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saving folders in s24 asset browser


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Hey All.

It seems to me that the new asset browser is pretty limited. Or maybe I'm missing something. 

In the old content browser I can add entire folders of textures as a favorite or add to a catalog, not so with the asset browser.

 

In the asset browser I have to manually create a folder, then add each texture map individually. C4d then also seems to copy the file to a separate location.  why??? 

 

Is the asset browser really only good for storing presets and lib4d files? In that case the content browser really isn't legacy at all.

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That's exactly what i feel right now about this asset manager. it feels very limited, and it's a pain to create libraries with our own files. 

Plus, all the assets are in the cloud and each time i need a new one i have to download it to a certain location (and then i have to clean that download area) in order to use it. I really prefer to download those packages one time and use them when i want, even if i got no internet.

This asset manager is ok to work with the node system but for everything else is a really bad tool. Maxon, please do not get rid of content browser since its a much better tool and simpler to use.

 

cheers

 

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I am not understanding what is wrong. Are you trying to add multiple materials from your material manager at once or something else?

 

I've converted almost all lib4ds to the Asset Browser just by right clicking on the main preset folder and saying Convert to Asset Browser.

 

Also, once you've downloaded content it stays downloaded in your library. Sadly you can't right clock on an online content folder and have it download everything, but if you Ctrl + A inside the folder than you can right click and download everything in that folder at once.

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Converting lib4d's is no problem.  The asset browser is just not functional when it comes to adding user assets like textures(bitmaps). There seems to be no way of adding an entire folder from windows explorer. Then you have to revert back to the content browser. I guess maxon has a different view of what "assets" actually are. To me any bitmap used in a project is an asset, not just the shader using said bitmap. 

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4 hours ago, vicnorman said:

Converting lib4d's is no problem.  The asset browser is just not functional when it comes to adding user assets like textures(bitmaps). There seems to be no way of adding an entire folder from windows explorer. Then you have to revert back to the content browser. I guess maxon has a different view of what "assets" actually are. To me any bitmap used in a project is an asset, not just the shader using said bitmap. 

 

Ahh I think I understand what you mean now.

 

I think this is something they can easily add as they already have the option of adding multiple objects or multiple materials.  I guess one workaround for now is to import them as LIB4D and then "Convert To Asset Browser"

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10 hours ago, bholebhole said:

I am not understanding what is wrong. Are you trying to add multiple materials from your material manager at once or something else?

 

I've converted almost all lib4ds to the Asset Browser just by right clicking on the main preset folder and saying Convert to Asset Browser.

 

Also, once you've downloaded content it stays downloaded in your library. Sadly you can't right clock on an online content folder and have it download everything, but if you Ctrl + A inside the folder than you can right click and download everything in that folder at once.

 

You have also to clean your donwload folder (you can do it in preferences) from time to time. I dont think this system is practical.

Materials work ok but i have a different example. Lets suppose you have a group of c4d files each one has an xpresso tool or an object or another thing.  Those files are stored in a certain folder of your computer. In order to see those files in your asset broeser you have to create a database, create categories, and then put the files in the category(ies). you can drag multiple files but you have to accept one by one. Imagine if it's 1000 files (like for example assets). in the content browser, you go to the folder in your machine, create a favorite and its done. it takes less than a minute.

 

But its not over. For some reason each time i want to merge one of those files into my scene, i cant drag it. It only opens the file and then you  have to copy the asset. For me this is one of the worst tools i ever seen. it really needs much better development. If maxon wants my feedback, it is simple. Just put content browser back on and reserve the asset browser for scene nodes only.

 

cheers

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2 minutes ago, jbatista said:

 

You have also to clean your donwload folder (you can do it in preferences) from time to time. I dont think this system is practical.

Materials work ok but i have a different example. Lets suppose you have a group of c4d files each one has an xpresso tool or an object or another thing.  Those files are stored in a certain folder of your computer. In order to see those files in your asset broeser you have to create a database, create categories, and then put the files in the category(ies). you can drag multiple files but you have to accept one by one. Imagine if it's 1000 files (like for example assets). in the content browser, you go to the folder in your machine, create a favorite and its done. it takes less than a minute.

 

But its not over. For some reason each time i want to merge one of those files into my scene, i cant drag it. It only opens the file and then you  have to copy the asset. For me this is one of the worst tools i ever seen. it really needs much better development. If maxon wants my feedback, it is simple. Just put content browser back on and reserve the asset browser for scene nodes only.

 

cheers

 

Fair Point. I have manually added most of my items to the Asset Browser since it was a mess all over my storage and I barely used the Content Library before for Geometry, only for materials/textures. So I have added them as Objects as opposed to files. Yes, it did require a decent amount of housekeeping in the beginning. Let's see where they go with this.

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This system works when we do it for one time and then its done.

 

Now imagine you are working in a production with more artists. Assets are being developed all the time, others changed and stored in certain folders across a network. With the  asset browser we have to manually update (assuming the assets are not always xrefs) and add each new asset constantly. Then we have to assume the databases created in each artist setup is similar in order to keep the project with same structure. 

I see a lot of problems with this kind of structure. Its much better to rely on something that reads the operating system file/folder structure and then all the assets inside those folders are constantly beeing updated with 0 effort, relieving that duty from the artist.

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1 minute ago, jbatista said:

This system works when we do it for one time and then its done.

 

Now imagine you are working in a production with more artists. Assets are being developed all the time, others changed and stored in certain folders across a network. With the  asset browser we have to manually update (assuming the assets are not always xrefs) and add each new asset constantly. Then we have to assume the databases created in each artist setup is similar in order to keep the project with same structure. 

I see a lot of problems with this kind of structure. Its much better to rely on something that reads the operating system file/folder structure and then all the assets inside those folders are constantly beeing updated with 0 effort, relieving that duty from the artist.

 

So how does the Content Browser work in this scenario? Or does it not help at all? I don't work with a team in Cinema so I have no idea about this.

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55 minutes ago, bholebhole said:

So how does the Content Browser work in this scenario? Or does it not help at all? I don't work with a team in Cinema so I have no idea about this.

 

Content browser in this case (pipeline teamwork) is more flexible. it can read your computer folder structure, network drives, and network location (like other pcs ). So its easy to see the entire project structure inside your cinema 4d. But you can also create favorites. In this way you can see your target folders (most used ones, asset folders etc) immediately instead of jumping around the structure. Since its reading from the OS, every update (file creation, updates etc) is immediate and ready to use. You just need to drag it into your scene and done.  Obviously there are things that could be better, like some kind of shared libraries (for things like materials, presets etc) across projects and between users, but those were the kind of things that i was expecting. Not a replacement new system that in my opinion is inferior and its not production ready.

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