Grasshopper 0.8.0050 available for download

Hello All,

a new, fairly major, update is now available for download. This release features breaking changes to the Grasshopper SDK and component libraries compiled against older versions may no longer work.

Be aware, this release breaks file-forwards compatibility. You will not be able to open gh and ghx files saved with 0.8.0050 on previous versions, though of course you should be able to open old files without problems. If this is not the case, please yell loudly.

If you're having trouble loading Grasshopper, note that you must have the latest Microsoft C++ Runtimes installed on your machine. They can be downloaded from the microsoft website.

The new release can be downloaded from the usual location.

Here's a list of changes, additions and fixes since 0.8.0013:

File format forwards compatibility has been broken. You will not be able to open files saved with 0.8.0050 on earlier versions.
This release contains many breaking changes and GHA libraries compiled for older version may not work anymore.
Grasshopper Binary files (*.gh) are now saved as compressed data.
Grasshopper Binary files (*.gh) are now the default format.
Support for ancient versions of the Text Panel (still called Post-It from back then) has been removed.
Support for ancient versions of the Path Mapper (still called Path Lexer from back then) has been removed.
Placeholders for ancient versions of the Graph Mapper have been removed.
Gradient input parameters now show state tag icons (Reversed, Flatten etc.).
Geometry Cache name changes are now updated on every key press.
Geometry Cache name changes can now be cancelled with Escape.
Geometry Cache name changes can now be undone.
Mesh|Mesh intersection component now uses a different algorithm. The old behaviour is still available from the component menu.
Warning and Error balloons are now drawn as part of a Canvas Widget and will no longer show up in the Hi-Res image export.
Galapagos now accepts multiple fitness values. The true fitness will be the average of the collection.
Galapagos wires are drawn much fainter when the Galapagos object is unselected.
Medium fast redraw mode in Galapagos now immediately redraws instead of at the end of each generation.
Redesigned all Grasshopper file format icons and added larger size icons for high-dpi explorer views.
Redesigned the Most Recently Used files menu, it should now display much quicker.
Compass widget has been rewritten in an attempt to increase display performance.
Added preferences section for Compass widget.
Added preferences section for Align widget.
Added preferences section for Default Preview colours.
Added preferences section for Document Preview colours.
Added preferences section for the Most Recently Used files menu.
The Area component now accepts Breps, Meshes and Planar Closed Curves.
The Area Centroid component now accepts Breps, Meshes and Planar Closed Curves.
The Volume component now accepts Breps and Meshes.
The Volume Centroid component now accepts Breps and Meshes.
Added Merge Faces component (Surface.Util panel).
Added a Mesh Smooth component (Mesh.Util panel).
Added a Curve Seam component (Curve.Util panel).
Added Interpolate Curve With Tangents component (Curve.Spline dropdown).
Added GrasshopperFolders command to open Settings, Components and UserObject folders without loading the core plugin.
The window that reports on certain Loading Errors now has a Copy button.
Added Simplify post-process filter to parameters (in addition to Reverse, Flatten and Graft).
Parameter post processes (Reverse, Flatten, Graft & Simplify) can now also be assigned to output parameters.
Version History window now has formatting (not happy with this, I'm working on something better).
The Process Info window is gone.
Main menu has been redesigned.
Canvas toolbar has been redesigned.
Canvas context menu has been replaced by a Radial Menu.
Canvas now has a radial menu which will pop up on Middle Mouse Button clicks.
It's possible to switch between Radial and Legacy menus in the Preferences (Interface.Canvas section).
'Save As Copy' feature has been replaced by 'Save Backup' which is a GUI-less save including date+time stamp.
Added a 'Show in Folder' item to the File menu.
AutoSave settings are no longer available from the File menu, you now need to use the Preferences.
Selection shifts now also modify the view so you can use Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right to navigate up and downstream.
Mesh Edge display can now be toggled with Ctrl+M.
Preview modes now have shortcuts (Ctrl+1 = no preview, Ctrl+2 = wireframe, Ctrl+3 = shaded).
Solution States now have a default name.
Data Viewer window now responds to all required events.
Data Viewer window can now handle input and output parameters as well.
Canvas Navigation pane can now be dragged using the icon in the upper left corner.
The Persistent Data Editor has been redesigned.
It's now possible to select multiple items in the Persistent Data Editor list and edit their properties.
It's now possible to drag multiple items at the same time in the Persistent Data Editor list.
Item addition to the Persistent Data Editor is much improved.
The Persistent Data Editor is now non-modal.
The Canvas would remain black upon maximizing the Rhino window, this is fixed.
Sliders would cause multiple updates under certain conditions, this is fixed.
Digit Scrollers would cause multiple updates under certain conditions, this is fixed.
Pipes were inside out. This is fixed.
The curve component would not adjust invalid nurbs degrees, this is fixed.
Curves referencing Brep edges failed to load, this is fixed.
Points referencing Brep edges failed to load, this is fixed.
Referenced dlls in the VB/C# components sometimes resulted in invalid imports statements, this is fixed.
Pasting geometry in Rhino would cause a recompute of the Grasshopper solution, this is fixed.
Importing a file into the Rhino document would cause a recompute of the Grasshopper solution, this is fixed.
Galapagos would trigger superfluous solutions, this is fixed.
Mesh Solid Difference had a wrong name and description, this is fixed.
Several menu items were not greyed out despite not being usable, this is fixed.
The position and size of the Grasshopper window failed to get stored on Rhino shutdown, this is fixed.
The Persistent Data Editor would crash on parameters that did not support data proxies, this is fixed.

