Quote - I've worked with 3D for 5 years but I'm new to Poser5. It may seem obvious to most of you but this was exactly the question I wanted to ask. Looking at tutorials and discussions I find plenty of references to "multiple runtimes" but they assume you have already experienced a runtime and understand what goes in it, how it's organized, how poser finds it, etc.... 

2 questions:

I guess Poser needs a runtime folder, but it bloats when everything is in there. So you create an external runtime and navigate within poser to get to the external folders. (correct me if I'm wrong) Then the PZ3 just references all the external files without saving the geometry/textures/etc within the PZ3? If you re-organize the external runtime folders your PZ3 can't find the files and you will have to re-locate them?

Does anything HAVE to be in the default runtime? If so, what? Would it make sense to back-up a runtime for every important scene? In other words, if I want to back-up my scene (like to CD-rom) should I make a runtime that contains everything in that scene? That way I can go back to the scene or character and know I have all the parts?

thanks for helping a noob.
holly

 

Here is a copy of Deecey's Poser Runtime Structure.
You may finde her most excellant "Practical Poser" Books a good investment if you intend to keep dabbling with poser.

You have your Main Poser 5 Runtime.

What I do is make a dummy of that Runtime with all of the folders (Empty)
I then create a new folder called ApolloMax (he is Free and great). I paste a copy of the dummy runtime into this ApolloMax Folder.
I then install my ApolloMax Files into the ApolloMax Folder.

In your Poser 5 LibararyFigures, click the Up Arrow until you see a Plus or Minus sign at the bottom. Click Plus, Poser will then have you browse to the External Runtime you want to add.
Find ApolloMax and add it.

Now you should have Poser Folder, Download Folder and ApolloMax Folder in you Poser 5 Main RuntimeFigures Library. If you want to jump to ApolloMax, click on that folder, if you want to jump back to Poser 5, click on that folder.
You can Add or remove these External runtime Links (+ or -). Electing to remove an external runtime Dos Not Delete the Runtime, it only breaks the link with poser.

Yes, a Pz3 store a lot of information. if you move the files, poser will ask you to find them when you open the pz3.
You could, if you so desired, open the pz3 in a texteditor and Edit the paths of where poser has been told to look.

Hope that helps you a wee bit.

"That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves."
Thomas Jefferson