Can I hide the ʼpointsʼ of a curve once I am done editing in Rhinoceros 3D?

ByCADbrief Staff

Short Answer

Yes — in Rhino 3D, you can hide the points of a curve after editing by turning off its control points with PointsOff. This is the most common professional method for clearing visible edit grips from selected curves, surfaces, or polysurfaces. Limitation: it only hides control points, not regular point objects.

What You Need to Know Before

Warning: If control points stay visible, you may accidentally drag the curve and deform finished geometry without noticing. Also, PointsOff only affects active control points on editable objects, so it will not hide standalone point objects created with Point.

How-to

  • Command: PointsOff

  • Shortcut: F11

  • Quick Steps:

    1. Select the curve if needed, or leave it unselected if its control points are already on.
    2. Run PointsOff from the command line, or press F11.
    3. If prompted, confirm the selected object and the visible control points will be turned off.

Variables & Settings

  • Key Setting: Control points must be turned on for the object first, typically with PointsOn or F10.

Why it Fails

  • Cause 1 (Geometry): The visible markers may be edit points or point objects, not control points, so PointsOff will not affect them.
  • Cause 2 (layers/Locks): If the object is on a locked layer or is otherwise not editable, point display behavior may not respond as expected.
  • Cause 3 (Command/Logic): Users often run the wrong command sequence after using EditPtOn; in that case, EditPtOff is needed instead of PointsOff.

Quick Fix & Best Practice

  • Quick Fix: If PointsOff does not work, run SelPt, EditPtOff, or verify whether you are seeing control points versus point objects.
  • Manager’s Verdict: Use PointsOff as soon as you finish shaping curves to keep the viewport clean and prevent accidental edits during production modeling.

FAQ

Can I hide points on all selected curves at once?
Yes, PointsOff works on multiple selected supported objects.

What is the difference between PointsOff and EditPtOff?
PointsOff hides control points, while EditPtOff hides edit points.

Will PointsOff delete any geometry?
No, it only turns off the display of control points.

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