So, to try to make this stuff clearer:
(All of the following is my understanding of the situation and contains some of my own opinions, so take it for what it’s worth.)
In V7 and earlier an .rui was necessary even if you just used the default tools. All the Rhino toolbar info was stored in .rui files. You could modify the default one, make your own copy or a new one, have several open at one time, back it up etc. Without any .rui open, you had no toolbars.
In V8, the default tools/toolbars have been moved out of the .rui file and incorporated into the base installation. I have a tendency to call this the default ‘tool library’, you can see what tools are in it by going to Window>Macros.... There is no longer a discrete default toolbar file to do anything with. You can modify the basic set of tools, change their arrangement, add your own new tools/toolbars, etc. The changes to the default setup are stored in an .xml file in the settings folder. Any changes are automatically saved on the fly. There is therefore no longer really a ‘need’ for an .rui file. But it is still possible to have and use one or more additional .rui files if you wish. They can be considered more like “accessories” now.
So the question to ask is - do I actually need an .rui file? My feeling is that most people will not. It depends on how much you are going to add/modify your workspace and how you want to keep track of stuff.
Personally I have a modified default set of tools which reside docked on the left, plus an .rui that contains top and bottom custom toolbars that contain hundreds of custom(ized) tools in various buttons and flyouts. Some of the buttons im my custom toolbars in the .rui actually reference toolbars in the default library. It’s fairly complex to manage and I don’t recommend it to anyone.
The main reason to do this is to have vector icons. If you don’t care, a quicker/easier solution is simply to open an .rui with your custom tools exported from V7 in V8. If you want to do this I would consolidate your custom tools into any number of custom toolbars in V7 and then export just those as a single .rui - do not export the default stuff from V7.
If you do choose to recreate everything in V8, it will be a fair amount of work. My personal recommendation is do not use the procedure you used in V7 or earlier, creating toolbars, adding new buttons and then adding the commands and images to the buttons.
The reason is most people do not understand what a macro actually is. It is not uniquely just the command field. A macro is actually a set of data that includes all of the following:
- Name - each macro needs a discreet name, this is how they are referenced
- Command - the actual code that is executed, be it a Rhino command, a script or whatever
- A button text - what is displayed on the button if you activate this option
- A menu text - macros can be used for menus as well as toolbars
- A Help text - not sure where this stuff is used, maybe by custom plugins
- A tooltip - what is displayed when you hover over the button with the mouse
- A light mode image (optional)
- A dark mode image (optional)
If you start adding toolbars and buttons in the old V7 way, there is no way to specify the name of the macro. Rhino will simply assign the name Macro plus a number to your new command. The result is that you will end up with a bunch of entries in the macro library that will look like this:
There’s no real problem with this, it works more or less OK, but I don’t like it. What I prefer:
Add all of your custom commands directly in the macro library first before you make any buttons from them. That way you can name them, and fill in all the fields, add your image(s) etc. Then, when you make your buttons, just reference the already existing macro while in the wizard. It’s a bit more work, but the bookeeping/organization gain is worth it IMO.
Also, I recommend against copying buttons and modifying them to create a different tool. Instead, copy the macro and modify that, then reference the modified macro with the new button.
In short, do all your work first in the macro library.
Yes - EXTREMELY important. There is no longer an .rui file to back up. All of your stuff is now in the settings folder: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\8.0\settings
For me, this actually makes things easier. Backing up the settings folder (copying it elsewhere) basically backs up all of your settings. EXCEPT - if you have a custom .rui. You will need decide where you are going to store it and back up separately.
It also makes transferring settings from one install to another actually easier. Instead of going through OptionsExport/OptionsImport, I just copy the entire settings folder over from one computer to another.
The note you saw in the WIKI regarding V8 settings transfer was actually from me. I still haven’t gotten around to editing that page, and again, the info above is unofficial as I am not McNeel.
OK, this is getting rather long. I hope it gives you some idea of how things actually work.
