I dislike .DUF format for one reason

Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
edited December 1969 in The Commons

All the previous formats (DSF) could be edited in notepad. DUF just gives me rubbish. Why is this important? Well some vendors place Stuff in the actor root (which makes it untidy) and I like placing them under sub catogories like male, female etc. However Since I can't edit .DUF I cannot change the path of the item. Is there another way?

Comments

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    It must be a compressed file you are looking at, DUF is normally readable for me in Notpad++.

    If the DUF is saved as a compressed format, then treat it like a ZIP file, and any unzipper should work. I drop mine on the WinRAR icon, and then open them in Notepad++

  • BejaymacBejaymac Posts: 1,886
    edited December 1969

    Depending on what you were doing you'd find that DSF files were compressed as well.

    Zev0 said:
    Why is this important? Well some vendors place Stuff in the actor root (which makes it untidy) and I like placing them under sub catogories like male, female etc. However Since I can't edit .DUF I cannot change the path of the item. Is there another way?

    Property editor, then use it's save modified assets option.
  • Midnight_storiesMidnight_stories Posts: 4,112
    edited December 1969

    All you do is re-save the DUF and make sure it hasn't got the compression ticked works for me

  • Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
    edited December 1969

    cool I will try that now.

  • Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
    edited August 2012

    Bejaymac said:
    Depending on what you were doing you'd find that DSF files were compressed as well.
    Zev0 said:
    Why is this important? Well some vendors place Stuff in the actor root (which makes it untidy) and I like placing them under sub catogories like male, female etc. However Since I can't edit .DUF I cannot change the path of the item. Is there another way?

    Property editor, then use it's save modified assets option.

    I can open any dsf file in notepad++ compressed or not. Its just DUF thats encrypted.

    Post edited by Zev0 on
  • Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
    edited December 1969

    Ok I uncompressed it via 7zip and I can read the contents. However it is now not in duf format anymore. Its just a file lol. How do I save the file so it becomes a .DUF again?

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    Save it with the DUF extension from your editor. DS can read compressed or plain text DUF format.

  • Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
    edited December 1969

    Worked like a charm. Thanks

  • Midnight_storiesMidnight_stories Posts: 4,112
    edited December 1969

    Yah I tried it with Winrar no problems at all thanks for the info !

  • rbtwhizrbtwhiz Posts: 2,250
    edited December 1969

    DAZ Studio 4.5 includes a new pane that will batch compress/uncompress *.duf and *.dsf files. It will also batch convert *.ds, *.dsa to *.dsb or *.dse, and *.dsb (non-encrypted) to *.dsa or *.dse. The pane is found by going to Main Menu Bar > Window > Panes (Tabs) > Batch Convert.

    -Rob

  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    Great information Rob, thank you.

  • Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
    edited December 1969

    Lol was wondering what that was for. Thanks

  • edited December 1969

    rbtwhiz said:
    DAZ Studio 4.5 includes a new pane that will batch compress/uncompress *.duf and *.dsf files. It will also batch convert *.ds, *.dsa to *.dsb or *.dse, and *.dsb (non-encrypted) to *.dsa or *.dse. The pane is found by going to Main Menu Bar > Window > Panes (Tabs) > Batch Convert.

    -Rob


    Will Daz 4.0 open the .duf files Daz 4.5 makes?
  • Zev0Zev0 Posts: 7,089
    edited December 1969

    no I don't think so

  • edited December 1969

    Okay, so why won't my old DAZ 4 Pro serial number register the product anymore? I can't even register the autofit tool, either, and I just got that again.

    So what's up? I'm really regretting even bothering with 4.5. Can anyone help get me back up and running at Pro level with all the bling I had preferably before before I go bald pulling my hair out?

    And the section that has been posted repeatedly about registration numbers doesn't work, nor does online registration.

    So, what's someone for whom DAZ 4.5 is a complete and total failure to do?

  • Male-M3diaMale-M3dia Posts: 3,581
    edited December 1969

    carpevis said:
    Okay, so why won't my old DAZ 4 Pro serial number register the product anymore? I can't even register the autofit tool, either, and I just got that again.

    So what's up? I'm really regretting even bothering with 4.5. Can anyone help get me back up and running at Pro level with all the bling I had preferably before before I go bald pulling my hair out?

    And the section that has been posted repeatedly about registration numbers doesn't work, nor does online registration.

    So, what's someone for whom DAZ 4.5 is a complete and total failure to do?

    It should work, check for spaces in the serial number; also make sure you're registering with the DS Pro serial, not a regular DS serial number.

  • edited August 2012

    I know it should work. The point is, it doesn't. I'm in IT. I know how to deal with serial numbers. I copied mine straight from the webpage. No spaces, followed the directions on the instructions posted here: http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/interface/action/index/dzregisterdazstudioaction/start

    But since they're not offering 4.0 anymore in any form, I used a previously downloaded file for that - the same one I registered. It was only in April.

    DAZ Studio 4 Pro SDZFPRO-XXX-XXXXXXX-XXX-XXX-XXXXXXX (Redacted for your viewing pleasure) I only pasted in the bold part.

