September 30, 2010 - ZipInstaller returns

This update is the last update before P3dO 2.4 which is due to be available around mid-November.
So there won't be another P3dO 2.3.5 in October but instead a plugins update (ZipInstaller and Pattern Renamer). Note that there's no automatic notification for plugin updates so you'll have to pay us a visit to get it.

This is the 2nd update to the new version of ZipInstaller.
I fixed a number of bugs and added new repair rules to fix broken paths.
The output colored dot (  ) is now updated each time you modify the output path.
I also improved the UI, replacing ticks and background colors with icons:

These icons tell the above Textures are part of a Poser scene, already exist in destination directory, and are ok to be unzipped - respectively.
More visual hints and features are coming.
See also this ZipInstaller screenshot (popup) or visit the plugin page for more information.

That little check-box is a blessing.
By clicking "Show directory content" all directories whose name match your query will be populated and their content shown in P3dO's search result set.
Little box, powerful effect: type "Victoria V3 V4" in document name, check "Any term" and "Show directory content" and P3dO will fetch all your Victoria stuff.

Sort by directory

This new sort option is the consequence of the above. Sort by directory is set automatically each time you perform a Search, Explore subfolders or Explore Favorites (new with 2.3.5, see June update), and unset when you navigate as usual.
Thus the above "Victoria" search will be sorted by directory.
A directory icon will indicate a directory change in the thumbnails view.

Except for minor improvements Pattern Renamer has not been updated since 2.2.
With 2.3.5 you will have a 3 files WYSIWYG preview of what your settings give. Cute, useful and time saving addition.
Next step in October, this time with new renaming features.
Visit Pattern Renamer page for more information.

I added 7 new DDS resources formats to the existing 6.
P3dO is now supporting the most common DDS resources formats:
A8R8G8B8, X8R8G8B8, A8B8G8R8, X8B8G8R8, R8G8B8, A4R4G4B4, X4R4G4B4, A8L8, V8U8, DXT1, DXT3, DXT5 and ATI2 (aka 3Dc aka BC5_UNORM).
Some others (4) are coming, to complete the recommended requirement of a DirectX DDS viewer.

Poser displacement maps added to the Poser references list in InDepth tree and a bug fix on INJ/REM references.
MTL added to the OBJ references list.
Spanish translation updated, thanks to Luis Salgado Duarte. Thank you so much Luis.

August 26, 2010 - Poser Categories visual hint

In the nightmare jungle of your numerous Poser Runtimes, Categories, sub-categories and even sub-categories sub-directories this update brings colored directory nodes per Poser Category.
Needless to say this is a great visual helper for many operations.
Color is the same as the file extension block in thumbnails view.
Of course other Categories not shown in the above snapshot are colored too, but also Textures and Geometry nodes.

An update to complete last month update.
What has changed is the behavior of Scene button (aka "Internal Poser path") which is more clever in guessing the proper output path.
Yes, guessing. ZipInstaller is analysing correct paths (green mark) in the Scene and makes a deduction of what should be the wrong ones (red mark) output path.

I also got questions about the colors meanings (btw Hit F1 to call a plugin help file).
A tick mark indicates a file belongs to the Scene.
 v  Green marker indicates the ZIP path has a perfect match to Poser requirement. You may unzip without problem.
 v  Blue marker indicates part of the path has a problem. Edit manually or set the Destination button to Scene. This will fix Blue issues.
 v  Red marker is for wrong or empty paths. Again Edit manually or click the Scene button.

New UI for Rsr2Png. More modern Dialog layout similar to ZipInstaller and Awk Runtime manager.
No critical new feature has been added but the new layout is easier to use. You can now also loop conversions without exiting the plugin.

Special mention for this cute feature.
P3dO is showing system thumbnails provided by Max shell extension. So you must have Max (or the shell extension) to see something.

I reviewed a number of image loaders to add RGBA information to the InDepth tree.
These are: DDS, TGA, PSD, TIFF and BMP formats.

RGBA layer switch is a feature which already exists in P3dO.
It is the ability to combine Red, Green, Blue and Alpha individually, or select any combination, by checking the appropriate check box in InDepth tree.

I reviewed this and added a ctrl+W shortcut to allow switching from keyboard.

As well ctrl+T has been added to set Transparent and Opaque picture preview from keyboard. Note that when "Opaque" preview is set, layer switch will loop through RGB channels, regardless of existing Alpha channel in picture.

Fixed: Carrara References list in Scene Manager (2.3 bug).
Fixed: thumbnail vanish when dropping (copy) a file on a Tree node.
Dutch translation updated, thank you again Frans.
btw French translation is always up to date, since I am French.

July 30, 2010 - ZipInstaller update

After Runtime Manager in May here comes another plugin update: ZipInstaller, Poser dedicated unzipper.
P3dO also comes with a number of fix and improvements which are listed below.

I must admit the first version of ZipInstaller was far from satisfactory, but the plugin itself was quite promising.
Since both plugins are meant to copy files into Runtimes, I completely rewrote ZipInstaller with an interface and features very similar to Awk Runtime Manager.
Same logic for both: thumbnails, easy use and rich.

With ZipInstaller you may:
Install from ZIP into Poser Runtimes.
Uninstall from a previous ZIP extraction.



Install from ZIP
The plugin begins by comparing the ZIP paths to the Zipped Poser scene(s) and its References.
If an error is detected the file is marked as red (#1) , while a correct path is green (#2).
It is possible to automatically fix the errors - any error (no path, partial path, wrong path,... ). Click this button (#3) to tell ZipInstaller to set Poser paths instead of ZIP ones. This will update the Output column (#4) with valid Poser paths.

