Hi, Everybody, I am facing a problem with the lenght of the names for the pulldown menue "Poses" : Every directory name is cut to 7 letters (now, but this varies), so I cannot properly read the pose directories. I operate POSER 4.03.127 German version using Windows 98 SE. I have attached a screen shot. Perhaps this problem has beed discussed already, but I did not find any topic for this. My question is, do you have any idea, what sets control to the length of the pose directory name ? I thought for a while it is the lenght of the first directory's name, but that was an error... Many thanks for your interest Pauli

When P4 reaches 256 folders in any library it will do this. The best, most practical solution if you're sticking with P4 is to buy PBooost and split your poses into separate banks, which can be switched in and out. I used it extensively until I got P5. The problem does not occur in Poser 5 or 6.

Hi, Paul, thanks for that information, I am going to check this ! Have a good time Pauli

You're welcome. :) BTW, if PBooost doesn't float your boat, you can move pose files to the Hand and Camera folders but you'll have to change the file extensions to hd2 or cm2 for Poser to see them. A lot of older products used to do this but it's IMO a measure of last resort. They will work ok but it's a royal pain in the buttocks to change the extensions and to remember where they are.

Which file types can be changed to which file types? I understand that .pz2 can run as .hd2 and .cm2 and I believe .cr2 can be changed to .pp2 but I have had trouble putting .pz2 to .cr2 to keep MAT's with characters ...which file type "switches" work do you know Samtherapy?

There are really only 2 types of library file in Poser: Those which load geometry Those which do something to the geometry That seems to be the basis behind the development of MAT poses, which were, for want of a better word, a hack. hr2 and pp2 are directly interchangable; hr2 files are just smart props parented to the head. lt2 are also geometry loading files so they should - note "should" be interchangable with pp2 and hr2 and maybe even cr2. I think cr2 are a special case because they do more than just load a static object. I'm not conversant enough with the nuts and bolts to say for certain but I have a feeling that if you were to place a cr2 into Props it would stop working correctly. I haven't tried it, though. AFAIK, cm2, pz2, hd2, fc2 are all interchangable but there's some issue with hand files. The poses apply differently, depending on which hand you select. Poser will ask for a left or right hand, even if the "hand" pose you're applying is actually a MAT pose. That's about the extent of my "knowledge" with these things, although I did read somewhere on here that P6 allows you to put any kind of file anywhere. I haven't ever tried it so I can't say if this is so.

No. P6 doesn't allow to place any file anywhere, same restrictions as you already mentioned.

... but I have a feeling that if you were to place a cr2 into Props it would stop working correctly.

Figures will work fine if moved to the props folders. CL started doing this in P6, to keep the dynamic clothes and conformers in one convenient location, but it was possible in earlier versions, also. Just remember to change the CR2 extension to PP2, so the files will show up in the library panel.

The reverse is also true ... props can be moved to the character folders.

Message edited on: 01/29/2006 21:31

And to anticipate your next question: the "Insufficient memory" error is due to the way Poser 4 and Windows 98 interact. Because of Window 98's poor memory handling, it does not free up RAM after every render. So, after a few images, Poser will spit up the "Insufficient memory" error. Your best solution is to upgrade to Poser 6. Not only will you be able to use multiple Runtime folders (and move all those !M3 and !V3 folders to a separate Runtime folder), but you'll also get all the memory improvements. Upgrading to a more modern operating system will also do wonders for you. Both Windows 2000 and XP have much, much better memory management features. --John

Hi, John, thanks for this add-on. Indeed I was aware about the poor performance of Win 98, and my scenes regularly crashed after a number of renders. Now this will make me change as soon as possible. Meanwhile I will practice a bit more discipline and get rid of so many doublettes and P3-poses. Have a good time Pauli

You can try a memory management utility like Fast Defrag (freeware) that periodically frees up and defragments memory. This would probably help if you have other applications running. I'm not sure if it will recover anything Poser's had it's hands on. I think Curious Labs even used to recommend a particular one on their website. Under Win98, your best bet is to run as little as possible in the background with Poser.