[Daz] Okay, I give up. Why don't most of the matching assets show up in Smart Content?

[rb813]

I've played around in Daz 3D before, but I never really got into it. I decided to try again today, and the first thing I did was go to the shop and download a bunch of the assets that they had marked down to Free. I set up the Asset Manager and waited for all of them to download and install. After that finally finished (I got a bunch of stuff), I started playing around in Daz again and trying to figure out the interface. I did some stuff on my own, did some tutorials, and then stopped for the day.

But then later on, I thought of one particular item that I had gotten for free, and realized that it wasn't in the list of available wardrobe items for the figure it was supposed to go with (most of the items they were giving for free go with Victoria 4, so that's what I was using). I went back in and looked around for it, searched high and low in the Smart Content tab, and didn't ever find it. Finally, I switched over to the Content Library tab, and found it in the alphabetical listing. It's there, it works fine, everything seems okay except that it (and also, it turns out, a ton of other items I downloaded) doesn't show up in Smart Content.

The alphabetical listing is okay if I know exactly which item I'm looking for, but it's not worth much for browsing around and picking out something that looks good, because it doesn't filter out all the items that don't fit that particular figure. Is there some way to manually import these items into Smart Content, or do I need to just keep an external list of all the items I have for each figure?

 

[Rich]

Smart Content runs off what Daz refers to as "metadata". Essentially, when Install Manager installs content, it also reads the individual assets' metadata and makes entries in the PostgreSQL database that Daz uses (referred to as the CMS, for Content Management System). If the item doesn't have metadata programmed into it, then the CMS entries don't get made, and so it doesn't show up in Smart Content. Since you're dealing with older items, it's possible they just don't have the metadata.

But... You can add your own metadata to an item that doesn't have it.

This link talks about it from a content creator's point of view:

You must be registered to see the links

This link provides a tutorial on how to do it from your point of view:

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It starts with adding a character - which you don't have to do - but then continues with adding wardrobe, which is the part you probably want to read.

The alternate approach is that you can create your own categories and put assets into those categories. So you could create a "V4 Clothing" category, for example, and put items into that.

You must be registered to see the links

 

[rb813]

You can add your own metadata to an item that doesn't have it.

The alternate approach is that you can create your own categories and put assets into those categories. So you could create a "V4 Clothing" category, for example, and put items into that.

Do you have an opinion about which of those options is better in the long term? At this point, I've kinda just resigned to the fact that "inventory management" will be part of the work of creating in Daz, so I don't mind doing something a little tedious now (and whenever else I get new assets), as long as it makes things go more smoothly in the long term.

 

[Papa Ernie]

I've played around in Daz 3D before, but I never really got into it. I decided to try again today, and the first thing I did was go to the shop and download a bunch of the assets that they had marked down to Free. I set up the Asset Manager and waited for all of them to download and install. After that finally finished (I got a bunch of stuff), I started playing around in Daz again and trying to figure out the interface. I did some stuff on my own, did some tutorials, and then stopped for the day.

But then later on, I thought of one particular item that I had gotten for free, and realized that it wasn't in the list of available wardrobe items for the figure it was supposed to go with (most of the items they were giving for free go with Victoria 4, so that's what I was using). I went back in and looked around for it, searched high and low in the Smart Content tab, and didn't ever find it. Finally, I switched over to the Content Library tab, and found it in the alphabetical listing. It's there, it works fine, everything seems okay except that it (and also, it turns out, a ton of other items I downloaded) doesn't show up in Smart Content.

The alphabetical listing is okay if I know exactly which item I'm looking for, but it's not worth much for browsing around and picking out something that looks good, because it doesn't filter out all the items that don't fit that particular figure. Is there some way to manually import these items into Smart Content, or do I need to just keep an external list of all the items I have for each figure?

You must be registered to see the links

 

[Jobeo]

The alphabetical listing is okay if I know exactly which item I'm looking for, but it's not worth much for browsing around and picking out something that looks good, because it doesn't filter out all the items that don't fit that particular figure.

In the content library click "DAZ Studio Formats" -> "My DAZ 3D Library" -> "People" -> "Genesis 8 Female" -> "Clothing"

That will give you a filtered list of just clothing for Gen 8.

 

[Rich]

Do you have an opinion about which of those options is better in the long term? At this point, I've kinda just resigned to the fact that "inventory management" will be part of the work of creating in Daz, so I don't mind doing something a little tedious now (and whenever else I get new assets), as long as it makes things go more smoothly in the long term.

If you want Smart Content to work properly, metadata is your only option. From what I've read on the forums, the world is pretty much split between those that prefer to add their own metadata and those that categorize stuff. So I really can't answer the "better" part of it. I do know that the "category" route is less work, since putting an item into a category is pretty much a one-step operation, while metadata fiddling is a bit more, well, "fiddly."

