I use Multiple Runtimes now, and it's easier overall, but I still can't figure out a good method for being able to keep track of where things are. For example, I installed an outfit into my clothing runtime folder, and I have the outfit in figures, and it's textures in poses, plus there are props in the props folder. I also have some additional textures for that outfit, but instead of them being in the poses folder, they were made to go into the camera folder because they apparently load faster there according to the read me. I have the clothing textures in poses folder sorted by the outfit, so that I only have to look in one folder for all textures relating to that one outfit. For this particular one where there are things in poses, camera and props, I've put a " - see camera folder" in the outfit folder name to remind me. What other methods do people use to keep track of pieces and parts for outfits? Also, about Morph .obj files. Sometimes a folder has one of those too. But they aren't in the library and you have to know to look for them. How do you remind yourself that such a file exists?

i'm already confused... why do you use multiple runtimes anyway? do you use more than one version of poser? seems like it'd be easier to move everything into one runtime folder and avoid the headache. might take you a good couple hours but wouldn't it be worth it to spare yourself the confusion and headache of trying to remember where everything is? Sorry this isn't a solution post... E.D.

I've tried all kinds of ways to organize. When I first installed everything I let the files fall where they landed. What a mess. Total chaos to find anything!!! I then did sub-folders inside my figures folder and poses folder for things like: V3 Clothing, V3 Shoes, V3 Textures, Hair etc. This worked ok. But I found it took forever for my poor little laptop to open poser, so when I did my reformat a month or so ago, I decided to do the multiple external runtimes, and I LOVE it! I use multiple runtimes for several reasons.

Faster launching of Poser;
Better organization IE: runtime for lighting, runtime for hair and nails, runtime for V3 character addons, runtime for V3 clothing, runtime for poses, runtime for bg and environments, runtime for faeries...

It makes organizing so much nicer, and you don't have one huge runtime to wade through. Also if you use cartoon characters like Aiko, or The Girl, you can put each into their own runtime folder and save it on DVD and pull it out when you want to use that particular character, without having to have all of their files in your runtime all of the time.

Plus if you want to delete stuff, it's easier to find things if you have them separated into smaller runtime folders. Smaller runtimes means less files in your object folder or texture folder to sort through.

I know if I'm working with V3, I can make my V3 character addon folder active and have at my finger tips all of the character addons that I have.

I know that once I've picked my character addon, that I can just click to get my hair runtime and all of the hair that I have is there. I find hair is pretty cross character friendly with a few dial turns here and there, so it's a permanent external runtime that I keep on my computer.

Next I can click on the V3 clothing folder and anything clothing for her that I have is all there, and I don't have to wade through everything else for other characters to find it. It's nice to just open the Poses folder and see nothing but V3 clothing in there... organized in subfolders by the name of their outfit IE: Saloon Gal, Kimono, MFD etc.

Plus it makes opening poser much, much, much faster. My faeries runtime is the smallest one I have, so before I exit Poser, I make that folder active. When I start Poser, it opens almost instantly.

Plus the biggest reason.... I have a 40 gig hard drive and I struggle for space. So this way I can keep some runtimes on CD for when I want to use them... IE: Furrette. I love that little figure, but I don't use it all the time, so there is no need to have it's files sitting on my hard drive taking up space unless I'm using Furrette that day.

Message edited on: 04/21/2005 20:14

I used to have one library folder for figure. One Mat folder for figure. One Hair folder. One clothing MAT folder. example 1)FigureX Character folder(figure with ! to keep it at top and all clothing and hair) 2)FigureX Mat pose folder 3)FigureX CLothingMAT pose folder 4)FigureX Hair MAT pose folder Creators should not use generic names like Blue, Armor, blonde etc. A good code would be(myself as example) AK_KosV3Blonde AK_MFD DrowElf AK_SP3 EyesGreen1 etc etc

But how do you keep track of things if an item has files in figures, poses, camera and props? Do you go folder to folder checking to see if there is anything else for that outfit, or do you have a method of some kind devised to tell you that you need to look in props or camera for additional items? And how do you remind yourself of morph .obj files? Do you automatically for one for every hair or hair prop you apply? Or do you have some other method to let you know that yes I need to look for something for X crown or Z hair stylem, but not for Y hair or W crown?

