Rhino 4.0 C++ Plug-In Development

The Rhino 4.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) provides the tools to develop native C++ plug-ins for Rhino 4.0.

(Rhino 3.0 C++ Plug-In development pages can be found here )

The change to Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 requires existing plug-ins to be ported to Rhino 4.0, not just recompiled. Fortunately, the basic structure of a Rhino plug-in has not changed. Most Rhino 3.0 plug-ins will port to Rhino 4.0 with very little effort.

Downloads

Rhino 4.0 Evaluation

Rhino 4.0 SDK

Rhino 4.0 SDK Samples

Requirements

Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 (Professional or Standard Edition, NOT Express Edition, NOT Visual Studio 2008)

Getting Started

What is a Rhino plug-in?

Creating your first plug-in

Defining new plug-in commands

Migrate your C++ plug-ins from Rhino 3.0 to 4.0

Analyzing Crash Dumps

Questions?

Post questions or read other people's questions/answers on the plug-ins newsgroup

Rhino 4.0 SDK Articles (sorted by last modified)

""RhinoScript"" is a scripting language based on Microsoft's ""VBScript"" language. With ""RhinoScript"", you can quickly add functionality to Rhino, or automate repetitive tasks.

4/20/2009 1:59:35 PM - -204.177.179.99

""RhinoScript"" is a scripting language based on Microsoft's ""VBScript"" language. With ""RhinoScript"", you can quickly add functionality to Rhino, or automate repetitive tasks.

4/20/2009 1:59:35 PM - -204.177.179.99

Developer support for the openNURBS Toolkit.

