BabaBozo posted at 1:48AM Mon, 14 September 2020 - #4399369

In any software, when particular questions come up again and again over a period of years that's not a user problem, that's an interface design problem. As a programmer myself, I will guess that it should be possible for Poser to have a highly simplified point and click product install process requiring no knowledge which dumps all incoming content in to a New Content folder, and then the user can drag the files around within the Library in order to achieve whatever organizational structure works for them.

One of the main reasons I no longer use DAZ Studio is that I can't organize all my stuff the way I want to, as I'm locked into the app's idea of where things should be stored. Yes, they can be rearranged within the app, but I want control over where they are on my hard drive, as I find it so much easier to use the system's file manager (Finder for Mac, Explorer for Windows) to manage content than to let a 3D app try and do it.

I use Finder tags, saved searches, sidebar shortcuts, custom folder icons, and other features to organize not only my Poser Libraries contents but all the 3D-related stuff on my computer's internal drive. So I very much appreciate that I can put just about any library file type into any of the Libraries folders and they'll still show up in Poser's Libraries browser. I also appreciate being able to open those files with a text editor to make corrections or changes, which I do frequently (esp. to fix file paths).

When I first started out, I let DS and Poser install my content where each app thought it should go, but I quickly ran into the problem that not all content available for download is packaged correctly, and if it isn’t packaged correctly, stuff can end up all over the place. I also reached "boiling point" over how frustrating it was to find things in either app in a way that made sense to me. So I took a deep breath, learned how Runtimes are organized, completely overhauled mine (I use only ONE), and started installing all new downloads manually. In addition to gaining control over how everything within the Libraries folders was organized, I also learned so much about what, exactly, I was getting (or not getting) with each new product.

With two Finder (or Explorer) windows open side by side, I can install content from a downloaded runtime in about 30-90 seconds, putting what's in the Libraries section precisely where I want it to be (even renaming folders as needed). And once I've done that, I'm very clear on what I just got and can begin thinking about how to use it. That just works better for me than dumping a bunch of stuff into an "automatic" solution and then trying to figure out the mess later. The automatic solution may seem faster initially, but that time savings is lost if you later have to spend ages figuring out where stuff is.

But I also realize that every user is different, and no one method of content management will work for everyone. I've learned sooooo much from forum posts over the years, so I like to contribute my own experiences every now and then just to offer another perspective on how to accomplish common tasks.

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TOOLS: MacBook Pro; Poser Pro 11; Cheetah3D; Photoshop CC

FIGURES: S-16 (improved V4 by Karina), M4, K4, Mavka, Toons, and Nursoda's people

GOALS: Stylized and non-photorealistic renders in various fantasy styles