How-to
for Daz|Studio only

Creating a logical file structure

Chapters
Where to start
What's what
Sorting the garbage
Moving items around
Fixing broken Poser files
Importing objects
Composing a useful readme.txt
Creating Poser compliant zip files
A final word

A friend of mine from ArtZone, Kikue, is a talented artist that got over-whelmed and stifled by a cluttered Poser directory. In the process of helping Kikue, I realized that many people are probably having this same problem. You don't need to re-install your program to get things back in order. I have well over 65,000 files (15 gigabytes) in my Daz content directory, and all are well organized. By following the steps below, you too can untangle the mess.

Where to start

Step 1 - Start by downloading and installing the Directory Structure. This is the basic setup and contains only directories and some placeholder text files. Unzip the file directly to your 'content' folder.

This installation will add some directories to your content folder to help you organize your files. These include a Promos folder (for promtional images added to some downloads), a ReadMe's folder (for all readme files in case it is not already there) and most importantly, folders in your Runtime directory.

A directory called 'temp pcd' will be also be created in your content folder. When ever you unzip a new item, point it to this temporary directory. I would recommend not unzipping more then four items at a time to be sure not to overwrite those annoying simply named 'readme.txt' files. You can then open the directory using Windows Explorer (Not Internet Explorer) to review the contents and decided where each file needs to go. Better yet, download and install the P3DO explorer program from sensosoft. Be sure to also get the Poser plug-in. Using P3DO will greatly simplify organizing your Poser/Daz content.

figure 1.

The Character directory
The image on the left  (figure 1.) is a snapshot of a small peice of my characters directory. Each base figure has it's own folder and I use an ! mark before the name to put them toward the top of the list so I can find them easier. Further down the list I have folders for generic character items, such as, aliens, robots and a folder for unknown items that don't have a home yet.

Inside each base figure folder are other folders for items particular to that figure. Theres are; Clothing, Hair, Morphs, People and Skins. You will find these in a 'figure template' folder inside this directory. Copy the 'figure template' folder and rename it for each of the figures you have (IE ! Aiko 3).

figure 2.

Inside the Clothing directory, I break it down further. Typical Folders are; Accessory, Bikini, Boots, Dresses, Pants, Shirts, Shoes, Skirts and Tops. These are also included in the 'figure template' folder.

In each of these, I have folders for Mats and Morphs. The Hair folder gets Colors, Styles. Skin has Eyes and Make-up

I do the same thing for the Props folder and break it down into prop types (effects, equipment, food, sci-fi, scenes, vehicles, weapons, etc.). The Faces, Hair, and Hands folders usually have generic items only. This gives you much more control over the organization that works for you.

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What's what

Top

Sorting the garbage

Moving items around
In Daz|Studio

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In Daz, moving items can be done quickly and easily.

Right click the item and select 'Cut'
<-----

----->
Click on the location where
you want the item to appear,
right click and select 'Paste'.

Daz will move the item and image file to the new location.

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Fixing Broken Poser Files

As for .obj files, you should be able to 'Import' them into Daz. You may need to apply textures manually. Once you have imported and textured the item, you can then save it as a poser file. Do you have Cr2Editor? I find it very useful for correcting errors in Poser files. Especially for pointing Poser to the correct texture or geo directory. Many of the 'home-made' items have incorrect directory paths for Poser that can be easily fixed.

Cr2Editor can be found at; http://www.morphography.uk.vu/dlutility.html

A word of caution, Cr2Editor can mess up an actual cr2 file during the save process. However, it works great on pz2 and pp2 files.

Hope this helps. Please don't give up! Let me know if I can help you more.

Importing objects
Composing a useful readme.txt
Creating Poser compliant zip files
A final word