Q: But how do you keep track if an item has files in figures, poses, camera and props folders?

A: You basically have to look in those folders and the create a FigureX folder. You will likely have to remake files yourself.

Q: Do you check folders to see if there is anything for that outfit?

A: Yes you will need to manually check for additional files yourself and rename if needed

Q: Do you have a method devised to tell to look in folders for additional items?

A: I do it automatically. Once a month I go through my folders, moving, deleting, ziping, stuff.

Q: How do you remind yourself of morph .obj files?

A: ??? Morphs are in the cr2. I wouldn't move inj/Remove scripts outside the pose folder.

Q: Do you automatically for one for every hair or hair prop you apply?

A: ??? All hair props go in a FigureX prop folder. All conformers I put with clothes and figure.

Q: Do you have a method to look for something for X crown or Z hair style, but not for Y hair or W crown?

A: Use your computer to search for things like V3, Koshini, Laroo , etc. That will help you find files taht are all over the place.

Message edited on: 04/21/2005 22:08

Quote - Q: How do you remind yourself of morph .obj files? A: ??? Morphs are in the cr2. I wouldn't move inj/Remove scripts outside the pose folder.

No, I mean those quirky ones that some outfits/props come with ... like the one that was with the WonderWoman outfit for the crown/hair. I've found some other outfits that I've installed have a similar file to fix something quirky to that specific item. > Quote - Q: Do you have a method devised to tell to look in folders for additional items? A: I do it automatically. Once a month I go through my folders, moving, deleting, ziping, stuff.

I mean more on a use by use basis. For example, I'm working with the3DWizard's kimono for V3. I also bought some extra textures for it. In order to work with this particular outfit I need to go to several folders: Figures (kimono/shoes), Poses (textures), Camera (testures). The only way I know to remember to look in camera for more textures is because in the Poses folder, I named the kimono texture folder: "the3DWizard - Kimono - SeeCamera" I seem to be having a hard time getting my question across :( > Quote - Q: Do you have a method to look for something for X crown or Z hair style, but not for Y hair or W crown? A: Use your computer to search for things like V3, Koshini, Laroo , etc. That will help you find files taht are all over the place.

I know where my files are on my computer. What I meant was while working in Poser with various outfits/hair. I find it hard to remember that some outfits have stuff in folders other than figures and poses when I'm working with them. The Kimono outfit is a good example. Another example could be a particular hair that may deposit files to use in Figure or Hair, and Poses and Props. When working in Poser with a given hair, do you remember that there are files for that hair elsewhere to use (IE: props or camera)? Do you have a system in place that reminds you that there are files in other folders for you to look for?

Yeah it is a pain. I would help if creators stopped spreading files. I delete what I don't want to need like cameras etc. Just me though. There is no easy way. You can put hand loaded morphs into a folder next to the obj. That is what I do. You could also put a read me next to the cr2 with a list of associated pathes. There is no easy way. It takes alot of looking, moving, and renaming. Just don't move or rename obj and textures. Mats and poses can go in the same folders. You can rename the Mats to !Mat_Kimono_blahblah so all you MATs are above your poses. If you are the type that downloads alot of freebies and buys alot(most of us are or have been) then you need to do folder cleanup like housework. It's a pain but neccesary.