If all lines are green all you have to do is to click the Extract button, otherwise a single click (#3) will fix the issue.
This is a powerful and very simple to use unzipper for Poser.

Uninstall
Of course you may quite easily remove a CR2 with Awk, but what about the MAT files and Poses that where installed at the same time ?
This is where ZipInstaller comes in handy.

ZipInstaller doesn't require an Unsetup list or anything like that, simply open the ZIP again with ZipInstaller.
The plugin will detect the files that have been installed from this ZIP.
Click Uninstall, et voila !
Like Awk does empty directories will be removed as well.

Visit the plugin page for a detailed description.

InDepth tree list INJ/REM content.
Poser viewer deeper search for Textures (now similar to Poser).
Pose viewer allow viewing of partial PZ2 (body parts).
Add to Favorites new dialog that will retain previous directory and Favorites icons automatically customized to the corresponding Poser Category (like PoserFavorite does).
AwkPlugin will restore last mode (Move, Copy or Delete) and various modifications in parallel with ZipInstaller.
ZipExplorer fixed number of files issue.

June 25, 2010 - P3dO pro 2.3.5

Here is the first update to 2.3.5 intermediary version prior to 2.4.

This update focuses on improvements, some of which make a real difference.
Enhanced Favorites
Enhanced Find
Directory tree update
OBJ exporter update
Anime Studio thumbnails

First, let me explain something:
That little drop down button at the top of P3dO docking Windows is a menu.
In the case of Repository it gives you the ability to switch the Repository to other views like: Favorites, My documents, any custom directory,...
Thus you may use the Repository as your Favorites navigation system, and then have both Favorites and directory tree at the same time.
In order to better use this feature the ability to customize the Repository thumbnails has been added (a Tiled view is the best imho).
Explore Favorites command has been added to context menu. This is the same as Explore subfolders but where the subfolders would be your Favorites.
Find command has been added to folder links to quickly perform a Find from the Favorites nodes (Find command has also been added to Directory cells in thumbnails view).

As for the Find dialog itself you may now refine your search and ask for All terms, Any terms or Exact phrase when looking for a file:
- All terms: i.e "V4 shoes" will return Victoria shoes files,
- Any term: i.e "V4 shoes" will return both Victoria and shoes files (including non Vicky shoes),
- Exact phase: i.e "V4 shoes" will only return files whose name matches "*V4 shoes*".

Faster Tree in both expanding and refreshing.
Fixed: when renaming a directory, the renamed node is automatically sorted.
Fixed: navigation history and I updated to Vista like history navigation.

Did you know that, since 1.9, you may convert current 3D scene to OBJ ? Well, this is the purpose of that button and is based on the Save As dialog.
The whole exporter has been reviewed, simplified and new options added to generate MTL Texture paths.

Tip when exporting to OBJ click that check box ("Prompt for formats options"). This will automatically show the format options dialog once you have selected the file name.

Anime Studio thumbnails are associated to Anime Studio files in the same way as P3dO does for Poser, Daz Studio and Bryce.
This is the first in a series of Updates to add Anime Studio support to P3dO.
Anime Studio now has a Poser like content manager but no doubt P3dO is far far ahead.

May 28, 2010 - Runtime Manager updated

No P3dO update this month, but a plugin update and another great plugin for Daz Studio:
Runtime Manager
Pontari Production Prpc plugin for Daz Studio

Runtime Manager, aka AwkPlugin, aka Scene Manager is a most convenient tool to manage your 3D content.
Go get it from Poser Plugins pack.


What can I do with Runtime Manager ?
    Delete (uninstall) a 3D Scene and References at once
    Move a 3D Scene and References to another Runtime
Empty directories are deleted after the operation !
This not only for Poser but for other 3D file formats supported by P3dO as well: Carrara, 3DS, LWO,...

For Poser only there's also a Directory Manager that will grab all Scenes on a given P3dO set (directory, subdirectories, search result,...) and do the same as above (Delete or Move complete directories).
Directory manager is the tool to arrange your Poser Runtimes: split a Runtime, Merge 2 Runtimes, do the basic cleanup and management.

Visit the plugin page for a detailed description.

What's new ?

(#A) Menu like header Tab bar to distinguish between the 3 modes (Move, Copy or Delete).
(#B) Navigation button: when an operation has been concluded you may go back to the main window and perform another operation. Like deleting scenes one by one, copying the same scene to several destination.
(#C) Destination path customization button: the Poser relative path is not necessarily the one you want to copy your files to. This button offers various alternative solutions.

Overall, the plugin design has been reviewed to be easy to use.

We will talk about a tool which is not published by Senosoft, and not even distributed on this website, but which is worth using with P3dO and PoserPython plugin - and is also a free tool :)

Those who used Poser prior to Poser 8 know that Prpc was a Python script used by our PoserPython plugin to open files into Poser (Recent versions of PoserPython don't use Prpc anymore).
But there was nothing to open files from P3dO to Daz Studio.

Pontari Production come to the rescue with a Daz Studio plugin which they called Prpc in reference to good old Prpc.
Pontari's Prcp plugin has little to see with Prpc though. It is a Daz Studio plugin and you won't even notice it, but when you'll double-clik a Poser file in P3dO it will magically open in Daz Studio.
PoserPython does the rest: if Poser is opened the Figure will open in Poser, if Daz Studio is opened the Figure will open in Daz Studio, if both are opened it will ask you which one you want to open the file in.
Don't miss that great Daz Studio addon: Pontari Productions Prpc plugin for Daz Studio by Pontari Production.

P3dO 2.3.5 will be available in June.
Like P3dO 2.2.8 it is an intermediary version released every month prior to P3dO 2.4 (November).