I've solved it (with help from here and the DAZ 3D forums). Here is my entry from there, which I hope will help others experiencing the same issue:

SUCCESS!

I loaded OSX 5.6 on a secondary HD and installed C7Pro there. It opened up with fonts. I entered my name and serial number in the form to initialize the program. I closed it and checked the Preferences.txt file and it appeared similar to the versions I've seen by others, files that actually worked.

I copied the file to my primary HD, modified the FONT declaration, and restarted in Snow Leopard.

I launched C7Pro, but was disappointed to find that no fonts appeared, just the following empty form:

HOWEVER...

Having just seen that screen when I loaded C7Pro on my secondary HD, I knew what that form was asking:

Name<br></br>
Serial Number

So, even though I could not see what I was typing, and there was no moving cursor feedback to indicate that any text was being entered, I nevertheless entered my name and serial number in the appropriate boxes, and clicked the right-side button at the bottom...

VIOLA! Suddenly the fonts appeared, my program was initialized, and everything appeared in its proper place! From this experience I believe that the program only writes a proper Preferences.txt file after the the serial number is entered, whether or not the fonts are visible.

So here is a simple potential solution for those having problems with missing fonts in Snow Leopard:

1. Uninstall C7Pro from your computer along with any serial number information (I think the "Remove CarraraPro" application will do all of this, but check the libraries just in case). Mainly you want to be forced to re-enter the serial number in that initial form.

2. Reinstall C7Pro and launch the program.

3. You should get a screeen with nothing but the image above. Carefully input your name in the upper text box, and VERY CAREFULLY input your serial number in the lower text box.

4. Click the bottom-right button on the form.

If this doesn't work, then follow VFX13's advice, or something similar (like I did):

**- Erase and install install OSX 5.8 (and software update)

• Install & update Carrara 7 (Pro)
• Set font in the preference.txt file to Times
• Install OSX 6, Hit CUSTOMIZE, check Rosetta
• Carrara SHOULD work perfectly.** **
  **
  I hope this works for everyone. It's a shame it took so long to figure this out (and without any help from DAZ).

Good luck to all.

Mark;
Yes, you have to launch the app in order to generate the preferences file. I tried looking for it after installing and before I launched it, and it didn't exist. Once I launched Carrara 7, a preferences file was created.

Here is a portion of my Preferences.txt file that Carrara 7 generated. The section you posted from Eric Winemiller began with the "imag" declaration, but mine does not have that. So I begin with the "unts" declaration, which appears second in Winemillers file. Note the utter disparity between the items in both lists.

unts {
   3dun 1
   tmun 0
   }
  3Dvw {
   }
  modm {
   }
  srnm {
   }
  mpmp {
   }
  prop {
   }
  btqm {
   DOwP 1
   }
  ScPr {
   }
  hier {
   }
  shmn {
   splt 1
   shdo 1
   filt 1
   }
  shdm {
   }
  mdlr {
   Resz 1
   Valu 0.5
   Line 1
   Show 1
   Snap 0
   }
  Stry {
   }
  vmdr {
   Tole 0
   }
  }
 MxDc 3,3Dvw,modm,Stry
 CMpf {
   ICCp bCMM
  }
 Modu {
  btqm {
xdat {
Stte 0
 }
isEx 1
   }
  }

After this text, it goes into the "Brow" declarations "Shad", and the rest. There is no "ffmt", no "intf", no "oglP" and no "cofl" declarations - none at all - within the entire file. It is quite perplexing.

I put in a support ticket at DAZ on Saturday. Their autoresponse email indicated they would get back to me within 2 business days. So I'm hoping to hear from them today.

I'm beginning to regret my purchase of Carrara 7, but all will be forgiven if I can get this sucker running.

Thanks, Mark.

I've found that tip as well, and it allowed me to restore Carrara 6 to working order (I restored the old preference file from Time Machine - very handy!).

Half-way there.

