What method to ensure V7 employs user settings in V5?

Rhino Rhino for Windows
1

Hi,
Hoping to create win10 pc this next week (though finding time is like chasing end of rainbow) and one of the first progs to install will be Rhino V7.
I need it to adopt the user settings I have over the years added to V5, my colours, display settings, viewport settings, grids, etc, also any custom made buttons that run macros I have made that are in the toolbar at top .

What about any drag/drop scripts done over the years ?

How do I get V7 to carry on and not dump me back to start all over again ?

I want V5 also on the C drive, so if I install V5 first, will V7 take from it these settings ?
Will V7 nuke V5 ?
I currently have V4 and V5 running. V4 original purchase and V5 an upgrade, as will be V7, so do I need to install V4 first ?

Cheers

Steve

2
  • Different versions of Rhino can all be installed on the same computer and do not interfere or interact with each other.
  • Settings from an earlier version are never imported.
  • Since each version of Rhino makes changes to Commands and command options, itā€™s not reasonable to expect to be able to import settings from an earlier version. Itā€™s far better to go through them as needed so you can explore the changes to take best advantage of them.
  • Your V7 upgrade will ask for the license key of your previous version. For you this will be V5. No, there is no reason to install V4.
  • Since V7 will be the most recently installed version, Windows File Association will associate 3DM files with Rhino 7.
3

These pages may be helpful:
https://wiki.mcneel.com/rhino/settingstransfer
https://wiki.mcneel.com/rhino/toolbarimports

4

Many thanks guys

Steve

5

Hi,
win10 happening next day or three, I hope ! rainbow chasing ā€¦I will follow the settings transfer and toolbar imports, it sounds like these will recreate the buttons I created and can I trust it deals with also the codes that they run ?

I also see I plan on having V5 and V7 installed on win 10, will V5 install on win 10 64 bit pro ?

Cheers

Steve

6

Hi,
additional to the question above, (does the coding for my user created buttons get saved in the .rui transfer method (UI folder to UI folderā€¦see below)

Will the two files I have now got, using the ExportOptions command for display settings, and the .rui file from the UI folder for the toolbars, give me all the different dimensions styles I have in properties ?

If not how do I get these dimension styles across to V7 ?

The instructions from that link dont say if V7 has the same folder and address to it as where it came from in V5. I can but hope else search for the UI folder in the C drive address if thats going to work.

Regards

Steve

7

Anyone please ?
:worried:
rebuild happens tomorrow monday and I may lose my rhino buttons if not.
I would like to start V7 without problems.

Steve

8

You can have both V5 and V7 installed on the same machine and even have both open simultaneously. That does not solve how to make V7 look like V5 but gives you time to migrate to V7.

9

Hi, I am not installing V7 onto win 7 with v5 already running, I am removing C drive on its SSD and replacing with new SSD then installing win 10, then installing V5 and v7 and need to get back into those two, the buttons and dimensions they had, or at least v5 had.

so will the backup methods I followed earlier in post capture all the coding that is for the buttons as well as the dimension styles used.

Cheers

Steve

10

You cannot expect a 1:1 transfer of V5 stuff to V7, as many things have changed between the two.

There are two basic sets of data - one is your options (display modes, color preferences etc.) and the other is your toolbar file (.rui).

V5 stored the options data in the registry, so your only option to retrieve that is to use OptionsExport in V5 and then import the file in V7 via OptionsImport. This will likely be only partially successful in my experience; you are better off redoing most of this stuff from scratch IMO. this especially concerns any custom display modes you have created.

You should be able to import your V5 custom .rui (toolbar) file into V7, but if it will show up correctly is definitely an open question. Most likely yes, but perhaps with some glitches.

As far as scripts go, if the toolbar file has custom scripts inside buttons, they should import with the buttons; on the other hand if they are referencing some script files somewhere else on your computer, depending on how they were originally set up, they may need to be re-referenced.

In short, itā€™s not going to be a one-click installation, it will probably take you a day or so of work and maybe more to get V7 up and running to your liking. Thatā€™s what happens when 10 years or so of changes get compressed into one single transfer operation.

