DSON Editor

DSON Editor

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The DSON Editor is a stand-alone tool for Windows and Mac OS X to view and edit content and scene files for DAZ Studio 4.0 and up. These files are also called DSON files after the "DAZ Scene Object Notation" file format and usually have the file extension DUF or DSF.

The user interface of the DSON Editor is designed in a clearly structured way with a tool-bar, a hideable search-bar, a file-list with thumbnails, the editor tree, and a status-bar. The tool-bar has a configurable size and gives instant access to the most important features. Additional features can be accessed from context menus that are sensitive to the current selection. There are also keyboard shortcuts for the main file, search, and edit features.

The DSON Editor displays the content of a DSON file in a hierarchical tree structure based on the objects and arrays that build up the content. Unlike using a text editor, changes done in DSON Editor automatically preserve the syntax of DSON files, the correct encoding, and the type of object values. Basic editing capabilities include, amongst others, clipboard-based copy/paste and multiple undo/redo steps. Besides the inline editor that allows direct editing inside of the tree, there are several special editors to work conveniently with values of a particular type or to give a more comprehensive view on data that is stored distributed in the file.

Editors for files, IDs, and URIs automatically convert from and to the percent-encoding format used for this kind of data. To enhance readability, these percent-encoded strings may be displayed translated in the tree. File editors allow to convert between absolute and relative path, file selection from the file system, and opening files and folders with the default application. The URI editor splits the identifier into its parts. There are file, ID, and URI editors for single values as well as editors for the full document or even several documents at once.

The animations editor shows all or selected animations in a table with columns for each frame. Complete frames may be added, removed, or moved. Single values may be changed, inserted, or removed. In a similar way, value editors for common objects like figure nodes and materials show all or selected objects in a table with columns for each key. Again, values may be edited, inserted, or removed. The asset editor displays all header information in a single dialog.

There is a powerful search and replace feature that is sensitive to the structure and data types of DSON. Search can be limited to lists or arrays. It can be done either step by step through a single document, or for one or several full documents, where the search result is shown in a separate list.

Notes

This product includes:
- 1 Software Installer (Win)
- 1 Software Installer (Mac)

What's Included & Features

Features

stand-alone application for Windows and Mac OS X
hierarchical tree representation
multiple document support
file-list with thumbnails
sophisticated search, editors, and tools
syntax-safe, encoding-safe, and type-safe editing
type-specific editors
tools for multiple files
tools that may be limited to selections
cut/copy/paste of single or multiple lines between documents
cut/copy/paste as text on clipboard (Unicode or UTF-8)
define/insert partial documents
multiple undo/redo
context-aware menus
toolbar buttons in three sizes, with or without text
keyboard shortcuts
detailed manual

Supported format

files in DSON format: DUF and DSF files for DAZ Studio 4.0 and up
loads and saves uncompressed and compressed files
full Unicode support

Tree representation

clearly arranged even for large files
objects and arrays are indented and expandable/collapsible
three columns for key or array index, type, and value
enumeration for arrays (zero- or one-based)
short arrays of numbers are shown/edited as single values (vectors)
percent-encoded strings (file names and ids) may be shown resolved
identifier (id/url/type/channel) for objects may be shown in value column

hideable search-bar
type-sensitive search/replace
encoding for search/replace strings
full or partial match for strings
comparison search for numbers and vectors
search/replace step by step or all at once
search/replace in single or multiple files
report window to show all matches/replacements
most recent used search terms for each data type

Editors

inline editor for direct editing in the tree
direct selection of files from file system
file/id editor with file utilities (relative/absolute path, open file/folder, copy path)
URI editor that splits URL-style references into their parts
multi-line text editor
color selection

Tools

editor for file references (multiple files)
editor for ids (multiple files)
editor for URLs (multiple files)
asset editor: direct editing of file header
animations editor: table-based editor for animation frames
value editors: table-based editors for various special objects like nodes and materials