can buy a 256gb USB thumb drive for much less than a 128gb SSD,. and that makes no sense to me,. since they're both flash drives
install your programs and content onto the big drives,. since there's more space available, leave the SSD with as little on it as possible OS
it makes sense to use DIM (daz Download Install manager) to install all of your Programs and Content,.
rather than install DS or Carrara manually,. then use dim to install content,(into where it thinks your programs should be installed).
Use the applications tab in DIM to point it to any manually installed applications,. Photoshop / Z-brush etc.
Carrara is an older program,. and was written when it was common practice for each program to have it's own program folder,. and all of it's "user files" would be stored there.
Some things need to be in the Presets folder,. so they still need to be installed with carrara.
Carrara also creates a " My Presets" folder in your (My documents) for you own saved scenes, objects, shadrs, etc.
but the Native Content (Bundles scenes shaders, models, etc) ...is slightly different.
OK , first thing to understand is that Carrara's "native content" is supplied as examples,. they're not files which are "needed" to run carrara , they're almost essential, and really helpful when you're getting started. since they provide the Wizards for easy scene creation, selecting shaders from presets,. etc...
In "Beta testing",.. Carrara is supplied as only the Core program,. not content,.
Some of the other (Bundled content) includes Daz3D stuff,.. example Carrara shaders for m5 etc,.. these should have accompanying "Products" in DIM,. eg V4, M5 genesis2 which will actually install the "image texture maps" which the carrara shaders are looking for.
for cloud nine,.
Some carrara products add their files to existing folders,. and some create new folders,.
Carrara doesn't automatically scan it's folders and add new folders to the browser,. unless a folder already exists,. then it will update any new files in that folder.
If a product creates new foldrs,. they need to be added manually. (there should be a Readme.doc with the product)
You can add any folders,. (including Runtime and Library folders for Daz/Poser content
Your HDRI files are images,(not a carrara file). they're placed in the Textures folder so that the "Background" presets,.. which are part of that set, ..can load them up.
You should have some "Background" preset files. which can be dragged from the browser, and dropped into the Scene Background slot.
In DIM,. you can select any installed product,. Right click,. and select "show installed files" this will display a list of the installed files,. and should show any "readme" file whch can help you add any folders in carrara, if that's needed.
Hope it helps :)
DIM is set up for a "typical user" (whatever that is), so basically it installs everything into the main drive.
A lot of us don't want that.
Unless you have a particular and very good reason not to, it's best to let DIM install the actual programs to their default locations. On a Mac, that's Applications, on a PC that's Program Files or Program Files (x86) depending on whether you're installing 64bit or 32bit. Run DIM and do that, and ONLY that. Quit DIM.
Now you can run DIM again and go into the settings panel. Tell it the location of your Carrara and Daz Studio apps. Also tell it where to install Studio Content (e.g. /3D/My_Studio_Library or D:\My_Studio_Library etc. You might need to create the path). Let DIM install all the content.
You'll have to tell Carrara where the content is. It should automatically find its native content, but the other stuff needs a little help. In the browser panel at the bottom of the Carrara window, select the Content tab. At the top right of this pane you should now see a row of round buttons. The Dark one on the right will bring up a file menu. Use "Add Folder" to add Studio-style content libraries (what we set up above) and use "Add Runtime" to add Poser-style runtimes. The installed content should now appear as hierarchical menus down the left-hand side.
As regards Smart Content, unfortunately Carrara lacks the helper tags and popup images that Studio Provides, which means we get presented with (e.g.) a row of 5 identical icons with identical names, and no way to determine which is a DS item, a Poser item, a companion file, or mat preset etc, other than by clicking on them and seeing what happens. Pain in the fundament, and reported many times, but Daz is uninclined to fix it.
Don't have the specific products you mentioned, so I can't help with those.
Hope you get things up and running. :)
JRM21, I thought that I had a few problems in setting up Studio files, but they pale in comparison to your issues.
