Grasshopper 0.9.0051 available for download

Grasshopper 0.9.0051 is now available for download. This new release represents nearly 8 months of development so there's a lot of new stuff and also potentially a lot of new bugs. There are some major changes so please read the following carefully before upgrading:

• Grasshopper 0.9.0051 is for Rhino5 only. It will not work on Rhino4. In fact it needs a fairly recent Service Release of Rhino5. If you don't have Rhino5 SR3 then you may consider updating Rhino first.
• Grasshopper 0.9.0051 uses the Rhino installer engine. This means you need to manually uninstall any Grasshoppers you may currently have. You can do so via the Windows Control Panel.
• Grasshopper 0.9.0051 may have serious bugs. Although we've tested this release in the field it is possible that it may not work under certain conditions. Please refrain from upgrading if you are on a tight dead-line.
• Files written with Grasshopper 0.9.0051 may not read on earlier versions. Although old files should open without issue, Grasshopper is not forward compatible. Do not overwrite important files until you are certain that this release works for you.

That being said, you can download the new release from the usual location. Be sure to uninstall any old Grasshoppers first!

It is always possible to revert to the previous version if you find that this release does not work for you. Details on how to roll back to 0.9.0014 are posted here.

Ok enough hedging, on to the good stuff.

New features in this release:

● A lot of component input parameters now have default values.
● The term 'String' has been replaced with the term 'Text'.
● Several other nomenclature changes have been made in an attempt at increasing self-documentation and standardisation.
● Reorganised the components in the Sets.Tree panel and normalised nomenclature a bit.
● Several components have been moved into the dropdown panels, cleaning up the default layout.
● Jagged edges are now drawn more consistently when there are no inputs or outputs.
● The main window is now only hidden during picking operations if it obscures Rhino viewports.
● The Recent File Timeline in the File menu now has tooltips for files.
● Added Export Quick Image feature for saving the canvas image (File menu).
● Added Template File support to the Preferences (Files category).
● Added Tiles with recently used files to the Canvas when no document is loaded.
● Added per-GHA load protection options.
● Added per-GHA load mechanism options.
● Any component input parameter can now be designated as 'Principle Parameter' via its context menu.
● Sliders now inherit their default nickname from recipient parameters.
● Scrollers now inherit their default nickname from recipient parameters.
● Pressing Shift or Control now reverses direction for jump objects.
● Jump Objects now display the target nickname in their tooltips.
● The canvas now appears blue when editing a cluster.
● Parameter Disconnect menu has been cleaned up.
● Number Sliders with expressions now include the unprocessed value during grip dragging.
● Number sliders with expressions now support text input for the processed numbers.
● Extrusions will now be loaded by the Geometry Pipeline as Breps.
● When the category tabs are too wide for the main window, they will now shrink rather than scroll.
● Added Icon Display to the category tabs (icons can be disabled via the tab popup menu and via the preferences).
● Added Category Icon option to Ribbon preferences (Interface.Ribbon section).
● Tab Grip areas now have tooltips which show partial tab content.
● Slider instantiation from popup insert window now accepts A<B in addition to A<B<C formats.
● Slider instantiation from popup insert window now accepts A..B and A..B..C formats.
● Clocks can be instantiated from the popup insert window using HH:mm or HH:mm:ss formats.
● Calendars can be instantiated from the popup insert window using dd/MM or dd/MM/YYYY formats.
● Point parameters can be instantiated from the popup insert window using X,Y[,Z] notation.
● Ctrl+Scrolling now changes the font size in script editor windows.
● The VB/C# script components now have cleaner template code.
● The VB/C# script components now have different private members, providing easier access to useful objects.
● Added BeforeRunScript and AfterRunScript overrides to the VB and C# script template.
● Added Before/After Solution Template button to the script editor.
● Added Preview Template button to the script editor.
● Added RunScript button to the script editor.
● Added a Font Picker button to the script editor.
● 3rd party GHA libraries without assembly info are now displayed on the banner anyway.
● The GHA library info window accessible from the Banner now shows how a GHA was loaded.
● The GHA library info window accessible from the Banner now provides Load Protection options.
● The GHA library info window accessible from the Banner now provides Load Mechanism options.
● Added a section to the Preferences which provides access to plug-in load protection (Solver section).
● Added a section to the Preferences which provides access to plug-in load mechanisms (Solver section).
● Added a numeric formatting section to the Preferences (Display section).