    I even have a serial number I JUST got for the autofit tool. It doesn't work either. Is there an issue with the registration servers and I just have to be patient to carefully reproduce three days worth of work when it turned out that 4.5 wouldn't render? (By the way, it renders just fine in 4.0, but I could really use the Pro parts to make life a bit easier). If I sound testy, I've been dealing with this for five hours, after spending three days making wonderful new scenes that are now completely useless. I can re-do that work in about seven hours now (now that I know what needs to be done), but it's seven hours of my life i won't get back, so I'm a bit miffed (understatement of the week - hence my snarkiness). I know you guys are trying to help, but it would be great if we moved somewhat beyond the obvious (antivirus/firewall interference, registry errors, etc.) into the more advanced part that an IT professional who's not an expert with DAZ specifically might not know about the program itself.

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • JimmyC_2009JimmyC_2009 Posts: 8,891
    edited December 1969

    When I bought 4.5 through the store, I got both the 4.5 version, and the 4.0.3.47 as well. Download the earlier version if you are having trouble with 4.5

    Autofit is not a seperate installer for any of the recent version of DS4P, it installs as part of the main program, so if you installed the plugin seperately, then you may have messed up the first install.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,778
    edited December 1969

    There aren't any registration servers - entering the serial number is a purely local process. If DS4.0 is running as Pro then 4.5 should not need a reentry of the serial number as far as I know - but you shouldn't have both 4.0 and 4.5 installed at once, I haven't heard of that causing an issue with serialisation but I suppose it might.

  • ghostfighter 2099ghostfighter 2099 Posts: 16
    edited December 1969

    I dont like duf format too.
    Some changes what i make in the hidden parameters are reset to default every time what i open the .duf file.
    It never happened with the .daz format.
    How i make the changes not reset like in the .daz format?

  • ghostfighter 2099ghostfighter 2099 Posts: 16
    edited December 1969

    For example, I want to change the autofit parameter: ears angle to 0 in some hairs.
    when I open the duf format in Daz 4.5, it changes back for the original parameter.
    How I lock the changes in this parameter?

  • DWGDWG Posts: 770
    edited December 1969

    I dont like duf format too.
    Some changes what i make in the hidden parameters are reset to default every time what i open the .duf file.
    It never happened with the .daz format.
    How i make the changes not reset like in the .daz format?

    I suspect that's more likely to be the code feeding data into the .DUF file rather than the .DUF format itself. Unless anyone comes up with a solution, I'd suggest raising a problem report

  • Male-M3diaMale-M3dia Posts: 3,581
    edited December 1969

    carpevis said:
    I know you guys are trying to help, but it would be great if we moved somewhat beyond the obvious (antivirus/firewall interference, registry errors, etc.) into the more advanced part that an IT professional who's not an expert with DAZ specifically might not know about the program itself.

    That's cool. I'm an IT Professional too with 20 years of development experience. Check the key or contact customer service.

  • edited August 2012

    My development experience goes back about 30 years (Spaghetti programming in BASIC, if you can believe that).

    In the end, it's back to what I had it. I restored my computer using a saved image file from before I installed 4.5 (I do a full image every week - I run an IT business, after all). The funny thing was when I went BACK to my downloads page, I saw the 4.0 AND the 4.5 versions available for download with NEW SN's. They hadn't been there before I did the restore.

    Long story short, I lost a day or two getting my library restored the way I wanted it and then re-doing the files. I'm not using 4.5 and don't plan to. I didn't take my own advice and not fix what ain't broke.

    I did discover that rendering large files (I require a 300 DPI resolution for book cover art and prefer not to cause too much pixelation by jamming in a 72 DPI image on it.) is VERY problematic. I can get it to render to about 8X10, but books being 9X12, plus spine, makes them too large. Beefing up the RAM didn't help. So I ended up using a 200 DPI back-scene image (which worked, pixelation was minimized and it's the background, after all) and the full 300 DPI for the main characters.

    Instead of creating the whole thing in DAZ, I created each part separately - seven characters and a main background that was smaller than the whole thing, and then the back-scene at 200 DPI - and layered them in Gimp, then added the titling, spine and description. If I needed a slightly different pose, I just repositioned and re-rendered. It would have been faster doing most of it in DAZ, but given that I had about 300 objects between the characters and backgrounds, and still needed to add titling, authorship and the description on the back, it was just simpler to get the renders, cut out the characters, layer them and finish it that way.

    I appreciate the help. Apparently someone at DAZ heard, got me my 4.0 Pro with a new SN and I'm back up and running, so all is right with my world.

    Post edited by carpevis_ed37b0713a on
  • Male-M3diaMale-M3dia Posts: 3,581
    edited December 1969

    carpevis said:
    My development experience goes back about 30 years (Spaghetti programming in BASIC, if you can believe that).

    I did spaghetti code too, but you missed my point.. when asking for help, it doesn't mean a thing what type experience you have. ;)

  • decibeldecibel Posts: 66
    edited December 1969

    rbtwhiz said:
    DAZ Studio 4.5 includes a new pane that will batch compress/uncompress *.duf and *.dsf files. It will also batch convert *.ds, *.dsa to *.dsb or *.dse, and *.dsb (non-encrypted) to *.dsa or *.dse. The pane is found by going to Main Menu Bar > Window > Panes (Tabs) > Batch Convert.

    -Rob

    That is GREAT information that's worth a Bump!
    Compressed is good but sometimes important to compare two dufs in a text editor or Black Pixel's Kaleidoscope when the distinctions between two files are too subtle for pictures.

    Thanks, Rob.

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