Rhino documentation file: https://docs.mcneel.com/rhino/6/help/en-us/commandlist/newinrhino.htm
says: "GradientView is now a test command. It does not autocomplete, but may still be accessed if the command name is typed out."
Nothing wrong with that, but it would be nice to have some control over the colors displayed by the GradientView command.
GradientView was a ārealā command previously, but it is considered deprecated now as you can do much more with display modes. However, some people wanted it to stay, hence making it into a ātestā command that does not autocomplete, hiding it from the average user.
And, you can control the colors, etc. by typing the -dash version of the command, which exposes some options. Otherwise the command without the dash is considered a toggle, it remembers the last-used settings between sessions.
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I know that gradientview is no longer a ārealā command and for me itās a bummer. I just hope it wonāt disappear completely
While I get that you can do a lot with display modes, I really like modeling in a gradient view window. As I go back between SolidWorks and Rhino a lot, I have both pieces of software setup with the same gradient view settings.
It may be just a small thing, but I really like having the modeling environment be somewhat similar between the two pieces of software. Iāll survive either way, but I hope the command will stick around.
Then setup a custom display mode as Helvetosaur suggests that does exactly what you want instead of using the deprecated, dead ended āGradientViewā command.
Got it, actually just looked into setting up GradientView with a display mode. Didnāt realize you could achieve the same thing using display modes.
Iām good, āGradientViewā can go 
Right.
The āGradientViewā command was a proof-of-concept ātestā command to see if having lots of named display mode configurations was a good idea. Clearly it was.
The problem is so many people got used to using the test command we couldnāt kill it without screams of user pain.
The fact thatās itās still in there causes no end of screams of tech support pain.
There are far fewer of us than users so we continue to help unsuspecting users out of the trap.
I canāt help but feel a little guilty about that. I was the one pushing hard for a gradient background way back then, probably about 13 or 14 years ago. With the great display modes at our disposal, Iām surprised anyone still would use the original GradientView command.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
Know All Men By These Presentsā¦
Henceforth, and for all time, all questions relating to the deprecated GradientView command, however trivial and obscure, will now and forever more be directed to @DanBayn and @Mark_Landsaat
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Sure, and since I already live in Seattle, I might as well start commuting to the McNeel offices on a daily basis