I also use an SSD, loaded with Studio and Carrara, with virtually all other content on another drive. It took me a while to figure out how to do that in Studio (setting the pathways), as file management in Studio is probably my weakest area of understanding. What it took for me was submitting a ticket to Daz, and letting them guide me through the process specific to my situation. I highly recommend that you do that. Once your Studio content is set up and more or less easily accessable, Carrara setup is a snap. At least, that was my experience.
If you can't find all of your Daz content in Studio, then something is wrong. As disorganized as my system is, I can always find my Daz content. In Carrara it is not quite as easy. But it's a lot easier than what you have apparently experienced.
Finally, I'm using a PC rather than a Mac, so I have purposely avoided giving you specific setup instructions. Writing a Daz help ticket worked for me.
Good luck!
yes the Studio pathways need to be correct first if using DAZ content both duf and Poser.
I allow all the programs to install to their default locations (Applications). No issue there. I just want my _content_ on a separate drive.
I set the path in DIM. Some content gets installed where I specify. Other content does not.
On the Mac, the Carrara app is a "package" file. That is a special type of folder that appears to the system as a single file. You double-click on the package to launch the software. Inside the package are several files and directories. In these directories are all of Carrara's native presets.
My problem here is two-fold:
1. Several items installed by DIM place files inside this "package." These are not DAZ "standard content" files. They are third-party add-ons (purchased in the DAZ store). This is exactly the content I want installed on a separate drive.
2. Not all of this content shows up in Carrara. I am familiiar with the "add folder" operation in the browser. This just doesn't work. First, you can not access folders in the "package" from the file selector box (so they cannot be added manually). They are hidden by the system. Carrara should automatically see these upon startup. It sees the folders and load _some_ of the installed content. Many of these items still do not appear in the browser, even when the folder is "added" manually. This is all Carrara content - not DAZ Studio models.
I may open a support ticket as UnifiedBrain suggests. I'm hesitant to do so from my prior experience. Bug reports and problems submitted would remain in a "pending" status for over a year. I'm still waiting to hear back on tickets submiitted in 2012.
1. That'll happen for any native Carrara content. There's no option to change it either in Carrara or DIM. Carrara comes from a bygone age in this respect, and it is what it is. You can install manually to another drive, but the content won't be available through the Open Presets etc methods. Some things (leaves for trees being one) just flat out won't work if they are not in the right place. If you absolutely must have all content on a different drive, about all I can suggest is creating an alias to your "new" top level content folder and substituting that for the one inside the package.
2. I think this is a uniquely Mac problem. The workaround is to create an alias of the content folder within the package and drag it elsewhere. Then you'll be able to add the alias folder to your browser and see the content. Effectively this is the opposite of my suggestion in point 1.
2a. My experience with tickets is the same as yours - it sits around being ignored for a year, then they throw it back.
So DIM allows you to set a path for content, but completely ignores that setting for Carrara? With no notice or warning? I see things around here are as intuitive as ever. :) I am familiar with the need for certain items to be in a specific location. That was never an issue in the past. I also don't mind _some_ content on my boot drive. But there should be no need to have items like background hdr or jpg files forced into the package where they become inaccessible (and invisible).
The more I look, the more I find Carrara content that was installed into the package, but is not visible at all in Carrara. They even install the "readme" files into the package. That makes no sense.
I would play around with aliases and other methods. I also have no problem with "add folder" to link content in other locations. While not ideal, I can deal with workaorunds. There is no point to that when some content simply will not show up at all in the browser - whether installed by DIM into the package, or added manually to the package or an alternate location. The "folder" gets added, but it shows in the browser as empty. Some content appears, some doesn't.
Then there's the issue of missing files - apply a shader to a figure and you enter file selector box hell - the FSB keeps opening to find a file, but there is no hint of the what you need to look for.
It's not just the 1980s voodoo installation system - once I got past that it became apparent that something is broken.
