Forma – Rhinoceros Interoperability - Load Forma site data into Rhino

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Step-by-step guide

After connecting the Forma and Rhino projects, Forma data can be brought into the Rhino proposal to incorporate site data and enhance the design process.

In Forma, create a new, empty proposal. In this example, the proposal is named “Rhino Empty site”.
Copy the URL.

In the Forma interface, in a new, empty proposal created for this example, the URL is selected, and Copy is being selected from the expanded context menu.

In Rhino, with the project open in the Perspective view, make sure that the Forma panel is open and docked.
Under Connect to Forma, Paste the Forma URL.
Press ENTER to link the Forma project to the Rhino model.
In the Forma panel, expand the Select a Proposal drop-down and select a proposal. In this case, the Rhino Empty site is already selected.

In the Rhino interface, the project is open in the Perspective view showing a model group of buildings; and in the docked Forma panel, the project URL has been pasted in, and the Rhino Empty site proposal is selected and highlighted in red.

Note: Under Send Layers to Forma, layers can be selected to further define the properties of the Rhino geometry, but for this exercise, leave these checkboxes clear.

Click Load Site Data.

The Roads data appears, and the Open Data Attributions messages show data acknowledgements or data export restrictions that are relevant to the country and location.

Optionally, click Learn more, or click elsewhere to close this.

In Rhino, on the canvas, the terrain, buildings, and roads Forma data is now visible; and in the Forma Plug-In panel are Open Data Attributes messages for Roads, with Learn More highlighted in red.

The Forma data that is now viewable on the canvas includes the site limit, which works as a reference object. If the site limit does not align with the Rhino geometry, as in this case, it can be rotated and moved without changing the location of the project in Forma.

To lock the layers used for the Rhino geometries:

In the Layers panel, under Default, next to each of the numbered layers, click the Lock.
Next to Original site limit, click the Lock.

The Layers panel shows each of the numbered layers locked, indicated by the closed Lock icon, and the Lock icon next to Original site limit is being clicked.

To select and move the site limit:

Under Forma layers, right-click Site limits, and then click Select Objects.
On the canvas, select the site limit.
On the Command line, enter “Move”.

On the Rhino canvas, the site limit, which is not aligned with the Rhino geometry, is selected and highlighted in yellow, and on the Command line, Move is entered and highlighted in red.

Use the cursor to click and drag the site limit until it aligns with the Rhino geometry.

On the Rhino canvas, the site limit is being clicked and dragged to align with the Rhino geometry of the buildings.

This is done before baking any of the context into the Rhino model, because once they are baked, those elements will shift with the site limit.

In the Forma panel, hover the cursor over each of the Forma elements—Terrain, Buildings, and Roads.
Click the visibility icon to change which elements display on the canvas.

In Rhino, in the Forma panel, the visibility icon is selected to hide the Terrain elements; and on the canvas, with the site limit properly aligned, the buildings and roads are visible, but the terrain is hidden.

Currently, the elements are references only, but if you live in an area without data restrictions, the Forma elements can be integrated into the project:

Click Bake next to the desired element.

In the Forma panel, Bake is selected and called out next to Buildings.

Another message in the Open Data Attributions might appear in the Forma panel.

Click Learn more to read the message.
Click Dismiss.

In this example, after baking the Buildings and Terrain into the project, the Forma elements changed to mesh objects with their own layers in Rhino.

On the Rhino canvas, the baked buildings and terrain Forma elements changed to mesh objects with their own layers.

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