This is an extensive listing by Les Bentley, with examples, of the useful and cool stuff that can be done with .pz2 files...

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/?thread_id=2735605

I hope Les is well, I miss him... ;(

Please people ... can we move our frustration over to the "what's wrong with the forum" thread? This way we can do our best to update the FAQ.  I respect your need to be heard and I hear you.  I will make recommendations based on what I've read, but let stay OP, ok?

No probs, Boni, but I just want it to be known that I'm not DMD's friend today after what he said.
Telling me to get a job is an insult after all the skill I developed in the art of not needing one!

I might forgive him next week, but I'll have to think about it :-P

Anyway, I just noticed something odd with the forum so I'll post it in the thread you suggested.

By the way, just saw Les' facebook page, he is doing fine.  :) And thanks for the link, it is wonderful and is added to my list. :)

Boni

Might I suggest because change is inevitable ... that you cut and paste particularly interesting threads to another program (OneNote or such) so that no matter what you have the information.  I've done this with various sites and pages I've enjoyed over the years.  Just a thought.  This is not aimed at Renderosity posts in particular.  There are a lot of forums and sites in flux out there.

So glad to hear that Les is well!!! :D

Thanx, Boni!

I've been printing useful threads to pdf; one of the great features of the Forums here is that you can easily print an entire thread.  However, it doesn't preserve links and non-image attachments...

WandW: to prove even us Mods have a lot to learn.  I don't know how to print an entire thread ... could you share that with us?

Click on the Print button at the top, next to the Unsubscribe button.  It generates a printable version, which can be sent to whatever printer you choose. 

In Linux I can print directly to a pdf, and I'm pretty sure that you can on OS X as well (it's stupid old UNIX under that pretty desktop!) but for Windows there are several free pdf generators one can download, such as PDF Creator (open-source) or Cute PDF (a free version of a commercial product) that act like a printer; you just choose it from the Printer list, and a file name dialogue opens.

Thanks for the Share!  Always appreciated.

Boni

This would be a good candidate: Morphs not working in DAZ Generation 4 characters (Victoria4, Michael4, and Kids 4)

This is usually a result of not "initializing" the figure to create the morph channels for morph packs such as Morphs++.  In the past, the initialization was performed automatically by the installer, and it is currently done automatically if DAZ Install Manager is used.  However, it must be done manually if the current zip files are manually installed.  For Victoria 4:

Initialize the V4 figure by browsing to the 'folder you installed your stuff'/runtime/libraries/!DAZ and Click on both: (in Windows; there are Mac scripts in the same directory)

• DzCreateExPFiles-V4.bat

• DzCreateExPFiles-V4V3.bat

The procedure is similar for  M4 (and his gen) and K4: I would paste in the exact file names, but i can''t seem to paste more than once into a post... :/

I had to do it in a text editor... :(
For M4:

-DzCreateExPFiles-M4.bat

-DzCreateExPFiles-M4Gens.bat

For K4:

-DzCreateExPFiles-K4.bat

Wonderful.  And just to let you know.  We are still working on this ... we want it to be something worth everyone's effort and as helpful to all as possible. 

@Boni
I can't find that thread for the bug reports, but I just wanted to point out that the 'Full Screen' button on YouTube embedding isn't showing up.  To view full screen we have to leave the site and view on YouTube.  I think it's just an additional paramater that needs adding to the embed code.

Thanks I'll send the info over to admins!

Here is a chance for the community to contribute to the Poser FAQ page.  Even if you know the answer, (In fact provide both question and answer if you like). We would like user input.

Take a look at our Poser FAQ page.  See if you find errors or perhaps a better answer let us know in this thread.

