2.4.2 - Select Objects

Select objects by clicking

them or by using a window or crossing method, and do one of the following:
• Select individual objects by clicking them.
• Window selection. Drag your cursor from left to right to select only objects entirely enclosed by the rectangular area.
• Crossing selection. Drag your cursor from right to left to select objects that the rectangular window encloses or crosses.
• Press Enter to end object selection.
• Deselect objects by pressing shift and then clicking individual objects or dragging across multiple objects. Press Esc to deselect all objects.

Select objects by properties

You can select objects based on specified filtering criteria using:
• Quick Select (QSELECT).
• Right-click on your screen, and from the menu that will open, select the Quick Select tab (Fig.2.4.2.2), or alternatively:
• Click Home tab ►Utility panel ► click Quick Select icon  (Fig.2.4.2.1).

Fig.2.4.2.1– Ribbon – Utilities – Quick Select

To select the objects with a specific color, in the dialog box that will open (Fig.2.4.2.3):
• Under Apply To > select Entire Drawing.
• Under Object Type > select Multiple.
• Under Properties > select Color.
• Under Operator > select Equals.
• Under Value > specify the color.
• Under How to Apply > select “Include in New Section Set.”
• Click OK.

Fig.2.4.2.2 –  Quick Select

To exclude objects from a selection set

You can exclude objects from the current selection set using the ‘Exclude from the new selection set.’
Let’s assume that we want to exclude, from a set of objects already selected, all the circles in the drawing which have a radius less than 2.

• Select the objects.
• Click Home tab ►Utility panel ►click Quick Select icon  (Fig.2.4.2.1).
• In the Quick Select dialog box (Fig.2.4.2.3):
• Under Apply To > select Current Selection.
• Under Object Type > select Circle.
• Under Properties > select Radius.
• Under Operator > select ‘Greater than.’
• Under Value > Type 2.
• Under How to Apply > select “Exclude from New Section Set.”
• Click OK.
All circles with a radius greater than 2 are removed from the selection.

Fig.2.4.2.3 – Quick Select - Dialog box

Select Similar option

The option Select Similar is a simple but powerful tool to make quick selections on your drawing.
Let’s assume that we want to select all the circles of a sample drawing.
• Select any one of the drawing’s circles.
• Right-click and select the Select Similar option from the contextual menu (Fig.2.4.2.4).
You can also refine the selection criteria of the selected similar tool by changing its settings.
If you wish to change the Select Similar Settings:
• Type SELECTSIMILAR on the command line and press enter, then select the settings option from the command line.
• In the Select Similar Settings dialog box that will open (Fig.2.4.2.5), check the property boxes you want to include in the selection criteria of the select similar option.
For this example, include the color in the selection criteria too, and click OK.
• Select one or more objects as the selection criteria.

Fig.2.4.2.4 – Select the Similar option

Fig.2.4.2.5 – Select Similar Settings

• Press Enter to select similar objects (For this example, select a circle).
  It will select all the circles which have the same color as the color of the chosen circle.

Selection Cycling

When you try to select an object, you can notice that you can’t pick it because it overlaps with other objects, and the icon  is displayed.
Use the Selection Cycling button  (on the status bar Fig.2.3.4.1), which controls the display behavior when you hover over or select an object that overlaps other objects.
This button controls whether a badge or the Selection dialog box displays when you hover over your mouse or select an overlapping object.
You can choose between overlapping objects by pressing Shift + Space or using the Selection dialog box. Make sure that the Selection Cycling button is on.
If you don’t see this button icon on the status bar, then in the command line, type DSETTINGS. On the top of the Drafting Settings dialog box, select the tab “Selection Cycling” and tick the box “Allow selection cycling”.