 

[Rich]

In the content library click "DAZ Studio Formats" -> "My DAZ 3D Library" -> "People" -> "Genesis 8 Female" -> "Clothing"

That will give you a filtered list of just clothing for Gen 8.

It absolutely will. But where it breaks down is when, for example, you want to apply an alternate texture to a piece of clothing. If Smart Content is working correctly, you can click on the clothing item in your scene, and Smart Content will give you a "Materials" option that has just the materials for it. Otherwise, you have to find the folder in the Content library, which can take some digging, as PA's aren't consistent in terms of where they hide their stuff.

Smart Content isn't perfect, but it's awfully nice when it does work...

 

[p_staker]

...which can take some digging, as PA's aren't consistent in terms of where they hide their stuff.

And this is the stuff that has gone through a "QC/QA" test by Daz.

It's insane how spread out some of the items are and the spelling errors that put them in their own folders.

 

[DreamLab Studio]

I just wanted to give my 2 cents in support for the good old Content Library.

When I first started using DAZ I also tried using the Smart Content tab but for some reason I just did not like it. I found it very annoying to use. I eventually just went with using the Content Library which shows you a list of all the folders your content is installed in.

The downside of the Content Library is you have to become familiar with where things are to find your stuff but you soon learn there are a few main folders to look in. As you use DAZ more you start to learn more about where everything is located and it's pretty easy to find stuff.

After going to the Content Library tab you will see the list of folders. Expand the "DAZ Studio Formats" section and then expand the "Daz Library", this is basically where your content is installed in a folder on your computer.

Some of the main locations you will be interested in are:

Characters: Go to the "People" folder. Under that you will see the different types of figures (Genesis 3 Male, Genesis 8 Female, so on)

Under these will be folders for "Character", "Clothes", "Poses" or "Hair" folders. These contain your products that will work for the figure type you are under.

Locations: Start at the "Environments" folder to find things like bedrooms, homes, and other "places" you have available.

Objects: Go to the "Props" folder to find things like guns, trees, or lawn tools. I have seen some creators put what I'd consider a location into the props folder so it's not perfectly sorted.

Shaders: The "Shader Presets" folder is where shader products you buy would be located so you can give something a cool new look.

Lights: The "Light Presets" is where a lot of your lights and HDRIs are located.


Unfortunately due to low quality control things aren't always where they should be. Under my People folder I have a "Genesis 8 Female" folder as well as a "Genesis 8 Female" folder - with the extra space.

I also install all of my products manually and do not use the DAZ Install Manager, this lets me have a bit more control so I can avoid installing things I don't want like the help files or the pattern/template files. This has also helped me better understand the layout of content in the Daz folder structure.

The Content Library may not be for everyone but I love being able to go to a folder where I know stuff is installed, not hoping the program shows me what it knows about. I guess I'm just turning into an old fart and I'm stuck in my ways.

 

[p_staker]

Objects: Go to the "Props" folder to find things like guns, trees, or lawn tools. I have seen some creators put what I'd consider a location into the props folder so it's not perfectly sorted.

I also find this annoying, but tolerable.

Unfortunately due to low quality control things aren't always where they should be. Under my People folder I have a "Genesis 8 Female" folder as well as a "Genesis 8 Female" folder - with the extra space.

One recent item I tried out was put into "Genesis 8 Female\Character" instead of "Genesis 8 Female\Characters" so it was in its own section away from all the other. :facepalm:

I also install all of my products manually and do not use the DAZ Install Manager, this lets me have a bit more control so I can avoid installing things I don't want like the help files or the pattern/template files. This has also helped me better understand the layout of content in the Daz folder structure.

I'll have to disagree with you here, I like the ability to install and uninstall items quickly and completely.

So with the help of the recently available

You must be registered to see the links

(the previous user made DIM apps were a bit hard to use) I've continued to edit the annoyingly bad DIM's and convert assets from everywhere else to DIM.

 

[DreamLab Studio]

So with the help of the recently available

You must be registered to see the links

(the previous user made DIM apps were a bit hard to use) I've continued to edit the annoyingly bad DIM's and convert assets from everywhere else to DIM.

Thanks for the tip, I haven't used this before so I'm going to look into it. Being able to uninstall packages cleanly would be very useful. Installing manually is very easy but uninstalling is a major freaking pain.

 

[p_staker]

Yes, DIM is the way to go if trying a bunch of stuff out that you know you probably won't use very often or ever again.

I like it when I find out that the item I just got expands to double the zipped size because the textures are uncompressed TIFFs. (I think it was a swimsuit for G2f.)

For example, I've split a combined G3f/G8f hair into separate versions and taken the Habitat out of

You must be registered to see the links

(I just wanted the terrain/skybox).

Once you get the hang of it, it is just another tool to keep your assets organized and library streamlined.

 

[lancelotdulak]

Dont use smartcontent at ALL. Just use my library and my daz library and search.