New features of note in today’s new alpha release.
Bake Update option
when using the option, previously baked shapes will be replaced by their newer counterparts. For an old baked shape to be replaced by a new one, several conditions must be met:
- It must be baked from the same component/parameter.
- The shape in Rhino must not have been modified since it was last baked.
There are some additional commands that let you see and modify the data stored on baked objects that allow Grasshopper to find and replace the correct object.
- The
_SelBakedcommand selects all objects which have valid bake data on them. - The
_G2ShowBakeDatacommand displays the five identifying properties of a selected baked object in the command history. - The
_G2WipeBakeDatacommand removes bake data from all selected objects.
Grids
Several new grid components have been added. They work similarly to the ones in Grasshopper 1.0, but there are some notable differences. Outputs are no longer structured in data trees by columns and rows. Instead all grid cells and grid points are outputted in flat lists, but they do contain metadata under the keys “X” and “Y” informing you of their position within the grid should you care about this data.
Note that some component have hidden outputs which can be enabled via the component pop-up:
Dots
Two new components for creating text dots have been added. One which allows you to set a custom text, and the other which displays selected metadata values in the bounding box centre of the relevant shape. This is a handy way to inspect meta data values in 3D.
Note that the font used in text dots can be chosen by setting the appropriate meta data. To pick a custom font, use the key Display.Font and either specify the name of an installed typeface or use one of the category names mono, sans, serif, or script. To modify the size, assign an integer to the dot meta data under the key Display.FontSize. These are both standard meta data keys and they are available through the Meta Name Picker object.
Presets
The Preset Picker object has been given a multi-select mode, allowing you to pick more than one of the presets defined in the parameter connected to the picker. Each defined preset should now also have an explanatory tooltip text.
A new object called a Toggle has been added which is designed specifically for Boolean input parameters. If the input specifies custom names for the true and false values, those will be displayed on the toggle automatically.
Minor Stuff
A bunch of new components have been added in addition to the ones mentioned above, including Find Interval, Weighted Mean, Matching Sequence, Offset Pairs, Pull Point, Rectangle Property, Triangle Property, Explode Surface, and Surface Geodesic.