Just bought Carrara .. Question about my DAZ stuff
Sparkie Shock
Posts: 96
Hey,
Just bought Carrara 8.5 Pro as I figured if I want to make my movie project work I'd best get the best software I could and quite a few people recommended Carrara for animation and such.
Just tried to load one of my DAZ scenes and of course it couldn't find my DAZ 3D library so none of the models loaded. I've had a look around for a way to assign the correct path to where all my DAZ content is but I can't for the life of me find out where to do this.
I'm using this on Max OSX, and I'd appreciate any and all help to get me going. If I can just get the DAZ scene stuff to all load I feel confident I can get going.
Many thanks.
Scott
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Comments
You can add the file folders with your content to the browser tray.
Along the top menu of your Carrara 8.5 should be a menu choice for "Carrara Help." Click on that and a pdf should open with the Carrara 7 manual (annoying that it is still the manual for 7, I know). The specifics for using the browser tray start on page 55 or so, and the instructions for adding Carrara specific content folders start on page 57, and for adding Poser runtime folders around page 66. The part on page 66 will show the icon for autodetecting content, which would include your Daz studio content. If autodetect doesn't work, you will have to add it manually using the same menu.
The tabs for the browser tray and the sequencer tray are accessed by the handle at the bottom of the screen. When you pull the handle up, it will show the sequencer tab, which you will need for your animations. Once opened, click on the browser tab. In the browser tray, in the upper right corner, there is an icon that looks like a black circle with the outline f a white bent page. Click on that and a menu will appear that offer an option to add runtime folders and another choice to autodetect your content. Add your files here.
YEs I found that and added my stuff. Most of it is there .. not all of it. But none of the content will load. For instance .. I tried to load Michael 5 ... a pop up came up saying it couldn't locate the 'M5phillip eyes.jpg' and asked me to point it out (By the way .. there is no jpg file for this .. looked everywhere for it, there's a DUF, a PNG but no jpeg). Anyways, after saying cancel it then popped up a menu asking me to make sure that the runtime paths listed are correct.
After pressing yes (and they looked correct) the program crashed on me .. and has done every time I've tried to repeat this.
Never expected miracle with Carrara first time out of the gate but not loading my content and crashing were definitely not what I had in mind :P
I feel sure this program will work, seeing as how everyone here is posting what great experiences they're having with it. I'm just wondering if I screwed up on installing this thing. But I'm not sure I want to uninstall it all .. lest I screw up DAZ as well.
Actually .. trying to load anything like M5 or V5 just plain crashes Carrara. Can anyone tell me what might be a good idea to do right about now? Obviously I've sent an email to the DAZ guys about it, but has anyone else had this problem?
Clearly Carrara i having a tough time trying to read my DAZ library. Is it best if I just delete and uninstall everything and then slowly download it all again?
Ah, unfortunately, it will be hard to help you without knowing more about how your content was installed. That manual was written before Carrara 8.5 was set up to handle genesis-related content in the DUF format. It sounds like your genesis content may not be installed correctly but lets do some other simple checks. If it isn't, then check on the installation of your genesis essentials stuff.
OK, your Carrara 8.5 install should have created at least 3 folders in your content tab.
"My Daz 3D Library Runtime"
"My Library"
"My Daz 3D Library"
Content for Michael 4, Victoria 4, and earlier figures is generally in a format designed for the program Poser, which puts everything in a "runtime" file structure. Much of the Daz store content is also in this format so it can be sold to people who use Poser. This content should be installed to your "My Daz 3D Library Runtime" folder.
Content for Daz's Genesis is in a .dsf or .duf format, and is not installed in the Poser runtime structure. This content should be found in your "My Daz 3D Library" folder. It includes Michael 5 and similar genesis based content.
You can also use Daz Studio as a free plugin for Carrara. If you save a character or a scene from Studio, by default it will be saved to preset folders in the "My Library" folder.
For your Michael 5 issue, some diagnostics to see if genesis is installed correctly.
First, check to see if you have the "My Daz 3D Library" in your Browser "content" tab.
