Views and drawings

Get from a model to a drawing set without setting up a single viewport by hand. Every view is a Rhino named view, so it stays in your file and restores with its clipping plane.

Components that write to the Rhino document (run, make, view) do it behind a button, and each press replaces what the last one made. Re-solving never piles up duplicates.

Component	What it’s for
Site views	Plan, site plan, two centreline sections and four elevations around your site in one click, as Rhino named views, with an optional layout sheet.
Views (next beta)	Named plans, reflected ceiling plans, elevations, sections, isometrics and a perspective of any geometry, clipped and framed.
Layout (next beta)	Your named views on A4 to A0 sheets at the largest standard scale that fits, with view titles and a title block.
Exploded axo (next beta)	Pull a building or object apart by part, branch or height band, with dashed explosion lines, labels and an isometric view saved for you.

Site views

site_views Plan, site plan, two centreline sections and four elevations around your site in one click, as Rhino named views, with an optional layout sheet. Cost: Free.

Inputs

Input	Type	On the component	Default	What it does
`site`	list of Curve	Select in Rhino	—	site boundary (e.g. from vic_site_map)
`context`	Number	Slider 5–300	`40`	site plan reach beyond the site (m)
`geometry`	list of Geometry	Select in Rhino	—	context to frame and cut: buildings, terrain, roads (optional)
`align`	Boolean	Switch	off	align to the site’s long axis instead of north
`sheet`	Text	Dropdown	`A1`	layout sheet to make with every view. One of `none`, `A3`, `A2`, `A1`
`run`	Boolean	Button	—	create (or replace) the named views, section planes and sheet in Rhino

Outputs

Output	Type	What it gives you
`views`	list of Text	view names
`planes`	list of Plane	picture plane of each view
`frames`	list of Curve	what each view shows
`sections`	list of Curve	cut lines through the geometry
`info`	Text	views, scales, what was created

How it works

Frame: true north, or the long axis of the site’s minimum rectangle (align).
Views: ‘Alien · Plan’, ‘Alien · Site plan’, ‘Alien · Section X’ (looking north), ‘Alien · Section Y’ (looking west), ‘Alien · Elevation north/south/east/west’ clipped 0.5 m outside the site so the site’s own buildings show.
Clipping planes live on a hidden ‘Alien views’ layer (hidden planes still clip).
Sheet (A3/A2/A1): plans on top, sections and elevations in rows, one standard scale for all (the site plan gets its own), Pen display mode, labels on ‘Alien sheet labels’.
run (a button) replaces everything the last run made: tagged objects, ‘Alien · ’ named views and pages.
Without run, the outputs still give the view names, camera planes, frames and section lines.

Views

views

New since 0.02-alpha: arrives in the next beta.

Named plans, reflected ceiling plans, elevations, sections, isometrics and a perspective of any geometry, clipped and framed. Cost: Free.

Inputs

Input	Type	On the component	Default	What it does
`geometry`	list of Geometry	Select in Rhino	—	what the views show and are framed to (breps, meshes, curves…)
`layer`	Text	Text field	blank	or frame the objects on this Rhino layer (when geometry is unwired)
`preset`	Text	Dropdown	`plan + elevations`	which views. One of `plan + elevations`, `plan + sections`, `plans`, `elevations`, `axonometrics`, `all`, `custom`
`custom`	Text	Text field	`plan, north, east, section x, iso SW`	views for ‘custom’, comma separated: plan, rcp, top, north, south, east, west, section x, section y, iso SW, iso SE, iso NE, iso NW, persp
`cut`	Number	Slider 0–20	`1.2`	plan cut height (m): above the lowest point, or above each level
`levels`	list of Data	Wire	—	level records (from levels): a plan and RCP per level, cut above each
`cuts`	list of Data	Wire	—	section lines (curves: the view looks to the left of the line) or planes (looks along the normal); replace section x and y
`display`	Text	Text field	`Technical`	display mode saved with each view (a Rhino display mode name)
`margin`	Number	Slider 0–50	`2`	space around the geometry in each view (m)
`prefix`	Text	Text field	`Alien views`	view name prefix: a press replaces the views made with this prefix
`make`	Boolean	Button	—	create (or replace) the named views and their clipping planes in Rhino

Outputs

Output	Type	What it gives you
`views`	list of Text	named view names (wire into layout)
`planes`	list of Plane	picture plane of each view: frame centre, X right, Y up
`frames`	list of Curve	the extent of each view
`sections`	list of Curve	cut lines through the geometry at each plan cut and section
`marks`	list of Curve	section marks for plans: cut line, arrows and letters
`info`	Text	what happened: a summary, sources and notes

How it works

Presets: plan + elevations, plan + sections, plans, elevations, axonometrics, all, custom (‘plan, rcp, north, section x, iso SW, persp’).
With level records: a plan and RCP per level, cut inside each storey (a second back-facing plane limits the depth).
Wired section lines look to their left (planes along the normal), lettered with plan section marks.
make creates or replaces the views and clipping planes registered for the same prefix (never someone else’s); without it, frames and cuts preview only.

Layout

layout

New since 0.02-alpha: arrives in the next beta.

