What are the various file types and how to best categorize them?
I have been using DAZ for about a month. Through trial and error and reading the forums, I have decided that using Smart Content and the Content Library will not work for me.
I was looking at just moving files around in a way that I could work with, but I am unsure what all of them do. It seems that different file types can have the same function.
*.duf = whole characters (G3 Male), and also parts of characters, clothing, poses and packages of materials
*.duf also appears to change the color of things - I would have thought this was done with *.jpg, so does *.duf call other files?
*.dsb = character presets (Michael4)
*.ds = character surface texture? also appears to be some of the clothing, and eyeball color (I would have thought this would be a *.jpg)
*.obj = 3D object file - hair,
*.pz2 = I am guessing this is a Poser file. How can it be used in DAZ?
*.cr2 = hair, clothing, accessories, vehicles
*.png = I know this is a typical graphic file, but it seems to be used in DAZ to illustrate *.duf, *.dsb, etc
*.jpg = typical graphic file - seems to be used in DAZ for diffuse, bump and specular maps
Also, what does the SSS in some file names mean?
It seems that the DAZ Installer shoves things in corners and under the couch. Am I better off starting from scratch and manually downloading and installing?
Thanks!
Comments
There's a thread or website somewhere that explains various DAZ Studio and poser file types, hopefully somebody else can dredge that up. Below are some random notes i have saved from somewhere that may assist somewhat. You may not want to be moving some files around, as some of them are location dependent or are expected to be in certain places, although those people who like to adjust things can supply you with greater detail on this point. I also suspect you may be trying to categorize things based on file type in a way that might not ultimately be what you are looking for.
SSS means "subsurface shader" (search forums for more detail, but it would be used to simulate materials where light can go partially into the object, like human skin, semi-translucent plastics, etc.). Note that there are shaders/presets for both DAZ Studio and for Poser that use this same terminology but are not compatible with each other.
duf, dsb, ds are all DAZ Studio file formats. ds is old and no longer supported, but might still work, not sure as I'm a version behind on DS at this point. Lots of things could be in a duf, think of it as just a generic file storage format. For example you could have a Microsoft Word document that has a recipe in it, or a picture, or a newletter with a mix of text and pictures, or a bunch of hyperlinks that would then open web pages in your browser outside of word, etc, so it would make less sense to attribute certain kinds of meanings to a .doc document, other than that it is something intended for use with Word.
pz2 and cr2 are Poser file formats, but are still generally useable in DAZ Studio (and would need to be within a Poser runtime folder structure.)
jpg & png are just image files. they might be used to store images that you could apply to various surface parameters (diffuse, ambient, bump, displacement, opacity, etc.), they are also used as thumbnail images associated with other file types, for example if you save your .duf scene there will be a little thumbnail image saved for it too.
If you are unfamiliar with content organization, it would be better to start with DIM and let it install where it expects to until you get a handle on it. However you will probably need to know how to manually install for non-DAZ content, and once you know how to do it and do it a few times, manually installing is pretty painless. But of course there's a learning curve and it looks confusing at first.
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DAZ Studio formats:
.dsf, .duf: are just data, and are the officially supported format going forward. .dsf/.duf will not work in older versions of DS, but being data they will work in other applications such as Carrara (or even Poser and other third-party applications) once importers are available, unlike the scripts which require the DS scripting engine.
I have been told that if I have duplicate .dsf and .duf, I don't need the .duf.
.dsa, .dsb, .ds, .dse: are scripts - they actually have the instructions for asking for options and for making changes - and they have been deprecated and are no longer the officially supported method.
