Hello All,

I've been downloading files from sites like Renderosity, ShareCG and others.  Zipfiles from these sites download no problem. I'm able to import them into Poser with the Install from Zip Archive task.  However, on occasion a .rar file is downloaded an my computer asks what program I'd like to use to open the file?  I'm not able to see these files in my download folder and cannot not get them to upload to Poser 11.  

Two questions.  What are .rar files?  How do I get them to load in Poser 11?

Thanks again.

A rar file is like a zip file, it's the native format of a program called win-rar. It can be opened with that program, or win-zip, or most other unzipping programs.

Winrar, Winzip, or 7Zip can open those files.  If you use the native program, Winrar, you can convert the .rar files to .zip for convenient Poser installation.  IIRC, 7Zip can do the same thing.  Word of caution, if you are downloading free content, the vendors may not have followed standard protocol in creating the folder hierarchy necessary for the files to install exactly where they need to be.  Examine the compressed files first and then proceed with your installation.

Had too many years of wrangling core run-times, so I never un-zip direct into Poser. Instead, to eg ThisPC > G: > R > 37 > New Folder. Then, if I'm happy, I'll re-name and link it as an external Poser library.

Another problem is that many props ported as OBJ+MTL from other formats such as MMD (PMX/PMD) have file-names with Asian glyphs. Un-zipping these with default settings of eg 7-zip or IZarc may produce an intractable mess of 'dipthong soup'.  The *free* version of Bandizip will solve that, albeit with an intrusive UI plus nags to update and/or upgrade. After that, 'Google Translate' is your friend....

Thanks all.  I'm able to now unzip zipfiles with rar files in them.  How do I now get upload them to Poser for use?  I'm also downloading free OBJ files from sites like Turbosquid.  The OBJ files import into Poser with the Import Wavefront OBJ command from the file tab.  Is there a way to create a runtime and add these files to my Poser 11 library?  It would be nice to search my library find the file and click on it to load it into Poser.  Thanks.

You can save the OBJ files as a prop. Make sure you have the item selected. In your library, click on the props icon. Then click on the plus at the bottom left. You'll get a popup window for a name. Enter that and click ok. It will now be in your library. Poser will autogenerate a thumbnail of what is visible in your current camera so You might want to focus your camera on the prop you're saving. You can also make your own thumbnail with any png that you name the same thing as the prop.

For the rar files, you need to put them into a runtime.

cr2 goes into the characters
pz2 goes into Poses
fc2 goes into faces
hr2 goes into hair
hd2 goes into hands
pp2 goes into props
lt2 is for lights
cm2 is cameras
mt5 and mc6 are both materials
pz3 is scenes

Each file should have a corresponding png thumbnail that goes in the same folder.

Texture files go in the texture folder. I strongly recommend keeping the file structure that it was compressed with, such as runtimes/textures/redphantom/prop/texture to help Poser find it and avoid overwriting other textures with the same name.

obj files would go into the geometry folder. And again, I recommend keeping the file structure.

if you find rsr files, those are an old format for thumbnails. Poser 11 won't read those. If there is also a png thumbnail, you can just delete the rsr. If not, you'll need a file to convert them.  https://www.renderosity.com/freestuff/items/57197/rsr-to-png-converter will work.

If you add something to your runtime while poser is running, you might need to hit the refresh button for it to show up. You can find it as a circle arrow at the end of the folder name. There's also a double circle arrow in the lower right corner of the library that will refresh the whole library. That might take a few minutes depending on the size of your library.

OBJ format files can be loaded either through the import feature or just drag and drop into the scene.  However, if you want to store them into a runtime folder, you must convert them into a prop by saving them directly into the Library.  That will generate a .pp2 format file.

FWIW, R. Kawecki's classic free Prop Viewer 3.2 from ~2011 claims to load eg OBJ and export eg PP2.

It is certainly excellent at quickly previewing even hi-poly OBJs, but I've not used it for generating PP2s.