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Oh damn, I'm sorry :( I admit I don't use the sort by order/install date very often and so didn't think about that. However, that data is not stored in the DSX file it seems and so I guess those dates would all now be set to the same value :(
The compatibility bases I would have thought should have re-imported OK since those would be set in the DSX file and so re-imported as before. Although, that is a bit of a complicated area that I thought I was starting to get to grips with understanding. My own compatibility bases are messed up although I have that down as not configuring/installing some of my third-party products correctly and is on myt list of things to fix at some point.
I am also a bit confused as to why the re-import was able to recreate the custom groups but not re-add the products - since they are only defined in the DSX files as meta-data for assets themselves.
There is a tool that I am beta-testing for someone that would be able to help you fix those products when it's released - although not the dates. But it would still require correcting the products one-by-one unfortunately.
Groups ar not exported with metadata, I found this myself when I needed to do a reset (years ago, so it had faded from memory - sorry). The products should work - eithe as user data or as products of their own, depending on how you created their metadata, so I don't know why that would be AWOL.
Thanks for responding, Richard. Most (but not all) Daz Store product are working OK with Smart Content. Some older products, like Lisa's Botanicals, Loretta LoREZ, Traveler's Naturals, etc.that I added metadata to long ago, show no assets in the Content Library Product section for the product. The files are there in the Content Library Mapped Files section, they are just not associated with the Product anymore, and have no metadata at all. I probably added the metadata and did not Export it from Product view. The metadata should have been in User Data, I would think.
It looks like nothing that I created myself has a proper Scene ID anymore. The assets I created myself are in the LOCAL USER product.
Is the metadata actually in the UserData files? With notepad++ you can Find In Files (if you have several UserData files) a particular asset (it is very fast) and then edit the file (not as fast) to see what metadata was saved with it. Exporting it is good, and when I do that, I add it to the product zip so I don't lose it. I also add it to the manifest so it can get re-installed if needed. User Data like custom categories, which is not integral to the product itself, I add separately, because if it is in the metadata file it is considered Vendor data, and the containing folder is read-only in the category tree, and any folders above it all the way to the root. VERY annoying.
Unless you define a Product and add those assets, LOCAL USER is where they go. The Compatibility Base definition holds the name of the Product and the Assets, but as logical entities only. The actual geometry is tied to the Compatibility Base by the Object Compatibility statements at the end of the metadata files. Not sure if those Object Compatibilities are saved with a UserData export if you haven't saved them. It is done dynamically in the Scene, but if they aren't defined, they are not accessible by Smart Content, since it is not saved in the database. If you still have the Compatibility Bases defined, load one of each object for a particular product into the Scene. You can quickly assign all the SceneIDs by choosing the root Compatibility Base (Scene tab context menu -> Edit -> Set Default Compatibility Base(s)), which should contain all the assets. If you now open the DB Editor in the Product view, the bottom section of the Product tab should be filled with SceneIDs.
@NorthOf45 I looked at the LOCAL_USER metadata file with Notepad++. I can see that some of my created Marvelous Designer clothes have CompatibilityBase defined in the LOCAL_USER metadata. However when I load that item in the scene and look at the Scene Identification pane, the Compatibility Base field is <None> and the Compatibility Base value is put into the Auto-Fit Base field instead. That is wrong. None of the created materials will properly associate with the clothing that way. I think it might be a bug in the process to restore the LOCAL USER metadata. There didn't used to be an Auto-Fit Base field in Scene Identification. It is a failry recent (in Daz time) addition.
Yes, I remember the extra field. Kind of distressing if LOCAL USER metadata will not restore properly. Personally, I would make a Product for each of my creations and export the completed metadata to be included in a DIM package. This will keep it out of LOCAL USER, and can be installed/re-installed at will.
What do you think of making a single product for all my MD clothing creations? There would be dozens in it. Is that too much to manage in one product? How would I get it out of LOCAL USER after I did that? Your advice is appreciated!
Well, I've seen products with lots of assets. How many megabytes are we talking about? I guess that doesn't really matter, there are products over 2 GB out there...
If your MD assets are all in a common folder, it would be easier, but you can add one folder tree at a time if they are scattered about.
If all are under a single folder, right-click on it and "Create a Product From..." and Studio will ask you for a Product name. Make sure it is unique. You'll know it isn't if Studio warns you the product exists, and if you want to add to the existing product. (Maybe later, if not all under the same folder). THis will create the PRoduct in the Product view in the Content Library with all assets below the top folder.
If the products are in several different folders, you will have to add them one folder at a time. The first time, you create the new Product (copy that name so that you can re-use it later, you will need it for every other folder you want to add to the Product). Once you have gathered all your creations into one Product, you can now access it in the Products view. Time to fill in the metadata. The assets might already be out of LOCAL USER, but I am not sure. You can check...
All assets with geometry need to be associated with a Compatibility Base. Creating the Product should have created that entry in the list of Compatibility Bases from which you will choose a matching entry. In the DB Editor, for each scene_subset (individual objects, not sets or scenes, they are made up of the other individual items) click on it and go to the bottom pane, and select Compatibility Base. Right-click on the item at the left side and select "Add Compatibility Base to Selected Item(s)". After a few seconds, a list of all available Compatibility Bases will appear. Navigate to your new Product, and expand the entry. All of your objects should be listed underneath. Select the one you want and Accept. Repeat until all have a Base. Make sure "Sync Product and Local Database" is checked to retain the data. (Unchecking it is handy for exporting metadata files without necessarily saving it in the database, yet.)
