I’m an architect. I used to work in ArchiCAD and Vectorworks, but I wanted to move my own work over to Rhino. Part of the reason is that I didn’t want to keep tying my practice to subscription software, and Rhino’s perpetual license fits that. I’m also on a Mac and didn’t want to switch to Windows.
The problem was that Rhino didn’t have some of the everyday plugins and features I was used to from the BIM tools. I know VisualARQ exists and covers a lot of that, but it only runs on Windows, so it was never really an option for me. So a few months ago I started writing small Python plugins to fill the gaps. Over time it turned into its own little suite. I call it Dossier, and it’s focused on the early concept phase. I’m planning to publish it as open source and release it for free once it’s mature enough. It’s not a product and I’m not selling anything.
Before I put more time into it, I wanted to ask people who use Rhino every day: is this something you’d actually want? A lot of people like Rhino because it stays out of the way. You build your own workflow and it doesn’t force any structure on you. So I’m not sure if extra tooling like this is useful, or if you’d rather keep that openness and a whole suite just feels redundant.
I am in a similar boat. I use VW daily but considering to change. I recently enquired about VA on Linux but that seems a no go. I would not switch to windows.
A plug in like your describing sounds very good, however my python and grasshopper skills are zero.
Recently i have more work and need some help. I have other assistants but we all run different software, VW, AC and then different release dates within. Would be good to get us all on the same page, file share then co-ordinate using a full Rhino suite.
This looks really clean. I’d love to test it out if you are looking for feedback.
Rhino’s flexibility is great, but a little more structure and a small hint of BIM would work well, especially in sketch and concept - and something for Mac would be even better!
I work in Interiors and use Revit at work. I use Rhino in my personal work and sketch / model / render in 3D, then document in 2D similar to AutoCAD; linked files, layer states etc. I find you have more control over aesthetic this way. Long term I would like to setup section styles and make more use of the clipping drawing features. Having an aesthetic 2D representation of 3D objects, like in ArchiCad or Rayon would be a valuable enhancement to Rhino.
@jp13
The Linux situation is exactly why I started this in the first place. VisualARQ’s Windows-only stance was a dealbreaker for me too. I’ve seen some threads here in the forum about Rhino 8 workarounds for Linux. I want to test those soon. For now though, Dossier is for now Mac-only, and honestly as a solo dev I have to draw the line somewhere or nothing ships. No Grasshopper knowledge needed at all by the way, it’s entirely panel-based!
@stuart.crake
Glad it reads clean! I actually already have a display/style panel that lets you set up object specific graphic overrides pretty quickly, similar to how VectorWorks handles it. But i also created a own Layerpanel that works better with my workflow. And my layer manager has clipping plane support built in. I also have an auto hatch function, any closed polygon can be filled and the hatch always adapts automatically to the boundary polylines.
I’ll try to push a current build tonight, no tutorials yet so you’ll have to click around a bit, but if you’re used to VectorWorks layer workflow a lot of it should feel familiar. Would love to hear what’s missing.
Would love a tool like this, recently graduated from arch school so I don’t really have many funds to afford anything like visual arq. It would also be interesting to see a video on your workflow for making these tools for rhino.
Sorry it took a while. I wanted to fix a few important things first. It’s still far from done and there’s a lot left to do, but feel free to take a look. Any feedback is welcome!
Install:
Open Dossier_0.6.3_aarch64.dmg and drag Dossier.app into Applications.
Quit Rhino (setup only runs when Rhino is closed!)
Open Dossier.app and click Start setup.
That’s it.
What setup does:
Drops a small marker file (~/.dossier_home) so the plugin can find its code.
Installs the plugin into Rhino (shows up in Rhino’s PackageManager).
Adds a startup entry so Rhino loads Dossier automatically every time no typing needed. If you want to disable it just remove the startup command in Settings → General.
Copies a window layout so the panels sit in the right spot.
To remove it:
Uninstall dossier in Rhino’s PackageManager.
rm ~/.dossier_home
Drag Dossier.app to the Trash.
You can download it from here (the launcher has already built in OTA-Updates):
