Learning Hub

Popular questions

• How to upgrade from the academic to the commercial version?

  To do this, you need to purchase a commercial upgrade Rhino.
  Upgrading from an academic to a commercial version is only possible if the academic version is younger than the current commercial version.

• What are the system requirements for Rhino?

  You can find detailed system requirements on the Rhino page.

• Who can purchase the academic version?

  This version is intended for educational institutions, students, and teachers.

• What licensing methods are available?

  1. Cloud license
     The default recommended method is that the license is managed through your Rhino/Cloud Zoo account. It requires you to create an online account and allows you to log into Rhino from any computer without having to enter a license key. It also allows you to use Rhino for Windows and Rhino for macOS on different computers (no two licenses required). The license key sent via email is entered into your Rhino account only once. It is not necessary to be constantly connected to the Internet – once a week is enough. You can also create user groups that can use a specific group of commercial licenses. You can login or create a Rhino account using the following link: https://accounts.rhino3d.com
  2. One computer (standalone).
     The second licensing method is to install one Rhino license on just one workstation. On the first screen of the installer, click the gear and select “This PC.”
  3. The local network
     The third method is floating network license licensing. Then we will be able to access the license from different computers within the local network. One license can be used by one user at a time. Installation in floating license mode is possible using the free Zoo license manager for Windows. Installation and download information is available at: wiki.mcneel.com/zoo/home.
     The licensing method you select during the first installation can be changed later.

• What documents are required to obtain an academic version?

  Students:

  • – valid student card;
  • – a certificate affixed with the seal of the university stating that you are its student.

  Teachers:

  • – teacher’s certificate;
  • – a certificate affixed with the seal of the university stating that you are its teacher.

   Educational organization:

  • – certificate of state accreditation;
  • – license to carry out educational activities;
  • – details of the educational institutions.

• What file formats does Rhino support?

  Title	File extension	Read operation/Import	Saving/Export
  Rhino 3D Model (except Rhino 1.x save/export)	.3dm	+	+
  Rhino 3D Model Backup	.3dmbak	+	+
  Rhino Worksession	.rws	+	+
  3MF	.3mf	+	+
  3D Studio	.3ds	+	+
  AMF	.amf	+	+
  ACIS	.sat		+
  Adobe Illustrator	.ai	+	+
  AutoCAD Drawing	.dwg	+	+
  AutoCAD Drawing Exchange	.dxf	+	+
  COLLADA	.dae		+
  Cult3D	.cd		+
  DirectX	.x	+	+
  E57	.e57	+
  Embroidery	.dst, .exp	+
  Enhanced Metafile	.emf		+
  Encapsulated PostScript	.eps	+
  Geomview OFF	.off	+
  GHS Geometry	.gf, .gft	+	+
  GHS Part Maker	.pm		+
  Google Earth	.kmz		+
  GTS (GNU Triangulated Surface)	.gts	+	+
  IGES	.igs, .iges	+	+
  Lightwave	.lwo	+	+
  Microstation	.dgn	+
  Moray UDO	.udo		+
  MotionBuilder	.fbx	+	+
  NextEngine Scan	.scn	+
  OBJ	.obj	+	+
  Object Properties	.csv		+
  Parasolid	.x_t		+
  PDF	.pdf	+	+
  PLY	.ply	+	+
  Points	.asc, .csv, .xyz, .cgo_ascii,.cgo_asci, .pts	+
  Points	.txt	+	+
  Raw Triangles	.raw	+	+
  Recon M	.m	+
  RenderMan	.rib		+
  Scalable Vector Graphics	.svg	+	+
  SketchUp	.skp	+	+
  SLC	.slc	+	+
  SOLIDWORKS	.sldprt, .sldasm	+
  STEP	.stp, .step	+	+
  STL (Stereolithography)	.stl	+	+
  VDA	.vda	+	+
  VRML/Open Inventor	.wrl, .vrml, .vi	+	+
  WAMIT	.gdf	+	+
  Windows Medtfile	.wmf		+
  X3D	.x3dv		+
  XAML	.xaml		+
  XGL	.xgl		+
  Zcorp	.zpr	+	+

• How to find out your license key?

  The license key is sent to your e-mail after registration.

• What licenses are available for the academic environment?