But when I went to modify the Preferences.txt file in Carrara 7, the file had no "intf" setting at all. It's like it was incomplete. I uninstalled Carrara 7 and tried reinstalling it on the theory that maybe something went awry the first time, but still the "intf" setting was completely missing. So I tried simply adding it myself:

intf {
FONT "Helvetica"
}

But that didn't accomplish anything either. I suspect that my Preferences.txt file is incomplete in some other way as well, but I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable to figure out what is missing.

I wonder, would the Carrara 6 preferences file work for Carrara 7? Any other ideas?

Quote - Did you follow Martins instructions?

http://artzone.daz3d.com/wiki/doku.php/azproduct/7265

Brian

Thanks, Brian.

I'm not sure what you mean. That tutorial is for a specific scene and includes instructions for loading the stuff for that scene, not the program itself. I didn't see anything there that would apply to my situation.

Or am I missing something?

Just heard on another forum that Carrara is working fine with Snow Leopard for some, though others are having the same problem.

It's a glitch, but appears to only be affecting some of us.

At any rate, be prepared.

 Thanks for the welcome, everyone.

I have posted my first Poser-based image using the incredible Eva V3 character. It's not a bad image - very simple Poser render with Photoshop postwork. Lots of room for improvement, but I learned a lot in the process. 

The link is: Lovely Eva

 There are no cat vs. dog fights in our house either. The dog is too busy chasing wild turkeys and searching the woods for deer carcasses to vomit up later. It's her favorite hobby.

Quote - Hi sigmadog,

Nice to see some dogs around here I was feeling kind of lonely with all these cats here around.

Bopper.

PS I have two dogs, one is the corgy in my avatar and the other a daschhund like yours.

Hi, Bopper;
My avatar is Larry, the original Sigmadog, who died in 2006. Actually, he was a retriever/setter mix and weighed in at about 100 lbs. Not quite a daschund! He was the best dog I ever had and Mrs. Sigmadog and I miss him something awful. Our other dog is Reggie. She was pretty broken-hearted when Larry passed, but she enjoys all our attention these days.

Since I cannot pass up a chance to talk about my dogs, here are pictures.

Larry in his last summer:

Reggie this winter:

Holy Cow!

Thanks Acadia!

That's gonna keep me busy for some time.

Thanks for the tips. 

gibby.g; I'm going to look into multiple runtimes next, as that seems to be a likely improvement to my current strategy of tossing everything into Downloads.

geep; I'll give Poser University a look, though I've been out of school for so long I don't even remember what my SAT scores were.

ockham; That's a unique idea. I'll save that for later, as I'm not sure at this point how much I use that drop-down menu.

Yes. Ownership keeps changing, forcing me to re-establish my browser bookmarks. What a hassle! I first bought RayDream Designer way back in the mid-nineties, so I've been through a few iterations. I understand the need for change in a growing industry, but a little stability goes a long way as well. Anyway, I hope Daz sticks around for many years, and that they keep Carrara for a bit longer than others have.

I was a little concerned. Carrara seems to be one of those footballs that gets passed around from developer to developer. I'd like to see it stay with one for a while - I hope Daz puts together a great version 6 (and 7, and 8...). I've got 5 Pro right now, so I won't be taking advantage of the offer, but it's nice to know version 6 is imminent.

Super! Thanks, Incognitas. Now that I have a grasp of it's purpose, I can decide how Daz Studio can fit into my workflow, or whether I'd be better off sticking with other apps. Cheers!

Okay. Thanks everyone. Let me see if I understand... Daz Studio acts as an entry-level, low-cost (or "no-cost") means of utilizing 3D content. It's not really a modelling tool, but more of a "stage" where all the various elements can be brought together and organized into a scene. In this respect, it represents Daz's attempt to make 3D more accessible to the average user. In addition, Daz Studio serves as a marketing interface for the purchase of 3D content (sort of similar to the iTunes model). Would that be an accurate description?