4/3/2008 10:38:01 AM - dale@mcneel.com-204.177.179.143

Creating New Views	Demonstrates how to create a new view that has the properties of an existing view.
ON_SimpleArray Questions	Demonstrates how to sort and cull simple arrays.
Mesh Types	Discusses the types of meshes found in Rhino.
Projecting Points to Breps	Demonstrates how to project points onto Brep objects.
Another Approach to Picking Objects	Demonstrates how to pick objects without using CRhinoGetObject.
Adding command line options	Demonstrates how to add a different type of command line options to a custom command.
Hatching Boundaries	Demonstrates how to hatch a closed planar boundary using the Rhino SDK.
Obtaining the Insertion Point of a Block	Demonstrates how to obtain the insertion point of a block.
Adjusting Surface Isocurve Density	Demonstrates how to modify the isocurve density of a surface.
How To: Add a Mesh Object to Rhino	Demonstrates how to add a simple mesh object to Rhino.
How To: Sweeping Surfaces using RhinoSweep2	Demonstrates how perform a two-rail sweep using the RhinoSweep2 SDK function.
How To: Sweeping Surfaces using RhinoSweep1	Demonstrates how perform a one-rail sweep using the RhinoSweep1 SDK function.
How To: Add a Line Curve Object	Demonstrates how to add a line curve to Rhino using the Rhino SDK.
Determine the Maximum Z Coordinate Value of a Surface	Demonstrates how determine the maximum Z coordinate of a surface using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Divide a Curve by Segments	Demonstrates how to divide a curve object by a specified number of segments.
How To: Modify an Object's Name	Demonstrates how to modify an object's user-defined name.
Moving Curve and Surface Grips	Demonstrates how to move curve and surface object grips.
Info: Using the sizeof operator with TCHAR and wchar_t	Discusses the sizeof operator and UNICODE strings.
How To: Add a New Layer	Demonstrates how to add a new layer to Rhino.
How To: Determine Rhino's Language Setting	How to determine Rhino's current language setting when developing localized plug-ins.
Setting Rhino's Command Prompt Text	Demonstrates how to set Rhino's command prompt text to show the progress of long processes.
How To: Add a Custom Menu to Rhino	How to add a custom popup menu to Rhino's main menu from a Rhino plug-in.
Creating NURBS Surfaces	Demonstrates how to create a NURBS surface using the Rhino SDK.
Ghosting Viewports	Demonstrates how to set a viewport to ghosted display using the Rhino SDK.
Canceling Long Processes with the ESC Key	Demonstrates how to cancel a long process by detecting the ESC key using the Rhino SDK.
Calculate the angle between two points.	Demonstrates how to calculate the angle between two 3-D points that lie on a plane.
Calculate the angle between two vectors	Demonstrates how to calculate the angle between two 3-D vectors using the Rhino SDK.
Adding Clipping Plane Objects	Demonstrates how to add a viewport clipping plane object using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
Rhino Plug-in Build Configurations	Discusses Rhino C++ plug-in build configurations and how to use them.
How To: Get and Set the Active View	Demonstrates how to get and set the active view using the Rhino SDK.
Testing for Curves on Surfaces	Discusses how to test to see if a curve lies on a surface.
Info: Registering Plug-ins	Step-by-step instructions for registering your plug-in.
Moving Mesh Vertices	Demonstrates how to move mesh vertices using the Rhino SDK.
Intersecting Meshes	Demonstrates how to intersect two meshes using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Modify a Light's Color	How to modify the diffuse color of an exising CRhinoLight object.
Splitting Brep Edges	Demonstrates how to split the edges of breps using the Rhino SDK.
Screen Capture All Viewports	Demonstrates how to screen capture all the visible viewports using the Rhino SDK.
Screen Capture a Viewport	Demonstrates how to screen capture a viewport using the Rhino SDK.
Sharing User Data Between Plug-ins	Discuss how to share object user data between plug-ins using the Rhino SDK.
Extracting Curve Edit Points	Demonstrates how to extract a curve's edit points using the Rhino SDK.
Creating NURBS Cage Objects	Demonstrates how to create a NURBS Cage objects using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Create a NURBS Curve from Control Points	Demonstrates two ways to create clamped ON_NurbsCurve from a set of control points.
Zooming to the extends of 3-D points	Demonstrates how to zoom to the extends of an array of 3-D points using the Rhino SDK.
Info: Defining New Plug-in Commands	How to add new command classes to Rhino plug-ins.
Offsetting Curves on Surfaces	Demonstrates how to offset a curve on a surface using the Rhino SDK.
Intersecting Curves with Meshes	Demonstrates how to intersect a curve with a mesh using the Rhino SDK.
Shading Viewports	Demonstrates how to set a viewport to shaded display using the Rhino SDK.
