Status bar

The status bar is located at the bottom of the Rhino window. It displays the current coordinate system, the current location of the cursor, the model units, and the status bar panes that provide precision and drawing aids.

The different panes change to bold when they are activated.

CPlane / World
The construction plane/world coordinates toggle.

X
The mouse cursor x location.

Y
The mouse cursor y location.

Z
The mouse cursor z location.

Units/Delta
If no command is being executed, displays the current units setting.
During drawing commands, displays the distance from last picked point to the current location.

Layer pane
Layer pane works as a quick control for setting the selected objects' layer or to change layer visibility and status.

If no objects are selected, the Layer pane displays the current layer
If objects are selected, the Layer pane displays the layer of the selected objects.

Grid snap pane
When Grid Snap is on, the marker "snaps" between grid snap points.
The distance apart is set in Document Properties. Right click the pane to set options.

Ortho pane
The Ortho command restricts the movement of the cursor to a specified angle from the last point created.The default angle is 90 degrees.
Right click the pane to set options.

Note
Clicking Ortho in the status bar, and the F8 key, are all toggles. Holding Shift changes the mode while you hold the key down.

Planar pane
Planar mode aids in creating planar objects with commands that allow free picking.
When Planar mode is on, it constrains successive picked locations to the same construction plane elevation as the previous location.

Example

1. From the Drawing Toolbar, run Spline, then click Control Points.
2. Pick the first point in the lower part of the Top viewport.
3. Move the cursor to the Front viewport and continue drawing.
   You will see that all the points you pick define a planar curve at the same elevation in the Front viewport. (Watch the Top and Right viewports). That elevation for the Front viewport was defined by the very first point you placed in the Top viewport.
   With Planar off, the subsequent points would be at elevation 0 in the Front viewport.

Osnap pane
The Osnap control allows you to enable and select the object snaps you want to use.
Right click the pane to set options.

Smart track
Smart Track Pane activates a reference system that draws temporary tracking lines and smart points automatically when briefly hovering the mouse over a reference point on objects.
Tracking lines and smart points are displayed during the command. Press the Ctrl key to manually place a smart point anywhere or move it.

Gumball
The Gumball pane displays the gumball widget on a selected object facilitating move, scale, and rotate transformations around the gumball origin.

Auto CPlane
When Auto CPlane is turned on, the CPlane in the current viewport automatically aligns with the selected curve, surface. The curve has to be planar, while the surface can be either planar or non-planar.

Record History pane
History stores the connection between a command's input geometry and the result so that when the input geometry changes, the result updates accordingly. For example, with History recording and Update turned on, a lofted surface can be changed by editing the input curves.

Filter
Filter opens the Selection Filter controls. The Selection Filter restricts any selection mode to specified object types.

Info
Info pane displays information about the current Rhino session.