Second, if you do, let us see if genesis is installed correctly. Navigate in the "My Daz 3D Library" folder to "People" / "Genesis".
Third, if Genesis appears in your folder, click and drag it into your scene. It should load directly. If it doesn't, then you may need to install the genesis starter pack. If it does, then the problem is something else. There may be a subfolder under genesis for characters. See if Michael 5 is there. Try to load it directly.
Another check, if you have Daz Studio, is to load Michael 5 in Daz Studio, save it as a scene in the preset folders in "My Library" and see if Michael 5 loads from there. Again, just doing diagnostics.
Note - just to be annoying, the genesis based characters may appear in your "runtime" folder (Poser style files) but will not load correctly from there. Along the same lines, you will have a lot of folders in the non-runtime structure that appear empty because they contain Poser-style content which will not load from those folders. Annoying, but best just ignored.
I know that the Genesis essentials et al are installed, pretty much the only thing that isn't installed from my DSIM thingy is the Photoshop bridge thing ... cos I've no idea what that's for anyways.
I do have the 3 folders listed on the content tab, though they are named "Users Shared", "My DAZ 3D Library Runtime", and "My Library" .. which does contain my DAZ presets.
Trying to load a genesis figure (just basic) results in the program crashing. Same for M5 .. although before the crash it asks me to locate certain jogs. Sometimes when I try to load an M6 I get the message "Cannot import blah blah blah.cr2"
All my content is still working fine in DAZ, so yeah I think it's safe to say my installation is screwed up big time. I'm not fussed about uninstalling everything and putting it back in again as I have all my content either downloadable from DAZ or backed up in my downloads folder (Pieces I've bought from renderosity and renderotica). I just don't want to lose the presets of the two main characters I've been building for the last few weeks.
Based on what you've said above I think it's a safe bet I've just messed up on instal. At the time of installing I noticed a few downloads said "Install failed" because It was waiting for me to open Carrara and specify a path .. which I then did .. though not gracefully .. and those failed plugs then proceeded to install and that was that. Guess they failed after all eh!
Doh! ... why can't my computer just make it go! ::sulks::
Hmm .. seems I was loading from the runtime library. I just removed all the content folders and did 'auto thingy' (I'm british .. anything we can't remember what it is becomes a 'thingy') and low and behold the 3 folder as you've written there names appears .. and I was able to add a genesis figure with no arsing around. .. then I tried to add M5 and it crashed again :P ... but I'm right no trying to load one of my scenes .. it hasn't yet failed. Still loading .....
Meh! .. it shows as loading but I think it's hung up. Stopped at 60.2% and not budging. Still .. at least loading a genesis model without the program crashing is a change.
How big is your scene? What is your computer setup, memory etc.?
I used to have a lot of trouble until I upgraded my memory...
Once the US wakes up, you will get some more help. from those resident experts.
Cheers xx Silene
Do I understand correctly that at the moment you can load a generic genesis in Carrara from the My Daz 3D Library folder, but that you cannot load a Michael 5?
If so, then next diagnostic. See if it is just a few characters like Michael 5, or if it is all genesis morphs.
Open a new scene and load a generic genesis. In the instances tray (bottom right), you should see a box with Scene, Camera 1, Light 1, and Genesis. Genesis has a little triangle next to it, which you can click to open the bone structure (body parts). Open it and you will probably see 2 genesis levels, "actor", and then hip/pelvis/...
Highlight the actor level. In the box above it, called the properties tray, you will see tabs for "general", "motion",... Click on the tab for parameters. You should see some morphs listed. Either scroll through and look for Michael 5, or type Michael in the search box. Find the morph for Michael 5 (and confirm that it is there), and set it to 1. Did your character change?
sum up
- is there a morph for Michael 5?
- if not, are there other morphs?
- can you set Michael 5 to1 an have the Genesis shape change to Michael 5?
- If not, do some of the other morphs work?
First of all, if you have the libraries installed to Carrara content, you should have two entries for My DAZ 3D Library.
