Installation locations
lithomantis
Posts: 0
Does anyone have a handy list of all the places that DS4 puts bits of installed content please? Aside from the main content folders, I have a vague memory that other files get installed in less obvious places. Unfortunately, I can't remember where and can't find it on a forum search. I need to do a radical re-org of my computer and, having a ten-ton runtime, any 'hidden' bits will take up a lot of space. Using Win7 64-bit.
Many thanks for any help you can give.
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Comments
I am not sure what you mean here?
Maybe the 'data' folder? Everything now should be inside the main DAZ Studio content llibrary, except for plugins of course, whjich are treated as applications, and stored in the Program Files area. If you have been installing content yourself using the executable installers, then the default location should be in Documents/DAZ 3D/Studio/My Library, but if you installed using the new DIM, that location is now C:\Users\Public\Documents\My DAZ3D Library.
The Poser content should be inside the main folder as well, in a Runtime structure.
Yeah I am having trouble understanding too. When I install things I know exactly where they go and then the readme tells me even more info of what files should be where.
I probably do mean the data folder - as I said, it's a vague memory. So long as there are no other bits and pieces hidden in other places, I can do what I need to. Thanks for clarification; it's much appreciated.
I have stuff in three locations...My Library, the program folder and /users/my profile/Application Data/DAZ 3D/Studio4/. Now most of the time, installed items will NOT put anything in the last location...but that is where the compiled shader files are located (things like the ACTUAL shader files, not the presets...the sdl files) and the needed support scripts to make them work. Also that's where the log file resides...
Thank you mjc1016, you're a star. That sense of a 'behind the scenes' location has been nagging away at me. I'm sure this is what my vague memory was about.
lithomantis, I think your question is more about how DAZ Studio organizes files when they are saved properly.
And that has been a bit of a nagging question for me as well, how to save files PROPERLY in the first place so I don't have all this extra data being produced.
I believe, and I'm still unsure, that Save As/Support Asset/Figure-Prop Asset is the main way to do this so that all your own custom content is set up properly in the DATA folder.
My understanding is that if an object does not have reference files in the DATA folder, DAZ will create those when you save a scene file, and put them in locations that aren't what you would want... but if they ARE present in DATA, your scene files not only don't create any extra stuff, but become amazingly small.
I've tried to ask about this before, but I think I've had trouble making my question understood... how does DAZ Studio organize files when saving? Probably sounds a little vague. But saving files is a big deal, and it can become messy pretty quick if you don't have a good handle on how assets should be saved...
Hi Wancow. That thought is certainly in the background of my question and it's a valid point about the (sometimes) sketchy way that Daz works. But my specific purpose was simply to find all the Daz files on a particular computer. I'm re-purposing the machine and I want to be sure to scrub it clean. I'm pretty sure that's been answered now.
If it helps (and I realise it probably doesn't :o), I understand exactly what you mean. Good luck with getting Daz to take the message on board. Just imagine, a world of efficient and tidy software that did what you wanted, and didn't spatter your hard drive with digital shrapnel. It's just a cruel and crazy dream, I tell you!
I'm positive that someone knows, I think I've just not phrased the question properly in the past. What I'm almost positive about is this: when you create new content, or import content from the Poser libraries (and any Poser Content IS an import) Save As/Support Asset/Figure Prop Asset is something you should absolutely do in order to keep your files tidy, and only construct scene files off files that are DAZ native. So far, in my case, it looks like this has kept my files small and content manageable.
--> Wancow: I just finished saving a copy of the Gull Wing Sports Car as a scene subset duf, and as far as I can tell, there were only three files written - the duf itself and a png image in the save directory; and a geometry file stored in the data directory (under a folder named auto adapted).
Update: Just tried it as a scene asset, same results as far as I can tell.