Materials are for the Material library. Poses (and morphs) are for the Pose library.

Please stop putting Materials in the Pose library. **!!!**They Do Not Belong There!!!. The Pose library has enough crap crammed in it as it is with all the morphs and actual poses, etc., while the Materials library is always virtually empty. 

There is no logical reason for this other than laziness. And actually, laziness isn't even an excuse because it takes more time to create mat poses than it does to just save the mats to the MATERIALS library. 

I just spent the last 15+ minutes looking for a texture set that I recently bought for M4/F4, only to find it in the Pose library. That vendor just lost a potential repeat customer.

Please stop. 

Thank you. 

~Shane

  I dont.  When installing a prop or figure, I put all mats and poses with the figure/prop.  I never have to look

Bill

Because if we put them in the material room people would bitch about not finding the other textures.

Why/when did this trend even start? That just defeats the purpose of having a materials library, or any other library category for that matter. Might as well just dump it all in the same folder. 

I like keeping my stuff organized and put things where they belong. It makes it faster and easier to locate something when I need it. I expect vendors that I buy from to be organized as well. As it is I don't buy that much unless I need something quick and don't have time to build it myself. 

I also alphabetize my CD collection. lol. 

~Shane

I believe it all started from "The name that must not be mentioned" and it has steam-rolled ever since. Why they started it I don't know, I believe they had a material room at the time too...lol.

Nothing wrong with organization, there has to be some way to keep track of all the models and projects I've been involved with...something other than "SciFiBitch_1, SciFiBitch_2", etc.

I can't tell you the last time I actually played a cd...I'm not sure I remember how to work my player! lol.

Hmm, not sure about that. V4 and M4's base materials are in the materials library on install. It's just all the 3rd party content that doesn't seem to grasp the concept. I don't remember the Gen3 figures even coming with default materials.

I mostly only play CDs in my truck. They're all in mp3 format in itunes library on my pc. One mp3 cd in my truck holds up to 7 hrs of music. Or maybe its 4 hrs. Somewhere in there. Way more than a standard cd tho. And I have hundreds of them. Possibly thousands. I tried the mp3 player thing but they kept breaking or the battery always dies so screw it. I still have a cd walkman around here somewhere. 

~Shane

It is my understanding that Mat and Morph files came into being at the time when the program bug that allows conforming clothing to work was widely publicised and exploited. Since it was a quirk of the pose mechanism that allowed this to work, pose files (or files that looked like pose files to Poser) became the norm for injecting morph settings and applying materials. It has been this way ever since I began using Poser some 9 years ago, so the practice was obviously entrinched at that point in time.

Why continue to do it? Because this is how the rank and file EXPECT it to be done. I readily admit that before I adopted my own organization scheme for Poser content, I seldom thought to look in the materials folder for content. If it wasn't in a mat file in the pose folder, it didn't exist for me.

I suspect that vendors would get considerable pushback from the unwashed masses if they were to stop providing mat files in the pose folder, but can't prove it.

A couple of years ago, I became convinved that there was no reason at all for Poser content to be organized as the program calls for. I have posted in other threads the changes I made and the methods I used to consolidate everything in just two folders: Figure and Pose. Now, I care less where the various components are put by the vendor because I move everything into a folder in the figures library. That way, I don't have to go looking hither and yon for the <fill-in-the-blank> that goes with the figure in question.

And yes, I agree with Shade... Poses are the only thing I leave in my Pose folder. All the other folders are empty.

I remember a long time ago when the store here at Rendo was new, Xurge taught me through ICQ how to make a MAT pose file by hand in a text editor because there were no little programs or python scripts to make them at that time. But these days, a MAT pose is an antique concept which I also, frankly, wish would go away. I have two character/texture sets for Dawn over at Hivewire and I went with Material Shaders only for them and stated it up front. Got to train the average user to stop using them.

@Basic: Thanks for that little history lesson. I guess I got "untrained" by leaving poser for about 3 or 4 years between P7 and PP2012. Turns out the one character set I sold here for M3, around 2005ish, was also set up with mat poses. But that's because I didn't know what I was doing back then. 

I just don't like having a million folders to have to scroll through in one category. The one thing that makes the library categories important is that you can't save from within Poser to just any category, it has to be moved manually. Otherwise, if you want to save a pose then you have to have the Pose library open. Same with all the others. 

