"My DAZ 3D Library" folder on a network hard drive (Mac version)
Hi,
I'm sorry if this question has already been posted but I didn't find the exact answer to my problem, or it did'nt work.
I have a huge folder "My DAZ 3D Library" on my computer (Mac) and I would like to move it on my Synology NAS.
So I have copied it and, following instructions I have read on this forum (or elsewhere) in changing directory folder in Content manager.
After that, I rebuilt the database and restarted software but :
- files are detected > database is rebuilt
- content panel shows white thumnails (oops)
- can't use it : missing files (!)
On a second time, I have tested the same protocol with another copy of this folder in another place, but on local folder (on my Mac).
That's work !
So, the problem seams to be the access to a network volume...
Any solution ?
Comments
I tried the equivalent once but with MS SW and it's a similar problem. It's not worth the hassle and it doesn't quite work.
Just install the content to a modern fat32, or is it extFat? external USB 3 SSD and plug it in when needed. I'd advice downloading the content zip files in DIM to yet another external USB 3 SSD.
Daz Studio does not support network paths, if you use a local alias to map it to a local path (drive:/foiders) then it should work.
What you are trying to do should work - I install all my content onto my Synology Drive from my mac. I assume you are using it as a mapped folder under /Volumes (as Richard has mentioned)? Also, when you remapped the folder did you correctly specify the base folder (the one that contains runtime & data amongst others) under Daz Studio Formats and have ensured you do not have any libraries within libraries?
Perhaps posting some screenshots of your setup might help diagnose the issue?
I have a setup where I "replaced" the original DAZ My Network Library folder with a symlink to the appropriate directory on the NAS. It works both on Mac and Win10 PC, both machines accessing the same NAS storage. I did the same with the user specific content libraries.
For DS, the paths look like they are referencing a local directory. A note of caution: for MacOS, you need to connect to the NAS using the smb protocol. AFS is case sensitive and will break.
EDIT:
to use linking, you
a) mount the network drive (see note of caution above)
b) link the DAZ shared network library (you should rename the original one!). In the termial window, you execute the command:
ln -s "/Volumes/NAS DAZ Network Library" "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/My DAZ 3D Library"
c) you add the network drive icon to your Autostart Objects. This way, every time you log on, your network drives will be mounted.
However, the SmartContent files are kept locally. I am usually installing content via DIM on my Mac (only Windows-only products are installed directly on the Win10 box), so I need to re-import the metadata ever once in a while on the Win10 box. I have not found a solution yet for having a central Smart Content database.
After many attempts, I finally managed to get the application to correctly recognize the folder on the NAS.
The difference is that I accessed it via smb rather than afp (!!!).
It's still curious that the application makes such a difference (?).
So I achieved my initial goal.
However, access and loading in the application are slow, even though I have a very good wifi connection (I can transfer a 1 GB file in 12 seconds).