Topic: download folder again.... (Read 979 times)

von_manstein · « **on:** October 21, 2009, 09:44:50 AM »

i know a similar question has already been asked recently... i tried reading through that tread but i didn't understand a single world that was told there....

so i'll try to ask it in easier way... a way even i can understand, LOL

i know i've several problem with my download folder and, little by little i try to fix them. i i used clean installer and delphy DL organizer to identify and eliminate duplicates.... i also used DL organizer to scan for orphans... it found some 429 of them but.... now... what exactly is an orphan ? (please don't answer a kid with no parents

) what i'm supposed to do with them and... how do i identify them ? i mean... DL organized told me there are 429 of them but... i have no idea of which of my almost 15000 files are these orphans...

thanks
M.

doren · « **Reply #1 on:** October 21, 2009, 11:48:53 AM »

An orphan is a texture/recolour for a mesh/object you don't have. It can also be a mesh for which you have no texture (bodyshop files). There is no reason to keep them because they don't show in your game.

Engram · « **Reply #2 on:** October 21, 2009, 03:36:08 PM »

Quote from: doren on October 21, 2009, 11:48:53 AM

An orphan is a texture/recolour for a mesh/object you don't have. It can also be a mesh for which you have no texture (bodyshop files). There is no reason to keep them because they don't show in your game.

Having said that, I've had the DDO identify as orphans files I know definitely work in-game because I have both the mesh and the retexture and I was using the outfit on several sims. So I would not go around just wholesale deleting what the DDO considers to be "orphans" because it misidentifies them. The false positives for orphan identification are what a lot of people have been complaining about with the DDO. Yes, it identifies them, but due to all the false positives that it returns you still have to go through all the identified files and decide which ones are true orphans and which ones are, in fact, not.

von_manstein · « **Reply #3 on:** October 21, 2009, 11:24:11 PM »

the problem is i don't know which are the identified files...
when i scanned for duplicates it told me the files where marked and actually they where marked in yellow and "duplicate" written at the beginning of the line.... but i didn't see anything similar for orphans.... i couldn't tell which were the orphans.

M.

ancienthighway · « **Reply #4 on:** October 21, 2009, 11:53:01 PM »

Miros1 put together a nice utility that shows a list of meshes and textures. It's in her section on SunSims.com, Handy Dandy "Stylizer" Utility!. Registration is required, and it may take a while for registration to be completed as the site owner is or was inactive for a while.

miros1 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 22, 2009, 10:52:20 AM »

Thanks for the plug and explanation, AH! Yes, Greg is mostly inactive, so it's somewhat difficult to get people approved. I'll send a message to the little bird that tells him things asking for him to approve new members.

As for the orphans... After you do the first scan, you can scan for duplicates (which you seem to have a handle on) and for orphans. After scanning for orphans, there's a checkbox for "show orphans" in the lower left panel of DDO which will show you just the orphans.

von_manstein · « **Reply #6 on:** October 22, 2009, 02:46:20 PM »

ok... thanks to everybody.
i'll wait for registration approval and in the meanwhile i'll try to get a clue about what my orphans are and what should i do with Miros1 program once i can download it

M.

----------------------

seems i will have to keep my cluttered DL folder with the problems it gives, LOL.
DDO identifies almost 450 orphans and it would be quite a long job finding out which are real orphans and which are not... if only i know how to do that, of course ! since i don't know... it's an impossible job, LOL
even Miros1's program doesn't work with my PC or should i say, me...?

thanks everybody for trying to help me, even if it isn't easy. LOL
M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #7 on:** October 26, 2009, 10:11:36 AM »

Might be worthwhile setting up your Downloads folder again, say on your desktop you just make a new Downloads folder. Then, go back to the websites where you got things, and redownload them. Make sure this time that clothing meshes are kept together, and the recolours are kept together, either as just a Clothing Recolours folder, or by creator/site. This time, don't delete the .zip after you've installed the clothing, but keep it safely in a back up folder. As you do this, create a new folder within your current Downloads (in the game) called for example *Redownloaded Files) and put the originals together in that. Once you have redownloaded and reinstalled all the clothing files that you are able to find, look at what remains and see if you really want it, if it is, in fact, a collection of orphans, etc.... and if you are happy that you have all you need, then move the whole of the clothing category from the desktop Downloads into your game and delete the originals.