  1. Single User License:

  • – It is available to students, teachers and educational institutions;
  • – One license per student or teacher;
  • – Educational institutions can purchase as many licenses as they need;
  • – It cannot be sold, shared or transferred to another user.

  2. 30 User License (only for educational institutions):

  • – A 30-user license allows you to use Rhino on computers in the same classroom/room. There is no need to connect to a local network;
  • – Floating network license for 30 users. Requires LAN connection and Zoo license manager.

• How to download Rhino?

  Go to the main menu of the site, select Rhinoceros, click the Download button, selecting the appropriate OS. Fill out the download form. In a few minutes, a key and a link to download the demo will be sent in the email.

• How do I activate my license?

  You will need a Rhino account to use a non-machine license.

  Sign up for a Rhino account. After receiving the registration email, verify your account.

  After logging in to your personal account, go to the Licenses section. Next, click on your account name.
  On the license management page, click the Add license button. The Licenses section displays information about licenses.

  For holders of multiple Rhino licenses or an academic class (Lab) license, creating a team will be convenient. To do this, you need to create an administrator account, then create a command in this account.

  Next, you need to add a license to the team, then send email invitations to users using the Team Management -> Invite Members button.

  Install the Rhino software. When you first start the program, click the Login button and enter your account to activate the program.

• How can I get a demo version of Rhino?

  Click on the «Download» button and fill out the form with correct data. A key for 90 days and a link for the package installation will be sent to your email address within 5 minutes.
  
  Check your spam folder if you have not received an email.

• Can I install my Rhino on more than one computer?

  The license agreement allows you to install Rhino on all computers that you directly control, provided that the license only runs on one computer at a time. Rhinoceros is licensed on a “simultaneous use” basis and not on a “per installation” basis.

  As stated in the license agreement, McNeel grants to you the non-exclusive license to use the Software on any computers owned by you so long as the number of simultaneous users does not exceed the number of licenses you own.

  You can not “loan” your Rhino to a friend or family member.

  You can use the free floating license manager the Zoo, to float a small number of licenses between a larger number of users.

• How to set up a network license?

  The Zoo License Manager is used to distribute network licenses on the local network.

  Installing and configuring Zoo

  Download and install Zoo on the server. Make sure that TCP port 80 is open. Launch the ZooAdmin utility and add the Rhino license.

  Connecting to Zoo Server

  Select Use Zoo when installing Rhino, then specify the name of your Zoo server.

  If the application was previously installed with a local key, you need to change the authorization method.

  Start Rhino, select the menu item Tools → Options → Licenses. Select your Rhino license and click «Change license key». Close and restart Rhino. When starting the program, select «Use Zoo» button, then specify the name of your Zoo server.

• How to change the interface language?

  When starting the installer, click on gear-wheel button to install the program in English and other languages.
  Internet access is required. Click the «Select Language» button in the next window.
  Multiple languages ​​are available for selection at the same time.
  If you already have a multilingual version installed by default, then you can switch it in the following way.
  Select Options in Tools menu. Next, select Appearance button on the left side of the list in the screen that opens.
  Now select a language from the drop-down list Language used for display (interface language) on the right.
  Restart the program to apply the settings.

  If you want to install the program on a computer without Internet access:

  1. Run this installer.
  2. Click on the gear-wheel button.
  3. Click «Download installation distribution».
  4. The installer will create a «redist» folder in the same directory as the installer file, and will download the distribution to this folder.
  5. Copy the distribution and the redist folder to a computer without Internet access.
  6. Run this installer on a computer without Internet access.

• What graphics cards should I use for rendering in KeyShot?

  Geforce RTX 3080, 3090, 4080, 4090, AMD Vega 64

• How to get a discount?

  To receive a discount on the products, write to us.

• Can I put my Rhino 5 license in the Cloud Zoo?

  No. Rhino 5 does not support the Cloud Zoo.

• If I put my Rhino 7 and Rhino 8 Upgrade Licenses in the Zoo, what happens?

  You’ll need Zoo 7 SR 8 (or higher) to support Rhino 8 license keys. The Zoo will group your Rhino 7 and Rhino 8 Upgrade keys into a license “cluster”, and will make sure only one is in use at any given time. A user who runs both Rhino 7 and Rhino 8 from the same computer will use only one license.

• How to speed up file processing?