● Added Culture input to the String Format component.
● Added Culture input to the String Sort component.
● Added Culture input to the String Casing component.
● Added Sequence UI mode to Value List object.
● Added Cycle UI mode to Value List object.
● Added Check List UI mode to Value List object.
● Value List text editor now accepts names without values.
● Added variable output parameter ZUI to the List Item component.
● The Addition component has been replaced by a new one that supports multiple inputs.
● Trigonometry components (Sin, Cos, Tan, Sinc,..., CoTangent) now have Degree options for their inputs.
● Custom Preview component now has a Viewport Filter option for restricting preview to specific viewports.
● The Center component has been replaced with Deconstruct Arc.
● Sweep1 and Sweep2 components now use Rhino5 SDK methods.
● Pipe component now uses Rhino5 SDK methods.
● Indices input of the List Replace component is now optional.
● 2D Voronoi component now has a Rectangle as boundary input instead of a Box.
● PullPoint has been replaced by a new, faster component.
● PullPoint now has a component option for the Closest setting.
● Flip Curve component now distinguishes between linear and curved guide curves.
● Key/Value Search now tells you which key wasn't found rather than a generic warning.

New components in this release:

● Added Colour Wheel object for generating colour palettes (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Clock object for setting times (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Calendar object for setting dates (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Cherry Picker object for manually selecting individual items from data-trees (Params.Util dropdown).
● Added Culture data type and parameter for specifying language specific formatting (Params.Primitive dropdown).
● Added Import XYZ component for parsing text files containing points (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Import 3DM component for importing geometry from 3DM files (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Import SHP component for importing GIS data from SHP files (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Import Image component for importing image data as coloured meshes (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Import PDB component for importing Protein Data Bank molecules (Params.Input dropdown).
● Added Atom Data component for extracting detailed information about atoms (Params.Input dropdown).
● Point XYZ and Decompose Point have been reverted to the older style without plane [S] input.
● Added Plane Coordinates for extracting point coordinates in a custom axis system (Vector.Plane dropdown).
● Added Dot Display component (Vector.Point dropdown).
● Added Date & Time component (Maths.Time panel).
● Added Date Calendar component (Maths.Time dropdown).
● Added Adjust Date component (Math.Time dropdown).
● Added Deconstruct Date component (Maths.Time dropdown).
● Added Time component (Maths.Time panel).
● Added Smooth Time component (Math.Time dropdown).
● Added Combine Date component (Math.Time dropdown).
● Added Interpolate Time component (Math.Time dropdown).
● Added Time Range component (Math.Time dropdown).
● Added Blur Numbers component for averaging a list of numbers (Math.Util dropdown).
● Added Integer Channels option to the ARGB Split component.
● Added Unflatten Tree component for reversing a flattening operation (Sets.Tree panel).
● Added Trim Tree component for merging the outermost branches of data trees (Sets.Tree panel).
● Added Match Tree component for making trees look alike (Sets.Tree dropdown).
● Added a Deconstruct Rectangle component (Curve.Analysis dropdown).
● Added Tween Curves component (Curve.Spline dropdown).
● Added Tangent Curve component for interpolating curves through many tangent points (Curve.Spline dropdown).
● Added Curve To Polyline component for converting splines to polyline segments (Curve.Util dropdown).
● Added an Inside component for testing shape/brep inclusion (Surface.Analysis dropdown).
● Added Plane Through Shape component for creating a plane which exceeds any shape (Surface.Primitive dropdown).
● Added a Box Rectangle component that defines a box by rectangle and height (Surface.Primitive dropdown).
● Added an Extrude Along Curve component (Surface.Freeform dropdown).
● Added Patch component (Surface.Freeform dropdown).
● Added Fragment Patch component for filling closed polylines (Surface.Freeform dropdown).
● Added Network Surface component (Surface.Freeform panel).
● Added Pipe Variable component (Surface.Freeform dropdown).
● Added Ruled Surface component (Surface.Freeform dropdown).
● Added Cap Holes component for capping non-planar holes in breps (Surface.Util dropdown).
● Added Mesh Sphere Ex component for creating spheres out of square patches (Mesh.Primitive dropdown).
● Added Mesh Spray component for colouring meshes with seed points (Mesh.Primitive dropdown).
● Added Weld Mesh component for welding creased mesh edges (Mesh.Utility dropdown).
● Added Unweld Mesh component for unwelding high angle mesh edges (Mesh.Utility dropdown).
● Added Boundary Volume component (similar to the Rhino _CreateSolid command) (Intersect.Shape dropdown).
● Added Rectangle Mapping component for transforming geometry from one rectangle into another (Transform.Affine dropdown).
● Added Box Mapping component for transforming geometry from one box into another (Transform.Affine dropdown).
● Added Linear Array component for creating geometry arrays (Transform.Array panel).
● Added Rectangular Array component for creating geometry arrays (Transform.Array panel).
● Added Polar Array component for creating geometry arrays (Transform.Array panel).
● Added Curve Array component for creating geometry arrays (Transform.Array panel).
● Added Box Array component for creating geometry arrays (Transform.Array dropdown).
● Added Kaleidoscope component for polar arrays with alternate mirroring (Transform.Array dropdown).