Quote -
I have two character/texture sets for Dawn over at Hivewire and I went with Material Shaders only for them and stated it up front. Got to train the average user to stop using them.

Yes, and that's all it should take. Just state that they are in the Material library on the product description, and in the readme. For the handful of people that actually read product descriptions or readme's. lol.  

~Shane 

Mat pose files started back in earlier versions of Poser - there didn't used to be a material room, if I remember correctly.  I think Poser 6 was the first version with a material room, but the material folder didn't show in the Poser Library till Poser 8, so you couldn't access it from the Pose room in Poser 6 or 7.  In the 2 earlier versions, you had to go into the material room to apply mt5 or mc6 files.  I have Poser 6 on my computer for testing so have to do that when I want to apply materials, but it can be done)

There ARE some situations where it makes sense to include pz2 mat poses (since it's so easy to convert from one to the other, for these situations, having BOTH is a good option)

a) if the product is meant to work in Poser 5

b) if the product is meant to work in DS 3 - you can not view mc6 files in DS 3.  I can't recall if it was DS 4 or 4.5 that added the ability to see Poser mc6 files.

For newer products, like the Poser 8+ native figures, and others like Dawn, which require either Poser 9+ or DS 4.5+, there is really no reason to use .pz2 mat files. 

In fact, I've talked to newer Poser users who find it confusing to find materials in the pose folder.  The Poser figures themselves and Poser versions of other products like Dawn, the HiveWire Horse, etc, use ONLY mc6 files, so that is where newer Poser users expect to find them.

Poser 4 Thru 7-or8 compatability

and Slacker pushback

Quote -
There ARE some situations where it makes sense to include pz2 mat poses (since it's so easy to convert from one to the other, for these situations, having BOTH is a good option)

Poser 7 has a Materials library, it just has to be accessed from the Materials room. Which is silly, but I guess it made sense at the time to e-frontier. And of course there are a lot of people who are afraid to open that room. :eye roll:. 

I'm pretty sure Poser 5 and 6 were the same way, but since I don't have those versions installed I can't be sure, and its been too long since I used them.  

So I guess I can concede that including both would probably be a good option, for content that pre-dates P9/2012, such as the gen4 figures. That way there's the choice of installing to the Pose library for those that don't want to get current. 

~Shane

Here is my take on it and it builds on what has been said.

MAT Files were part of a series of hacks that folks were experimenting with to get Poser to do more things with different kinds of Pose Files.  This was around Poser 4 and Poser 4 Pro Pack.

When Poser 5 came out, there was MT5 but it was single-material only, so folks continued to use MAT Pose Files because they could change materials on an entire figure (or smart prop) at one time.

Material Collections were introduced in Poser 6.  But for 2 reasons, folks continued to use MAT Files.  First, DAZ Studio could not use the Material Collections nor did it acknowledge the Materials Library.  Second, it usually takes one or two generations for the overall community to adopt somethng because most people were still using Poser 4/Pro Pack or Poser 5.  DS didn't catch up to using Poser's Material Library until version 4.

Now on whether or not I make MAT Files?  I haven't made them in several years now, thankfully.  They are inferior to Material Collections, which work on Standalone Props - MAT Poses do not (unless you hack them a certain way and a Figure is in the scene).  Like you Shane, I believe Poses and Morphs go in the Pose folder.  We need a Morphs folder as well.  There is no good reason these days, post-Poser 6 and DS 4+ to continue to use them.  That is my general thoughts and I won't be making them.

I did write a tool in the MP to convert the MATs to Material Collections easily because, like you I was seriously tired of dealing with them.

As others have mentioned, it's a hold over from the way things used to have to be done. As I recall, in P4 there was no Materials Library. I don't have anything before P8 installed anymore to double check, but I'm pretty sure that the materials library, along with the MC5 (now MC6) materials file type, were introduced with P5.

Prior to P5 (I'm sure someone will kindly correct me if my memory has clouded a bit), the only way to change materials on a poser figure was through a "matpose" file, which "needed" to reside in the Pose Library. So, any vendors that are keeping P4 compatibility in their products will have matpose files in the Pose Library (many also provide have MC6 files in the Materials Library as well).

Edit: Netherworks beat me to the post - and has better info as well!!!

DustRider, that's how I remember it -- it has been a LONG time though :)

Quote - Here is my take on it and it builds on what has been said.

MAT Files were part of a series of hacks that folks were experimenting with to get Poser to do more things with different kinds of Pose Files.  This was around Poser 4 and Poser 4 Pro Pack.

