DAZ Install Manager (prob allready asked, but been away for very long time :( )

Scythar

Situation up untill few months ago:

always installed everything via standard installer.

Before genesis was out:...

- all none M4 related characters/props (M3 related, buildings monsters robots etc.) in a Poser Content folder for the poser installer on seperate drive, all DS installers at there standard place. NO DEINSTALLERS
- all M4 related items, same procedure, but in a seperate Poser content folder on seperate drive. DS installers also in standard place. Again, no deinstallers.
(Yes i know i have a lot of duplicates in seperate locations, but i didnt care up until now, i just wanted to be sure if something was Studio specific, i would have it installed)
- all genesis related items are installed on there standard locations, ibelieve it should be something like .../.../DAZ3D/My Library or something on C drive.

to make long story short: So up until now all items i specific use in DS (M4 related and Genesis related) are on that standard location, i think genesis with deinstaller, but i think M4 without. Not sure though. All the rest is on a seperate drive, without deinstaller.

A BIG MESS, i know. But thats who i am actually.

NOW:
I used the DIM for downloading all my content (should be something like +120GB) and let the installer install it at his standard location. I figured if this worked, i should have 2 similar content folders on my C drive and just delete 1 of them.
But apparently this is not the way it works.
There all installed at a very diferent place (f.ex. not people -> genesis -> clothing etc.) and most of them i think are even empty folders.

I saw the video about deinstalling, but first of all, like i said many deinstallers aren't even there, those which should be there, i dont know where to find them, AND secondly i didnt find here anyone explaining WHY i would really need to deinstall 1 by 1 all the prvious items.
Thats why i tried it the Lazy Way.

Could someone help me out here to tell me what would really be the fastest way to solve this, and why it doesnt just work by adding another DAZ Studio folder in the preferences... ?

HELP ! :)

mark128

I posted my experience with upgrading to the DIM here http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/21322/

I had most of the uninstallers and ran them for the products that were supported by the DIM. I had also created a lot of my own categories in the content library to organize things in a way I could find things. By running all the uninstallers, I was able to save most of the category data I had created, and I describe how I did it in that thread.

The main questions are, do you have a lot of category data that would be lost by blowing away the old libraries?

Do you have a lot of 3rd party content in you libaries?

Your setup sounds more complicated. Do you still have the original installers?

JimmyC_2009

I used the DIM for downloading all my content (should be something like +120GB) and let the installer install it at his standard location. I figured if this worked, i should have 2 similar content folders on my C drive and just delete 1 of them.
But apparently this is not the way it works.
There all installed at a very diferent place (f.ex. not people -> genesis -> clothing etc.) and most of them i think are even empty folders.

If you do not change anything, the default location for the DIM is C:\Users\Public\Documents\My DAZ 3D Library

My DAZ 3D Library is the new name and location for My Library (Content in DS3). You would need to add that folder as a path in Preferences for both Poser Formats and DAZ Studio Formats. Just make sure that the path ends with 'My DAZ 3D Library', and not a sub-folder of it.

I also had a My Library folder, and I uninstalled as much of my content as I could, but I often did not ask for an uninstaller, so was unable to complete it. I simply took the My Library folder, and placed it on my backup drive to make sure that I wouldn't lose anything, and used the DIM to install everything to the new Public Documents area. I am very glad that I did, and I think the DIM is a wonderful tool.

Inside DIM, you can set the install path to wherever you want. You can also store the ZIP files in a location of your choice, so it is customisable. I use DIM almost daily, and download updates as they happen, which I was never able to do before.

Below is an image that I posted in another thread yesterday, and it show the Installed tab in the DIM, hover your mouse over any item in that list, and DIM will tell you where it installed to, and a lot of other info as well. There should not be any empty folders, that may be because yu don't have your Preferences setup correctly.

Scythar

Read it,
but still, for me that sounds rather complicated, while still noone tells me WHY we need to deinstall for the DIM to work?
Cant i just use them both till they dont give the manual option anymore and then continue to install via DIM. I dont care when i have several same items installed at 2 differend locations. (i have the 2 same locations then the ones you mention in your thread)
And for those 2 locations i use the 'standard install', but still someone has to explain that the relative paths differ.
Why is it that DIM installs creating many different folders, while when you use the .exe file it organizes things more?

All the items i have (double or not, like i said, i dont care) on seperate drives i will continue using since there not in my way (seperate drive / poser folder, so i can have them always seperate).
When i get the time i'll make a screenshot of both Daz Studio folders, to show you what i mean...

gr. patrick

JimmyC_2009

while still noone tells me WHY we need to deinstall for the DIM to work?

The CMS (Content Management Service), which controls Smart Content, the search function, Products and Categories in DS has only one Database, and it stores everything. You will finish up with duplicate entries in the DB, and they will show up in Smart Content with a yellow exclamation mark.

Some other figures, like V4 and M4, will not work properly if there are two or more installations in different places, that has always been the case.

If you do not use Categories, if you don't care about the Smart Content, then you can simply move everything into a new folder somewhere, using the DIM, and keep you old folder as well.

Why is it that DIM installs creating many different folders, while when you use the .exe file it organizes things more?

I have never experienced that. There is nothing to prevent you from using the DIM to simply download your content, it will put everything in a folder of your choice, and you can then install it when you please.

There is also a help file for DIM, and if you are going to use it, you would need to read that first. there is a filter in the DIM for DS4.5 (which I use), Poser <8, Poser 9, Poser Pro etc etc (which I don't use). If you have not changed any of these filters, then the DIM will download everythng for every version of DS and Poser, which you almost certainly wont need.</q>

Scythar

k,
Thanks!

I havent decided yet what i am going to do... :(
I really would like to use the DIM, since then i will have auto updates !
This is the only thing i had problems with (not knowing there is an update)