  Here are some recommendations to improved performance of a file that is slow. These may improve the general overall performance of your file in may more ways, as well.

  Keep the overall number of objects in the scene as low as possible and not excessive so the object management overhead is not the bottle neck.

  Organize your file in and assign “objects” to “layers”.

  Check for bad objects and rebuild them.

  Avoid excessive usage of blocks.

  Purge unused content in your file like materials and textured.

  Reset your Render mode settings to default (Options → View → Display modes → Rendered. Pick button at bottom to reset to Rhino defaults.)

  Insert the contents of your file into a new file. (This may leave some problem with the file behind.)

  But still, the display performance can seem sub-par and painfully slow.

  If different “shaded” display modes all seemed to produce similar performance results, except the Rendered display mode which can be significantly slower than the other modes. However, it is expected that Rendered modes will be slower, but if the differences seen with same content are excessive, here is why.

• Can I install or uninstall Rhino 7 while keeping my Rhino 5 installation?

  Yes, but with one important condition.

  Rhino 7 is a completely separate installation from V5, but it uses the same license manager as V5. Problems can arise if you decide to uninstall Rhino 7. The V5 license manager gets uninstalled in the process, and your V5 installation will stop working.

  If you decide to uninstall Rhino 7, to keep V5 working:

  Copy the files McNeelLM.exe and RhinoLM.exe to a safe location.

  Uninstall Rhino 7.

  Then copy the files back to the original location.

  In Windows the license manager is located at: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\McNeel Shared\License Manager (64-bit) or C:\Program Files\Common Files\McNeel Shared\License Manager (32-bit)

  Be careful with plug-ins, toolbars, etc. that might be shared between V5 and V7.

• How to use the potential of the GPU?

  Rhino consumes only 35 watts of graphics card power, while it could potentially consume 150-160 watts. GPU usage is 11%-22% depending on the display mode.

  For example, with Arctic viewport, the GPU consumes 30W, the GPU usage is around 10%, and the frame rate is 6fps. If you choose Shaded viewport: GPU consumes 35W, GPU usage is around 22%, and the speed is 30fps.

  Power Draw

  If your GPU only draws 35W when it’s rated to support up to 150W, that means it’s running at about 20% power.

  You may be expecting that “If something takes 10 seconds, then if I get a card that’s 10x faster, then it should only take 1 second”.

  This is only true if 100% of the time Rhino spent on the GPU, which is not the case. But if only 1% of the time is spent on the GPU, then the result is basically going to be the same 10 seconds.

  Why? This is because the problem (or bottleneck) is not with the GPU, so speeding up the GPU, or replacing it with a much faster one, isn’t going to do a thing.

  Start with the Model

  Getting us a model is the best way for us to know where the bottlenecks are. You can submit a model for testing to tech support here

  (Fill out the comment field in the upload with all the details, so we know what issue you are having and what version of Rhino you are using. Incomplete information can result in a delayed response from technical support.)

  For example, if you are getting 3 fps Rendered mode result and a Shaded mode yields ~50 fps, that does seem concerning.

  Without knowing what is in your model, we would guess that it’s probably something to do with his object management, blocks, and lighting or some combination of both. The use of multiple lights can have an abysmal performance.

  You will first need to first eliminate the typical CPU bottlenecks in the file geometry and setup, before you can expect good GPU performance.

• Why does Rhino have display problems and how can I fix them?

  Many display problems can be solved by updating your video drivers. It is generally a good idea to keep drivers up to date as they can be updated quite often by the manufacturers.

  Please see the description of the issue you are experiencing:

  Display performance: Image rotation, zooming or panning is very slow even with a good graphics card.

  Was Windows 10 recently installed? By default Windows 10 does not update drivers. Please update your video drivers to solve any Windows 10 issues.

  Laptop in a Docking station? Set the laptop display as the “Main Display” using Windows Display Settings.

  Performance: Rotating the view or selecting objects is slow.

  Commands fail: Pictures or decals don’t show up or the image seen is distorted.

  Looks funny: There are strange artifacts on my screen.

  No shadows in Rendered Display Mode: Comparing what I see on my computer to a previous computer or video, no shadows.

  Crash: Rhino crashes and blames my video card.

  Viewports strange order: Top viewport is the Front, and Front is Front…

  Rhino toolbars and text are too small on a high resolution screen.