When Poser 5 came out, there was MT5 but it was single-material only, so folks continued to use MAT Pose Files because they could change materials on an entire figure (or smart prop) at one time.

Material Collections were introduced in Poser 6.  But for 2 reasons, folks continued to use MAT Files.  First, DAZ Studio could not use the Material Collections nor did it acknowledge the Materials Library.  Second, it usually takes one or two generations for the overall community to adopt somethng because most people were still using Poser 4/Pro Pack or Poser 5.  DS didn't catch up to using Poser's Material Library until version 4.

Now on whether or not I make MAT Files?  I haven't made them in several years now, thankfully.  They are inferior to Material Collections, which work on Standalone Props - MAT Poses do not (unless you hack them a certain way and a Figure is in the scene).  Like you Shane, I believe Poses and Morphs go in the Pose folder.  We need a Morphs folder as well.  There is no good reason these days, post-Poser 6 and DS 4+ to continue to use them.  That is my general thoughts and I won't be making them.

I did write a tool in the MP to convert the MATs to Material Collections easily because, like you I was seriously tired of dealing with them.

Best answer.  I recall those days of P4 and P4PP.  Mat Pose was considered a breakthrough.  A way to apply textures all at once, or separately, to any figure.  Daz, I believe, shipped V3 and V4 with Mat Pose libraries, and gave them the god-aweful prefixes to have them appear at the TOP of your library.  After which, all vendors started putting symbols like ++++ before the name of the folders, to have their product appear first.  It became the worst naming convention debacle in software content history, in my opinion, as your P4/P5, and in some cases, P6 Pose libraries became cluttered with senselessly named product folders, and goofy attempts to gain your attention.  That is, if you weren't smart enough to install content manually with your own logical libraries, which most people were not.

maxxxmodelz,

I agree with that as well.  I think it's fine to use symbols to organize "within" a folder, but yeah all that !!!! folder names I don't really care for at all.  I don't even like bunches of folders above "Libraries" either.  I could never understand why injection stuff didn't go in Geometries - it's not like the Geometry folder was going anywhere...

I used to move all those things and painfully rework them.  :P  Now I just stick those things in a runtime I don't have to look at all the time, LOL.

Oh god, remember all the .rsr files?  Took forever to get rid of those too and only Poser 4 needed them.  P4 Pro Pack went to .png.

It was actually towards the "end" of Poser 3 (shortly before the release of Poser 4) when the the exploit that allows MAT poses was discovered.

Source: I discovered said exploit :) I was getting tired of click-click-clicking just to set up materials for a figure, since there was, at that time, absolutely no way to save a figure's material setup other than to save a CR2. This also meant saving morph/pose data, which would quickly fill an HDD (especially easy considering HDD sizes at the time). So I figured, what the heck, let's see what happens if I copy the material data from a CR2 and paste it into a PZ2. The rest is history.

I also firmly condemn the practice of placing material files in the Pose Library - this is 2014.

Folks like you, Nerd and others give us a lot of new ways of doing things.  I remember at the time picking all sorts of files apart to see what I could get away with :D

We have MOR files, Scaling Poses and all kind of channel injectors and so on thanks to your discovery.

I couldn't recall exactly when it happened, so I was hoping to get in the right ballpark.  I started with Poser 4 and I know a lot of things were being discovered at the time and it was so exciting.  Python in Poser was a new thing, as of Pro Pack.  People were playing a lot around with Geometry Swapping from what they picked apart from the Poser 3 figures, that had swapping hands.

It was a blast :)

earliest version of Poser I owned was Poser 3

I remember a Poser for AutoDesk Max called Character Studio.

Is that what you all are calling Poser Pro 4 ?

if not then what was the diffrence between Poser 4 and Poser Pro 4 back then ?

I think that Poser 4 Pro Pack was an improved version of Poser 4 that included for the first time the use of Python scripts.  I think.

Poser Pro Pack introduced Python scripting, the Setup Room, Motion Blur, export to different 3D apps, export to Flash.  It went from .rsr to png files.  Option to no longer use .bum files.  I remember new toon figures.  There was probably a lot more.

I think even at this point some don't understand the difference between .mt5 and .mc6.

I also remember the Pose part of the library getting so full people started setting up texture files under camera settings before the material room appeared in Poser 5.

