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Before a hunch inspiration for an outfit hit our aged brains, the basic is to hoard as much as possible, and to collect product assets / visual previews, but still, even if we can recall how well we could in the past, the product names/pictures may always be vague and uninformative regarding their actual content/utility.
And we know the built-in library is a darn quicksand, leading us to go-into countless hierarchical layers and must go-back to the last layer, which often proves futile. So there should be another way to save us more time when utilizing the assets.
My current work-flow is like this:
0. Get a third-party File Explorer (mine is "Everything"), learn to use it to search/locate the assets.
1. Collect those product pictures (and combine into one palette for one product if possible). this may take more than 1 week if you hoard a lot, but make it a daily/weekly chore, so when you are having no ideas but still being enegetic, this should help you keep the interest/intention. and is more detailed/informative than browsing those tiny icons than THAT built-in library.
2. Consider renaming the picture as:
2A. The original asset file name (some products are named not same as what it shows in the market page, or placed in some folder with unfamiliar/misspelt//irrelvant names; it is a human-error / caused by the artist who packed the product).
2B. The part/item you find usable in the asset.
2C. What you plan to create with the product.
2D. What the product features (Style/genre/objects/...).
2E. Or just rename the file entry( _filename_.duf) in accordance with the market page title before copying the asset into your library(as long as the product file in the "data" folder is not renamed, the library entry [.duf] will call and locate its corresponding assets as default, despite being renamed) and make sure to contain the correct keyword for filepaths.Rename the picture with 4 parts:
3-1. Any(multiple) of the 2A~2E, divide it with [[ ]] before the follows:
3-2. The artist (maker) name.
3-3. The product name same as the market page title (to help you recall/search in the market, even if you forgot what you renamed).
3-4. Compatible human model (V4/M4/G1~2~3~8 G9).4. The picture name should be like this: "[[genre/style/idea/useful parts/...]]Artistname_Productmarketname_HumanModel.jpg"
order of terms in the [[]] does not matter.5. Keep 2+ special marks, such as "[[" at the beginning of the picture names so the third-party File Explorer will sort out pictures named "[[" from other pictures in your systems and call it out sooner than the default File Explorer does.
6. Create a folder exclusive to archive those product pictures and name it with a special mark for the File Explorer to locate. Such as "__3DLIB"; since a folder named with special marks as initial will be sorted in the top or bottom in the listed window, easier for eye-catch.
7. When searching __3DLIB and [[ in the File Explorer, it should call out all the product pictures renamed based on your specific concepts or intended use.
8. Search with more keywords to locate what you have memorized to use with the product, such as "cardigan."+"[["+"__3DLIB "; even if the default product name does not contain what you renamed"Cardigan", but if you renamed so, it should appear in the search.
9. This method also works on human models/Hairs: just rename those characters/skins as how you remember to utilize them, such as "skintone("Med")/Face-trait("Cute")/body-trait("Muscle")/CelebrityName/" for human and "Long/Braid/Updo/Dread/Bob/Crop" for hairs
10. When importing assets, simply search it with the 3rd Party file-explorer, and drag the [.duf] file from your folder into the viewport, rather than following the old routine of double-clicking the [.duf] file AFTER browsing those hierarchical layers in the library, which is more like routing out from a labyrinth with a mere thread.
11. The library tab in the program is still usable with scripts and other built-in functions (converter/materials-to-choose/....), but try to keep it with less than 4 layers. (Some scripts will be un-functional once its entry is copied to other locations.)
I guess there can be some other methods to speed-up? Let us see that.
Hello, eelgoo's thread is a treasure trove of good ideas. The only downsides I see is that it takes a lot of work and the install files must be modified according to your preference, which can be disorienting for other users if you redistribute them (unless you also keep the original file, thus duplicating your storage size), but it is well worth reading. Experience is key, and if I had read that thread before starting setting up my library I've would have followed a lot more of his advices. Now... it's too late for me.
I'm a big fan of custom categories; as soon as I install any new item -manually, copying the files-, I check the outrageous locations the vendor has decided to place the files in and categorize them according to my own likings. This way I'm capable of finding almost anything almost instantly because I 'know' where it should be according to my own mindset.
When I don't, I do a search inside DAZ, but if you do it change the default option of "search through files" to "search through database". It's hundreds of times faster!
Best regards,
I manually install everything. Before about 2 months ago, I would install whenever I had the time (when I wasn't doing stuff in daz3d or other stuff). All the files are put into a directory.
Then a few months ago I decided adding another layer to my install process. Made a directory called Library2 and then once a week will drag everything into where I want it. It's allowed me catch up to around a month ago of what I got to install (compared to 4 months or so)
Even with my strict modified file nomenclature, you can still back refer to the original, because it includes the SKU reference, where it is available.
Also, the fact that the vendors name comes first, makes searching that much more focussed.