To get the Compatibility Base to match an object in the scene, you now need to load each item in the scene (well, maybe a few at a time). From the Scene context menu, select Edit -> Set Default Compatibility Base(s)... and select your Product from that same list of all available. Once you accept, all loaded items will get their SceneID. You can see that when you edit the metadata again. The bottom of the Product tab in the editor will have entries for the items in the scene tab. You can enter other info for the Product, like Store (you can define your own with a script) a Token (SKU from your new Store), Artists, Description. You can see the name of the impending metadata file just below next to Support if you have Auto Fill checked. Export that now to make it permanent, and not lose what you've done so far. Repeat until all items with geometry have been done. This sets the Object Compatibility for each asset that needs it and should lock in the SceneID. You can add the Support Assets by selecting all the folders you included in the Product, along with any data and texture folders.
Now you can finish off the metadata for Content Type, Default Category, Compatibility, etc. Export your final metadata file, and save a copy somewhere. If you are going to package it in a DIM-compatible zip (like with Content Package Assist), you would add the Runtime/Support folder and place it there so that if and when you want to re-install it, everything will be ready.
If the assets are still in LOCAL USER, try re-importing that metadata file a couple of times to kick them loose (seriously). Hope I didn't miss anything. Break a leg...
My Marvelous Designer assets are in Clothing/Marvelous Designer/"subfolder" under each figure type (Genesis 8 Female, Genesis 8 Male , Genesis 9, etc.). Their materials are in a Materials subfolder of each. Most already have metadata type, category,etc and used to have compatibility bases, before the reset DB and reimport metadata activity. I already have a Marvelous Designer root Compatibility Base with many sub compatibility bases. What I don't have is a Product. I'll work on that later in the week. I'll be traveling tomorrow. Thanks for your explicit instructions.
Sounds like you are ready. One operation to create the Product, and be sure to use the same name as the existing Marvelous Designer base, or it will create another one. Presumably the sub-bases are the individual assets. Compatibility Bases are very persistent. Redefining or deleting a product does not remove the previous definitions, you have to delete them manually. Safe travels...
Progress report: I haven't created an MD clothing product yet, but your advice has helped me tremendously in fixing some other existing products that for some reason didn't restore completely/properly. I'm trying to work on fixing those before I tackle a large new product.
Glad it is helping your progress. You might want to look in LOCAL USER to check for orphaned references to those products that you have cleaned up. They remain even if you delete the original. Sometimes.
I am terribly frustrated by this whole reset/reimport situation. Older Daz products don't have metadata in DIM. Years ago I added metadata for many of them. That became "user data", I guess. After my DB reset/reimport, many of those products do not show any files in the product and they have no metadata, even though I imported both product and user data. Now, I have attempted to fix some of those by following the NorthOf45 suggestions above. That seems to be working to create a new DIM package for the product which contains all the metadata and the updated manifest lists all three metadata files (dsa,dsx,jpg). However, those product files and metadata do not get removed from the LOCAL_USER product or the reexported USER_DATA. I have reinstalled some of those products numerous times now. How can I get that stuff out of LOCAL_USER product and USER_DATA metadata file?
I know what you mean. The LOCAL USER references are nothing if not persistent. When I make a new package (usually converting older Poser, or Legacy DAZ) the newly created assets initially go into LOCAL USER. I create the new Product, add the metadata from DB Editor, and package it for DIM. The Product is in the Content Libary Product list, with the references to the original location of the created assets (in a test library isolated from the main library). The references in LOCAL USER are also present, because they are still valid. If I simply delete the content from the test folder, the references become orphaned. If I install the new package, the database sees the new asset and the references are restored in LOCAL USER. If I make a Custom Category from the newly installed package, I will get two references for each asset, one from the installed location, and one from the reference in LOCAL USER.
What I do is uninstall the package, then go delete the newly orphaned refrences from LOCAL USER (or the Custom Category), and re-install. Or, pre-emptively, when I delete the original working copy in the test library (after packaging it), go to the Product folder, which now has a bunch of orphaned references, delete them, and then delete the Product (it only removes it from the database, not the disk). When you install, it should be clean, no LOCAL USER.
Not sure if that will clear it from the USER DATA export, but if an asset is not in LOCAL USER, there should no longer be any references to it from there. I do know that mixing VENDOR DATA (in the metadata.dsx file) with Custom Categories (which is USER DATA) will mark those categories as Read-Only, a PITA to undo. If you are using default categories, they are already Read-only, so no harm there.
Not sure if that answers your question...
I'll have to read that over a few times and digest it. I haven't been using a test library. Maybe it is time to try that. Thanks for continuing to offer your support. It is valuable to me!
You're quite welcome. Passing it on...
No real need for a test library, that just makes it easier to weed out. It will probably all go back in the same location, anyway, if it is already in your system. You don't want duplicate data or texture folders.