I also remember the insanity of having to include files that applied textures to Poser 4, Pro Pack, and Poser 5, else customers would be fuming across all forums because their version of choice was not covered.

So I'm assuming merchants are just trying to keep as many customers happy as possible.

Most of the time you can delete what you don't want to use, but most people don't know how add/make what's not there. Hope that makes sense.

I have Netherworks script to convert MAT poses. Lovely little utility.

But I don't mind MAT poses for characters that come with morphs. If I'm going to have to click in a library folder to get to a morph injection, the MATs might as well be right there too. 

I try to reduce my mouse clicks to the least number I can manage, and that's one instance where it works well for me.

If I went with Wiz's method, I could probably reduce my clicks even more. It's a very efficient way to do things. But I can't make myself mix props and figures. For some reason -- superstition, no doubt -- I feel better if I know what category of thing I've loaded.

     I happened onto Poser halfway through the P6 era, and bought my first PC.  Imagine!  Being able to do 3D right at home!  One of my irritated questions was why the MATs were in the pose library when there sits a purpose-built material library, lonely and unused.

     One of the grizzled vets explained that the MATpose was an inspired hack hailing from the P4/ProPack days.  It was a brilliant solution, and I can understand that the use of the MATpose was retained for backward compatibility for a while, but its day has passed.

     As for vendor concerns, if someone won't/can't spend the money to upgrade since P4/PP, they aren't likely to spend much buying content either.

I don't mind vanity folders. In fact I think they make sense and I prefer them for a couple reasons. First, it helps me keep track of which artist made what, so if it's something I like then there's a better chance of me buying something of theirs again in the future if I know who made it, and I can know that by the folder names. And the same in reverse, if it's complete crap with some clever promo images that tricked me into thinking it was worth my time and money, then I'll know who not to buy from again in the future. And just as importantly imo, keeping things categorized by artist goes a long way in preventing overwrites. I don't see how it's possible to have a library full of content that's basically the equivalent of dumping everything in a closet and using all your body weight to get the door to latch. But even if you can deal with that mess, how do you prevent overwrites? There's only so many words for panties. Eventually someone is going to use the same name(s) for their files as some other vendor.

The whole 'everything dumped in one drawer' is one of the reasons I don't like DS's content library. I don't know how many times I've clicked on a pair of shorts 3 times before I realized oh crap, that's the texture not the actual model. I'm getting more familiar with it but it's very frustrating and I haven't figured out a way to categorize things more like Poser's library. Yes I know they're labeled, and even color-coded, but that's not the point. Most of the time I'm looking for the item, not the label. If it's in the right folder, I wouldn't have to worry about the label. 

The obnoxious symbols before the names however are annoying and unnecessary. Being at the top of the library isn't going to make me want to use someone's content any more than being at the bottom. It's the quality of the content itself that matters. I don't mind scrolling down the list if you make your content worth my time (and money) to do so. 

As for the geometries folder - it seems SM isn't even following their own file structures anymore, as Rex and Roxie's objs are in the same folder as the .cr2. This may have something to do with scripts tho, but does that mean the geometries folder is technically only still there due to legacy content? Come on, consistency, people. Naming conventions and file structure is regarded as serious business in pretty much all studios. In school we could fail a project just for not adhering to a proper file structure or naming convention for different file types, as it causes confusion and unnecessary time sinks for others in your pipeline who have to search for your files and rename/reorganize them when its time to hand your portion of the project off to them.  

I do however like how SM started putting their conforming clothing in the Props folder, as it makes more sense to me - a label marking it conforming or dynamic is good too, and it keeps the Figures library free for actual figures. But I bet a lot of folks haven't realized that yet, and may have something to do with why people seem to think Rex and Roxie don't have any clothes. There's not much but there's a basic set for each of them. And with the fitting room it shouldn't be too difficult to convert Ryan and Alyson's clothes to them. 

Maybe I'm just ocd. 

Anyway, I'm just ranting. I think I'm done.

P.S: There's a hair library too, ya know? For hair. Hair isn't a figure. It's hair.

ETA: Apparently P7 had conformers in the props library too. Just checked to remind myself. So it's the 3rd partiers and dazerites putting clothes in the figures library all this time....

~Shane

I have Netherworks script and use it on a regular basis as I am still buying content and MAT poses still appear in the Pose folder.  About once a week I run the script with the the pose folder as and source and the material folder as the destination and let it do it's stuff.  That way I always know the material for anything will be in Materials folder.