Bug fixes in this release:

● Sort Along Curve component was broken, this is fixed.
● Curve|Plane intersection would fail if there was no intersection, this is fixed.
● Sift Pattern output parameters could not be removed, this is fixed.
● Combine Data input parameters could not be removed, this is fixed.
● Combine Data would not work correctly on more than two inputs, this is fixed.
● Nulls in internalised data would not be deserialized, this is fixed.
● Cluster Disentangle menu was locked when the entanglement count was 2, this is fixed.
● Clusters would not serialize author data, this is fixed.
● Capsules with more than zero but less than four sharp corners would not draw correctly, this is fixed.
● Markov Widget would suggest obsolete components, this is fixed.
● Spatial OcTrees would crash if there were a large amount of coincident nodes.
● Document thumbnails were not updated unless the MDI menu was shown, this is fixed.
● Grasshopper tooltips would not show correctly when displayed from a menu, this is fixed.
● Control Knob decimal settings could not be adjusted via the editor, this is fixed.
● Expression component ran slower than in previous versions, this is fixed.
● Grasshopper preview geometry would be visible in OGL Material previews, this is fixed.
● Pipes would often be inside-out, this appears to be fixed.
● PullPoint did not work on boxes, this is fixed.
● The '&' symbol in the popup search box would insert an obsolete component, this is fixed.
● Concatenation component initialization strings were not properly parsed, this is fixed.
● Trim Solid did not remove faces inside the trimmer shapes, this is fixed.
● Mesh Edges were always drawn when meshes were inside a Geometry or Generic param, this is fixed.
● GrasshopperImageStitcher.exe would crash on large hi-res images, this is fixed.
● GrasshopperImageStitcher.exe would not have feedback in case things went south, this is fixed.
● Ampersands in Tab dropdowns were not visible, this is fixed.
● Data Viewer target cones were sometimes drawn without anti-aliasing, this is fixed.
● Image Gallery would something crash when images were being accessed from two different threads, this is fixed.
● There were typos in the Quadrangulate component, these are fixed.
● Random Reduce has a much faster algorithm, though the result will not be the same as before.
● VB and C# script components would take a long time to show large scripts, this is fixed.
● Grasshopper font picker would not jump to the currently selected font, this is fixed.
● Thumbnail document previews now have a single background colour to improve readability.
● Pull Point would return nonsensical values if all pull operations failed, this is fixed.
● CS1702 compiler warning was only ignored if the error message was in English, this is fixed.
● Vector Display components would still draw previews if they were disabled, this is fixed.
● The Plane output for the [Is Planar] component could be far away from the surface, this is fixed.
● Outputting a Rhino.Geometry.Matrix with a single row or column would not work in a script, this is fixed.
● Unitizing Vector Parameters would affect upstream parameters, this is fixed.
● Non case-sensitive string matching would not work if neither a regex nor a pattern were provided. This is fixed.
● Clusters would skip iterations when an input value was null. This is fixed.
● Clusters referencing files in non-exitent folders would not deserialize, this is fixed.
● Dial Knob would crash the display if the user filter was not a valid formatting string. This is fixed.
● Planar Srf (now called Boundary Surface) created trimmed surfaces even when it didn't have to, this is fixed.
● Undo records associated with components would not automaticall recompute input parameters, this is fixed.
● Tabbing through text fields in the Author Preferences did not work, this is fixed.
● "as list" and "as tree" parameter tooltip suffixes were shown even for floating parameters, this is fixed.
● Non-Uniform scaling transformations would not format correctly, this is fixed.

Not all reported bugs have been fixed incidentally, hopefully we'll get around to them in due time.

--

David Rutten

david@mcneel.com

Poprad, Slovakia