Hi everyone,
In the Rhino BETA, we’re working on unifying the command line experience across Mac and Windows.
One of the things that makes Rhino unique is how central the command line is to the workflow. But as many of you know, the command interface has historically been quite different between Mac and Windows.
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On Windows, Rhino users are used to a persistent, text-heavy command line that shows command history and typed options.
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On Mac, the interface leans toward a cleaner, more graphical UI with sidebars and popups for options.
Both approaches have their strengths, but until now, you’ve been locked into whichever style matched your platform.
With the Rhino BETA, we’re working to change that. The goal is to make our command UI cross-platform, so you can choose the style that fits your workflow regardless of whether you’re on Mac or Windows.
Trying It Out
Use the “CommandMode” command in the Rhino BETA on both Windows and Mac. It now has two independent options you can mix and match:
- Location – where the command interface appears.
- Style – how command options are presented.
By default, Rhino BETA uses the CommandHistory location with the Buttons style on both platforms, so everyone starts from the same unified experience – but you can change either option at any time.
Location
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SeparatePanel (New on Windows) – The command prompt and options appear in a dockable popup panel with built-in command search, similar to the *“Use command options dialog”* on Mac.
Mac version
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Sidebar (New on Windows) – The command prompt and options appear in a docked sidebar panel, as Mac users are used to.
Mac version
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CommandHistory (New on Mac and the default) – The command prompt and options appear below the command history, as Windows users are used to.
Style
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Links (New on Mac) – The classic Windows-style clickable text options.
Windows version
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Buttons (New default) – A new style that presents command options as buttons.
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Graphical (New on Windows) – The Mac-style graphical controls for command options.
Mac version
Since Location and Style are separate options, you can combine them however you like – for example, the classic command history with graphical option controls, or the sidebar with text links.
If you prefer the Rhino 8 experience, use Window > Window Layouts > Classic (Mac) or Classic (Windows) to switch back to the familiar v8 defaults for each platform.
Why This Matters
By making these UIs cross-platform, we’re not only giving you choice and flexibility – we’re also laying the groundwork for:
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A consistent command system that behaves the same across Mac and Windows.
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Easier testing and iteration on new UI ideas.
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Future customization, so you can tune the command experience to your own preferences.
This is still early days, but we’re excited to finally let you mix and match UI styles in Rhino.
We Want Your Feedback
Play around with the locations and styles and see which combination feels right for you. Does the command history on Mac make your workflow more efficient? Does the graphical sidebar feel refreshing on Windows?
We’d love to hear what works, what doesn’t, and what could make the new Command Line UI even better.
One question, is there some logic/setting to where the Search Command window pops up? It seems to always appear here on my system:
and we [Mac users] are almost at Windows level.