I entered a ticket. Perhaps I will have a response when the 8.51 beta program starts in another 3 or 4 years. :) For now, I am simply going to uninstall everything.
Yeah, that'a a Yosemite (or is it Mavericks?) induced bug. Pretty much everyone suffered that, even Photoshop. It's just that everyone else got off their arses and fixed it.
This is simply the way that the creator decided was the most logical,. create a folder for the HDRi's,. then load each one from there to create the Background presets.
There is NO need to keep things that way,.
HDRI files are nothing to do with carrara or the way it works,. so they don't "need" to be in the carrara program folder.
You can Move the HDRI file to any other location ,. then rebuild each background preset,. (to point to the new location of the HDRI's ) then save this new preset,. to your browser.
The preset will then reference the current loation of those hdri files
The Presets are simply a way to allow you to easily load in a background hdri and it's settings. (given that you installed them as they were designed to be installed).
in exactly the same way that a Products shaders,. will reference the image texture maps,. located in a folder.
If you don't like the location of the folder,. Move it,.. and rebuild the shaders to point to the new location of your texture maps.
Make sure that you have installed the "main product" as it's "shaders" will reference image texture maps which will only be present on your system if you have installed the product.
EG : Carrara shaders for Philip,. needs to have M5 Philip textures installed.
The same priniciple applies to any other example Carrara shader,. they don't contain the image texture maps,. they reference the products textures from your Daz Library / Runtime / Textures folder.
Hope it helps :)
ixnay dim. >.<
i like to unzip to temp directories (ps, ds, ca), organize how i like it, then drop it into their respective libraries
keeping all content on my E: drive
the content manager has its own installer.
i havent found a way to stop the ds installer from auto-installing it,
had to uninstall it after the ds install
then ran the content manager (post oger) installer ... and do the hokey pokey lol
and mebbe mistaken, but think you haz to have the **Update - 8.5.1.19** for ca to read post ogre cms,
anything older needs valentina ... but not sure when post ogre support kicked in
as far as i can tell the cms helps with autofit.
but i dont see how to transfer morphs in carrara if it's not already in the outfit, have to do it thru ds
i play with carrara on my dayjob pc, i use duf props okay with no ds or cms installed.
duf works fine as long as the content folder is "added", has to be duf, not dsa
another tip for returnies, genesis and gen2 has several uv sets for their different iconic characters,
dont see a way inside carrara to swap uv sets.
for backgrounds and atmospheres, add them to misc tab and it will ask you to specify which type it is.
Moving folders, no problem.
How do you "rebuild" the shader (or other files)? Keep in mind that if it is going to ask me for the location of "missing" (i.e. moved) files, that won't work. There is a bug that makes you have to guess which file the program is looking for.
Also, the issue of installing files in an undesired location is just part of the problem. There are files and presets that get installed, but never show up in the broswer at all. These are all Carrara specific items. I can see all the files in the folders and DIM confirms they were installed there. They simply are not there in the browser. Moving these files and "Adding" the folder (and/or updating it) doesn't help.
Not sure what you mean by "main product." This is a fresh install. Whatever I added from placed the M5 Philip selections in the browser (among other things). Why would that shader option be installed if the textures for that shader are in a different product? How do I determine what product is needed to make those shaders work?
Sorry, but that's all greek to me. I installed the latest Carrara installer available for download. (Not sure which version, since it is all uninstalled and deleted at the moment).
"post ogre cms," "valentina" - no idea what that is or how to tell if I had one or the other.
jrm21, Check out PostgreSQL CMS to get an idea of the difference. It mostly mentions DAZ Studio... I don't know when Carrara started using it. From what I read it was introduced during DS 4 and later. I can't say too much more other than Postgre runs automagically whenever an app, Carrara or DS starts and it supports Smart content. It's a bit confusing to me also... I never used DS except to get content earlier than DS 4+ when I rendered a few very occasionally.