As far as keeping everything organized, this is what I do and so far it has kept me from going insane, cross-eyed, postal, etc. I noticed really really early how the Runtime folder can get out of control just like weeds in a garden. I went into my runtime folder, selected lets say the library open that up and say I go to "pose" I've consolidated all my poses into a folder labled "poses" inside that I've split them up into Female--Male--Creature poses. Back in the main pose folder I've made a folder named Clothing and one for Hair, one for buildings. Inside those folders I've broken them down accordingly. I'm a fan of DM items so I have a folder strictly for them "DM Buildings...DM Characters". I have a folder strictly for 3DCelebrity figures but its in my "Characters" folder in the Pose main group...so when I've loaded my Figure I'll go to my Pose and if it's a hair or product I'm looking for, I go straight to my hair and then everything related to all hair products I have is in that folder I'll only have to search thru Hair items instead of A-Z. Also the trick is to keep it up, the more you buy the more "weeds" you get and then it's almost like a nightmare if you slack off. Another thing I found helpful is when you backup your Poser downloads I've placed everything in their proper groups, like a disc for characters, clothing, hair etc. After I've downloaded items I've bought or worse yet all those lovely freebies out there [aka the fast growing kind of weeds]I've made folders up and moved my downloads into them based on what they are, "Clothing" "Hair" etc. I've "lost" items that I swear I've loaded but could not find and being able to go straight to the disc that has like just "Characters" has saved me from surfing through 30 plus discs looking for that 1 character texture. Dunno, that's what I do, kind of seems nit-picky but I can't operate properly in Poser when it has been a while since I consolidated my files....As far as knowing where the file exsists hehe when you're become a Poser addict...you'll know what to look for and I've found my method above has saved me precious time. But everyone has their own ways of keeping up with their inventory, so you might come up with something different. That's my 2 kb's worth..

Other things you can do. Put texmplates next to textures, Combine cameras and lights into few folders just rename.. AK_camdown1 AK_V3facecam3 Rob_Cartooncam1 etc etc Products have Readmes that suually list content. I think marketplace items are itemized on their product pages.

lol Nosiferret Throw some carriage returns in there. hehe A few paragraphs at least.:) The block is a bit hard to read.

As far as organization goes, I'm happy with my multiple runtimes.

It's not getting organized that I'm having a problem with. My only problem now (other than still trying to learn to do things in Poser) is being able to find a way to remind me to look in folders such as camera, for textures, and to look in props for things that come with some outfits and hair... etc.

Right now when I apply hair, I go and look in all of my folders in the hair runtime for things that might go with the hair. When I apply an outfit, I look in all of the folders in my V3 Clothing runtime to see if there are some hair, or shoes, or a belt, or a hat, or a necklace etc, that came with the clothing. When I apply a character addon texture, I look in all of the folders to see if it came with lights or poses.

It's very time consuming and was hoping that others had a system in place instead of what I'm doing... which is looking through folder after folder for additional items that might have come with the main items. Sometimes I forget and then later discover that the character addon also had hair and poses that I could have used.

Message edited on: 04/21/2005 23:55

I think there was a program that tracked sub files. A vague memory of one that did what you need

Poser can generate thumbnails, and you can add textures. So create a simple character M applied to that character and use it. Or start a book. (a local website is very handy). When I download an item (I don't have much freestuff), I alays download the images that go with the page(s) on which I found it and place them in their own folder. To this I add the readme (not when it's daz) and eventual templates. (those are often hidden under textures). I organise these folders the same way my runtime is organised, for example: V3_Clothes_MFD_Nymantian . Using Windows, I have Irfanview, a small picture viewer that also reads text files, and I have it open with Poser (it's the opposite of Poser: small, lean, effective and extremely well coded). When needing something, I can browse my catalogue and see what's available, and what's special. External morphs can be added and then saved as a separate character. As for complex packages: I often separate them into parts. Before adding anything to my runtime(s), I always rename all items that may be enamed so that they fit in my personal method. (character_category_subcategory_specific item). It took me quite a while to organise, but now I have a runtime system I like. BTW: too many runtime are a pita. You win on startup, but you lose on searching and changing. I personally have three: one "main", one for items I now consider second rate or rarely use, and one for freestuff. I also keep a second txture folder in which I keep all textures as I deleted all textures I don't like (mostly make up etc) Just sharing my method, not meant to know it better.