  Rhinoceros is slow on a workstation with multiple monitors plugged into a USB hub.

  If none of these descriptions matches the problem you are experiencing, please email tech@mcneel.com with a detailed description of the problem as well as information about your video card.

• How can I use Rhino as a viewer only?

  In order to use Rhino as a viewer, you will need an evaluation license key. If you already have one and it’s expired, this is perfect for this purpose. If you don’t have any evaluation license, key, ask one on https://www.rhino3d.com/download/rhino/evaluation

  When validating your evaluation license, don’t choose the option to Share or Float the license between computers, be sure to choose the option to Lock the license on the computer.

  In case you already have a license and it’s on the CloudZoo, you will have to remove it from your Rhino account first:

  1. Go to https://accounts.rhino3d.com/ and login to your account with your email.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on Licenses and on your name under Personal Licenses.
  3. Once removed, launch Rhino 8 again.
  4. When requested to enter a new license choose “Enter your license key” option and type your evaluation license key then click Continue. Make sure that you DO NOT choose the option to “Add To Your Rhino Account” and click on the “Use only on this computer” option on the bottom left and click Yes.

  As long as your Rhino Evaluation license is valid, you will be able to save your work, when it is expired, you will be able to open any Rhino model, change the view, use dimensions, etc. but won’t be able to save any file.

• How can I learn KeyShot?

  For information on Keyshot training, write to us.

• What if I want to install using single-computer Rhino licensing on multiple computers?

  You’ll need a separate license key for each computer. Rhino 5 allowed more than one validation per single-user license key. Rhino 6, 7 and 8 do not. Rhino 6, 7 and 8 add Cloud Zoo Personal license management so you can take turns using a single license on multiple computers with an occasional Internet connection.

• If I upgrade from Rhino 7 to 8, can I still use Rhino 7?

  Yes. When you upgrade, you are extending your license to give you access to Rhino 8 features – you are not adding a new license. This means that you can use Rhino 6 and older versions of Rhino on the same computer. You may not use Rhino 7 on one computer while someone else uses the Rhino 8 upgrade on another.

• If I put my Rhino 8 Upgrade license in the Cloud Zoo, can I still install Rhino 7?

  Yes, Rhino 7 can be installed, even if it has been upgraded to Rhino 8. Make sure to have both on the Zoo or Cloud Zoo.

• Why is rendering in Rhino slow?

  Now you can focus on the Rendered mode results to determine why and where things were slowing down. Many well organized files with no bad geometry can bring Rhino’s rendering pipeline to a standstill.

  Another reason is transparency maps. There can be thousands of objects referencing several dozens of materials, many of which contain “transparency maps”.

  Why is this problematic? There is no guaranteed order for which objects get drawn in Rhino. It means for each and every object, Rhino will setup and initialize the GPU rendering stack (shaders, textures, content settings, etc…) prior to drawing it.

  These “context switches” can become very timely, and end up overwhelming the CPU usage, which in turn, starves the GPU from getting used to its full potential. In other “shaded” modes, certain optimizations can be made to prioritize things because Rhino knows that a given set or group of objects will all be drawn using the same material. Also with the use of “sub-object materials” in your model, Rhino cannot do the same kind of optimizations, and so they are skipped entirely.

  To compound the problem, “transparency” requires up to 4 separate passes per object in order to get the best looking transparency possible. Now add to all of that, the multiple passes required for the “shadowing” phase (where transparency maps also need to be applied), the display starts to become mired in an endless process of initializations and context switches, resulting in very poor performance.

• How to correctly evaluate the load on the graphics processor in Rhino?

  How are you gauging your GPU usage? If you are only using TestMaxSpeed, then that is problem #1. Rhino’s display is a passive frame display, not an active one. Rhino does not try to generate constant frame rates at all times (like a computer game does). It draws a single frame, ends and exits.

  Trying to determine overall GPU usage on a single frame would be like trying to determine how fast your car’s top speed is by measuring how fast it takes it to move one inch from at rest position, and then extrapolating that into miles per hour. Not a good approach to finding the best answer.

  A better way (but still only an approximation) is to use the Rhino’s TurnTable command. Turntable does try to maintain constant frames, and most GPU monitoring tools can then post better results. There is a Hollomark, which can be found on the Rhino support forum.