Smart content not recognising DIM installed content
James_H
Posts: 1,040
in The Commons
I've just bought a new machine and rinstalled via DIM lots of stuff in various directories. I've reimporyted metadat and I can see products in Smart Content wanting installation, though I can locate them in Content. What has gone wrong?
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I went through this same pain at the beginning of the year. If you're on Windows, I think there's a folder somewhere in the documents folder of your Windows user that connect uses to keep a tab of installed content. I'd logged into connect before reinstalling loads of stuff, and the solution for me was to stay logged out of connect and to delete everything in that folder. It contained a bunch of folders with long numbers for names, iirc. It seems Studio might work from the records in those folders if they exist, ignoring what has been installed from elsewhere, including DIM.
Windows PC? Check your controlled folder access setting and allow DAZ3DIM, DAZ3DIMHelper and DAZStudio write access to your Document folder.
The isntallation triangle just means 9up to the latest build) that the product was installed manually or through DIM, not that it isn't installed - only if the icon is greyscale does the system not think it installed at all.
UAC will affect only applications and plug-ins (plus a few older scripts and shaders, perhaps) - content, assuming you are using a snesible location, does not require elevated permissions.
I have most Daz stuff on Drive E. All the icons I can see in Smart Content are greyscale and offer to install.
What is your DS version, 4.23 ?
Yup, latest version just installed
Odd... as Richard mentioned, this sort of issue shouldn't happen with the latest DS version. I could not reproduce it either...
What is the default location for .dsx files created by DIM? I moved this off C: and that may be the problem?
I should add that an item in Smart Content, if I right click, can show me the product in the Content Library. But there's nothing 'installed' in Smart Content.
The .dsx files are in the Downloads foilder (product descriptions) and Manifests folder (lists of what was placed where). There are also .dsx files in the /Runtime/Support/folder which are used when metadata is imported and which are part of the product zip (plus any exported userdata). Your problem seems to be that the CMS knows about your content (because you logged in to Daz with, in recent builds, the Update Metadata option checked) but when you installed through DIM the database was not updated for some reason (starting DIM just after closing DS can do that, so can security software) and so the system doesn't know the product was installed. I would guess that the files in the Content Library lack a New flag or the product type tags at top-right (actor, wardrobe, materials etc.)
So what can I do? Reinstalling everything on the new computer has taken ages, as my broaband is adequate but not speedy.
If everything is in the correct place then all that should be needed is to open the Content DB Maintenace dialogue from the Content Library option menu (the lined/"hamburger" icon in the top corner) and check Reimport Metadata, then select all your products using the master checkbox in the next dialogue. If there isn't a list of products then the installation paths are probably not correctly set (this is using the .dsx folders in /Runtime/Support/ that I mentioned earlier).
Richard, just to say, as always, many thanks. I've been preoccupied with other things, but that seems to have worked.
i lost a load of smart content metadata recently... coincided with me having to log into connect for the premier exclusive content.
So you had Update Metadata checked when you logged in, or used the command later from the Connect menu?
Hello,
I just encountered my DAZ Studio no recogizing DIM installed products. I tried to follow the instructions Richard mentioned but I cannot find "Content DB Maintenace dialogue from the Content Library option menu (the lined/"hamburger" icon in the top corner) "
I feel stuping needing to ask these questions: Is this on a drop down menu in DAZ Studio? Is it in the preferences dialoge?
Your help would be very much appreciated.
Inside Daz Studio find the Smart Content tab. In the corner or the corner of the group it is part of is 4 horizontal bars (the burger menu).
CLick that and you will find Content DB maintenance
i didn't originally but i couldn't get my hands on the exclusive content that was advertised so in a vain attemped i checked the box... it's good to know what probably caused the issue, connect kind of sucks! (in my 'unqualified' opinion).
Thank you. I found the tab and right clicked on it to find the option. I have nothing currently checked. Is that the way it's supposed to be? I don't have an update metadata option. I have a 're-import metadata' option.
Yes, that is the one - and no, it won't have anything checked initialy - theya re rally commands, so you have to check and then click Accept to have DS fulfill them.