Can I extract the faces or edges of VisualARQ objects?

Since VisualARQ objects are actually blocks, some Rhino commands don’t apply directly on them, in the same way they don’t work on Rhino blocks directly. This happens with the _DupBorderRhinoceros duplicate face border command icon or the _ExtractSrfRhinoceros extract surface command icon commands.

Some other commands, like the _DupEdgeRhinoceros duplicate edge command icon, do work on VisualARQ objects (although edges are not highlighted after the selection).

For those that do not work, there is a workaround to sort this problem out.

  1. Make a copy “in place” of the VisualARQ object you want to extract a border or a face from. (Run the _CopyRhinoceros copy command icon command and select the “InPlace” option in the command line).
  2. Hide one of the two copies, or lock it.
  3. Explode the visible (or unlocked) object so that it becomes a regular polysurface.
  4. On this polysurface you can now apply the _DupBorderRhinoceros duplicate face border command icon or the _ExtractSrfRhinoceros extract surface command icon commands, for example.
  5. Once you have duplicated the faces or face borders, delete the polysurface.
  6. Show (or unlock) the original object you had hidden (or locked).

ExtractSrf and DupEdge from VA objects