O, and I also acquired the Poser file organiser (here at R.) Still learning how to use it, but it looks wowowow

Can't cm2 files now be added in any directory with P6? I thought that was one of the big points didn't need to have pp2 in just the prop folder etc? If so that fixes the issue of those cm2 MAT files I can never find.

Attached Link: http://camtech2000.net/Programs/htmdir10.zip

It wouldbe nice if Poser gave you more of an option to easily locate files in the same directory. Using P3dO you can browse the contents of the original zip file and see everything with thumbnails but that doesn't help when things have been installed. I think Aeneas' idea of a visual catalog is good. I thought about using html and using Poser's Weblinks menu. I found a free directory to html utility that might help if you unzip your files to a temp folder before installing, it will create an html page of the contents. I suppose you could get fancy and include graphics. Unfortunatelt, I foind that Poser's weblink files (.pzs) won't simply run a local file, you have to enable web sharing on the folder and have personal web server running. Then, it's a simple matter of making a folder under RuntimeWeblinks and adding the html file and a .pzs file. I created a Products folder and generated an html file for the parts heavy ROSecrets SewerKit n LightPak b y Jusletgo. The pzs file simply says "http://127.0.0.1/ROSecrets.html" Now inside Poser, I can go to Weblinks->Products and select the page which opens in the browser. An interesting exercise but probably not worth the trouble. If you had a utility to easily create the webpages with images and add them to a master index page, it might be worthwhile.

recently i moved nearly ALL my textures to a separate partition outside of poser. this freed up approx 1 Gig of diskspace. the trick: just create a shortcut to the texture folder/drive and copy the link into the poser/textures folder. now poser should be able to locate all necessary textures. no more messing around with hundreds of texture folders.

jenay, I like your idea. To clarify, let's say I move my Poser 5 Runtime Textures folder from drive C to drive D. What exactly (i.e., wording, use the "Windows copy/send to" command for making a shortcut, or what?) do I put into the Poser 5 Runtime Textures folder on drive C that will cause P5 to find the textrures on drive D? Do you know if this will screw up Correct Reference Pro's ability to scan and correct texture links (as I spent over a week using it to correct all of my 20 Gbs of Poser files already)?

I load new stuff into a blank runtime. Move, rename, etc. the files rectify with Poser File Organizer (Market Place) and then move to apropriate runtime ("people", "places", "things", "clothes") again with PFO. Then I place things in the right librarie sub-folder. This is my method but ugh! I'm still working on it. I am thinking of consolodating all my alternative runtimes in "Downloads" and keeping my default runtime for figures/characters only... aside from an alternative runtime for toons and critter etc. that I don't use often.

let's say you moved all your texture folders to: D:Data now rightclick on Data and chose "create shortcut". then copy "Shortcut to Data.lnk" to your poser textures folder. this should work. i have no experience with poser5, i still use poser4. before you move ALL textures try first only one subfolder, then launch poser, load the figure or prop (with the missing textures) and check if poser can locate the correct textures.

htmdir10 is a great little utility for looking into those folders. This makes it very easy to quickly create an index. Thank you so much!

Thank you, I downloaded that utility, but I'll have to use it on future item installs, because I just got done reinstalling and reorganizing my Runtimes from my last reformat a month ago. Not ready to do it all again from scratch, LOL

It's very handy for taking a look inside nested folders too. It gives you a nice, clean tree of what's what. I can see a lot of uses for it outside of Poser. Now I just need to put it to use.

Glad it may be helpful to you. As long as the folder names mirror where they're going in your runtime, it should work OK. If you use .png files, one of the utilities to create html album pages might do pretty much the same thing with graphics but I'm not sure there's one that handles subdirectories. Also, you'd end up with a lot of redundant .pngs in your html folders unless you were able to save the pages as single file .mhts. It would probably be fairly simple to create an application like that but just having the locations listed helps quite a bit.