Very new to Studio but after just a few content installations, I've noticed that it can suffer from library content issues in the same way as Poser - due mostly to the folder structures used by those creating the content.

I.e. some vendors place their content in a named sub folder, others create a duplicate "Genesis 3 Female" folder under their own structure and install content there etc. etc. - basically resulting in the content quickly becoming scattered over numerous folders.

I've noticed that I can right click on the library folders and, from there, navigate directly to the file folders and then manually update and tidy up the folder structures as need be. Is there any way to do this from inside Studio directly or an add-on that can accomplish this?

Also, still in the library, some characters have a main icon in the root of the appropriate genesis folder, for example, allowing you to see them quickly alongside other characters and load them in directly from that point and even have a folder icon image of the character itself whereas other characters have no root icon, a plain folder image and you have to load them from their character sub folder. Is there a way to make these work the same?

Much thanks.

No doubt you will get some good tips and advice on this subject from the members here Magic_Man. It is a little like poser in that sense and you just have to suck it up. Most of the newer content is managed by the Smart Content system and the later Daz characters usually have a full character load for their base ie Genesis 2 - Callie or Victoria on the Genesis 2 base there are many like this. Some vendor products might still need to be loaded to a character but show up in Smart Content. The further back you go the more likely you will be loading the Head and Body morphs texture etc from the Content Folder and they will be found in your contents folder under "Products" not listed in the smart content. There is no way I believe to add the older products to the Smart Content system. There was an external application that was to organize your content however from memory it was more a location base not something that would be shifting your content around. I think a demo was available in the freebie section here at Renderosity. I Don't have issue so much with anything installed by the DIM, more the external products which there are squillions all over the place where you download the ZIP and install. Once you get used to it not so bad but I did spend plenty of time searching for my new products. It gets better with each passing year my friend

Much thanks.

Thanks LPR001. Is there some primer on how to fix things up? Virtually all of my DAZ3D purchased content is in the right places and working. With Renderosity purchased content it's just hit and miss. I spent part of the weekend just staring at files and folders of things working and not working trying to determine patterns and what simple moves or folder renames would make groups of missing content work. I can see in some places scripts of one sort or another are referring to files in some directory structure, so I can't completely move things.

I've also been looking through the README's. A lot say things like "should work for DAZ". It looks like in many cases I think I do have the right files, just something looks off about how to get DAZ Studio to see them.

What explains the various file extensions? Why are some DSON files text and some [apparently] non-ASCII?

What approach should I take in getting my Renderosity purchased content to load?

In general the Data and Runtime folders, and any other folders at the same level in the zip (such as People) get merged with the existing folders of the same name in your content directory - DAZ 3DStudioMy Library in your documents folder by default; the My DAZ 3D Library in the Public Documents folder is meant for DIM installs though you will have to use it for any Victoria/Michael 4 or other products that say they use the ExP system.

Thanks for the response RHaseltine!

I have many Renderosity purchased packages that aren't visible yet in DS. However, I think pulling one of them as an example might be helpful: Hongyu's Hair 2010 for V6/Genesis 2

When I unzipped this, I got a "Contents" directory that contained "data", "People" and "Runtime" top level subdirectories of "Contents". When I look at the README for the package, it also indicates the top level is "Contents". But, this seems counter to a variety of other packages that are working, which unzip directly to "data", "People" and "Contents". I naively thought I could just move "Contents/data", "Contents/People" and "Contents/Runtime" to "data", "People" and "Runtime" respectively, but neither configuration gives me DS access to Hongyu's Hair. So, if the README says "files should be HERE", but DS can't see it, what's wrong? Sorry if you are unfamiliar with this package; I'm asking the more general question and just trying to provide a specific example.

BTW, I am using Content Directory Manager to keep my "clean" DIM content separate from the Renderosity content, so that I don't muck up the whole thing as I try various fixes to the Renderosity content, like copying/moving directories. I have both C:UsersPublicDocumentsRenderosity and C:UsersPublicDocumentsRenderosityMy Library in my content directories, if that matters, because the folder structure seemed to imply content could be found in both.

You need to merge the Data, People and Runtime folders not place them inside the existing folders. If you are using a Mac that can be a little tricky, on Windows you will just be asked - when you place them - if you want to merge and can say Yes.

"I have both C:UsersPublicDocumentsRenderosity and C:UsersPublicDocumentsRenderosityMy Library in my content directories, if that matters, because the folder structure seemed to imply content could be found in both."

Don't do that - pick either the Renderosity or My Library folder and use that, merging the stuff from the other folder in and deleting it from the directory list. Having nested content directories can cause problems.