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From MetaData to Manifest.dsx for DIM How ?

Loomy69Loomy69 Posts: 0
edited December 1969 in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

Hi !

So with great pain i have finally mastered creating Metadata for my own custom designs & 3rd party stuff. I would like to be able to manage it all through DIM though, so install/uninstall stuff with ease as and when its needed.

How does one take the generated Metadata file and turn it into the Manifest.dsx for DIM. I understand the structure perfectly, and can manually create this file, but is there any automatic way of generating it ? The only tool i've seen is one of the Dimension3D goodies, which i can't really afford at the moment. Hoping there was any alternatives ?


Thanks & best regards

Comments

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,971
    edited December 1969

    I'm not aware of any built-in tools for creating the manifest files for DIM.

  • superesp87_58361490f5superesp87_58361490f5 Posts: 5

    You don't have to. There's an application called Content Package Assist that you can use. It makes the package and the Manifest and Supplement for you.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,491

    Not the same thing. The Manifest in the DIM packages is basically a packing list of the assets, and identifies the Content or Plugin (or other asset types) and where to find them in the package so that they can be properly installed. Yes, Content Package Assist will make new Manifests and Supplements, but is only really needed if you have new assets, or have re-arranged or re-named the files and/or folder structure. The manifest in the Manifest folder (wherever you specified in DIM) has a combination the download info and the installed files. It is generated every time you install the product.

    The Metadata contains info about the Content that you see in Studio, like Prop, Materials, Actor, and defines compatibilities between assets. You have probably already used the Content DB Editor to add the new metadata for the new packages. (I have done that many times). You have probably also gone through the process of creating the proper Store, Name, Artist, Token, Support Files, Scene ID's, etc., when you created a Product. On the Product tab of the Content DB Editor, the Support entry has the name and path of the metadata file that will be created if you export the metadata. If you had checked the AutoExport box at the bottom, it probably already exists, but if not, you can export manually with the Export button. Add that to your package (there should be two files produced: .dsx and .dsa) before creating the new manifest (or else it won't get installed). Add a thumbnail image with the same name and you will see it in the Product view once installed.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,491

    Darn. Necro thread. I saw January 2014 and thought it was January 14, like, from this year...

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