Draft Angle Contouring	Demonstrates how to create contour curves based on draft angle using the Rhino SDK.
Showing Objects Transforming Dynamically	Demonstrates how to dynamically draw transforming objects.
How To: Create a Custom CRhinoGetObject Class	Demonstrates how to derive a class from CRhinoGetObject to handle special case object picking.
Curve Evaluation	Demonstrates how to evaluate a curve using the Rhino SDK.
Info: Rhino 4.0 plug-in user data	How to use user data in Rhino 4.0 plug-ins
Setting a Viewport's Title	Demonstrates how to set the title of a viewport using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
Creating Points from Text Entities	Demonstrates how to create point objects based on text entities using Rhino SDK.
Calculating the Volumes of Solid Objects	Demonstrates how to calculating the volumes of closed surface, polysurface, and mesh objects using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
Calculating the Volume Centroid of Solid Objects	Demonstrates how to calculating the volume centroid of closed surface and polysurface objects using Rhino 4 SDK.
Create a Surface From Control Points	Demonstrates how to create a surface from a grid of control points.
How To: Synchronize a Layer's Rendering Color	Demonstrates how to synchronize the basic material color of a layer with the layer's color.
How To: Create a NURBS Circle	Demonstrates how to use ON_NurbsCurve to create a circle.
How To: Insert a Block	Demonstrates how to insert a block instance at a user specified location.
How To: Divide a Curve by Length	Demonstrates how to divide a curve object by a specified length.
Problem Calculating the Lengths of NURBS Curves	Discusses a problem when trying to calculate the length of a NURBS curve using the Rhino SDK.
Finding Points on Curves at Arc Length Distances	Demonstrates how to find points that are a specified distance from the start of curves using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Run a Rhino Command from a Plug-in Command	Discusses the proper techniques to use when running Rhino command from within the context of a plug-in command.
Info: Finding and fixing memory leaks	How to find and fix memory leaks in Rhino 4.0 plug-ins
Splitting a Curve into Multiple Curve Segments	Demonstrates how to split a curve into multiple curve segments using the Rhino SDK.
Creating Sublayers	Demonstrates how to create sublayers using the Rhino SDK.
Replacing a Hatch Object's Pattern	Demonstrates how to replace a Hatch Object's pattern using the Rhino SDK.
Loading Plug-ins at Startup	Discusses how to configure plug-ins to load at startup.
How To: Display MFC Dialogs	How to display both an MFC modal dialog and an MFC modeless dialog from a Rhino plug-in.
Extracting Isoparametric Curves from Surfaces	Demonstrates how to extract isoparametric curves from surfaces using the Rhino SDK.
Crash Dump Analysis	Discusses how to analyze crash dump files in Visual Studio.
How To: Iterate through Rhino's Geometry Table.	Demonstrates how to use the CRhinoObjectIterator class to iterate through the document.
How To: Pre-Pick and Post-Pick Objects	Demonstrates how to both pre-pick and post-pick objects using a single CRhinoGetObject object.
How To: Pick Point Objects	Demonstrates how to use CRhinoGetObject to pick point objects.
Adding Plug-in RhinoScript to Monkey	Demonstrates how to add your plug-in RhinoScript support to Monkey editor tree.
Reading/Writing plug-in user data to a Rhino .3dm file	Demonstrates how to save a restore document data
How To: Dynamically Draw Geometry when Picking Points	Demonstrates how to derive a new class from CRhinoGetPoint to dynamically draw geometry during a point picking operation.
How To: Dynamically Drawing a Polyline	Demonstrates how to derive a new class from CRhinoGetPoint to dynamically draw a polyline.
Info: What is a Rhino Plug-in?	Overview of Rhino plug-ins and how to get started in plug-in development.
How To: Visual Studio IntelliSense	Discuss how to enable Visual Studio's IntelliSense feature with the Rhino SDK.
How To: Display a Toolbar in a Workspace File	Demonstrates how to display a toolbar in a toolbar collection, or workspace, file.
Add a Custom Menu to Rhino's Menu	Demonstrates how to add a custom menu to Rhino's menu using the Rhino SDK.
Using CRhinoGetFileDialog to Preview Bitmaps	Demonstrates how to use the CRhinoGetFileDialog class to preview bitmap images.
How To: Add a Brep Box Rhino	Demonstrates how to add a Brep Box from a Rhino plug-in.
Project Curves onto Breps	Demonstrates how to project a curve onto a brep using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Mesh Objects using RhinoMeshObjects	Demonstrates how to mesh surface and polysurface objects using the RhinoMeshObjects SDK function.
Mesh Boolean Difference	Demonstrates how to use the RhinoMeshBooleanDifference SDK function.
Info: Modeless Dialog Box in Plug-In Does Not Process TAB Key	Information on how to make the TAB key work from modeless dialog boxes.