2 Likes
11

Iā€™ve just gone through all of this over the past few days. Iā€™ve been using V5 for many years and the VSR licensing debacle forced me into a PC upgrade (and move to Windows 11) in a hurry. Iā€™ve got upgrade licenses for V6 and V7 but havenā€™t used them in anger. Iā€™m putting my new setup efforts solely into V8, as for me that is the version of Rhino that is (or will be) worthy of taking V5ā€™s mantle.

I would save the .rui from V5, but not bother with anything else. Donā€™t try using it in V7 though. Keep any scripts that you used in V5 in the same folder structure in the new install if you can. Have separate folders for V5 and V7 (and V8) scripts, even if it means duplicating them. Take screenshots of as many toolbar layouts and Rhino options pages as you can, then use those as a starting point for V7. There are many new features in V7 and that ā€˜moving inā€™ process will give you a chance to discover them. Thatā€™s even more true in the case of V8.

Yes, itā€™s painful. Yes, itā€™s time consuming. But ultimately, itā€™s worth the effort.

1 Like
13

Hi,
RUI WRECKED RHINO.

I copied it (the .rui file) out of the address it lives at, following McNeel website method/data.:-

Separate from the other options, workspace files contain most of the info for toolbars/buttons such as which buttons are in which toolbar, command macros for each button and button images. Workspace files have the extensions .tb for V4, .rui for V5 and later. You can copy this file between installations as well. As of V5, the default location for these files is in a hidden folder:

C:\Users<username>\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros<version number>\UI

and with rhino not running pasted into same address on win10.
launch rhino and all toolbars blank.

It says root element is missing in command line. :cry:

Now what ?

also despite OptionsExport and exporting my V5 as an .ini file then OptionsImport when in v5 on win 10, my display area is not the pale grey etc colours I have. I then wonder what else in properties it has not recreated.

All that I had asked about here has failed. yet I did the correct steps following the McNeel settings transfer method.

I have reinserted the win7 ssd into pc and done screen prints of properties, two psd files 35 or more layers each time, only half done the display options as there are many options available to us.

as such an entire day and nothing functional.

what now ?

Steve

14

The transfer methods described are intended for sharing settings within the SAME VERSION of Rhino on different computers.

There is no tested method to share settings between different Versions.

Best practice has been described as edit the Default V7 toolbars, aliases, and keyboard options manually, using the V5 settings on a different computer as reference.

Commands and command options change between versions. Toolbar saving mechanisms have been rewritten several times to address limitations and make them more reliable.

15

That is not how you do it.

Hereā€™s how:

  • Make a copy of your .rui file from the V5 location
    C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\5.0\UI

  • Make sure your copied file has a different name than default.rui

  • Move the copy to:

  • C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\7.0\UI

  • From inside Rhino V7, go to Tools>Options>Toolbars.

  • In the window that opens, in the Files section, you should see default.rui.
    (on a correct base Rhino installation - if itā€™s not there you need to do a ToolbarReset)

  • Highlight that, right click on it and choose ā€œCloseā€ - and answer ā€œNoā€ to saving the changes.

  • Still in the toolbars window, Go to File>Open. You should see your copied V5 .rui file.

  • Click on it and open.

  • Done. Your .rui file from V5 will have loaded into Rhino V7. You should see all the toolbars etc.

Whether the custom scripts/macros in the toolbars will still work is an open question. Some may, some may not. There is no remedy for this other than figuring out why the ones which donā€™t work - i.e. what has changed in the syntax between V5 and V7 - and then updating manually them to work in V7.

16

Hi,
@Helvetosaur but I was copying the rui file from v5 win7 to v5 win10.
Did I still do wrong for v5 to v5 ?
It doesnt actually state where and how to do it in the McNeel article (Transferring Personalised Settings). One is led to assume you copy out the Default.rui and paste it into same address on new OS for v5.

MattE @MattE warned not to try to bring rui into v7.

That means my custom made buttons will all have to be remade and scripted all over again.

Is this truly how it needs to be, no easy peasy transfer of settings when I do get to install V7 ?

Having done the OptionsExport andd OptionsImport methods V5 to V5, first thing I noticed was my 3D arena world was different greys and darker to what I use. Why was that, what brings such into V5. What replicates all the display mode settings between installs of V5 ?

What did I do wrong when using OptionsExport and OptionsImport ? v5 to v5 ?

What will bring such settings also into V7, or is it loads of printscreens and replicate it all manually ? as per MattE ?