To find out if you have the latest version of Carrara 8.5 just click on the DAZ logo at uppermost left and choose "about Carrara" which will bring up it's splash window. It should say "Carrara 8.5.1 Pro Build 19". Also see Official Release of Carrara 8.5 **Update - 8.5.1.19** for details.
I looked at what I had. It was "Carrara 8.5.1 Pro Build 19." So I had the latest version (which makes sense since I used the latest download). I suspect I also had the
PostgreSQL CMS" since I recall seeing that elephant icon in the application folder.
With all due respect, what does that mean? I installed various content - "studio" and "Carrara." All Carrara files seemed to end up in the right place, but most never showed up in the browser. For the Studio files, some had broswer entries, but were missing all the required files. Due to the bug in the software, I have no idea what files were missing.
I heard back from customer service today on my ticket. They sent me a link wiht instructions for installing Carrara content manually (because DIM will only install it in the Carrara package). That's nice, but it doesn't address the problem of _installed_ content not showing up in the brower or showing up with all the textures missing.
I've found that most Carrara content needs to have it's "folder" added so that it will be listed in the browser. When looking under the Content tab for Studio files I've noticed a lot do not show up... wish I knew why. I had much the same problem for some older PC+ content and JGreenlees made sure it got fixed... she is very fast at updating metadata for items... there are others working on metadata for older non-PC+ content.
To add folders use the "File/Folder menu", black circle at far right side at top of browser, and choose "add folder". The path is "C:Program Files/DAZ3D/Carrara8.5" or where you installed Carrara to. You will find most content installed in the Presets folder. I open DIM, a file lister and Carrara... Dim I use to find out the path to it's content... the file lister I keep open to check for items not installed and where they are... and finally Carrara to add the folder... it's a PITA but I finally get everything.
BTW: I'm running on a Windoze machine.
Have you tried right-clicking the Carrara application and choosing, Show Package Contents? If so, make an alias of the Mac OS folder and stick it somewhere outside of the package folder. Now, when you see something that isn't in the browser, but know it should be because it is in the application package, you can use the Add Folder option, and navigate to the folder by going into the package by going through the alias. That's what I do, and it works as long as I'm not trying to load a folder full of shaders into the object browser.
Regarding the lack of information when getting an open dialogue because Carrara can't find a shader, I can't help with that.
That's a great tip. It defies logic, but it works.
For kicks, I tried a fresh install of Carrara. I'm a little ticked that the "uninstall" process left many files on my system, but I guess I this level of sloppiness is what one should expect.
I simply installed the basic content packages. Then I installed the 'pro shaders' package. All the files were there in the expected locations, but no file or folder for it would show up in the browser.
Using your suggestion, I created an alias of the entire "Presets" folder - outside the Carrara package. In the browser, I then used "add folder" to navigate to the "Shaders" folder via this alias. This. properly shows all the content in the shaders folder. Seems I am going to have to go through this for each folder. Hopefully that will solve the problem of installed content not appearing in the browser. Textures are still missing from the default "skin" shaders, but at least this is a step in the right direction.
It's ironic. I originally wanted to install Carrara content outside the package and designated a location for that. The installer ignored this setting to install inside the package. However, the software refuses to see the content unless it is outside the package. I think they go out of their way to make it this obtuse.
Maybe its just a Mac thing with DAZ, but honestly I don't see how you folks get anything done with this software. Last time I gave up form the impossibly slow performance and constant crashing ("unknown error" anyone?). Now I can't even get things intalled to the point where I can do something to make the software crash. I'm almost (almost!) tempted to install and fire up Windows in "bootcamp" mode to see if thing work there. DAZ has always seemed to favor windows installations.
BTW - still waiting to hear back from tech support/customer service. Their inital response ignored the missing content problem entirely. After I re-explained the real problem, they wrote that they would get back to me with information on the "best way to handle installations."
The only files left on your system would be files which were NOT installed,. EG: User preferences / licence files.
An uninstaller will UNinstall every file it installs,. Registration and user preference files are Created by YOU,.. upon opening and activating the product.