One of them is listed as 'My DAZ 3D Library Runtime' You do NOT want this library for loading Genesis content, it is ONLY for Poser Content (M5 is a morph of Genesis)
The one you want is called 'My DAZ 3D Library' without the runtime folder on the end of the name.
Selct My DAZ 3D Library, then go to People > Characters, and you should see several icons for loading characters (the display depends on how many you have bought) Among these, you should find 'Michael 5' You should also have 'Basic Male' and 'Basic Female' which come with the Genesis Starter Essentials.
Double click on the 'Michael 5' icon, and it should begin to load, I just did this, and it takes about 30 seconds to load on my system.
Just to be sure, you are using Carrara 8.5, and not an earlier version?
I can load anything from the My DAZ 3D Library ... although for some reason I can't apply my 'demon' morphs by just double clicking on the morph with the genesis model highlighted .. so I assume Carrara has a different way of applying morphs. The morphs that I have are also not appearing in the parameter menu as I understand they should.
I can load M5, even M6, but I can't apply any body textures. Though I'm assuming this is just because Carrara is not DAZ and probably has some different way to apply .. just lil the morphs. I did try to load one of my character presets (M6 with two demon morphs, horns and wings) but sadly the app just hung.
My computer is a Mac Pro (Late 2013 model) with 32 gig of RAM .. so I'm pretty sure this isn't a RAM memory problem. And yes it is Carrara 8.5 Pro.
I have a feeling I should just uninstall everything and re-install. And does anyone have a dummies guide to Carrara??
To find most morphs:
If you select the word ACTOR (in the tree on the right panel) of your Genesis character, then go up to PARAMETERS tab and select that, you should see all the morph sliders. Lots will show up if you have lots, so you can type in the Root filter slot some key words for the one you want and see if it shows up, in a more abbreviated list...then apply. At least that's how mine works. You can also just type in "eyes" for example and all eye morphs will appear. Or you can put your cursor on Root and a list will drop down by category.
Hope I explained that OK... can make a screen shot if you want.
xx Silene
ETA: I bought a V5 character present, Kostia by a prem artists and had a lot of trouble applying the character's preset morphs as it used two character bases. V5 and Aiko 5. I had to set her up in DAZ and then import her as a previous poster instructed. If it's just morphs you want to apply in a customised way, then do the bit with the parameters.
Yeah that's what I did .. after learning about where and how to find the parameters and highlighting the 'actor' word. But none of my morphs are showing ... jus the morphs for M6's body and head. Mind you .. it's not really clear where the 'demonic and faunus' packages are actually supposed to be installed. Bought it from Renderosity and there was no folder guide to show the install structure. Work fine in DAZ .. just doesn't who up in Carrara
Will have to leave it for the real Carrara-heads here. Honestly.... it's so much easier to set up in DS and export to Carrara. My Kostia came in a treat after tearing my hair out. Perhaps it's the protocol used to set up certain morphs for presets that Carrara doesn't like to play nice with. Not sure, but using DS just took all the aggro away.
Just a cautionary word, if you have morphs by indie artists that are not a packaged character preset, applying them with the Parameters can bugger up your posing, especially of eyes and hands. I bought 182 Morphs-Die Trying. They give great effects, but posing limbs with them is a nightmare in Carrara. I recall that the programming for Carrara was done outside of DAZ before they took it over, so there are things that just have to be worked around.
Keep Calm and Model On!
;) Silene
Yes I'm starting to see that. Tried to re-create my character from scratch in Carrara but simple things like don't work as I want. Like for instance fitting my guy with gens ... in DS you just double click em and bingo ... there they are .. attached perfectly and linked to the model. Whereas in Carrara they arrived at the wrong place .. didn't attach perfectly .. despite being made for Genesis and didn't resize with the model after I morphed him into a demon ... (Yeah for some reason the morphs work now ... perhaps Carrara just needed a reboot .. or 5.
