Grasshopper Wiki Pages
//Robert McNeel & Associates//

Summary: Main page for the Grasshopper Plugin

Download Grasshopper (0.5)

This version requires RhinoCeros 4.0 SR4.

The plugin cannot be loaded over a network, be sure to put it on a local disk!</color>
- Download the zip-archive and unzip it anywhere you like, preferably in an empty folder - Make sure the folder structure remains intact, but the location does not matter - Start Rhino - Drag+Drop the Grasshopper.rhp file into the Rhino window - The command _Grasshopper is now available
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====== Grasshopper pages:======
- Grasshopper Interface explained - Grasshopper Objects explained - Grasshopper Persistent Data management - Grasshopper Volatile Data management - Grasshopper Data Matching explained - Grasshopper tutorials - Grasshopper workshop outline - Grasshopper Gallery
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| | ====== Why Grasshopper?====== Rhino4 came with a basic history feature build-in, which is a non-intrusive layer around the workflow that allows for automatic updates of certain modeling steps. The current implementation of History in Rhino4 is implicit, that is: it is recorded as you go. This means there is no additional overhead required at model-time which is exactly the sort of thing we would like to see in Rhino: more features, no additional limitations. However, implicit history cannot do some things which are possible with explicitly defined history.
First of all, the history tree is hidden from the user. The behaviour of the different history stages cannot be adjusted. For example, there is only one chance to set the properties of a history based Loft. Once the surface exists, the only way to change the Loft settings is to recreate the surface. This will break all downstream history records and is thus potentially an extremely expensive limitation. It is also impossible to add or replace curves from a history Loft.
The grasshopper tackles some of these issues, but at a great expense. It is no longer possible to record it transparently, the history tree has to be specifically constructed by the user. It is impossible to use available commands since they do not expose the options and settings they need to run. This means that for most people, the Grasshopper plugin is pointless.
However, the advantages speak for themselves: - The tree is exposed, and can thus in whole or in part be re-used throughout different models. - The components on the tree are exposed and can thus be replaced or adjusted. - The operations are not tied to geometry in the model, it is possible to make a tree which only deals with mathematics. - Mathematical and logical relationships can be constructed. - External (to Rhino) sources can be used to retrieve and store data.
Not all of these features are available in the first releases, it will take time (lots of time) to expand the feature set of the plugin.