Plug-in Search Order	A brief discussion on how Rhino loads plug-ins and their dependencies.
Info: Plug-in Loading	A brief discussion on how Rhino loads plug-ins.
Transform Screen Coordinates to World Coordinates	Demonstrates how to transform Screen coordinates to world coordinates using Rhino 4 SDK.
Orienting Objects on a Surface	Demonstrates how to orient objects on a surface using Rhino 4 SDK.
Info: Creating Your First Plug-in	Overview of creating plug-ins with the Rhino SDK's plug-in wizard.
Show or Hide Rhino's Status Bar	Demonstrates how to show or hide Rhino's status bar using the Rhino SDK.
Calculating the Volumes of Mesh Objects	Demonstrates how to calculating the volumes of mesh objects using Rhino 4.0 SDK.
Detecting Custom Texture Mapping	Demonstrates how detect if an object uses a custom texture map using the Rhino SDK.
Creating a Leader	Demonstrates how to an annotation leader using the Rhino 4 SDK.
Intersecting Line Curves	Demonstrates how to intersect line curves using the Rhino SDK.
Calculating Curve Intersections	Demonstrates how to calculate the intersection of two curves.
Adding RhinoScript support to Rhino Plug-ins	Demonstrates how to add RhinoScript support to C++ plug-ins.
Determining the Normal Direction of a Brep Face	Discusses how to determine the normal direction of a brep face using the Rhino SDK.
Create a Bounding Polyline of a Mesh Object	Demonstrates how to create a bounding polyline of a mesh object using the Rhino SDK.
Dynamically Drawing Text Strings	Demonstrates how to dynamically draw text strings using the Rhino SDK.
Adding Curve Objects	Discusses how to add curve objects to Rhino using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
Creating Blocks	Demonstrates how to create an instance definition using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
Changing the Display Precision	Demonstrates how to change the unit's display precision of the current document using the Rhino SDK.
Determine the Deviation between two Curves	Demonstrates how to determine the deviation between two curves using the RhinoGetOverlapDistance() SDK function.
Adjusting Clipping Planes from a Conduit	How to adjust Rhino's near and far clipping planes from CRhinoDisplayConduit object.
Adding Background Bitmaps to Viewports	Demonstrates how to add a background bitmap to a viewport using the SDK function.
Command Prompt Window Moves when Setting Language	Demonstrates how to prevent the command prompt from moving when setting application settings.
Window Selecting Objects	Demonstrates how object selection routine using the Rhino SDK.
Enabling Orthogonal Mode	Demonstrates how enable and disable ortho mode using the Rhino SDK.
Adding Arrowheads to Curves	Discusses how to add arrowheads to curve objects using the Rhino SDK.
Computing Radius of Curvature	How to compute the radius of curvature of a curve object.
OpenNURBS Brep Data Structure	Illustrates OpenNURBS B-Rep Data Structure.
Comparing Planar Surfaces and Planes	Demonstrates how to see if a planar surface lies in a specific plane.
Triangulating Polygons	Demonstrates how to triangulate polygons using the Rhino SDK.
Handling Enter and Escape from Modal Dialogs	Preventing modal dialogs from closing when the Enter or Escape key is pressed.
Modifying Advanced Display Settings	Demonstrates how to modify advanced display settings using the Rhino SDK.
Picking Text Dots with CRhinoGetObject	Demonstrates how to interactively select Text Dot objects with CRhinoGetObject.
Dynamically Inserting Blocks	Demonstrates how to insert a block instance at a user specified location using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
How To: Get an Object's UUID	Demonstrates how to get an object's UUID using the Rhino SDK.
Lofting Surfaces that Maintain Tangency	Demonstrates how to loft surfaces that maintain tangency with adjacent surfaces using the RhinoSdkLoftSurface SDK function.
Shading Individual Objects	Demonstrates how to shade individual objects using the Rhino SDK.
Info: Loading Wizard-Generated Plug-ins	Information on what version of Rhino to use to test your wizard-generated plug-ins.
Rotate Objects Around Center	Demonstrates how rotate objects around the center point of their bounding box using the Rhino SDK.
Split a Brep	Demonstrates how split a brep with another brep using the Rhino SDK.
Adding User Strings to Objects	Demonstrates how to add user strings to objects.
Info: User Data Options in Rhino 4.0	Overview of user data options in Rhino 4.0
How To: Add a Linear Dimension to Rhino	Demonstrates how to add a linear dimension object to Rhino.
How To: Select Objects	How to interactively select objects from a Rhino plug-in.
How To: Loft Surfaces using RhinoSdkLoftSurface	Demonstrates how to loft surfaces using the RhinoSdkLoftSurface SDK function.
Info: Attaching User Data to Brep Components	Demonstrates how to attach object user data to components of a Brep.