Anyways .. I've no doubt my hangups about rigging my model is due to knowing next to nothing about the app ... but it's a shame really .. I thought Carrara would be just like DAZ .. only better :P .. Instead it's quite different and I hope it's not going to be a del pain in the ass to learn. But for sure setting up in DAZ will be the best solution ... assuming I can get Carrara to actually work with my character and set settings .. so far all it's done is hung and crashed. But at least the content is now working.,
Again thanks for all the advice and ideas .. I do appreciate it.
Dart has gathered some resources related to using genesis and genesis 2 in Carrara.
Try to be patient while you are learning. I am able to load genesis and genesis 2 figures directly in Carrara. I can then use the morphs to create characters. I can apply Carrara-specific shaders because Daz ad Carrara have different texturing features I then save the characters to the "objects" tab of the Carrara browser tray and loaded from there in the future. Others use Daz Studio to create the characters and then bring them to Carrara. You will find a workflow once the install is sorted out.
Here are some of the resources specific to installing and using genesis and genesis 2.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15970/P105/#277661
Genesis - Carrara 8.5 - DIM Support Thread Links
Quick access to some of the issues users have already worked through - in case you’re looking for answers regarding installation, using, or creating with Genesis in Carrara 8.5 and/or issues around using the DIM(Daz Install Manager)
If you know of a thread that you’d like to see a link to provided here, just let me know wink
Not finding the right thread? Perhaps you meant to go to the Forum Help Links
GENESIS (1&2)
* Buy Something That Doesn’t Work in Carrara? Post your Questions and Workarounds here. (please)
* “Where are the Gen 5s?” Covers issues between installing using the DIM and previously through the older method, as well as finding the files for use in Carrara along with the initial issue
* Missing AutoFit Options?
* V4 & M4 Genesis characters in Carrara 8.5
* “M5 with SSS turns black?” A simple misunderstanding that you may run into, yourself
* “Error when trying to import various content…smart content tab, error states a path not on my system..or ever was? anyone know Hudson?”
* “Zip vs Installers” For those of you, trying to decide whether to save the new format over the previous executables
* “Carrara scene back to DS?” Trying to open a Carrara scene in D|S?
* “3D Universe toon hair - how do I get it to move properly with the head?”
* Genesis Content Installation tutorial - Requested, and then fulfilled by Stezza!
* Genesis Crashes Carrara
* C85 Adjust Min/Max on Adjustment Morphs
* parameters tab - actor level - hide rigging skeleton
* What’s the trick building Carrara scenes from parts with Genesis1/2 chars?
* Genesis and Genesis 2 and Carrara 8.5 Questions
* Genesis loads unreasonably slow
* Bot Genesis setup
* Supersuit in Carrara?
* Does Smart Content not work with non Genesis figures?
* missing parameters Genesis and Carrara
* Textures Messed-Up on Catgirl for Genesis
* Genesis Shapes Not Showing in Carrara
* Editing Victoria/Genesis in the Vertex Modeler?
* Issue with fitting boots
* Carrara 8.5 beta (172): how to fit dynamic clothes properly?
* How to generate INJ/REM? With Carrara or DS4.5?
* Morph Injections in Carrara
Dio, thanks for reposting this... I lost track of it. It's SO useful!
And you explain things SO well...cheers!
xx :) Silene
ETA: If you click on the link in Dio's post, you get the list as hyperlinks to each of the issues listed. READ THEM, even if just quickly at first. There is a lot of info for each item. And posts from real veterans here! Take the time to check it out.
Thanks, Silene. Not sure you should be excluding yourself from the "real Carrara veterans" anymore.
@Scott, Here are some links to Cripeman youtube tutorials for Carrara. These will be your best quickstart. After that, if you have the money, strongly consider more formal tutorial series like PhilW and Mark Bremmer.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/15970/#233895
Cripeman Tutorials Index
The Cripeman has been soaring Carrara skies for years now, and has been faithfully saving humanity through his imaginative advice on how we can get Carrara to do what we need it to do. If you’re new to using Carrara, the Cripeman’s tutorial collection can direct you through many aspects of the software. Personally, I enjoy each and every one and have watched most of them more than once - and I hope that the Cripeman keeps this up… forever!
