Installing the Daz Studio plugin

In the preferred pipeline, the information is transferred from DAZ Studio to Blender with two files: the native .duf file, which is created by DAZ Studio itself, and a .json file which contains the final vertex and bone locations. All relevant information is in principle present in the .duf file, but it is difficult for the importer to extract it, in particular for clothes that are fitted to the final character.

However, the final locations in world space are already known to DAZ Studio, so it is unnecessary that the job is repeated in Blender. Instead there is a custom DAZ Studio script which exports the relevant information to a .json file which the importer then uses. The export script is included with the Blender add-on.

The script is located in the folder to_daz_studio and is called  export_basic_data.dsa. If you installed the Blender add-on as described in the previous page, the script ended up in the Blender add-ons directory. On Windows 7, the full path is
user-name\AppData\Roaming\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.78\addons\import-daz\to_daz_studio.
Alternatively, you can extract just the file export_basic_data.dsa from the zip file to any location you like, e.g. to a subfolder of the DAZ 3D folder. The important thing is that it is a permanent location where you can find the script later.

Before we can use it, we need to tell DAZ Studio about it. This is done as follows.

In DAZ Studio, select Window > Workspace > Customize.

In the customize windows that opens, right-click on Custom and select Create New Custom Action.

Change the Menu Text to Export Basic Data (or whatever you want to scripts name to be). Make sure that DAZ Script File is selected and press the ... button to the right.

A file selector opens. Navigate to the .dsa file and Open it.

The file name now appears in File field. Press Accept to close the dialog window.

The script now appears as a subitem under Custom. In the pane to the right, choose the Menus tab, and drag the script to the place you want it to appear. Since it is an export script, I find it natural to group it with the Import and Export menu items. Press Apply to make the changes take place, and then press Accept to close the dialog.

The new export script now appears in the File menu.