When a vendor capriciously changes their name, I stick with the original name.🙂
I'm with @rottel up to point 3. I luuuuuuv 'Everything' for everything. It's brilliant. I always grab the most comprehensive picture of the item and rename it the same as the item. I also rename the item's zip or rar file to eliminate the vendor's number/sku. If it's a "Dick-tipped tentacle" then that's the name I give it.
I install items using @eelgoo's instructions.BUT.......
I really, trulio only use a small, tiny, teeny weeny, itsy bitsy percentage of the massive, huge, gargantuan, overwhelming, hard-drive choking number of items I have installed, so being organized isn't as important as one would think.
I never use installers unless I'm forced to, and even then I unzip/install it to a dummy folder, then copy it to my taste.
In DS, there's only a couple of folders that need to remain in their default spots (\data and \runtime), with the rest going wherever you want them.
I can't remember where I first read the idea, but it works real well for me. I organize my assets by figure, then by type (accessories like jewelry, anatomical pieces, clothing, poses, materials, characters, hair, etc.) I even sub-organize (long hair, short hair, toon hair, etc.) Props and standalone textures are in their own main folders, etc.
It seems to work pretty well, and I've been doing it for years. It really helps once you get real big. I don't have the humungous stockpiles that some in here have, but my 2.3TB of active Library is still pretty heavy.
I keep only a small number of characters. My Achilles heel is clothes and I have at least a million categories for all the clothes, lingerie, shoes (drool*), stockings and jewelry that I have.
Weird 'toys' from perverted-otica run a close second. I'm not a huge fan of that stuff but my girls insist on it and they can pout up a storm if I don't let them play with 'their' toys.
Surprisingly I have very few interior building/rooms or scenes. The girls are pretty fussy about their playrooms and stick with a few houses. A couple of those mansions are real favourites with them.@pooper your system looks very similar to mine; With characters, my main division is base figure, and then I also distinguish them by categories based on age and race. The categories are broad (African, caucasian, asian... and Teenager, adult, mature...), so I have Adult EUR, Teen AFR,... and so on. It helps me a lot to find the character I want for every occasion. My hair subcategories are very similar to yours too.
With props and environments, I first classify them into fantasy, scifi, military, domestic, urban... etc. Our details may vary, but I think we basically share the same principle.
Sounds like many of us have designed similar categorization systems.
However, the real bugaboo for me is finding the UNinstalled files. To aid in that, I have learned to append the folder name (in which the zip files are stored) with abbreviations. For instance, clothing is appended with 'clG8F', 'clG8M', or 'clG8U' (if it's universally worn), etc. Characters get 'chG8F', 'chG8M', and so on. Followed by a vendor abbreviation, such as '@KAL', '@LUTH', '@DZF', '@LF', '@SV', '@H&C' to distinguish them by favored vendor. The @sterisk distinguishes them in the search so I can call them all up at once. All my hair folders are assigned as @HAIR and the vendor abbrev such as '@APR', 'OOT', etc.
I have amendments like @SCIFI, @INT (interior environment), @EXT (exterior environment), @TOOL, @FURN, @PLANT, @SHOE, and many more. And they work in combination when searching.
It doesn't require being too draconian. But it can be incredibly useful when you're trying to find and install that clG8F by @SV for the purpose of @SWIM when you can't recall the name. You might get as many as 10, but that's much easier than searching 'Genesis 8 Female(s)' across 4 8TB drives with a result of hundreds or more.
What are your collective tactics? (pun intended)
@3demon, My secret weapon is to rename most of the installers to something sensible and descriptive, then give the picture the same name. I keep stuff in named directories that are hierarchical and use 'Everything' (from https://www.voidtools.com/ ) to look for stuff along with an image viewer in thumbnail mode to further aid in searching. One benefit of doing an image search is that I'll often see a similar item I'd forgotten I had and install it (or them) along with what I was looking for.
A hierarchy based on prefixes and one based on subfolders are logically equivalent. I prefer the subfolders approach, but it's something personal. My folder structure mimics my custom categories. I trust it to find anything I need and, so far, it has never failed me.
By the way, when it comes to managing complex filesystems, let me recommend you zabkat's xPlorer2. I'd say it's similar to Total Commander, but I like it a lot more. Its learning curve is a bit steep at the beginning, but it is to Windows File Explorer what Photoshop is to MS Paint, so well worth the effort. I haven´t looked at my Windows desktop in almost 20 years.
Usually between 1- 1.5 years I'll delete my daz folder. I make it a point to write down what I use often.
Ill then install that into whatever feels right at the time. Sometimes I'll even separate hair into sub categories like curly, long, punk, ect.. other times I'll just drop it all into Hair. All depends on what mood I'm in.
Once all the stuff I feel I cant live without is installed, I'll browse all the stuff that looks interesting and decide if I want to install it. I try not to select content I've already deleted because I didn't use it.
This usually takes 2-3 days with a few hours each day. Then I'm set for the rest of the year.
By the end of next year, Ive probably installed a ton of other stuff Ill never use so the cycle continues.
Id be surprised If I use 10% of the stuff I install and 10% of the stuff I download
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