newbie gha/ghx load questions

hi all.

i am trying to get a ghx script loaded to work on some geometry and i am realizing that despite trying to do a lot of readin in the technical documentation that i am not exactly sure how to think of loading gha/ghx and associating the Gh window with my 3dm files. this file requires Weaverbird and a couple of other gh files to run.

can anyone help me with how to work this? for instance:

1 are gha and ghx loaded or treated differently?

2 is it sufficient to drag one of these over a GH window and have it loaded?

3 can i have two GH windows open at any one time?

4 how do i "associate" a 3dm file with a ghx/gha file? I mean, I know I have to "bake" the resulting geometry to get it to land in the rhino side but what is the correct way to get the ghx/gha "tied" to the file(s)? for instance, i have a ghx script that i would like to run on twenty or thirty files. can anyone help me with the actual literal steps that are necessary to run all of these? i mean, presumably i would open rhino, start GH, drag and drop a ghx file over GH window and then what do i do?

5 do gha/ghx loads "stick" from session to session? for instance, would i need to /re-load/ the Weaverbird or other files next time I want to run this ghx file?

THANKS

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hannes Löschke on March 29, 2012 at 2:48pm

1) .gha = GH - Addon; .ghx/.gh = GH definition file ...both load by drag/drop

2) see 1)

3) right top corner shows the name of current GH definition, click to see/switch current definition.

4) there's no such thing as "tying" the the Rhino file. You can load the referenced data permanently to the GH definition with the "internalize" function in the context-menu. Batch processing isn't currently supported. Data from the Rhino files is referenced by unique IDs.

Say you have three saves of a Rhino file with 3 points. Each file has the same points, just different positions. Then a GH def. referencing the three points will work on each of the three files. Add one new point and insert a new one, it won't be recognized.

5) .gha loads will "stick". Weaverbird is a special case though. You need to use it's installer. Next time you start Rhino, it will be in the GH toolbar. No drag/drop for WB.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chertok on April 2, 2012 at 11:38am

Hi Hannes.

A big thanks.

Can I please also ask you what the correct pickorder is for loading referenced geometry and then having rhino return the result?

i am not sure how to know if GH /read/ the geometry and i am not sure how to /call/ the script so that I can see the geometry that is the result of this script. i mean, i see the "crv" item and i see the box that looks like it is the output but i am not seeing the geometry in the rhino window:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15285654/Screen%20shot%202012-04-02%20at%20...

i mean, i guess what i am asking is do i get into GH, CLICK on the "crv" box, get into Rhino, click on the two lines, and then - the script should run - or do i hit enter or do i get back into GH and hit enter (or click on the output box)...

THANKS

Permalink Reply by Hannes Löschke on April 2, 2012 at 1:48pm

Ok, your questions are so fundamental, I'm not going to answer them here.

Instead you should read the Grasshopper Primer from the Tutorials. Your schould find your answers in the first few chapters. ..and the next few questions, that will come up.

Keep in mind, that GH looks a little different now and is a bit more powerfull, the basic concepts are still the same.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chertok on April 2, 2012 at 3:49pm

Hi Hannes.

Thanks.

The thing is that I've read these at least once. I'm re-reading David's as we speak for a third time.

Perhaps someone else will be kind enough to answer and/or provide a specific section of one of these that have been helpful.

I don't recall seeing this in any of the primers.

Regards.

Permalink Reply by Hannes Löschke on April 3, 2012 at 7:04am

First and most important document is Andy Payne's Grasshopper Primer

Referencing data from Rhino is covered in section 4

The Bake-Button (Section 2E, to transfer data back to Rhino) moved from the canvas toolbar to the context menu of the components. It still looks the same and does the same.

Section 3 Explains components. It's not mentioned explicitly but once you set your first data to a param and connect it to a component, you might notice, that the preview shows up instantly. Meaning that GH doesn't need to be "run". You can however enable/disable this instant solution in the canvas context menu.

Permalink Reply by Hannes Löschke on April 3, 2012 at 7:39am

And reviewing David Rutten's Video tutorial, all your questions should have been answered or become clear in the first 25 minutes.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Chertok on April 4, 2012 at 10:47am

Thanks Hannes!

As you indicate some of this stuff is not explained explicitly and there appears to also be a way to turn off instant solutions, which is great to know.

Apparently this is another issue that I am encountering so I will repost it elsewhere.

Regards!

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