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Poser formats
cr2 - character file. contains rigging information, can contain morphs information, calls OBJ file for geometry, can call image files for textures. Almost always found in the Characters folder in Libraries BUT the extension can be changed and the file put in Props or Hair as well
pz3 - poser scene file. contains anything you put in there, plus lighting info, document setup info, and camera info.
pz2 - pose file. The'basic' pose file contains pose information. Then we've hacked it around a lot to do other things *heh*
pose file with Morph channels - can set morph dials as well. can be annoying if it resets facial expressions or your morphs
MAT pose - a special hacked kind of file that applies no pose information, just texture material information. Will call imagemaps in most cases
MOR pose - contains no pose information, just morph dial settings
SET pose - a pose that only moves the figure to s specific location in the scene. used in combination with complicated building sets
INJ pose - uses millennium 3 model Injection technology to inject morph deltas into a preexisting channel. For mil4 figures it injects the deltas into channels created during the EXP initialization stage
REM pose - removes morph deltas from figure, leaving channel intact
and then thers some odds and sods of 'special' stuff like python script start buttons, joint setting editors, and etc.
lt2 - poser light setting. may call imagemaps for light gels
hr2 - hair props. will call obj and imagemaps
pp2 - Prop file. when created geom is embedded. DAZ and most stores require geom be external. Will call imagemaps and obj
hd2 - hand pose setting
cm2 - camera setting
mc6 - poser 6+ material collection file. applies a set of images and settings to figure. calls imagemaps. Not sure, but I think it's possible to double-click the mc6 file in DAZ Studio and have it call a .dsa file instead.
mt5 - single material setting can be applied to anything. may call imagemaps
rsr: Preview image of a 3D model created with Poser, a 3D model rendering and animation program; provides a thumbnail preview image of the model in the Library palette; saved with the same filename as the file it represents, except for the extension. NOTE: RSR files are only used by the Windows versions of Poser before the Poser Pro Pack. They can be read by the Windows version of Poser 7 and earlier, but are not supported by Poser 8. Newer versions of Poser save preview images in the .PNG format, which is compatible with both Mac and Windows machines.
DO NOT MOVE FILES, if you don't understand the file system you will just make a mess of everything. Having multiple libraries for different stores/sites and/or content types can make finding thing a bit easier as you don't have as much to wade through in each library.
The Content Library will work for you. Products are arranged logically (e.g. People>Genesis 3 Female> Clothing or People> Genesis 3 Female> Characters
File types have nothing to do with content per se.
Trying to figure out the file types is just the side effect of me trying to find all of my DAZ purchases. I have been at this about a month, and there are already 36 packages that are not in Smart Content. I have a running list of them so I can try to find them in the Content library.
I would like a better system because either searching for "hair" or ticking the box for hair in the content library will not show me all of the hair available - even with no character on the screen, and Content Library shows things in a jumbled mess of styles and colors - currently over 1100. One problem example is Loose Comb Hair which only shows up in the Content Library when I type "loose" - it is not under any of the categories of hair . Another problem is Witch Hunter - the clothing only shows up when I type "witch", none of it shows up in any of the categories under wardrobe. I have tried uninstalling/reinstalling some of my problem content.
I would like to put all hair in one place, all clothing in one place, etc. and put the morphs with them. I want to be able to go through the items and get inspiration, but with the way Smart Content and Content Library works, that is currently not possible for me. So I really just want to understand how to make this system work.
Ok, I just tried Categorize with one of the Witch Hunter items and now it shows up in the Wardrobe category. Do I have to do that will all of the items of all of the packs that don't show up properly? Yikes!
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/tech_articles/file_extensions/start
If you use DIM to install products from Daz, the structure will be logical and you shouldn't have any trouble finding things in the Content Library. See screenshot. Note that I have altered the final "Hair" directory somewhat.
I know you indicated you were not interested in the content library. However, should you change your mind at some future point, you can use the content library to categorize your content in a way that makes sense for you. (you still have to find it initially of course, but once found you can put it somewhere where you can find it more easily from then on.) I'm not sure how it works in 4.9, however at least back in 4.8 when you added content it would dump it all into an unassigned category, so that is where you would start looking for it if it didn't have smart content and you couldn't find it by product name. If you have a bunch of content already installed this will be a big task, however once you have it categorized I usually just installed a few products at a time so it was clear what belonged to what, and I could categorize that small group, then repeat.
Categories and Products in the Content Library pane use the database just like Smart Content, look under either Studio Formats or Poser Formats.