Just copy the mat poses to the Material library using your favourite OS's file manager.  They will work fine there...

R_Hatch > Quote -It was actually towards the "end" of Poser 3 (shortly before the release of Poser 4) when the the exploit that allows MAT poses was discovered.

Source: I discovered said exploit :) 

     I did not know that - a tip o' the hat to ye, sir.  A fine exploit.

Quote - Materials are for the Material library. Poses (and morphs) are for the Pose library. 

There is no logical reason for this other than laziness. And actually, laziness isn't even an excuse because it takes more time to create mat poses than it does to just save the mats to the MATERIALS library. 

Please stop. 

Thank you. 

~Shane

Maybe the people who complain about this point could help by not referring to them as "poses" when they don't actually pose anything.  Otherwise, you'd feel just as stupid looking for a "pose" file in the materials library.

anyways one thing i always like about the Poser Users was they would get Poser to do anything.
even the P4 manuel reads see forums .LOL

maybe never organized but very capable.

with out the Poser Users getting Poser to do anything .
I don't know if Poser would still be here.

Quote - The whole 'everything dumped in one drawer' is one of the reasons I don't like DS's content library. I don't know how many times I've clicked on a pair of shorts 3 times before I realized oh crap, that's the texture not the actual model.

My own solution (in a nutshell) is to put each product in a folder. I then move the mat/moph/etc FOLDERS inside the Figure folder that they relate to. This keeps overwrites from being a problem.

I'm not insisting everyone adpot my method. I just think that having different parts of the same item in different folders is time consuming and just plain wrong.  Ultimately, it's whatever works for each individual. My opinions are well known and posted elsewhere, so I'm going to lie in the weeds and see where the rest of the group takes this discussion.

Quote -
Just copy the mat poses to the Material library using your favourite OS's file manager.  They will work fine there...

lol, yes. You are right, wandw. not really that big of a deal compared to other things. am just in one of those moods most likely, where things are more irritating than other times. but its good to know i'm not alone in my grumbles about it.

I didn't know conformers started out as an exploit tho, so i learned something new. 

~Shane 

Quote - Maybe the people who complain about this point could help by not referring to them as "poses" when they don't actually pose anything.  Otherwise, you'd feel just as stupid looking for a "pose" file in the materials library.

what would be a better term for them? they are materials applied with a pose file (.pz2) not a material collection file (.mc6). 

Probably the best way is to just include both like someone else said. I see some vendors doing that. Or don't. Probably more trouble than its worth trying to change it now. I'm glad i don't have a ginormous library like some (many) people have. Easier to convert as I need where I need it. 

~Shane

Right, they are called MAT Pose Files... :)  If you just called them MATs, it's to close to Material + Collection, so it's set up for confusion.  Folks already call too many things "Morphs", for example of things that already get confused.

As far as other file types willy-nilly all over the place, to use your own term, the folders act as "drawers" for a reason.  The core library folders, to me, are by internal type, so clothing goes in figures because it uses the figure structure.

I just feel like if the structure is not going to be followed, why have one at all?  In that case, just move to the DS system, where there is none at all.

AmbientShade - to fix this problem with your legacy content - invest in Netherworks Batch Material Convert program ($9.95 over at Content Paradise) - it will convert all of your .pz2s to .mc6s and place them in the materials folder for you - no muss, no fuss.  I converted a 40Gb runtime in less than 60 seconds.  I can not recommend it highly enough.  I couldn't live without it.

Going forward, there are 2 solutions for this problem.

Solution 1 - Storefronts enforce the current standard as part of the QA process.  If a product is for a modern figure (i.e. P9 or later), then the Poser 9 standards should be enforced.

Solution 2 - Use the customer review process.  As an example, if I buy a product for Dawn (a P9+ figure) that comes with material .pz2s instead of .mc6s, I deduct 1 star and I say WHY I am deducting a star. With some vendors, I could easily run out of stars.  I do the same thing with other stupid artifacts from the Poser 4 era that we are still dealing with today, such as:

thereisnoneedcompressthenameoftheproduct or

I_am_using_underscores_because_I_don't_know_that_DOS_is_dead

I gave all of my material names a leading MAT_ so the search function can't find it.

I use numbers as leading characters to force my customers to laborously hunt down something manually rather than use Poser's built in search function.