So,. what did you do,. Uninstall it and re install it where you originally told it to?,. Or,. move the files manually after installation?,. or,. try and figure out WHY it installed to an unspecified location ?
Are you using DIM to install this ?
I dont thing that's true, or makes any logical sense, from a retail and software development perspective.
However,. Mac have a history of changing stuff deliberately to make older products obsolete,,. where Windows has always retained compatability with older OS versions, and the ability to work with older programs.
perhaps that's part of the difference.
You got it in one.
you should ask yourself why your OS works this way ? before you criticise everyone else.
Why are all of your programs,.. protected from the users?,.
Andy, the Mac issue is sloppy toolbox use from DAZ and Eovia before that. The reason I know the trick about the package contents is because this goes back to at least version 7, maybe earlier. Howie's scenes included instructions for Mac users because of that bug.
There are only really two or three issues caused by Apple uopdating the OS, and one of them was definitely DAZ's fault for not implementing the fix ahead of time, and that was when Apple was ditching Carbon (or was it Cocoa?) Either way, it was on the development road map for quite awhile, and Apple issued periodic reminders about it. The big snafu they had was changing a font library which screwed up a lot of software, and as far as I know it was not some kind of conspiracy to make the previous versions unsupportable. The most recent one is the search box issue, and again, other companies have fixed it, and DAZ has chosen not to.
I do agree that the OP seems more than happy to complain, and some of those are legit complaints, like the stuff installed in the application package. The skin issue with the texture maps is probably because he needs the Studio equivilent installed correctly, because the Carrara skin shaders reference those texture maps. If they aren't where they should be, then Carrara can't find them.
I wouldn't say "more than happy" to complain. More that I am extrememly frustrated at a software package that after more than 20 years requires absurd workarounds just to get it to work properly. Cut me a little slack for some venting. :) I would be "more than happy" to be having trouble at creating something, rather than just getting the software to run.
@3DAGE
I didn't mean to get into a windows vs mac argument. I have been told in this forum many times (years ago) that windows is a better choice for DAZ software. Never seen the reverse claimed. I have no basis for comparison, so can only go by what I was told. Not sure what you mean by asking why the OS works that way before I "criticise everyone else." Since Windows users seem to greatly outnumber Mac users in these forums, Windows does seem a better choice as one is more likely to get meaningful responses to techincal problems like the ones I have experienced.
It's pretty simple. DAZ recommends using DIM to install. DIM asks for paths to install. I set the path for content. DIM ignores that path for Carrara and observes it for Studio. This results in files being placed in a DAZ selected location not normally acessible by the user. There is no warning or notice of this location change. After doing so, Carrara still refuses to see these files. Seems more like a Carrara problem than an OS problem.
I would assert that the software created the license/preference files as part of the installation. The user doesn't directly create them and they are not readliy acessible. FWIW, there was more than a preference file left behind. If removal of a program involves simply delteing the program and/or the folder it is in, an uninstall program is superflouous. Running an uninstaller implies (to me, at least) that other, less obvious files, will also be removed. Not the end of the world. Just adds insult to injury (and makes a true "clean" install much more difficult).
First time: 1. Installed DAZ Studio. Allow default location for program and specified an external drive folder for content. The install process asks for both. Then I installed DIM. I specified the same locations in those prefs: Default, for applications, external folder for content. Used DIM to install Carrara and all DAZ/Carrara content. No manual installs.
Second time: Installed DIM. Set app and content path to external drive. Allow DIM to install all Carrara content where it wants and not bother my boot drive. No manual installs.
I moved nothing manually, as I know that can break links.
I posted here to try and figure out why they installed to the wrong location. I also wrote to DAZ support. Per DAZ support: "Unfortunately, the Install Manager and Carrara content are set up to install to the Applications directory." So it seems to be a failing of DIM that it will only install Carrara content where it wants, and not where you ask it to.