von_manstein · « **Reply #8 on:** October 27, 2009, 04:26:12 AM »

i had already thought of doing that but it would take several days of work.... and i don't have all that time unless i get some holidays, LOL... i have almost 15.000 files in my DL folder and clothes are the most numerous....
i have saved all the zip files, didn't delete anything, LOL.... but even supposing from them i can understand where did i take them all (and it won't be true for all of them) it would take ages to go, look for every single file to see if i needed some mesh i'm missing and eventually get it if still available.
i would gladly delete all those that don't show up in game and also a certain amount of clothes i found out i didn't really like so much as i thought but... i can't understand from the file name which are those i want to keep and which i would gladly get rid of.... that's why i hoped there was a way to surely identify at least the "orphans" so i would have started deleting them. they are almost 500... not so many compared to the total files number but it would be a start...

also... a weird thing that happens is that when my sims age up at college (teen -> YA or YA -> Adults) they often get invisible because the program randomly chooses a "wrong" clothing for them. the weird part is that if i send them to a wardrobe to have them changed into something visible, the invisible clothing they are wearing doesn't have the asterisk that identifies CC but a symbol of an EP i don't have (such as season for example)... where did that outfit come from ? LOL

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #9 on:** October 27, 2009, 04:59:30 AM »

If you have downloaded clothing without checking the necessary expansions, then that's how you've got clothing that doesn't work - why it should show the EP symbol and not the asterisk I couldn't say, although maybe the items are recolours?

I really think your best bet is to just start again. Make sure in future you check what expansions are needed, and that you get the mesh required for the clothing at the time. Also, take a photo of each set of clothing you download, and keep it with the original zip, and also a copy of the mesh with the zip - that way it will be much easier to identify problems in the future.

Using testingcheats should help to identify the problem clothing, though - and you can then minimise your game, find the problem clothing file in your Downloads and slide a copy of it to the desktop. Once you've closed your game, use those copies on the desktop to identify the files you need to remove.

von_manstein · « **Reply #10 on:** October 27, 2009, 06:04:34 AM »

i might have downloaded someting for EP i dn't have at the very beginning, when it wasn't clear to me how the whole system worked. the problem with missing meshes probably comes from the fact that at the beginning when i found something i liked i downloaded it and then went to look for the mesh that, sometimes, wasn't available any more or... in same cases i might have downloaded the wrong 1 from a page containing more then 1 mesh.

sorry but i didn't understand a word about how should the testing cheat help me to identify the problem clothings.... could you explain it a bit easier ? you know... like in the 'download for fracking idiot' thing, LOL.

M.

------------------ Edit ----------------

i was looking around the net for some tips about how to solve my problems and i found the instructions about how to use Clean Intaller... besides other things they told this :

NOTE: Do not place the following types of packages in subfolders, or they will not be available in your game:

eye color
glasses
lipstick
blush
eyeliner
eyeshadow
costume makeup
skin tone
hair color
hair mesh
clothing

is that true for all or some files ? 'coz i have all those kind of files in subfolders... actually i don't have any file in the DL folder, just sub-folders that contain the real files.... might this be a problem ?

M.

miros1 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 27, 2009, 08:39:59 AM »

That advice is pre-Nightlife, when stuff wouldn't show up in subfolders.

BV actually introduced the reverse problem, where stuff nested 3 or more sub-folders deep wouldn't show up...

ancienthighway · « **Reply #12 on:** October 27, 2009, 10:17:44 AM »

Really? I haven't noticed. Mods and CC four deep in my game.

von_manstein · « **Reply #13 on:** October 27, 2009, 10:54:52 AM »

ok, then i shouldn't have that kind of problem. i only have 1 level of sub-folder and was now thinking about a second level... and don't have BV anyway.

