• Enhanced user interface (Dockable dialogs, auto-completion, discoverable command options, clickable command options, multiple monitor support)
  
• Localized interface and documentation (English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Czech, and Japanese are available now. Korean will be available in November and Chinese in 2004)
  
• OpenGL hardware acceleration and anti-aliasing supported
  
• Viewport modes now include wire, shaded, ghosted, flat, X-ray, rendered, selected, analysis including curvature, draft angle, zebra, environment map, show edges, and show naked edges
  
• Perspective dimensions
  
• Raytrace rendering with support for more light types
  
• Blocks
  
• Worksessions
  
• Point Clouds
  
• SelVisible command
  
• Command enhancements
  
• Scripting enhancements
  
• Enhanced SDK for more powerful third-party applications
  
• New technology core
  

Enhanced user interface

Dockable windows that stay open and update while other commands run. All the windows dock with each other. The windows are:

• Layer manager
  
• Object properties
  
• Object snap
  
• Command prompt
  
• Toolbars (multiple toolbars can be stacked in the same row.)

In order to make command options discoverable, many related commands have been combined into single commands with options displayed on the command line. Command options are now clickable.

Improved auto-complete command line works like Internet Explorer.

Floating/dockable command area.

New layer popup on the status bar with many new layer manipulation tools including hide, show, lock, unlock, edit color, and edit name.

Enhanced support for multiple monitors.

Support for True Color (16-million color) and transparent toolbar icons.

Localized interface and documentation

Localized user interface, documentation, and training materials for English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Czech, Korean, Polish, Chinese, and Japanese.

The interface language can be changed by the user.

English language scripts will work properly no matter which interface language is loaded.

OpenGL hardware acceleration supported

Rhino now takes advantage of OpenGL graphics cards such as NVIDIA Quadro?4 XGL series, and 3Dlabs Wildcat VP.

Rhino wireframe views are enhanced by anti-aliasing provided by some graphics cards.

Viewport modes

Create and edit in any viewport mode include wire, shaded, ghosted, flat, X-ray, rendered, selected, and analysis modes including curvature, draft angle, zebra, environment map, show edges, and show naked edges.

Basic raytrace rendering

Rhino's basic renderer now uses Flamingo's raytrace technology, improving the quality of shadows and transparency. (No additional new features.)

The basic renderer now supports spot, point, directional, rectangular, and linear lights.

Perspective dimensions

Dimensions in perspective views are now supported.

Blocks

A block is a collection of objects linked together to form a single entity. Using blocks lets you streamline modeling, reduce model size, and promote standardization of parts and details. Using blocks lets you:

• Create parts libraries.
  
• Update all instances by modifying the block definition.
  
• Keep model size smaller by using block instances instead of copying identical geometry.
  
• Use the BlockManager command to view information about the blocks defined in the model.
  
• Use the Insert command to place block instances into your model, scaling and rotating the instance.

Worksessions

The Worksession command lets many users work on a large project by breaking the project down into many files. Each user can edit a different part of the project and at the same time see the related portions of the project (attached files). By refreshing as needed, each user can see the current version of the attached files.

The attached file geometry appears on a unique set of layers with its file name as part of the layer name. The attached file list and their layer states can be saved in a separate worksession file.

Point Clouds

The point cloud object type improves Rhino's performance when handling a large number of point items imported from external files.

The point cloud object can be used to group any number of individual points into a single object, minimizing the amount of storage in the 3DM file and maintaining performance. Points in the cloud, can be snapped to or selected just as if they were just point object. A point cloud is similar to a mesh object that does not display any wires between vertices.

SelVisible command

SelVisible works like a crossing windows selection with an additional test to see which is in front (visible in a shaded view). This selection tool can be very helpful when selecting in a dense model.

Command enhancements

There are hundreds of enhancements to the over 700 commands in Rhino 2.0. A few examples are:

• Convert now converts a NURBS curve to arcs, a polyline, or line segments at a user specified tolerance allowing a minimum number of segments while maintaining the user's required tolerance.
  Many manufacturing process controllers only allow a limited number of arcs or lines as input. A simple conversion of a NURBS curve to simple line segments often overruns the capability of these controllers.
  
• CurveThroughPt and CurveThroughPolyline are more generic in V3. In V2 you could only draw polylines through points, and interpolated curves through polyline points. In V3 you can draw control point curves and interpolated curves through points and polylines.
  
• In V3 GCon always reports the deviation so it can be used as an analysis tool as well as a continuity check tool.
  
• Arc supports any pick combination now. Tangent option does what CircleTTT did in V2 and a little more.
  
• Blend has a new AtAngle option for drawing blend curves at an angle to a surface edge.
  
• Conic now supports all normal, tangent and perpendicular pick combinations.
• Ellipse has a new corner to corner option.
• MergeEdge has new options for merging all edge segments and segments on both sides of the picked segment.
  
• Send on the File menu sends an e-mail with the current Rhino file attached. The attached file is smaller since does not include the render or analysis meshes.
  

Scripting enhancements

All Rhino commands are now scriptable.

RhinoScript has been expanded to expose more of the internal workings of Rhino, making it possible to develop more powerful scripts.

The RhinoScript ActiveX object can be accessed by many different programming languages including Visual Basic, Microsoft Word VBA, and Excel VBA.

Rhino can be run in the background by an application via the RhinoScript ActiveX object.

A new online help system provides quick access to RhinoScript methods.

Enhanced SDK for more powerful third-party applications

The Rhino 3.0 SDK exposes more of the internal workings of Rhino than did previous SDKs, thus making it possible for third-party developers to create more powerful plug-ins and add-ons.

A new online help system provides quick access to all SDK classes and functions.

Updated SDK samples and AppWizard aid developer in getting started quickly.

An updated version of the openNURBS toolkit (included with SDK) allows more advanced geometric capabilities.

New technology core

In order to accelerate Rhino development, Rhino 3.0 was completely rewritten using the current development tools and techniques.

As you may know, the Rhino development started in 1992 as an AutoCAD plug-in. The first Windows version was developed on Windows 3.1 with the tools current at the time. Since then development tools and techniques have advanced substantially.

New object types have been added for speed and to aid in translations to and from other software.

Other details

Windows 95 is no longer supported
All third-party plug-ins and scripts must be upgraded for 3.0.

The Rhino 3.0 3DM file format is new. Rhino 3.0 will read 2.0 files but 2.0 will NOT read 3.0 files.