Hello all,

So I'm in my first week with Poser, and one of my projects is to learn how to purchase products from the store. I'm sure the ordering process won't be a problem, the issue for me is that I don't understand most of the products being sold, given my lack of knowledge about the terminology used on the sales pages etc. Nor do I understand how or where to install products, how to access them once installed etc. The store assumes I know all kinds of things I don't actually know.

Rather than ask for an explanation of everything I don't understand :-) perhaps we could focus on particular products as they engage my interest.

Here's what I'm looking at today.

https://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/modern-apartment---bedroom/144226/

Best I can tell it's a fairly simple offering and so it might be a good place to begin.

Could someone perhaps explain what I'd be purchasing here, and how I would use it?

What you get is already described in detail at the product page besides the promotional images that show almost everything...

• 43 geometry (.obj) files
• 15 props (.pp2),(.duf)
• Preload preset
• Light Preset
• Camera Presets
• 48 Texture maps
• Scene file for Poser (FireFly and SuperFly)
• Scene file for Daz Studio.

If you buy this product the first thing you need to do is unzip it in a separate folder to study. You will get a Runtime folder and a Documentation folder with info on the product. Only the Runtime contents get copied to your own Poser Runtime.. but only after you fully understand the function of these folders:

So let's make it easier for you to understand first the Poser Runtime. Geometries folder is where the obj files are stored and nothing can be touched or renamed here other than the way the creator has made them. So that folder always gets copied in your own Runtime without any alterations. Same applies to the Textures folder. We never change anything other than move them to our own Runtime.

Then we have the libraries folder.. where you will find all the files that are visible in your Poser Library within the product. Cr2 files are figures with movable parts like people and conforming clothing - those are always rested in the characters folder. Cm2 are the camera views and go to the camera folder. Pp2s are props files and go into props, scenes are COMPLETE setup scenes that you may load with everything (lights etc) and just make your own figure additions or changes. All the above are always correctly placed in Libraries by the vendor.. if you don't however like the depth of folder structure or wish for something easier to locate fast, you ARE allowed to rename ANY of these folders but never their extension!

So according to the product description you will find this product files in props, lights folder, camera folder as well as in scenes in your library.

If you have any more questions I'd be glad to explain further...

Rena

You write, "What you get is already described in detail".

Yes, it is. In terminology that the typical new user won't understand. Pretty much all listings on the Rendo and Daz stores are like this. They assume knowledge which doesn't always exist. Let's try dumbing this way down...

The photos on sales page display a collection of objects such as chairs, table, lamps, plants etc. There are a LOT of different objects displayed. Are all the objects displayed in the photo delivered as separate 3D objects which the user can then re-arrange in the scene as they wish?

See? Whatever the answer to that question is, the answer is utterly obvious to you, but I have no clue.

How about the walls, floors, railings etc? Are these separate objects too, or is each room a fixed scene?

I'm off to lunch, more dumb questions in a bit. :-) Thanks for the education!

Since it says SCENE.. yes, everything is included (in scene arranged exactly as displayed - including even the lighting).

15 props mean that items are also available individually.

I'm sorry but once you purchase Poser, the first thing you need to do is get familiar with your LIBRARY and its content. Otherwise it's very hard to use the program. You need to get familiar with the categories of your Runtime so you are able to distinguish content in descriptions of products as well as know where to find them.

The sellers do not need to edit tutorials.. all that info is available in the software's Help file that you need to read as much as you can in order to know what you're doing.

I've given you a short summary of various categories myself.. The least you can do is learn those by heart and you'll need them EVERY TIME you use Poser! It's not much for a start to know what you're doing and it helps you install products correctly.

After that you just need to explore them in the libraries categories within your program to actually get familiar with them, load them in your preview window, turn them and move them around to get familiar with the software's placement if you need to make changes or additions. Those are just BASICS I'm afraid! :)

Rena

According to the webpage, you will be purchasing 2 versions of the Modern Apartment - Bedroom, one for Poser, and the other for DAZStudio. If you are only interested in Poser then you will only need to install the Poser dedicated files. Meaning, you do not install the DS version unless you have DS installed. Purchases like these will have those zip files clearly labeled. As mentioned in the post above, examine each compressed folder carefully before installing any content to your runtime. Folder hierarchy is very important, and anything that is out of order will potentially cause errors; that are applicable to both Poser and DS. I would suggest opening a Poser runtime folder and compare it side-by-side with your zip file, noticing the structure of all your major folders. By doing this, you will have some knowledge on how to approach the installation, whether you use the Poser zip decompression feature or manually move your content. Not sure, screencap your question.