Steve

17

I would do it the exactly same way as I outlined above for V5 to V5 - i.e. copy over the .rui, then in the new install close the default.rui and open the copied .rui.

I donā€™t think this should be a problem if you follow my procedure and let Rhino V7 try to open the copy of your V5 .rui via Options>Toolbars. I think there are some routines in V7 that allow it to detect earlier .rui versions and adapt them so that they work (more or less). I would absolutely not try to replace a V7 .rui with a V5 .rui with the same name via Windows file explorer without going through Rhino.

In any case most likely some pre-existing scripts and macros may need to be modified to work in V7.

From V5 to V5 this should work. Donā€™t know why it didnā€™t in your case. For V5 to V7 I cannot recommend it however.

18

I edited the Wiki page on settings transfer, as it hasnā€™t been updated since V6. I hope itā€™s clear enough, if anyone has suggestions for changes/better wording, let me know.

19

Hi,
V5 win10.
I have reverted win10 PC back to pre Rhino V5 install, then Installed Rhino V5,
done the OptionsImport of the .ini file again using a new one done in win7 moments before. Workspace now my shades of grey. I look in properties annotations dimensions and it just says default. I had Inch decimal, Inch fractions, Centimetres, etc normally in a new file, which I seem to think came with Rhino, and a load of others made since. None are there.
What brings across from V5 to V5 the dimensions I am using ?

I try again having opened a complex project with quite a few dimension styles essential to that project, again all I see is dimensions default. I click default expecting the 4 or 5 options, imperial, centimeter etc, they are not there.
yes if I have a project and I have created some new styles, they will open with the file, but a new rhino file always had a few basics as mentioned. I have never made a template, I always start with the default rhino large objects inches or small objects millimetres etc options offered., and always see at least 4 dimensions styles offered, Where do I get these basics from ? Why didnt they come with OptionsImports ?

update, I have now placed into Rhino V5 the .rui file following Helvetosaur (thank you) and I have my custom toolbar buttons with scripts, and now dimensions for a new file has the four options, as mentioned.
So they are seen as toolbar items it seems !

anyhow BINGO ! :grinning:

Steve

20

Default dimension styles are stored in the template files. This is what I see when I open a new, unmodified Millimeters, Small template file in V5:

image
image910Ɨ355 61.3 KB

You can add, remove or modify the dimension styles in the template files. If you then save the modified template file as a template again - either overwriting the original or under a new name - it will keep the new set of dimension styles.

Note in the above image that there is an Import button. This allows you to import dimension styles from another file. So, if you have a project file that has the dimension styles you want, you can import those into any other file.

21

Hi, the BIG MOMENT is here,
@Helvetosaur

having done a trial install in July of v5 then v7 to wiin10 64bit, I am now Win10 64bit with all new hardware and no ability to revert to win7.

I am installing firstly Rhino V5 and lets talk of that.

I want to get the transfer of settings, toolbar buttons, basic dimension options offered att File>new etc, all migrated over to V5 on wiin10 correctly.

To tidy up all the methods talked of, I have boiled it down to this:-

V5 to V5ā€¦the .ini file for settings:-

  1. V5 only: OptionsExport - creates an .ini file
  2. V5 only: OptionsImport and import the .ini file created above

V5 to V5 the .rui file for Toolbar recreation

Make a copy of your .rui file from the V5 location
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\5.0\UI
Make sure your copied file has a different name than default.rui
Move the copy to:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\McNeel\Rhinoceros\5.0\UI
From inside Rhino V5, go to Tools>Options>Toolbars.
In the window that opens, in the Files section, you should see default.rui.
(on a correct base Rhino installation - if itā€™s not there you need to do a ToolbarReset)
Highlight that, right click on it and choose ā€œCloseā€ - and answer ā€œNoā€ to saving the changes.
Still in the toolbars window, Go to File>Open. You should see your copied V5 .rui file.
Click on it and open.
Done. Your .rui file from V5 will have loaded into Rhino V5. You should see all the toolbars etc.

I have taken the V5 to V7 instruction and altered V7 to V5, as it was said itā€™s the same method.

For the wiki article, it needs to say what the OptionsExport creates for V5.

Is this what I need to do for V5 ?

as for V7 it is suggested to recreate the entire lot manually., and then also it is said some of this might work.

Cheers
Steve