Your named views on A4 to A0 sheets at the largest standard scale that fits, with view titles and a title block. Cost: Free.

Inputs

Input	Type	On the component	Default	What it does
`views`	list of Text	Text field	—	named views to place (e.g. from views or site_views); unwired: every view the Alien view components made
`sheet`	Text	Dropdown	`A1`	sheet size. One of `A4`, `A3`, `A2`, `A1`, `A0`
`orientation`	Text	Dropdown	`landscape`	sheet orientation. One of `landscape`, `portrait`
`arrange`	Text	Dropdown	`auto grid`	auto grid: several views a sheet; rows: plans, elevations, sections and 3D views in rows, one scale a row. One of `auto grid`, `one per sheet`, `rows`
`scale`	Text	Dropdown	`auto`	auto: the largest standard scale that fits each view. One of `auto`, `auto, one scale`, `1:20`, `1:50`, `1:100`, `1:200`, `1:250`, `1:500`, `1:1000`, `1:2000`
`display`	Text	Text field	`from view`	detail display mode: ‘from view’ uses each view’s own (Technical instead of none or Wireframe), or a Rhino display mode name
`project`	Text	Text field	`Project`	title block: project
`title`	Text	Text field	`General arrangement`	title block: drawing title
`number`	Text	Text field	`A101`	drawing number (counts up over several sheets: A101, A102…)
`date`	Text	Text field	blank	date (blank: today)
`drawn`	Text	Text field	`Alien`	drawn by
`prefix`	Text	Text field	`Alien sheet`	sheet name prefix: a press replaces the sheets made with this prefix
`make`	Boolean	Button	—	create (or replace) the layout pages in Rhino

Outputs

Output	Type	What it gives you
`pages`	list of Text	layout page names
`scales`	list of Text	scale of each placed view, in order (‘1:100’; ‘NTS’ for perspectives)
`sheets`	list of Curve	preview of the sheets at paper size (1 mm = 1 mm) from the world origin: border, details, view titles, title block
`info`	Text	what happened: a summary, sources and notes

How it works

Arrangement: auto grid, one per sheet, rows (plans, elevations, sections, 3D, one scale a row).
Scale: auto (largest standard scale that fits), one scale, or forced (cropped with a note); perspectives NTS.
Title block: project, drawing, number (counts up across sheets), scale, sheet k of n, date, drawn by.
make replaces the sheets made with the same prefix; press it again after re-making the views.

Exploded axo

exploded_axo

New since 0.02-alpha: arrives in the next beta.

Pull a building or object apart by part, branch or height band, with dashed explosion lines, labels and an isometric view saved for you. Cost: Free.

Inputs

Input	Type	On the component	Default	What it does
`geometry`	tree of Geometry	Select in Rhino	—	parts: one branch per group (e.g. per level), or a flat list exploded part by part; unwired: a sample building
`mode`	Text	Dropdown	`vertical stack`	how the groups move apart. One of `vertical stack`, `height bands`, `along vector`, `radial`
`spacing`	Number	Slider 0–50	`3`	gap opened between neighbouring groups (m); radial: how far the outermost group moves
`axis`	Vector3d	Wire	—	direction for ‘along vector’ (unwired: world Z)
`band`	Number	Slider 0.1–50	`3.2`	band height for ‘height bands’ (m)
`keep_base`	Boolean	Switch	on	the first (lowest) group stays where it is
`beside`	Boolean	Switch	off	draw the result beside the original (along +X) instead of over it
`leaders`	Text	Dropdown	`corners`	dashed explosion lines between where each group was and where it is. One of `none`, `corners`, `centres`
`names`	list of Text	Text field	—	a label per group, drawn beside it (in branch order; height bands: bottom up)
`angle`	Text	Dropdown	`SW`	isometric view from. One of `SW`, `SE`, `NE`, `NW`
`display`	Text	Text field	`Shaded`	display mode saved with the named view
`name`	Text	Text field	`Alien axo · Exploded`	named view name
`view`	Boolean	Button	—	create (or replace) a parallel isometric named view framing the result

Outputs

Output	Type	What it gives you
`exploded`	Data	the parts moved apart, in the same tree structure as geometry
`lines`	list of Curve	dashed explosion lines
`labels`	list of Curve	group labels as curves, facing the view
`transforms`	list of Transform	the move of each group (branch order; a flat list: part order; height bands: bottom up)
`info`	Text	what happened: a summary, sources and notes

How it works

Modes: vertical stack by group, height bands, along a vector, radial; spacing; keep the base group; beside the original.
Dashed explosion lines from outline corners or centres; labels facing the camera.
view saves (and replaces) a parallel isometric named view from SW/SE/NE/NW.

Get started

Using Alien

Ready-made components

Reference

Views and drawings

Site views

Inputs

Outputs

Views

Inputs

Outputs

Layout

Inputs

Outputs

Exploded axo

Inputs

Outputs

​Site views

​Inputs

​Outputs

​Views

​Inputs

​Outputs

​Layout

​Inputs

​Outputs

​Exploded axo

​Inputs

​Outputs

Site views

Inputs

Outputs

Views

Inputs

Outputs

Layout

Inputs

Outputs

Exploded axo

Inputs

Outputs