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #14 on:** October 27, 2009, 11:01:53 AM »

If you enable testingcheats then when you are in CAS it should be possible to mouse over items and see the filename, or at least the creator, there's usually some kind of clue.

von_manstein · « **Reply #15 on:** October 27, 2009, 01:12:22 PM »

ah, OK, thank you... unfortunately it doesn't give the file name but the description entered by the author when created it, that sometimes it's just his/her name, or the site or even nothing.... but luckily sometimes it's a description that i should find either with DDO or CI...

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #16 on:** October 27, 2009, 01:18:29 PM »

I thought it might give at least a clue.... if you have the original zip file, maybe that will have a recognisable name? Most clothing files, in any case, include either the creator's name, a description of sorts, or both.

von_manstein · « **Reply #17 on:** October 27, 2009, 01:43:33 PM »

yeah... up to now i found 24 of those "invisible" clothes... with time i'll find more.
2 are from Miros1, so i'll ask her.

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #18 on:** October 27, 2009, 03:16:21 PM »

24 is pretty good going, if you find a few each day you'll soon have them sorted!

von_manstein · « **Reply #19 on:** October 28, 2009, 03:10:14 PM »

yes... today 88 more files were removed... some that didn't work plus others that i didn't really like that much... i still hope that Miros1 can find why her programs doesn't work on my pc but in the meanwhile i'll keep cleaning the DL folder little by little...

M.

SmilingSweetly · « **Reply #20 on:** October 28, 2009, 07:57:54 PM »

Also, as mentioned in the other thread, be sure you are using the latest version of the DDO. You can get it here. Delphy has updated it to correctly read compressed packages and it appears to be much more accurate.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #21 on:** October 29, 2009, 12:12:46 AM »

Be nice if he did the same for the Clean Installer.... it won't show duplicates where one is compressed and the other isn't.

von_manstein · « **Reply #22 on:** October 29, 2009, 01:04:54 AM »

thanks for the tip SmilingSweetly... i suppose i've the latest version since i downloaded it last spring... but i'll check anyway, just in case...

ehm... a question... what do you and ZZ mean when you talk about compressed and uncompressed packages ? aren't the CC files all the same format ? (something.package) ?

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #23 on:** October 29, 2009, 02:52:12 AM »

It's when you use the Compressoriser from DJS Sims to compress your files... can make a big difference to the size of your Downloads folder, but there are problems associated with doing it. I try now to avoid compressing object meshes, or to replace with an uncompressed version if they show up in the catalog with the internal filename instead of the custom filename - it just annoys me!

von_manstein · « **Reply #24 on:** October 29, 2009, 03:41:53 AM »

OK... but it's something you do if you want or might already be done by the creator before psting it ?
in the latter case, how do you know if a file you have is compressed or not ?

M.

SmilingSweetly · « **Reply #25 on:** October 29, 2009, 07:12:42 AM »

Not sure how you can tell whether or not a creator compressed the file unless he/she mentions it in the description, which oftentimes or not they do. Perhaps you can try compressing it and see if it changes, and if it doesn't then more than likely it was already compressed?

Like ZZ, I stopped compressing things. I cleaned out my dl folder and that makes more of a difference than worrying with compressing everything. Even after I compressed files it didn't really change my load time enough to justify the hassle.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #26 on:** October 29, 2009, 08:30:17 AM »

I still compressorize all recolours, clothing, skintones etc... just I'm more careful with object meshes. Doesn't make much difference to load time, if any, but on the other hand it saves space on my HD. I only compressorize files that are in game, or in other game folders, I don't do it to my original saved files, so I always have non-compressorized back-ups available.

SmilingSweetly · « **Reply #27 on:** October 29, 2009, 01:13:43 PM »

Ah well, better you than me I guess. I've just gotten more selective in what I download these days, which helps keep the gigs down to a minimum.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #28 on:** October 29, 2009, 03:19:53 PM »

I'm pretty selective in what actually goes in a specific theme, but I have a lot of separate sets of game folders (one per theme) so if I didn't compressorize anything, they'd take up such a lot of my HD....

von_manstein · « **Reply #29 on:** October 30, 2009, 02:16:33 AM »

this reminds me something...
in DDO, sometimes i can get a preview of the files, some other the program tells me that kind of file can't be read... does that mean that the file is compressed and that's why DDO doesn't preview it ?