Info: Rhino 4.0 Plug-ins & Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1	Information on using Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 to build Rhino plug-ins.
Info: Rhino 4.0 SDK: Textures and Mappings	How to set texture coordinates and texture mappings.
Displaying Toolbars in Rhino 4.0	Demonstrates how to open a toolbar collection and display a toolbar in Rhino 4.0.
How To: Create Contour Curves	Demonstrates how to create contour curves through surfaces, breps, and meshes using the MakeRhinoContours() SDK function.
Retrieving Rhino Data from the Clipboard	How to access Rhino data from the Windows Clipboard.
Info: Rhino 4.0 saving plug-in user data in V3 files.	How to get V4 to save your plug-in user data in V3 files.
How To: Modify an Object's Color	Discuss how to modify an object's color with the Rhino SDK.
How To: Select All Objects on a Layer.	Demonstrates how to select all of the objects on a specified layer.
How To: Modify the Weight of a Grip Object	Demonstrates how to modify the weight of a grip object using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
How To: Synchronize an Object's Rendering Color	Demonstrates how to synchronize the basic material color of an object with the object's display color.
How To: Dump Debug Information to a Log File	Discusses the use of the ON_TextLog class for debugging plug-ins.
Transforming Brep Objects	Demonstrates how to transform brep, or boundary representation, objects using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Retrieve the Unit System of the Active Document	Demonstrates how to determine the current unit system of the current document using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Set a View's Construction Plane	Demonstrates how to set a view's construction plane.
How To: Show All Hidden Objects	Demonstrates how to iterate throught the geometry table an unhide hidden objects.
How To: Replace Rhino's Color Picking Dialog	Demonstrates how to replace Rhino's color picking dialog using the Rhino 4.0 SDK.
How To: Reparameterize a Curve	Demonstrates how to reparameterize a curve objeect.
How To: Rename a Layer	Discusses how to rename a layer using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Create a Plane Surface	Demonstrates how to create a plane surface using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Determine an Object's Layer Name	Demonstrates how to determine a selected object's layer name using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Maximize a View	Demonstrates how to maximize a view using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Interactively Pick an Angle	Demonstrates how to use the CRhinoGetAngle class to pick an angle.
How To: Extend a Surface	Demonstrates how to use RhinoExtendSurface() to extend a surface object.
How To: Extend a Curve Object	Demonstrates how to extend a curve by a line, arc or smooth extension until it intersects a collection of objects.
How To: Create a Surface from Edge Curves	Demonstrates how to create a surface object from four edge curves.
How To: Copy a CRhinoObject Object	Demonstrates how to make a copy of a CRhinoObject-derived object.
Duplicate the Borders of Surfaces	Demonstrates how to duplicate the borders of surfaces and polysurfaces.
Supporting Custom Undo Events in Rhino 4.0	How to support custom undo events in Rhino 4.0 using the Rhino SDK.
How To: Find the Parameter of a Curve at a Point	Demonstrates how to find the parameter of a curve at a given 3D point.
How To: Convert an Arc curve to a NURBS curve	Demonstrates how to convert an ON_ArcCurve object to an ON_NurbsCurve object.
How To: Clear Rhino's Undo and Redo Lists	Demonstrates how to clear Rhino's Undo and Redo lists.
How To: Boolean Difference	How to perform a Boolean Difference using the Rhino 4.0 SDK
How To: Add a Truncated Cone to Rhino	Demonstrates how to create a truncated cone ON_BrepRevSurface and add it to Rhino.
How To: Add a Torus to Rhino	Demonstrates how to create a torus using ON_BrepTorus and add it to Rhino.
How To: Add Objects to a Group	Demonstrates how to add selected objects to an object group.
How To: Add a Cylinder to Rhino	Demonstrates how to create a cylinder using ON_BrepCylinder and add it to Rhino.
How To: Move Objects to the Current Layer	Discusses how to iterate through the Rhino geometry table and modify the layer of selected objects.
How To: Move a Construction Plane	Demonstrates how to move the origin of a construction plane.
How To: Test if an Object is a Circle	Demonstrates how to test if an object looks like a circle.
How To: Set a CPlane to a View	Demonstrates how to set the construction plane in the active viewport parallel to the view.
How To: Add Text to Rhino	Demonstrates how to use ON_TextEntity2 to add text to Rhino.
How To: Add a Spherical Surface to Rhino	Demonstrates how to create a sphere using ON_RevSurface and add it to Rhino.
How To: Pull a Curve to a Surface	Demonstrates how to use ON_Surface::Pullback() to pull a curve object to a surface object.

Rhino 4.0 C++ SDK Samples