I'll add some additional information regarding some of the new UI features in subsequent posts.

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on July 30, 2011 at 10:10am

Changes to Canvas Toolbar and Canvas Menus.

When you run Grasshopper 0.8.0050 you'll notice that the Canvas Toolbar has fewer icons now than before. Many icons have been moved into a new Radial Menu that is activated when the Middle Mouse Button is pressed:

Items on the radial menu are greyed out when unavailable, some of them won't work without a loaded document, others won't work on empty documents, others still require objects to be selected. If no objects are selected, and the Middle Mouse Button is pressed while over an object, that object will be selected for the purposes of the menu.

If you don't have a Middle Mouse button or are otherwise heavily annoyed by this feature, there is also an old-fashioned menu available in the Preferences:

The Legacy menu is activated by a Right Mouse Button click and it has to be over an empty region on the canvas.

The radial menu is a completely new UI concept for Grasshopper and I probably didn't get it right the first time. Any wishes and suggestions welcome.

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by Chris Wilkins on August 3, 2011 at 11:44am

It might be more ergonomic if the middle mouse button worked as in Rhino - By clicking and releasing the MMB to show the menu, and then selection from the menu is by left mouse button. Currently, my mouse has such a stiff MMB that it is uncomfortable to hold it down while selecting from the menu. But I like the menu in either case.

Permalink Reply by Mårten Nettelbladt on August 6, 2011 at 3:29pm

I second that! My MMB is really stiff too. The menu could fade away when you move the cursor outside the circle.

I remember that in MicroStation I used to press BOTH LMB and RMB together and that would be a "third" button. Perhaps something for all laptops with two buttons only?

(Thanks for all improvements, additions and face lifts!) /Mårten

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on August 6, 2011 at 4:26pm

"The menu could fade away when you move the cursor outside the circle."

I'll make that priority #1.

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by Mårten Nettelbladt on August 7, 2011 at 2:57pm

Ha ha! :-)

Permalink Reply by Arthur Mamou-Mani on August 3, 2011 at 2:19pm

Hi David,

Thanks a lot for the update!

Would it be possible to add a delete cross button in the middle mouse cloud?

I am still having my Zimbabwean keyboard problem and this might make it easier to delete.

Several people experienced that during workshops actually.

Cheers,

Arthur

Permalink Reply by Arthur Mamou-Mani on August 5, 2011 at 7:53am

Hi David,

Actually, when the problem happens, it would be nice to have the copy and paste available in the cloud too...So maybe, if one could drag any of the tools to the cloud to customize it, it would be wonderful !

Merci beaucoup,

Arthur

Permalink Reply by Martin Dembski on August 6, 2011 at 3:09am

Hi David,

thought it would be better to start a new discussion about the radial menu topic because I think it can get a major one in the next time. ;)

Best,

Martin.

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on July 30, 2011 at 10:17am

Changes to the Persistent Data Editor.

The window that provides access to persistent parameter data has been redesigned. It now looks like this:

You can add new items to the end of the list with the (1) button. If the data type represents referenced geometry (Curves, Surface, Breps, Meshes, IDs) then you'll be asked to select an object in Rhino.

You can delete all selected items with the (2) button.

If the data type supports textual input (most simple types with the notable exception of points), then you can switch between visual mode (shown above) and text mode using the (3) button.

Data items can be (de)selected by clicking on them, you can use Shift and Control to modify selections. Clicking and dragging on a selected item will allow you to drag all the selected items in one go (4). You can however also drag individual items irrespective of selection state using the grip area (5).

When multiple items are selected, their combined properties will be shown in the grid on the right. When the items have different values for certain properties, the fields will remain blank (6), if they have identical values, those will be displayed (7).

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on July 30, 2011 at 10:22am

Changes to Parameter Post-Processes.

Output parameters now also support post-processes (1).

A new parameter post process is available on all parameters. The Simplify process(2) will remove shared overlap between data paths. It works similar to the Simplify component. You can find it in the parameter menus below Reverse, Flatten and Graft.

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on July 30, 2011 at 10:24am

Document and Template preview materials.

It is now possible to change the default preview materials. Those of us with Red-Green colour blindness had a hard time distinguishing between the old defaults. Any new document will inherit its preview materials from the template.

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by Jon Mirtschin on July 30, 2011 at 10:30am