ANY MENTION OF MAC CONVERTER in the readme - for those of you who don't know, MacConverter was an OS9 product that converted Poser 3 content to a format Poser 4 could read.  New Mac users end up on a wild goose chase looking for www.softrabbit.de - which shut down over 10 years ago. I shudder to think how many sales this has cost vendors over the years.

I love the vendors, but I swear to god, some of them are their own worst enemies.

Quote - I_am_using_underscores_because_I_don't_know_that_DOS_is_dead

lol - I actually use software that requires the old DOS naming conventions in some of the code (not all, just parts here and there), so I'm guilty of still doing this so I don't have to think when giving file names. This is software that is updated often (at least once a year), and with a retail cost of easily over $10,000 (depending on the modules you purchase) - Oh, and most of it is still 32bit. Some things haunt you forever!

I don't use underscores for Library Files but I use it for assets like .obj, .py, etc.  When I have to paste a reference, a name with underscores will select the whole name.  Spaces, not so much. :)

Hey ssbryan, I do have Mac converter on another machine if you need a copy. 8D

     Like Netherworks, I put all cr2 in the character library, whether it is a doll, clothing, rigged hair, or a cottage with rigged doors & windows.

     A pp2 cottage with parented pp2 windows & doors goes in props.   Dynamic clothing -which is pp2- I also put in props.

Quote - Why continue to do it? Because this is how the rank and file EXPECT it to be done...

...I suspect that vendors would get considerable pushback from the unwashed masses if they were to stop providing mat files in the pose folder, but can't prove it.

I've often wondered how many people actually stick with the default library structure. For me, it's unimaginable that anyone would choose to do so if they realized that they could reorganize their content to suit their own purposes. I well remember when I first started using Poser (P8), I was so frustrated with its content organization that I was ready to forget the whole thing. But that's just me.

Maybe we should have a poll to see how many use the default library setup and how many use their own.

I can't stand how Daz organizes its content, but as soon as I learned that I could relabel folders and move them around just as I do in Poser, it helped tremendously.

As for enormous Poser runtimes, my solution is to have dozens of external runtimes. I now organize by theme; for example: "Greco-Roman", "Medieval - Renaissance", "Post Apocalyptic", "Pirates and Nautical", "Viking", "Reformation - Victorian", "Religion Angels Demons", "Grunge", "Modern War", "Terrain and Vegetation"... and so on.

If it's a small theme with not too much content, I'll put the clothes in as well, for all non-genesis characters. This works for stuff like my "Egyptian" or "Greco-Roman" themes.

If it's a big category, such as "Modern Urban", I'll keep the clothes separate, in a "Modern Urban V4 Clothing" runtime, for instance. 

By the time I'm finished, I will probably have 30 or 40 runtimes. But if I'm not going to be doing any Egyptian or Viking or Roman renders for a while, I'll unlink those runtimes.

My favorite vendors used to get vanity folders. (Now they get their own runtimes -- LOL). I agree with Shane that it's important to know who made what. Also, it helps should you come across a file reference error with textures (which are often put in a folder named after the vendor rather than the product). The others get folder names that include the title of the content plus their name or initials. "Post Apocalyptic Bar - CG" lets me know right away that it's Coflek Gnorg (who, if I had enough money, would have several runtimes all of his own). 

I know... I have way too much content. :D

I do vanity folders, I think that's fair. I do Vendor, Package, Item

So... "Netherworks", "Oh-No", "Jo-Jo".

If you want a diferent structure, you could (and should) customize it to your liking.  But the original is logical and easy to find.

I don't get pushback from not offering MAT Pose Files but I have gotten thank you's for not including them. :)  I'm sure experiences there indeed vary.

Quote - I do vanity folders, I think that's fair. I do Vendor, Package, Item

So... "Netherworks", "Oh-No", "Jo-Jo".

If you want a diferent structure, you could (and should) customize it to your liking.  But the original is logical and easy to find.

I don't get pushback from not offering MAT Pose Files but I have gotten thank you's for not including them. :)  I'm sure experiences there indeed vary.

To tie this thread briefly to another one, I want a Jo-Jo follower in Skyrim who taunts his opponents by shouting "Oh nooooooooo!" in a very high pitched voice. I also want an idle animation that has him jumping on the player character's shoulder and gripping their neck in a very forceful embrace. :D

Back on topic -- Vanity folders used to bug me. Now all I want is consistency from one library folder to the next. If it's "Jo-Jo" in Figures, I don't want his addons to be "Bob" in Props and "Vendor's Stuff" in Materials.