Thanks guys, ok, this is a good start. I've saved this thread to my notes folder and will build upon this beginning. I think I'll skip buying products for awhile. I've downloaded some free stuff, perhaps I'll experiment with that. Or, given that Poser came with 14 gigs of content I've only begun to explore, I'm probably getting ahead of greedy self by trying to install even more. :-)

I don't know if Rendo staff is listening or whether they would find this helpful, but here's what I've got to share.

The install system you've been kind enough to describe above is, from a sales perspective, a mess. This isn't a complaint, I'm trying to assist Rendo in selling more products, because I really like Poser and would like to see it survive. The job of selling is to remove as many obstacles to the order as possible. That's not happening here.

Let's look at what does work. A couple days ago I easily and quickly installed the 14 gigs of Poser content which came with the app without knowing much of anything at all. The software put everything where it belongs, I didn't need to know any of the above, other than hborre's advice to aim for the Downloads folder. So to the degree selling to new users matters, I'd suggest aiming for a user friendly product install system such as that.

Here's a hopefully constructive suggestion. How about video tutorial which describes the sales and install process, many of the terms and abbreviations routinely used in product descriptions etc? This video could be linked to from every product in the store.

I'm accumulating MANY hours of video tutorials on every aspect of Poser, but haven't seen anything like this yet.

There are 2 very good tutorials in our Premium Tutorials area under Poser that walk you through the library and installing content.

video1

video2

also, when you are in Poser, if you go to File/Install from Zip Archive you can easily install the content you purchase here on Renderosity. Also in the library panel far right, under Purchases, you can login to your Renderosity account and download/install ALL of the items you have purchased right in the software.

Hope this helps.

Hi Jenn,

Thanks for the links to the tutorials, which I obviously need to watch. Why not link to them from product listings, assuming you could drop the link in to a site template and do all product listings at once.

Yes, File/Install from Zip Archive is what I used to install the 14 gigs of content which came with my Poser purchase. Using hborre's advice I just dumped everything in to the Downloads folder.
Can I do this with product purchases too?

Thanks for the tip about installing from within Poser. I didn't know about that and will investigate further.

Purchased content should be standardized and shouldn't be a problem to install with the knowledge you have now. However, I should caution you about the installation of free content, those are not closely regulated and can lead to major headaches if you don't inspect them prior to installation. Runtimes nested within creator folders, missing files, wrong pathways, and file/folder misspellings can all impact on proper access to the content. So be aware, if a freebie content misbehaves after proper install, it may not be you. It is bad packaging on the provider's end.

A few quick thoughts...

1. An "Install Products" choice in the File menu which puts all purchased products in the Purchased section of Poser. Simple.

2. All free products should be inspected by staff prior to being put in the store, or they should be shared elsewhere. Reliable.

3. Now that Rendo owns Poser, how about a Poser only store, perhaps on posersoftware.com? Clear.

Simple, reliable, clear.

A Poser only place to shop, one simple way to install purchases, all offerings verified by experts.

No need for tutorials, or threads like this.

It's a good way for a beginner to start, quick and simple. Many of us old-timers prefer to inspect the content ourselves and designate different runtime folders for greater management. You will see that once you begin to amass a large runtime, the content will be much more difficult to find and categories into figures, props, hair, and poses. I have 84 runtime folders to feed, but I have an easier time finding content under a particular category rather than hunt through one large file with no clue what it is and how it's called.

Ok, I hear you. Yes, I'm addressing myself more to the needs of new comers, both because I am one, and that's how the business is grown. You know, if new comers don't find an easy way in to the system, they may very well never become old timers. To the degree that's true then the only way to grow the business would be to steal customers from other stores, which leads to things like profit killing price wars etc.

Using your advice I dumped 14 gigs of content in to the Downloads folder and that seems to be working out pretty well.

Will I ever accumulate so much content it needs to be better organized? Too early to say. First I'd probably have to learn what a runtime folder is. :-) After that, I'd have to give more thought to how much I wish to invest in software that I don't actually own.

For now, first things first. Perhaps you can help clear up my understandings.

For my first few purchases at least, can I install purchases just by using File/Install from Zip Archive to place the product in to the Purchases section of Poser?

I realize this may not be the ideal organizational method for the long term, but in the short term, will it work?

Thanks as always for your ongoing advice!

As long as the content is Poser specific, it should be relatively safe to install Renderosity purchases in this fashion.