Editing Objects with AutoCAD - Section 4

CHAPTER 16: SELECTION METHODS

Like the absolute majority of computer users, surely you have already used a word processor like Word. And he knows perfectly well that it is possible to modify a document, edit it, not only in terms of its content, but also in terms of its form. So you also know that to modify the font, for example, you must first select all or part of the text with the mouse. And the same thing happens if we want to copy a part, cut it, paste it, erase it or make any other change.
In Autocad, the edition also passes through the selection of objects. And it is also possible to carry out a series of common modifications with them, such as moving, copying, erasing or changing their form. But since it is a much more sophisticated program than a word processor, the edition of the objects in Autocad, which we will study in the following chapters, has more elaborate methods to select them, as we will see immediately.

16.1 Object selection methods

When we activate a simple editing command, such as “Copy”, Autocad converts the cursor into a small box called “selection box”, which we already talk about in chapter 2. The selection of objects with this cursor is as simple as pointing out the lines that form it and clicking. If we want to add an object to the selection, it is simply pointed out and clicked again, the command line window shows how many objects have been selected. If for some reason we have added the wrong object to the selection and we do not want to start the selection again, then we must point it out, press the “Shift” key and click, eliminating it from the selection , the dotted lines that distinguished it disappear. Once “ENTER” is pressed and, therefore, the selection of objects is concluded, the execution of the editing command continues, as will be seen throughout this chapter.

However, this simple method of selecting objects can be impractical with a drawing full of elements, such as the one we can see in the next video. If we had to click on each object to be selected in such a drawing, the editing work would be really hard. For these cases we use the implicit and capture windows.
These windows are created when we indicate two points on the screen that represent the opposite corners of the rectangle that forms the window.
Selection windows are “default” when created from left to right. In them, all the objects that remain inside the window are selected. If an object only partially falls within the implicit window area, it is not part of the selection.
If we create our selection window from right to left, then it will be “capture” and all the objects that the border touches will be selected.

As the reader will surely have noticed when trying one or another window, when we draw an implicit window, we see that it is formed by a continuous line and has a blue background. The capture windows are distinguished by a dotted line and have a green background.
In turn, we have other selection methods available when, when executing an editing command, the command window gives us the message “Select objects”. For example, if we need to select all the objects that are on the screen (and that have not been blocked by layer as we will see in the chapter on layers), then in the command window we put the letter “T”, for “All”.
Other options that we can use by writing uppercase letters directly in the command window when you have to designate objects are:

- latest. It will select the object that has been selected at the end of a previous selection.
- Edge. Allows drawing line segments to select objects. All objects that cross the line will remain in the selection set.
- polygonOV. This option allows you to draw an irregular polygon that will serve as an implicit capture area, that is, in which all the objects that are completely contained in it will be selected.
- PolygonOC. Similar to capture windows, this option allows you to create irregular polygons where all the objects that are totally or partially in your area will be selected.
- Previous. Repeat the selection set of the last command.
– Multiple. This option simply shows the selected objects until we finish and press “ENTER”, not while we are making the selection.

On the other hand, all these options do not solve all the selection needs that we can have in a drawing with Autocad. When 2 or more objects are spliced ​​or too close together, the selection of one in particular can be complicated despite all the methods seen so far.
A simple solution is to use the cyclic selection, which consists of clicking on some nearby object while pressing the "SHIFT" keys and the Space Bar, after which we can continue clicking (without the key) and we will see that the Nearby objects will be alternately selected, until we reach the desired object.

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