It can be a little daunting trying to find what you’re looking for by simply navigating YouTube. Also, I feel that his advice and pleasant teaching techniques would be the perfect addition to a Living Carrara User’s Manual.
Because of this, and with his permission, I have compiled a fully linked list of all of his tutorials to date. I’ll try to keep my eyes open for new ones and add them accordingly. If you notice that one is missing, or if you feel that one (or more) link should belong in a different category in the list, please let me know. But this is a rather large endeavor, so please be patient.
** free Cripeman topics for Carrara ****
Carrara Features
Thoughts on Genesis in Carrara 8.5
Preferences
Global Illumination
Glare, Blur, and 3d Aura
Backdrop and Background
The Ocean Primitive
Carrara Terrains
Volumetric Clouds
Metaballs
Tree Tour
Playing with Fire
3D Paint
Displacement Mapping
Dynamic Hair
Making a Skullcap in Poser
Guide Hair Styling
Shader Hair Styling
Razor Stubble / Hair Domains
Plant Primitive
Trees on Terrain
Tree Rustling
Making a Christmas Tree Using the Plant Modeler
Lighting and Rendering
Basic Lighting
Light Gels
Rendering with Alpha Channels
Creating Lights From Textures Using Anything Glows
Interactive Renderer
How to Make a Blueprint Style Render
3 Point Lighting
Fingers of God Effect
Neon Using Anything Glows
Generate HDR Images for Carrara
Particles and Physics
Intro to Physics in Carrara
Let it Snow
Making Your Own Particles
Particle Creation Menu
Particle Shaders
Particle Creation with Particle Shaders
Sequential Particles
Fountain Tricks
Setting up Particle Emitter for Forces
Shapes as Emitters
Writing with the Particle Emitter
Force Control
Forces Tour
Modeling a Chain (Physics Chain 1)
Physics Chain 2
Making Steam
Shaders
Natural Shaders
Making Windows Shader for a Distant Skyline
SSS vs Glow
Seeing Through Transparency
Toon Shading
How to Make a Fake Planet
Rust
Terrain Shading
Animation
Special Presentation: Eadward Muybridge - Grandfather of Animation
Creating Motion Paths
Creating a Wing Flap Animation
Intro to Bones
Bones Influence
Making a Logo Flying Around the World
Animating Wavy Text
Making a Muzzle Flash
Compositing Tips
Exporting Animated Poses from Poser to Carrara
Making and Animating Gears
Modeling
Bevels in the Spline Modeler
Soft Selection
Cool Carrara Tricks - Building Better Bricks
Cool Carrara Tricks - Building a Cityscape Pt 1
Cool Carrara Tricks - Building a Cityscape Pt 2
Cool Carrara Tricks - Modeling a Mailbox
Modeling a Barrel using the Lathe Tool
How to Make a Steam Punk Arch
How to Model a Cityscape Pt 1
How to Model a Cityscape Pt 2
How to Model a Cityscape Pt 3
How to Model a Cityscape Pt 4
How to Make a Mushroom Cloud Pt 1
How to Make a Mushroom Cloud Pt 2
Make a Display Case
Modeling a Rope
Making a Simple Flower
Making Keyboard Shortcuts for the Spline Modeler
Modeling a Human Head Part 1
Modeling a Human Head Part 2
Modeling a Human Head Part 3
Model a Figurine in 10 Minutes
Model a Facade
Modeling Pipes
Modeling Ruled Surfaces
Making Morph Targets on Your Figures
Replicator
Precision Replication
SciFi Elements
How to Make Your Own Starfield
Distributing Objects with Shaders
Hmm .. seems I was loading from the runtime library. I just removed all the content folders and did 'auto thingy' (I'm british .. anything we can't remember what it is becomes a 'thingy') and low and behold the 3 folder as you've written there names appears .. and I was able to add a genesis figure with no arsing around. .. then I tried to add M5 and it crashed again :P ...