Does "why" matter? Not to me - I just want my software to work. How is that even a related issue? If you can't write software that conforms to the OS, don't write the software. I don't think it unreaonable to specify an installation path and have that honored by the software, without any notice or warning. I also think it reasonable if I run the "offical" installer that the content it installs shows up _somewhere_ in the software.
Maybe I'm too demanding, but I find it unacceptable for the installer to place a file in the broswer that is missing all its components. There are "Carrara" skin textures that were placed as part of the default content package. None of these work. All are "missing" all the textures. Either the textures aren't there (bug) or the software is looking for them in the wrong directory (sloppy install programming). The result is that I have to click "cancel" 60+ times (lost count after 60) or force-quit the program. These items may not be where they should (as evilproducer suggests) but they are exactly where DAZ put them. (FYI - I have confirmed they are in the DAZ content folder, and Studio has no problem seeing them. I was able to get some textures to work by manually linking the missing texture files. Unfortunately, Carrara crashed on my shortly after that, so all the linking work was lost.).
I run some pretty heavyweight software packages, both from Apple and third party vendors. Virtually every single package is rock solid and works as expected/advertised. They all seem to work within any of the limitations that you imply of OS X. DAZ is, and has always been, an exception. This goes back to the Ray Dream Designer days. In the end it doesn't matter who's fault it is. If the software doesn't work (or costs too much in time/trouble/band-aids to make it work) that is a problem. I sincerely hoped things had improved since my last go-around. From where I am sitting, they have not. Frankly, it is (in *my* experience) a hot mess.
@Evilproducer...
Thank you VERY MUCH for the alias suggestion. It has solved 90% of the missing content issues. Very often I need to restart Carrara two or three times and/or remove then add the content folders, but eventually all the content shows up. I just install one item at a time and then open Carrara after each to see what might be showing up.
So now that I have been able to install Carrara and some content, I was hoping to use the software. Unfortunately, it isn't very stable. Loading an object from the browser will crash Carrara about 50% of the time. Just poof... and it quits without warning while trying to load a DAZ item in to the scene. It isn't item specific - the item might load fine this time and crash next time.
Sorry if I came off a little brash. I am getting cranky as I get older. Certainly didn't mean to personally insult anyone or question their choice of operating systems. Carrara is a good piece of software that has (had?) potential. Many of you are producing excellent work with it. I'm jealous that you all seem to be able to run the software without the issues I have experienced. I've never had much luck getting this software to run properly. After 20 years of more or less the same issues, I am simply frustrated. Especially since no one else seems to be having these problems.
FWIW, I'm 99% sure that issue started with a version 7 installer - maybe even v8. It was definitely after Apple introduced "packages." I did purchase some of the HW stuff back then and recall the need to install a leaf(s) inside the package.
The bigger issue was the installer. In version 8 and 8.5 beta, DIM/bitrock would not install Carrara content inside the package. However the software would look for it there (the "presets" folder was there, just empty). This resulted in people running the installer and not having any content show up in the software. You needed to manually copy the files from the installed folder into the correct package folders.
When starting my current install, I saw a note somewhere that DAZ had fixed the installer. The original problem is corrected - DIM will now install the default content in the package so the program can see it where it expects it to be. According to DAZ support (as mentioned in my prior post) the application package is now the ONLY place that DIM will install any Carrara content, regardless of user settings. That's important to know, especially for those who don't understand how "packages" work.
The above is not the issue I experienced. While DIM now places content in the package, that content was still not visible in Carrara. The files were all there where the application expected them. The items and folders would just not be visible in the browser. I would have, for example, ten shaders and five folders in the actual directory, but only three of those shaders and two of the folders would appear in the browser (after "update folder" and program restarts).
Using your suggestion of creating an alias for the "presets" folders outside the package and then manually adding them to the browser seemed to fix the problem (for the most part).
I was not happy about Carrara placing my content in a different location than specified, but that was a separate issue from the files not showing up in the browser.
Sorry to hear of your continuing problems.
