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Hi
I'm just wanting to try to understand how this program ticks.
I understand that duf files are basically text based files?
For those that have ventured there, would you be able to recommend a preferred editor for it.
My interest is mainly from that of renaming files & correcting pathing issues.Thanks for any input.
🙂
Notepad++ is free, lightweight and has innate support to many coding languages.
While .DUFs aren't automatically recognized as such, they seem to be some sort of (or just very similar to) Java or JavaScript, so if you need color-coded cues, you can do "Language >> J >> Java/JavaScript.Other than that, since there's not much more than editing intended, you could literally use any basic Notepad/text editor, since there's no encrypting in .DUFs.
EDIT: Ah, right, most of the advantages of Notepad++ over basic notepad are the advanced search options, and longer undo memory, in case you do some error. Also if you make it recognize the .DUFs as Java/JavaScript, you can collapse/expand sections you have no interest in editing, making for easier scrolling up and down navigation, in case you need to, since the color coding will only differentiate String, Flag/Boolean and Number formats.
The best tool that I have found for DUF files is DSON Editor, available here:
https://zonegfx.com/dson-editor/
DUF files are basically JSON, a form of Javascript, so any editor for Javascript will work. However, unless you need such a tool for other heavier-duty work, it would be overkill to install one just for DUF files. And, in fact, DSON editor has some nice DAZ-specific features that a gerenal purpose JSON editor would lack. For example, I use Microsoft Visual Studio frequently for other purposes. I would consider myself to be very proficient in its use, and it has a great Javascript edior that can be configured to recognize DUF files as Javascript. Even so, DSON EDitor is my go-to tool when I want to work with a DUF file
Oh, and the format of a DUF file is documented at:
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/dson_spec/start
The Object Definitions link at the bottom of the page takes you to definiitons of each element of a DUF file. (A DUF file is a type of the more generic DSON file, by the way). You will not learn how DUF files work from this documentation, there are too many "The xxx object defines an xxx" statements (that is, circular assumptions of knowledge), but once a picture starts to form in your mind, the documentation can help to clarify or confirm it.
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