When you run editing or drawing commands, most of them ask you to select objects from the drawing to edit or draw on.
When you select objects, keep the following in mind:
-
You can select objects using several different methods. They are listed below in Selection methods.
-
You can clear selected objects by selecting them again.
Note: If you have selected the AutoCAD selection style, reselect an object by pressing the Ctrl key and selecting the object.
-
End the selection by pressing Enter.
Selection methods
The list below details the different methods of selecting objects and their keywords.
-
Automatic – Select an object or an area. This is the default selection method .
-
Window – Select objects by forming a selection window around them. The order in which you point the corners defines the selection method:
-
If you point the lower corner first, the function selects all objects that are completely inside the window.
-
If you select the upper corner first, the function selects all objects that intersect the window.
-
-
Inside – Select all objects that are completely inside a window that you define by two corner points, regardless of the order in which you define the corner points.
-
Crossing – Select all objects that intersect a window that you define by two corner points, regardless of the order in which you define the corner points.
-
Wpolygon – Select all objects that are completely inside a polygon that you define.
-
Cpolygon – Select all objects that intersect a polygon that you define.
-
Fence – Select all objects crossing a polyline that you define.
-
Pick – Select individual objects by pointing them with a pick box. The program notifies you if does not find an object, and you can continue to pick objects.
-
All – Select all objects in the drawing.
-
Previous – Select the objects that were selected in the previous edit function. Also see Create an object selection list.
-
Last – Select the objects that were drawn by the last function.
-
Single – Select only one object either by a pick box or area selection. The program continues on with the function automatically.
-
View – Select all objects that are in the current view, even partially.
-
WCircle – Select all objects that are entirely inside a circle that you draw.
-
CCircle – Select all objects that are intersect a circle that you draw.
-
Layer – Select all objects that are on the current layer.
Define the selection method
When the command line asks you to select objects, such as Select objects to move, you can enter the keyword of the method you want to use.
Select objects to move: wpolygon
The program changes the selection method to the one you entered.
You can enter a + or a - as a prefix to the keyword to add or remove objects from the selection. When you want to change to the other mode, enter the keyword without a prefix. The All, Previous and Last methods use the mode only temporarily and return to the normal mode after the selection.
The command line tells you the number of objects it has found and selected.
If you repeatedly use certain selection methods, you might benefit from adding them to a text menu. For more information, see Text menu definitions.