Returning to my previous (old) question, did you eventually get Studio to work properly? If I remember correctly, I had to set the correct paths up both in the DIM, and in Studio. And both paths were set up after the Studio installation, not during.
If you haven't yet been successful there, could you send a screenshot of your DIM install path? It's the window where you click the little gear on the top right, and then the installation tab.
Thanks,
Studio seems to work fine. A bit of a learning curve for me to navigate the "browser" but everything seems to be there. My problems seems specific to Carrara. App/Content paths seem to be set correctly/same in in Studio and DIM.
I guess my venting served to harm the signal/noise ratio. My apologies to all.
To simplify, issues at the moment are:
1. Carrara only seeing _some_ content. For example, I install a new shader. File is placed in the shader folder by DIM. All the previous shaders show up in the browser. Only the new one is invisible. "Update folder" and restarts don't help. The alias suggestion previously outlined (and sometimes a "remove folder - add folder" process") is the workaround.
2. Carrara sometimes crashing on loading DAZ content. Crashes sometimes, not others.
3. Missing textures is likey resolved through a workaround. The files are there, in the default "DAZ content" location. Studio sees them just fine. Carrara cannot and asks the user to find them. Due to a bug (acknowledged as such by DAZ) Carrara does not tell you what file to find when it opens the file selector box. This makes it impossible to relink. You can still apply the shader and then manually rebuild shaders in the shader room by figuring out which texture file goes where. Not 100% sure this is a permanent solution since Carrara crashed after I finished relinking everything. I am hoping that is why my relinking didn't "stick." I don't have time right now to go through the entire process again. Am going to wait to hear back from DAZ before investing more time in workarounds. They might have an easier solution.
4. The basic "path" issue question is answered. According to DAZ, DIM will only install Carrara content into the Carrara package folder on a Mac. You can change this location in DIM, but DIM will only honor that change for Studio content. Carrara content will always go in the main "presets" folder.
I've seldom, if ever, had "update folder" work. For a lot of the shaders, especially older ones, I had to use "Add Folder" and go to where it's located to add it. Unfortunately for me this creates a new category under shaders for their name instead of placing them among other shaders. When I do it like this the Shaders are added and ready for use. If anyone knows a better way I'd like to know it. I'm on a Windoze machine.
I've never had Carrara crash when loading any content other than G3 Figures. I think the same is true for G3 clothing as is but may be wrong. Others have been somewhat successful but not via a direct load of the Figure or clothing... too much work for me... I'm lazy... DAZ should have never come out with G3 without it also working in Carrara 8.5 Pro.
I've gotten into the habit of saving the scene in Carrara before making any major or even minor changes like loading content whether it be DAZ or even Carrara. I also save to incremental file name just to be safe even though I've only had a problem once or twice with not doing so. I have had Carrara lock up and had to shut it down via Task Manager occasionally... another reason for saving fairly often. After restarting I've loaded the file I was working on and had no problem... this was likely due to too many projects open at once and switching back and forth or who knows... not me.
I wonder if that after you load the file after locating the textures if it would help to save the file to your Carrara browser. When you save your scene you can also check the option to save everything internally, which the scene,... this would slow down the loading of the scene but would be worth it if you didn't have to go search down the textures again.
I feel your frustration... it took me a month of back and forth with Support/Help before getting everything where it worked properly.
RE: hard to find carrara content files
Unfortunately, DIM does not install all Carrara content where it is told to, only some of it. Sometimes DIM installs Carrara content to random places. This is not a Carrara bug, it is a DIM and Daz support bug. What I mean is that the affected content does not have any errors and can still be downloaded manually and placed where desired. I have reported this as a bug when it happens but have been told by Daz support to delete everything and reinstall on my C: drive - not an option with my computer configuration. I started a thread in the Commons about it because it is a DIM issue. The very knowledgable Richard H could do lttle more than agree that given my settings (I had attached screenshot of my DIM settings), DIM should not have installed the scattered content where it did.