Structure of Content Library

neverstoplearning

When I look at the layout of my content library, with some Daz3D items which were installed by DIM, and some Renderosity Items installed from zips, I see a structure that is somewhat ... how shall I put it? ... chaotic.

My question is, can I (respectfully) collapse the artist names and other extraneous levels out of the folder structure without violating any laws and without losing functionality?

In some cases the artist's name appears twice in the tree, example ...\Content\data\artistname\itemname\Morphs\artistname\Base -- I would collapse this to ...\Content\data\itemname\Morphs\Base

Surely this verbosity is unnecessary?

Thanks

SickleYield

If it's in data/ you cannot change any names or folders. Those paths are coded into the library file and if you change it, the item will no longer load. You can rearrange library folders (below People, Props, Environments) if you wish, but the data folder structure and the Runtime/textures substructure needs to remain unchanged.

neverstoplearning

I am honoured to have my very noob question answered by such a noted and admired artist.  Thankyou. I love your tutorials. Now I need to understand how to create these library files etc if I am ever going to publish anything. Does such a library file get created by part of the publication process or before that?

SickleYield

Thank you, that's very flattering. :) Data files are generated by Daz Studio when you save a figure, morph or prop to the library using file-save as-support assets-figure/prop asset or file-save as-support assets-morph asset. The .duf and .dsf files store the geometry or rigging or both - unlike with Poser's .cr2 system there is no external .obj file once saved (except for saving your original one as a backup, which is always a good idea).

Fossil

Hi Neverstoplearning,  What you're referring to are called 'ego folders' and have been a source of irritation since this whole thing started with Poser almost 20 years ago.  I have a few items in my Poser runtimes that are 8 directories deep.  Folks have been asking/demanding that content brokers reign in the overblown egos of some of these clowns for years but nothing ever comes from it.

While organizing Poser formatted runtimes is simple, the Daz content hierarchy is an incomprehensible mess, and despite asking/begging/pleading for someone...anyone to post a simple picture of the file structure, I have yet to get a clear response.  I'm told to let DIM do it (sure, let's let DIM spray files and folders all over my computer and fill up the one-and-holy C:documents mess) because users are too stupid to organize their own files. 

 

SickleYield

Nothing in /data is superfluous. Here vendor names ARE needed because sometimes products have identical item names ("shirt"). The program even gives the .dsf a unique number just in case ("shirt_3837"). A second vendor name folder in the morphs structure is there to indicate the same vendor made the morphs (they're not from an add-on). This is why data/DAz 3D/Genesis 3/Female/Morphs contains many vendor name folders: each is a morph set made by a different vendor. No one gives you a picture of the file structure because that request appears nonsensical. What is it you want to see that isn't just identical on any DIM-installed system?