But I honestly don't recall how you organized the folders for that little fellow. I rarely pay attention these days because I just change it if I need to.

In the end, if I like someone's work enough, they could throw everything into one folder and call it "!!!!!!!!Customers_Suck", and I'd still buy it. :D

Part of the clothes being in the figures library, rather than the props, and the hair being in the figure library is that in earlier versions they couldn't be saved in the props or the hair libraries properly. It was looking for PP2 and HR2 only and wouldn't load. Also, the props wouldn't take MAT poses, etc.

but but but - There is a search facility in the Poser library. I put materials and material collections in the Materials library for my freebies. If you can't find it, search.

I set up seperate runtimes like one for V4, V4 Poses, V4 expressions and the same for M4 and David and so on.  After that there are runtimes for themes such as Space, Cities, Rooms and so on.  If one runtime gets too large I split it which i have done with props so I have one for weapons another for equipment and after setting up a new runtime I move content using P3dO explorer.  Within each runtime I retain the default structure but I also use the Shaderworks Library manager so that might have an impact on how I use the structure. 

As for finding vendor information I do that seperately using a database I purchased from Daz and appears no longer to be available.  This allows me to find information such as Vendor, date purchased, full price, sale price, store purchased and lots more. 

I often use the search function on this database as the product screen remains live with the search screen overlayed.  This gives me a large picture with all the details a soon as I click on the search link. I use this when I want to find something to use in a scene I am building but not sure what I have that would be appropriate. 

I also use it before I purchase something if I think I may already have it.  I know Rendo, where I do about 90% of my purchases, already checks this but there have been occasions when I have purchased the item from another store. 

I can also make a note if something has a problem and the fix if there is one and I keep this information in mind for future purchases.

Only real downside is keeping the database up to date but even with promo pictures added it only take a few minutes to complete each time I purchase something.

2 things I'd like to point out in response to the op...

1. The "average" hobbyist user isn't nessessarily using the most recent version of the programs as their systems may not be capable of meeting the system specs required for said new versions (not everyone can afford to upgrade to the latest computer system every year or two to support the upgraded software)... It's also entirely possible that users may simply choose to stay with one version of a program or another because they see no need to upgrade or because they are comfortable with the versions they are using...

In order to ensure that the widest market audience is supported it is often nessessary to continue to provide older file formats and file structures that will still run in older versions of the programs we use. As the older versions fade out (which happens over time when the average user base is finally able to upgrade to newer hardware and software) the older file structures and formats will fade out to be replaced with newer ones, how-ever this also means that even newer versions of file types and structures will probably be in use by the leading edge users.

As a vendor it is nessessary to ensure wide base compatibility to maximize potential income and sales... and not terribly feasible to try and keep up with the constant shifts in customer preference and software. It is rather more important to keep up with the needs of the "average" users needs than to try and keep up with the few "leading edge" users.

Also... it's simply not possible to meet the demands and preferences of each and every customer, as each one wants something different. Sure, vendors could make a model that would work in every conceivable program and include every possible permutation of customer preferences, but you certainly wouldn't be paying the low prices that most vendors charge. More likely any attempt to do so would drive the price so high that no hobbyist user could afford either the content or the programs!

1. The only difference between a pz2 materials pose, and an mc6 materials file is the file extension and a single line of code in the text file... both of which can be easily changed (there are a number of simple tuts on how to convert back and forth between pz2 and mc6).

Anyone that can change a file extension and use a text editor can change one to the other in about 2 seconds. Of course it's not nessessary to change anything as pz2 mat poses will load just fine from either the "Poses" library, or the "Materials" library... it's simply a matter of organizing the files in your runtimes...

I know why people did it, I started out with Poser 4 and Poser Pro Pack which didn't have a material library, what I don't know is why people still do it. It's not like materials now days would be compatible with Poser 4 anyway. 

Also, I hate prefixes in folder names like "!!!! MAT FOOBAR" or whatever other character, it adds one more step to a product install process, renaming the folders...

With all the Poser sell and all.
I would have thought most ever one uses Pro 14 anyways.

I would have thought anyone going threw hard times right now that needs to wait to upgrade.
Probably not doing alot of shoping right now.

I would have thought anyone that doesn't care to upgrade.
Probably's not a big shopper.

but since a lot of stuff in the stores reads works for Poser 4 & up.
Who knows maybe 2014 Poser 4 users are the biggest spenders.