Carrara Content - The Shotgun approach to frustration
I don't post often here because I try to learn/use DAZ Studio or Carrara, and end up walking away and drawing what I need by hand as the sheer frustration of getting to grips with these programs drags me down.
Don't get me wrong, I love the programs, and have bought copious amounts of content over the past few years, but here's the thing -
With DAZ Studio, although there is now an Installation Manager, it still does not cover all my older content (Zip files, etc), nor is all new content 'Smart', so how much content I've bought over the years has slipped though the cracks is anyone's guess. BUT, it is starting to come together in Studio and I can actually find the content I need to use.
Then, there's Carrara. It has picked up multiple runtimes and content from all over my computer, installed by DIM I add hastily, but for the life of Spudulika I cannot find stuff I want to use!
I was looking for the Victoria Morphs. I know they are there, but I have 9, I repeat - that's *NINE* runtime directories that the Auto Detect Runtimes has found for me that were generated by the various DAZ install programs. That's great that it found my content, but that's HUNDREDS of folders to manually search through!
I bought the "Carrara 8 Training Video Tutorial" from InfiniteSkills in order to get to grips with DAZ content within Carrarra, but I cannot even follow the tutorial from Chapter 3.02 "Loading A Figure" because I cannot find the stuff!
I managed to load Victoria 4.2 as that turns up in Smart Content, but finding anything useful in the Content tab... You must be joking...
This was a clean install of Windows 7, followed by a clean install of all programs and content (via DIM) to their default directories. Did the programmers set this system up so that content is deposited all over the computer with an equivalent of a shotgun?
I MUST be doing something wrong? Yes/No?
Why is this such a dog's dinner of a setup?
Should I nuke it all and start again?
I set the content to be installed to "C:\Users\Public\Documents\My DAZ 3D Library", so why on earth do I have the following listed in my Content in the Browser...?
My DAZ 3D Library Runtime
Carrara8.5 Runtime
Carrara8.5 Runtime
My Library Runtime
My DAZ 3D Library
My Library
Carrara8.5
Carrara8.5
My Library
Each of these has it's own tree of various content listed under it. ALL have been created by the various installers that come with my applications - Carrara 8.5, DAZ Studio 4.8, Hexagon 2.5, Bryce 7.1, and DIM.
There must be a way to sort this mess out, other than the obvious - using different graphics software in the future? ;)
I've searched through this forum, but no-one seems to really address the issue, and I've looked at the Carrara User Guide which has Smart Content listed, but... not non-smart content...
I am trying to be nice, but I am so frustrated - I'm just trying to do some work, but have spent all day trying to sort this c**p out!
I am ready to explode...
Help me. Take pity on me. PLEASE! ;(
Susi xxx
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Comments
Can you post a screenshot of your Content directories, from the Content Directory Manager in Studio and it's equivalent in Carrara?
And how many times does it show in Windows Explorer?
I'm betting that you don't actually have that many installs of content, but that many mappings to it.
Thank you so much for replying!
You have given me much to think about here.
And it seems you are totally correct about the multiple mappings in Carrara. :)
There are the 32bit and 64bit Carrara Program Files directories where it likes to store the supplied program content, then DIM tries to put stuff in the Public directory storage area.
I have content in the User storage area, and somehow other drives in the system have been involved too (I'm guessing at some point I made straight-copy backups to these drives...)
I am now trying to make sense of how and why everything is scattered all over the place. So far, the biggest issues are due to some (older) content that insisted in being installed in the 32bit versions of the DAZ programs. That in turn got lots of duplicate runtimes installed too. This then equals multiple runtime entries in the Content tab of the Carrara Browser window.
I've removed the 32bit versions of the programs and that has made a hell of a difference. I merged content where I could, but this means straight-copy backups as DIM does not address all older content, and that's where we came in...
I'll have to make sure that content backups are stored on unmapped drives on one of my servers in order to stop it being accidentally re-added in the future.
Thank you so very much for helping me make sense of this. I've been up all night trying to sort out this mess. ;)
I'm off to bed now, and I thought the least I could do would be to say how grateful I am to you before doing so.
I am in totally your debt. I had honestly got to the point of no return...
Best Wishes, and again, thank you,
Susi xxxxx
You're welcome...
The mapping of backups WILL lead to needing an industrial sized bottle of Tylenol by the computer. One of the best ways to make sure that it can't get mapped, make sure DAZ programs never see the backup drive.