Navigating the canvas

Most of Grasshopper’s interface is focused on the canvas, which is where you compose your definitions by laying out the components and connecting them with wires. Working in the canvas should be pretty intuitive for anyone used to working with digital design tools, but let’s spend some time looking at a few of it’s more advanced features which will speed up your workflow and allow you to get the most out of Grasshopper.

Context menus

Clicking on an empty part of the canvas will bring up a set of context menus that will help you select components and access common options faster.

• Double-clicking on the canvas with the left mouse button brings up the component search bar. Once the search bar pops up you can start typing the name of the component you want to create and the search bar will present the closest matches from the components you have loaded. You can then press Enter to select the closest match, scroll through the matches with the arrow keys, or select from the matches with the mouse to place the chosen component on the canvas. As long as you know the name of the component you want to create, the search bar can be a very quick way to find it.

• Clicking on the canvas with either the middle or right mouse button brings up a context menu that allows you to select from a set of common options. For example, if you have…