Also new questions to expand the FAQ page.  We want you all involved in this process.  Let's keep this positive and constructive.  We have another thread for forum issues.  This is strictly for the FAQ updates.  Let's have fun with this. :)

Boni

Where is the "Poser FAQ" page?
Yes, yes, I see the tiny little hyperlink which is sort of at the top of this forum page. But, I want to use your post as an example: Not all writing is :technical writing" and, in my experience, artists generally make terrible technical writers. :) That's not a slur against artists, not at all! But, while a veterinarian can double as an ad-hoc physician in a post-apocalyptic world, it's probably not a good idea if there's a physician around. The best, most informative, most easily understood and reproducible Poser FAQs I've ever read are from people who are either steeped in the subject they're writing about or happen to be very familiar with technical writing and well practiced with explaining concepts to the uninitiated. This is not easy stuff to do - It's hard. And, considering that many users of such a FAQ are there because they already possess a limited knowledge set, the difficulty in producing a good FAQ entry increases.

Why point out your post? You didn't embed a link to the Poser FAQ, the subject of your post. Why is this important? That should be obvious. But in case it's not - It's important because you may have lost several potential contributors who didn't already know where the Poser FAQ was. (And, woe unto those who tread upon the Search button, unprepared for certain failure... ) Since you were trying to draw attention to a needed improvement on the website, it should have probably been linked, right? Let's say you're accepting submissions for the FAQ. These submissions will be posted on your employer's website. It will, effectively, have Renderosity's name on it. If you want Renderosity's image to appear professional, then this, too, must appear to be professional. (It's not a general criticism, it's just a very common oversight that doesn't need to be repeated in something like a FAQ.)

1. You need a design doc. If not generally distributed to contributors, then it needs to be closely followed by whoever is going to manage putting this FAQ together. You need to outline how it will be organized and establish what the conventions will be for inclusions, including pictures, code pastes and links, both onsite and off. Organization must be intuitive and structured well so that someone unfamliar with the areas of knowledge being discussed can associate the topics properly, even if they can't yet grasp what it is that is being discussed. The user will know, for instance, by seeing how the entry or guide is organized, that if someone is discussing Ambient Occlusion, then it is a lighting effect and there is something to do with it in the Material Room and in certain Lighting choices. They might not understand exactly what it is, but they'll know where to go for more information. What does this mean? For one thing, it means a suitable index with an intuitive hierarchy... And, that's going to be difficult, since the amount of information NOT written down in Poser's basic manual is likely more than is actually written down in it... Probably for this exact reason.

It isn't that difficult to come up with a design doc that can have changes made to it, as needed. But, it does take a bit of forethought. Once completed, though, it's invaluable.

1. I took a look at the current.. FAQ. Sadly, I only came upon the Poserverse relatively recently, with Poser 6... While some basic technical conventions are the same, by necessity for backwards compatibility, just about everything else has changed. Yes, I agree, the Poser FAQ needs to be rewritten. But, since it appears that Smith Micro coughs up a new version of Poser every year or so, what versions are you going to support in your FAQ? I use 2012 and everyone else yammers on about 2014 or whatever Poser version number that happens to be. What will the FAQ do about version control and pointing out the differences? Does it need a separate entry for each version? No, it doesn't. But, it does need to point out the differences between versions, where applicable. What that means is that when you get a FAQ entry from someone working on Poser 23, the "editor" has to know enough about the different versions to be able to notate how this FAQ entry applies (or doesn't) to other versions.

In short, barring extra funds to hire/find someone to oversee that, you'll probably need a review process pipeline unless you, yourself, know enough about version differences to include edits and footnotes with applicable entries. But, taking it all on your shoulders to handle that is probably not going to be easy, considering you have other responsibilities. I suggest you use a process with several stages that include open community review of FAQ entries, so you can make the best of what community of people you have. Let the community do some of the work for you in this regard. Accept entries, correct for simple errors and form, then publish entries in a sticky for review for ten days or so, after which you incorporate them into your beta work for the FAQ.

1. Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? Well... It is a lot of work. That's one reason why I think many bemoan the fate of work that has already been done, but is no longer easily available for reference because of... reasons. OK, fine. Now that we've shed a tear, the thing to do is to remember nothing ever disappears on the Internet. I think that, to start with, a comprehensive effort should be made to find all those old, great, posts and to scour wayback machines and internet archives, hunting for gems of information that would otherwise be lost in the static of the 'net. Take these bits and pieces, throw them in a thread, ask people for help in reconstructing them so you can get others to do some work for you, and then throw them into the submissions pipeline.