Its pretty random which folder will crash you on which figures...
The figures can end up appearing in different places in both folders - and if they do one will work and the other will error our or crash Carrara...
When I installed, and did the auto-add I got only two folders. Have never added in the My Library one.
On resetting my preferences it wiped it all out, and then I only got one folder when I did auto-add, manually added one of the others.
Carrara is no beginner's app.
This whole mess is one reason I prefer using Daz3D until it comes time to start doing shader work, lighting, and rendering.
- Then I just have to load my scene, or an obj export, and those "usually" don't crash...
This thread is immensely helpful.
Thanks to those supplying the info.
To the OP - once you carry out a few renders in Carrara, I think you'll appreciate why it's loved.
Could part of the problem he's having be related to the new database thingy? We Yanks use thingy as well. In addition you may see thingamabob, doodad, whatsit, etc.
Ah, the Valentina vs Postgre whatchamacallit. I wish someone would do a fantasy render with those two locked in hot combat...
:lol: Silene
ETA Dio, 400+ posts does make me a veteran of at least 400 questions of my own!
Carrara 8.5 works pretty well for me with Genesis and G2 figures.
I find the best way, is to load the figures in DAZ Studio, cloth and pose them, save as a scene, and then import that to Carrara. It can take a little while to import, but, if I then save it as a Carrara scene file, it loads again in a few seconds.
I think Carrara is under-appreciated, but there are definitely some small things that could be done to increase new user satisfaction. It seems to me that there are 3 areas that are especially troublesome for potential users of all experience levels. There should be better step-by-step instructions for these three areas.
1) How do I install the Carrara program?
This link is what is currently provided.
https://helpdaz.zendesk.com/entries/22323235-How-to-Install-Carrara-8-5
2) How do I install and use content (especially Daz store content such as Genesis)?
Then this is the link to current instructions for content.
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/carrara/8_5/userguide/getting_started/tutorials/setup_guide/start
3) How do I start my first session in Carrara with Daz's frontline figures, Genesis 2 M&F, and Genesis 1, and associated content, adjust shaders, setup a sky, add props, and complete my first render?
??????????
All three of those should be improved.
I think a lot of people, including me, have at least some of their content installed incorrectly. Or, the content is installed correctly but because it also appears in an incorrect place, people get errors when trying to use it from the incorrect place. Or, and this happens to me a lot, Carrara-specific content is installed to a new folder that the DIM creates but that is not in the default browser files. So you could use it if you could find it, but you don't know that.
As a result, people think that it is Carrara the program that can't handle (whatever) in many cases, when in fact the problem is a different issue.
Well, I feel so much better after venting my frustrations, I may copy this post to the problems thread.
File import is my friend for Genesis and Genesis2M&F in Carrara
And I never use auto fit in Carrara
I fit and save as support asset in DAZ studio then import it with the figure selected.
I will load textures and some V4&M4; etc poses from my content browser but not G&G2M;&F poses those are best imported too.
And the M4 & V4 ones need hands and feet zeroed under animation zero selection.
Apparently android let's me do duplicate posts if fast reply Borks and I copy paste
Apologies for hijack....
Thanks for the double post...made me look twice at your sigline... so now I just found out about Jaderail's passing over in the Commons. Made my contribution. It was his renders of prehistoric hunters on DevianArt that got me into 3D and he happily answered my pm not knowing me at all-- bless him. RIP, Jeff.
:down: Silene
Sorry for showing up so late in the game. I haven't been getting much internet time lately.
No, don't delete and re-install all of your stuff. Please... don't do that just yet!
First of all, I'm not a huge fan of "Smart Content" in the Carrara browser. I much prefer to use the Content Tab instead.
That being said, take a little break and have a peak at Carrara 8.5 Pro - First Look, a YouTube video I've made that helps to show how to create a new scene, load in Genesis, and do some work with it. I use M5 as my example. First Look Part 2 is twice as long, but might even offer a bit more insight.
