Rhinoceros

 

KeyShot Studio for Rhinoceros Plugin

Version 1.7 (Released January 22nd 2025)

These installation notes are specific to the latest version KeyShot Studio, Rhinoceros (Rhino) and the KeyShot Studio for Rhino plugin, unless otherwise mentioned. For questions about other versions, please contact KeyShot Support.

 

Specifications

The KeyShot Studio for Rhino plugin requirements are as follows:

• KeyShot Studio (Try | Buy)

• Rhino 7 or newer

• Windows 10 and later

• MacOS 12 or later

Plugins for previous versions of KeyShot Studio are available here.

 

Supported Features

The KeyShot Studio for Rhino plugin supports these features:

• Support for meshes, surfaces, SubD and solids

• Maintain layer structure

• Maintain color and texture assignment

• Hidden objects on layers stay hidden

• Local axis support for layered parts

• LiveLinking™ (update model inside KeyShot Studio)

• Export KeyShot Studio .bip without KeyShot Studio installed

• NURBS import

 

Installation

1. Open the Rhino Package Manager inside your Rhino installation.

2. Search for KeyShot Studio.

3. Follow the prompts inside the Rhino Package Manager.

4. Restart Rhino.

 

KeyShot Studio for Rhino (Windows)

Once installed, three KeyShot Studio buttons will appear inside Rhino.

Render / Export

• Render: Left-click the KeyShot Studio button to launch KeyShot Studio and transfer the The 3D data.

• Export: Right-click the KeyShot Studio button to export your geometry as a .bip file that you can share with other KeyShot Studio users. KeyShot Studio will not launch.

Update

Left-click the KeyShot Studio Update button, while an existing KeyShot Studio scene is open, to update any changes on your model.

Help

Left-click on the KeyShot Studio Help button to launch this page in a browser.

 

How To Use The Plugin (Windows)

1. Open your scene or model in Rhino.

2. Left-click the Render button to launch KeyShot Studio. The 3D data will be transferred from Rhino to KeyShot Studio.

3. To update any changes made in Rhino, left-click the KeyShot Studio Update button, while your KeyShot Studio scene is open. All materials, textures, labels, animations, transformations, cameras, and lighting in the scene will be updated.

 

Troubleshooting

Show Missing KeyShot Studio Button

1. Go to Rhino > Main Menu > Tools > Options > Toolbars.

2. The Rhino Options window will appear. Under the Toolbars option you will have two files: default and KeyShotPlugin. Select KeyShotPlugin.

3. Enable KeyShot Studio inside the Toolbars box/list and click OK.

4. The button will re-appear, floating in the middle of the interface, so you may dock it as desired.

 

KeyShot Studio for Rhino 7 (MacOS)

In Rhino 7 on MacOS, you will not see any KeyShot Studio buttons appear. Instead, use the following commands within Rhino’s command line:

• KeyShotStudioRender to launch a new instance of KeyShot Studio and transfer your 3D data.

• KeyShotStudioExport to export your geometry as a .bip file to share with other KeyShot Studio users.

• KeyShotStudioUpdate to update the scene you currently have open. If the scene is not already open in KeyShot Studio a new instance of KeyShot Studio will be opened

• KeyShotStudioHelp to open this page in a browser.

 

How To Use The Plugin (MacOS)

1. Open your scene or model in Rhino.

2. Type KeyShotStudioRender in the command line to launch KeyShot Studio. The 3D data will be transferred from Rhino to KeyShot Studio.

3. To update any changes made in Rhino, type KeyShotStudioUpdate while your KeyShot Studio scene is open. All materials, textures, labels, animations, transformations, cameras, and lighting in the scene will be preserved.

 

Additional Information

The plugin will transfer model data such as:

• Mesh, surfaces, solids and NURBS geometry

• Visible layers and sub-layers

• Materials and textures

• Saved cameras and views

You can update your scene in KeyShot Studio after making changes to the model. These changes include:

• Geometry changes

• Geometry and model transformations

• Layer name changes

• Layer reordering

 

Uninstall

1. Open the Rhino Package Manager

2. Find the KeyShot Studio Plugin

3. Click uninstall

4. Restart Rhino

 

Previous Versions

Plugins that support previous versions of Rhino as well as previous version of KeyShot Studio are available here.