Hi all, I hope you and yours are well!

My question is, "Is there a simple, drag-and-drop, visual, quick, automatic way to re-organize Poser Runtime Libraries, without causing 'Missing File' problems when using Poser?"

My reason for asking is that we know each content developer structures their content differently, placing it in a wide variety of FOLDER NAMES... and sometimes Runtime Libraries can get MESSY and LONG... then you sometimes struggle to find the thing you're looking for .

I would like to organize my Runtime Libraries in a manner that makes more organized sense for me .

For example (remembering that Poser FOLDER NAMES are case-sensitive, and that Poser 4 does not support SUB-FOLDERS):

a) If I have a number of !MAT Pose Files for textures, I'd like to structure them like...

> !MAT_A3_ZombieSkins
> !MAT_A3_AlienSkins
> !MAT_P4F_AlienSkins
> !MAT_P4F_CatSkins

b) If I have a number of clothing items, I'd like to structure them, perhaps in SUB-FOLDERS like...

> Clothes_A3
>> A3_Futuristic
>> A3_Historic

> Clothes_P4M
>> P4M_Sport
>> P4M_Business

At the moment, things are very disorganized. I've seen some artists say they needed to use hours or days trying to re-organize Poser Runtimes, to suite their processes and preferences . I wonder if there's a simpler, more-straightforward, quicker way.

If a person installs multiple Runtime ZIPs simultaneously, then a person has no control over the organization of Runtime content.

My present idea is to:

1) Remove Poser completely
2) Install Poser again
3) Install content ZIPs ONE-BY-ONE (not multiple ZIPs simultaneously)
4) Re-Organize that particular item I just installed into a folder structure that suits my way of working
5) Open Poser, use the item, and then Poser will ask me to locate the missing (Re-Organized) files, and then locate the files
6) Once Poser knows the new location of the files, then close Poser
7) Repeat steps 3) to 6) for further content

Naturally, that can be a very long process, but it might result in better organized Runtime Libraries... making finding relevant items easier and quicker .

I've seen a commercial tool (at R**sity) which helps with this task, but I'm not sure how it helps, and if I recall it seemed a bit expensive at this time.

So, does anyone have tips, suggestions, solutions, ideas for re-organizing Runtime Libraries? Which method did you use to re-organize and set up your Runtime Library for your preference?

Any hints would be welcome. Thank you kindly and God bless !

In a word you need to borrow someone else's runtime, after they have done the hard work.

When I install Poser, I run the updates, then back up that runtime as clean install, so if I ever need to re-install I have a clean one, if I need it.

Then I organise the clean install into the folders I want and back it up in case I need it.

I then add my base content to the runtime, like my scripts, my Posette stuff, the really important minimum content I need. I then back it up.

Very boring so far...but if I decide to make multiple runtimes it come in very handy.

Then I add content, and I can see content which is outside of my folder structure so I move it.  For example poses, characters, props, and lights I can move.

However the folders I don't mess with is where each respective item has content in the texture and geometry folders, there I can add my own folders for my own content, but whatever I install stays how it lands in those two folders, most of the other folders within Libraries I can move about and organise.

Do note if you choose to move content in the geometry and texture folders, that you do it one piece of content install at a time.  So if I install a car and I move its' texture and geometry into a car folder under each.  I then load the car when Poser asks me for the locations of the texture or geometry I point Poser to where they are, then once loaded I select that item which loaded (i.e. car) and then go back to the folder I loaded it from (prop) and save it.  Now whenever I load the car I saved it loads the prop just fine, the same works with characters.  He original prop from the install can be deleted as it contains the wrong references.  How ever before you delete it go into the prop folder it loads from and save that thumbnail, so you can then overwrite the image for the correct car you saved.

____________
I've found that to do well with any figure you really need to have a passion for that figure,

...and I hope you develop that passion for yours.

There were some bad typos in my post I hop you learned from them too.

____________
I've found that to do well with any figure you really need to have a passion for that figure,

...and I hope you develop that passion for yours.

Hello Rico

For textures an geometries you should keep the structure as provided by the creator.
For mats, poses, hands, expressions, lights, you can organize them freely inside their main category folders.
For figures and props it can be more complicated. As long an external geometry is NOT kept in the same folder as the cr2/crz file, but in ->Geometries, everything should be fine, too. If it is stored together with the main file you should keep it in the original installation folders. Same refers to external morph files (pmd).
If you want to re-organize them, you have to change the paths inside the files manually.

Hope, it's not too confusing

PS: just noticed Chromium has been posting while I was writing. I hope my additional info helps.

____________

I have the barest minimum of 'stuff' in the 'live' Poser run-time on C:, mostly the version bundle, plus a few fun models and figures. And, yes, some retro 'exe' stuff that *had* to un-pack into full Poser tree. I link external libraries for projects, un-link when done.

One reason is I lost my rather tangled C: P_4 run-time to a PC mega-crash. 'All Eggs, one basket, never again...'
Another reason is even P_11's library system leaves a lot to be desired.
Third, no internal library system could hope to cope with my now-vast collection of 'stuff'.

On E:, I've a near-terabyte zoo of 'external libraries'.
'Sorted' holds lots of neatly numbered category folders for props & sets: 0_FX, 0_parts, 0_prims ... 2_go_bang, 2_go_fly ... 2_hold_gun, 2_hold_weapon ... 6_terrain, 6_underground.

'Sorted' also holds many naturally alphabetic folders with 'figures and their clothes'. eg A3, A3_MMset, A4, Bots_Borgs_Bare, Bots_Borgs_Clad, Ghosts_Mummies, Girl_4 etc etc via Other_folk, Others_clad etc, through P4F, P4M etc to Zoo and Zoo_alien.

And then there's the sprawling 'WIP', which is mostly arranged by where / how / why I found it. A lot is 'ready to use' by linking as an external library. Much requires import as OBJ or FBX, often ripped from DS, MMD, XPS/Lara or PSK..

When P_12 shows up, hopefully with much improved FBX 'rig' import, I plan to re-work a lot of models.

I've also got an interesting collection of models I'm trying to learn to 'rig'.

That currently on hold, as my bank, Yahoo and PayPal, among others, are pressing me to do 2FA via SMS.
As there are NO BARS at or near my desk, and scant few within time-out distance, I've had to get a 4G Router and tether it remotely in a window that gets enough bars for SMS.

First brand, which I'll term 'WigWam', turned out to have a firmware problem which meant it would not display SMS messages per the specification and 100++pp manual. They've been battling this bug for a full year, but each beta-released fix breaks something else. You may imagine my language when I found their forum thread, 170++ posts of hapless misery...  
    

Anyhow, the wonky 'WigWam' has gone back to Amazon, refund put towards a similar, but ~50% more expensive model from rival brand. Which I've yet to tackle...

         

Thank you kindly all! You've given me some food for thought ...!