Normally, I would have read thoroughly through this thread and typed out a lengthy tutorial on what I feel might help you out. But since I'm short of time, let me know if that first video helps to get you going... and let me know what sort of help you might need from there, okay?
Anyways,
WELCOME to CARRARA 8.5!!!
Try to refrain from frustration. It may take a little getting used to, but you'll be very happy to become a Carrara owner/user.
Hi Scott and everyone,
I'm not sure if there are that many Mac users in the Carrara forum. I'm using OS X 10.6.8. with Carrara 8.5Pro. I pretty much load and manipulate most of my content Gen3 through Genesis 2 from within Carrara. I use DS for DUF conversions of older stuff and as a Gen 4 texture and clothing converter for Genesis 1 & 2.
Here are some things that may or may not be Mac specific, but might help with the file situation.
Do install Studio 4.6, Genesis and Genesis 2 starter essentials, but absolutely do not install the PostgreSQL CMS or the PostgreSqL CMS from Valentina CMS conversion on a Mac. I did, not knowing that it wasn't compatible for C8.5, and it completely hosed my Smart Content contents. I ended up uninstalling everything and starting over to fix it. Arg! Valentina CMS is the one to use for now.
I load all my DAZ content through the DIM. I think these are the DIM defaults.
Downloads go here: /Users/Shared/DAZ 3D/InstallManager/Downloads
Installations are here: /Users/Shared/My DAZ 3D Library
Applications here: /Applications/DAZ 3D/Carrara8.5 64-bit & /Applications/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4 64-bit
I’m not exactly sure which files are needed in Carrara, so I install both DS and PoserCF Mac versions when present. I keep manual installs and runtimes out of My DAZ 3D Library. I store other content in a separate location and manually add the folders to the Carrara Content tab. Since I find it easy to manage my content through DIM, the contents of My DAZ 3D Library is pretty fluid. I don’t install everything I own there, but add and uninstall as needed for projects.
I primarily use Carrara’s Smart Content tab to drag content to a scene. This is where the DIM installed items can be found (for the most part as some things inexplicably don’t show up). It seems like many people in the Carrara forum avoid this tab in favor of the Content tab because they prefer to set up their own file locations rather than use DIM, totally your choice. There are actually 3 parts to the Smart Content tab:
1) Files – this is where actual smart content feature is. You need to select a content item, Genesis for example, in the Instances tab then click on either Files or one of the sub-directory categories within it (not to be confused with Categories below it) for it to search for related content. I usually don’t use the Files part because it can be pretty slow while it searches.
2) Categories – This is the content arranged by categories like figures, poses, materials. This folder isn't smart/filtered by Metadata; everything installed by DIM will show up regardless of what you have selected in the Instances tab.
3) Products - DIM installed content organized alphabetically (also not smart). I mostly use Categories and Products to add content to the scene. I also find myself using My Account>Product Library on the DAZ site as a catalog so I can remember exactly what the item is called to make searching the Smart Content tab easier. I really wish there were an actual search feature here like in DS.
The Content tab is where you can also access your My DAZ 3d Libarary & My DAZ 3D Libarary Runtime, and folders that point to manually loaded content runtimes you set up yourself. Autodetect runtimes can make this pretty messy, but you can always delete the folders you don’t want from the tab. If I can’t find something in the Smart Content tab, I start clicking around in this one. You may find the names of a lot of content listed, but they don’t show when you click on them. Most likely it’s something not compatible in Carrara such as DS materials, plugins, lights, etc. I’m sure others have a much better understanding of this tab than I do.
Finally, assets I’ve saved out from DS tend to show up either in Smart Content (tab)>Categories>Defaults>Unassigned or Content (tab)>My DAZ 3D Libaray>Presets.
I hope there may be something useful here.
Good luck. It may take a while to get used to the way Carrara works if you are used to another application (I can't really wrap my head around DS), but it starts to make sense and can be a great tool in your collection. There is a lot of useful information on this forum and YouTube videos.
Here are examples of what I'm talking about with the Smart Content and Contents Tabs. I was hoping I could place them within the text to make more sense. I hope they load.