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57 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
# Bring your existing model library
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Most people arrive at Thingport with years of models already on disk: folders of STLs, downloaded ZIPs, 3MF projects
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and photos. You don't have to add them one at a time. Thingport has three ways to bring in what you already have, and
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all of them recreate your folders inside Thingport, so the structure you built still works.
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## Which one should I use?
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| Method | Best for | How |
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| ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
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| [Upload files and ZIPs](upload-files.md) | A handful of models, or a few ZIP archives | **Add → Upload files** in the browser |
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| [Upload a folder](upload-folders.md) | A whole folder tree, up to a few thousand files | **Add → Upload folder** in the browser |
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| [Consume folder](consume-folder.md) | Large libraries, NAS shares, or anything you add on a schedule | Copy files into a folder on the server |
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The browser uploads ask you how to import things as you go. The consume folder asks nothing: you choose its rules once
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under **Administration → Storage → Consume Folder**, and it imports whatever lands in it, without a browser tab open.
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## The one decision: what counts as a model?
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Libraries tend to be organized one of two ways, and Thingport handles both.
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- **One model per file.** A folder like `Miniatures/Dragons/` full of separate STLs, where each file is its own thing.
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Choose **Each model file is a separate model**. Every STL, 3MF, STEP or OBJ becomes a model, and every directory
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becomes a folder in Thingport.
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- **One model per folder.** A folder like `Printer Upgrades/Fan Duct/` holding `duct.stl`, `clip.stl`, a photo and a
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readme, the way most downloads unpack. Choose **Each folder is one model**. The folder becomes a single model named
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after it: its model files are added as its files, its images become its preview photos, and anything else (PDFs,
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text, slicer settings) is attached. The folders above it become folders in Thingport.
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Both choices are offered when you upload a folder, and the consume folder has the same two modes.
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## Before you start
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- **Tidy the folder names first.** Folder names become folder names in Thingport, and in "one model per folder" mode
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they become model names too. Renaming on disk beforehand is quicker than renaming afterwards.
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- **Keep photos next to their models.** In "one model per folder" mode, images in a model's folder become its gallery,
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and the first one becomes its thumbnail when the model files don't carry one.
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- **ZIPs are fine as they are.** You don't need to extract them first. You can keep an archive whole, or have it
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unpacked into models and folders.
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- **Mind the size limit.** Each file can be up to 512 MB by default. The server admin can change this with
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`IMPORT_MAX_MB`.
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- **Start small.** Import one folder, check that the result looks the way you want, then do the rest.
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## What happens to my files?
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Thingport copies each file into its own storage, in the folder layout chosen under **Administration → Storage**.
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Uploads from the browser leave your originals untouched. The consume folder moves files out of the folder it watches,
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so copy into it rather than moving your only copy there.
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Uploading the same folder twice reuses the folders Thingport already made for it, but the models are added again, with
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" (2)" after their names. Thingport doesn't spot duplicates among your own files, so import each folder once.
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## Afterwards
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Once your models are in, browse them from **Models**, switching the panel on the left to **Folders** to see the tree
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you imported. From there you can tag models, group them into collections, and move them between folders.
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