2. Or not... This isn't a simple project if it needs to be done "right." It's going to be a major pain in the butt, no lie. It's like having an engineer explain to a painter how paint works and why. A painter doesn't need to always know that, since they already know how to slap paint on a wall. However, imagine having the same engineer being forced to explain to a novice how paint sticks to a wall and why and, then, also having to explain how to paint, including how to go shop for a brush and how they should hold it... I'm not saying you need to write a new Poser manual, goodness no! BUT, again, in order for a FAQ to be good, it must make the assumption that most of its users will not be very proficient with the subject, yet they will need to understand some very technical things in order to fully grasp the subject after reading the FAQ. (This is why technical writing isn't as easy as it sounds.)

One can opt either to willingly commit to what will be a very ambitious project or, instead, opt to just "produce something" that fulfills the minimum requirements. What is it that you wish to do? Either choice is probably acceptable at this point, since what is up there is practically useless and any improvement would be a step forward. But, Renderosity's name is going to be on it... What impression does Renderosity wish to project?

Lastly, on a different subject: I've been online before there was an "online." There was no internet, back in the day. Instead, it was all dialup BBSs and fun, squelchy, modem tricks, phreaking into long-distance boards and such. But, there's a few maxims learned over the decades that I just don't see here. For one, Moderators should not discuss their moderating actions with users in public, ever. Period. Just don't. For another, when people start to get "nasty" with each other and if the board in question has some sort of moderation, then the conflict should be ended, one way or another. If it is not, the ban-hammer is swung. Period. How forcefully it is swung is up to the Mod and whatever disciplinary practices the board has in place. But, it gets swung, no matter who it is. Failure to do this reduces a forum from a "Moderated" state to an "Unmoderated" state and that can greatly confuse the membership. And, finally, being a Moderator means that one must wear two brains, one for "Moderatin'" and the other for "Participatin'." However, a Moderator can not afford for these two states of mind to be widely diverse - More than anything on a moderated forum, consistency and predictability is key. Members should clearly understand the behavior that is expected and should very clearly understand, and expect, the consequences for failing to exhibit that behavior. Nobody gets a free ride. (This is also a commercial site, which is very different from recreational social sites. The standards must be more strict because of that if this board is defined as "moderated.")

PS - Sorry for the unasked-for advice. But, there are far too many drama-llama's running around, in my opinion, and I would hate to see what could, again, become a useful set of forums only turn into a cliche-fest with constant bickering being the soup de jour. Since I have no personal stake in any of this and, frankly, don't have any relationships to cultivate or any personal emotional investment, here, I figured I may as well say it. After all, if someone takes unintended offense, it's not likely to truly impact anyone, including myself. Honestly, because of the somewhat unpredictable nature of this community, I suppose, for me, the results of my statement could be anything from a perma-ban to accolades... And, because I'm truly unsure about the possible results, that should send a warning to mods and supervisors - Unpredictability is a bad thing in a community. Fix that, with a gloved fist if you must, but fix it, regardless. You really can't afford not to.

(I think that a new Poser FAQ is a worthwhile community goal, providing individual members with the opportunity to shine and increasing the esprit-de-corps and loyalty of longstanding members. But, it can't just be "wished for." It has to be organized and done "right" for it to realize these broader "meta goals.")

I value all the feedback I can get. As you can see (no FAQ update yet) it is a large project and all help and advice is welcome.  Thank you.

Most of Les Bentley’s Compendium of pz2 techniques should be in the FAQ, Boni... :)

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/?thread_id=2735605

Referring to WandW post:  posted at 11:10PM Wed, 06 May 2015

I have the same V 4.2 initialization problem on Poser Pro 2014/Mac OS X 10.8.5

Using the DzCreateExPFiles command should be the solution, but the Mac version of that command always return the message: "No such file or directory". Apparently it doesn't find what it needs in the Contents/MacOS folder.

Anybody has an idea how to fix that ?

Thanks !