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #30 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:41:53 AM »

It might. On the other hand, maybe it isn't a .package file. Be sure you haven't installed any .txt or .jpg files that might be causing this confusion.

SmilingSweetly · « **Reply #31 on:** October 30, 2009, 05:36:10 AM »

The only previewing of files I've come across with the DDO is when you right click on the file and "preview texture." I've come across instances where DDO was unable to provide a preview but the message only said that it was "Unable to load this texture. It may be in a format that the DDO doesn't understand." I don't believe that has anything to do with whether or not the .package was compressed. I've had the same issue come up with the WTF Editor also, and with both programs working with .packages that I know weren't compressed.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #32 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:28:18 AM »

They could be ones that the CI has renamed .package.package!

von_manstein · « **Reply #33 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:40:21 AM »

right SmilingSweetly, that was the message... i just couldn't remember the exact words and the meaning for me was more or less the same since i have no idea of what a texture might be i thought it simply couldn't read the file for some reason

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #34 on:** October 30, 2009, 07:17:57 AM »

A texture is what is applied to make a recolour.....

SmilingSweetly · « **Reply #35 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:38:18 PM »

Quote from: zephyrzodiac on October 30, 2009, 06:28:18 AM

They could be ones that the CI has renamed .package.package!

*Hate* when that happens!!

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #36 on:** October 30, 2009, 03:42:16 PM »

Me too, it takes ages to go through them all and delete the extra .package!

von_manstein · « **Reply #37 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:32:21 PM »

from the way you talk i supposed that wasn't good having package.package files...
so i decided i would have a look and see if i had any... found out i had almost 100 and even a few package.package.package... so i identified and renamed them.

what is the CI you seem to blame for this double (or multiple) extension ?

M.

miros1 · « **Reply #38 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:34:25 PM »

The earliest versions of Clean Installer sometimes added an extra .package to the file name.

It doesn't do that any more.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #39 on:** October 30, 2009, 09:05:45 PM »

What version do you have? I have 1.5.1.4 and it still does it if I use it to install a wall or skin item that the multisims2pack installer won't open.

von_manstein · « **Reply #40 on:** October 31, 2009, 03:39:04 AM »

i have 1.5.1.4 too.... and it seems it did create them.
most of those files where in the BuildMode sub-folder... so i suppose they where created when i installed lots... the others where in skins, hair recolors and clothes recolors... so they might have come from installing sims...

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #41 on:** October 31, 2009, 05:53:29 AM »

In those cases, I think it may be because the creator used files which already had the additional .package.

yetyak · « **Reply #42 on:** October 31, 2009, 10:05:09 AM »

You could probably use Oscar's Renamer (or any other renamer program) to fix the .package.package problems.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #43 on:** October 31, 2009, 02:49:46 PM »

True, and if there are a lot, it's probably worth the effort.

von_manstein · « **Reply #44 on:** November 02, 2009, 05:29:28 AM »

i never knew there were renaming programs... i still rely on typing the right name or, when applicable, on old DOS commands. LOL

M.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #45 on:** November 02, 2009, 05:53:23 AM »

You can get the Renamer at Crazy Town, together with a tutorial for using it - it's not easy to follow the instructions that come with the program, but someone (Isz?) redid them to make them easier to follow.

yetyak · « **Reply #46 on:** November 02, 2009, 06:09:39 AM »

That was me.

zephyrzodiac · « **Reply #47 on:** November 02, 2009, 07:04:51 AM »

Apologies, Yettie - I really had a mind-blank when I posted, so I put Isz mainly because I knew if she saw the post she would know who did the rewrite! I'm sure von_manstein will find it much simpler to follow, and so much quicker than messing about deleting 100 or so extra .packages!

von_manstein · « **Reply #48 on:** November 02, 2009, 10:45:45 AM »

ok, thanks. next time i have to rename something i'll have a look... (if i do it now i'll forget everything before i get to use it... LOL)

M.

yetyak · « **Reply #49 on:** November 03, 2009, 06:07:09 AM »

Not a problem, it looked like it would be ok to say...

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Author Topic: download folder again.... (Read 979 times)