Selection commands

Dedicated selection commands let you select by object properties.

Selection categories

All objects

Action order

Annotation

Blocks

Capture

Cages

Control Points

Curves

Duplicates

History

Invert

Layers and Groups

Lights

Meshes

Object type

Point

Polysurfaces

Properties

Surfaces

Select object basics

To select single objects with a click

To select objects by a window rectangle

Note

See: SelWindow

To select objects by a crossing rectangle

 

See: SelCrossing

Note

To add objects to a selection

To remove objects from a selection

Selection menu

If several objects appear to be stacked in the area of the cursor and Rhino is not able to tell which one you want to select, the Selection Menu appears.

When the Selection Menu pops up, the current object and its designation in the list highlight.

To select an object

  1. Use the mouse wheel to cycle through the list.
  2. Click the right mouse button to accept the currently-highlighted object name.

To cancel the selection process

To configure the selection menu, see: Selection Menu Options, or right-click the Selection Menu title bar.

Select sub-parts of objects

For many commands, you can select sub-parts of objects or specified object types to allow you to restrict selection in a tight area.

Examples include:

Selecting sub-objects with a mouse

You can select sub-objects with a mouse before a command starts (pre-select) or during a command (post-select).

To select sub-object parts with a mouse

To de-select sub object parts with a mouse

Restrictions for blocks:

Select sub-parts with a command-line filter

Command-line selection filters work on a more limited set of sub-objects for commands that ask you to select objects after the command starts (post-select). These commands let you use filters to pick a sub-part of an object or specific objects rather than the whole object.

To select a sub-part of an object as input to a command, type

Sub-object parts can be selected and de-selected using capture tools: SelWindow and SelCrossing, Lasso, SelBrush, SelCircular, SelBoundary, SelVolumeSphere, and SelBox.

Pre-select/Post-select

For commands that require object input, the objects can be selected before or after the command starts. Command prompts or options may be slightly different in the two methods. When objects are pre-selected the possibilities include:

Select all objects

Select

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The Select command selects objects.

Steps

SelAll

Toolbar Menu Shortcut

Select
Standard

Edit

Select Objects >

All Objects

Ctrl + A

The SelAll command selects all objects.

SelNone

Toolbar Menu Shortcut

Select
Standard

Edit

Select Objects >

None

Esc

The SelNone command deselects all objects.

The SelNone command does not run inside a command to clear pre-selected objects.

SelCrossing

Toolbar Menu Shortcut

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

C

The SelCrossing command selects with a crossing window.

Steps

SelWindow

Toolbar Menu Alias

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

W

The SelWindow command selects with an enclosing window.

Steps

Invert

Toolbar Menu

Geometry Fix
Select
Select Points
STL Tools
Visibility

Edit

Select Objects >

Invert

The Invert command deselects all selected objects and selects all visible objects that were not previously selected.

SelBadObjects

Toolbar Menu

Analyze
Diagnostics
Geometry Fix

Analyze

Diagnostics >

Select Bad Objects

The SelBadObjects command selects all objects that do not pass Check.

Delete or rebuild the object.

SelVisible

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes
Select Polysurfaces
Select Surfaces

Edit

Select Objects >

Visible Surfaces and Meshes

The SelVisible command selects all surfaces or meshes that are in front of other objects in the active viewport with a crossing selection.

Steps

Note: The SelVisible command does not work with block instances since they are drawn using their own draw lists that have no relationship with other objects in the model.

SelSmall

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Small Objects

The SelSmall command selects all objects smaller than the specified size.

Select objects by capturing

Lasso

Toolbar Menu

Organic
Select
Select Points

Edit

Select Objects

Area and Volume Select

Lasso

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Lasso

The Lasso command selects objects by sketching an irregular shape around them.

The lasso uses the Tracking lines color set in Color Options.

Command-line options

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely enclosed by the lasso path.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially enclosed by the lasso path.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the lasso path.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the lasso path.

Note

SelBoundary

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Boundary

The SelBoundary command selects objects based on a boundary defined by an existing closed curve.

Command-line options

SelectionMode

Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

Precise

Yes

The selection wire boundary is used as the boundary.

The testing is done in double-precision floating point in screen space. If any part of the object is even slightly outside the selection boundary, it will not be included.

No

A selection mask bitmap is built from the boundary, and the objects are tested against that mask.

The testing is done using a bitmap selection mask, which effectively adds an average of half a pixel wide fuzz zone around the selection boundary. Objects that visually seem as though they should be included, but are actually partially outside the boundary, are still included.

SelBrush

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Brush

The SelBrush command selects objects based on painting a thick brush stroke.

Steps

Command-line options

Curve

Select an existing curve that represents the brush stroke.

Polyline
Yes

Draw straight stroke between clicks.

No

Draw strokes by freehand.

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

BrushWidth

Specifies the brush width in pixels.

Or, hold Shift and move the cursor up (increase size) or down (decrease size) to change the brush size dynamically.

SelectThroughObjects
Yes

Selects objects/sub-objects regardless of their visibility.

No

Only selects visible objects/sub-objects.

RealTimeSelection
Yes

Select instantly when the brush circle touches objects. Brush strokes do not display.

No

Select objects under strokes when the command ends.

SelBrushPoints

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Brush

The SelBrushPoints command selects points, control points, and points within a point cloud with a drag of the mouse to simulate a brush stroke.

To unselect, press Ctrl while brushing selected points.

Command-line options

Curve

Select an existing curve that represents the brush stroke.

SelectionMode

Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

BrushWidth

Specifies the brush width in pixels.

SelFence

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelFence command selects objects based on drawing a line through objects. Only objects crossed by the line are selected.

Command-line option

Curve

Select an existing curve as the selector.

SelCircular

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Circular

The SelCircular command draws a circle to select objects.

Command-line options

SelectionMode

Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

SelBox

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Box

The SelBox commands selects objects with point samples inside/outside/crossing a box-shaped volume.

It will not select objects that should not be included, but may miss an object if the point samples miss the selection box.

Command-line options

SelectionMode

Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

SelVolumePipe

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Pipe

The SelVolumePipe command selects objects inside, outside, or crossing a pipe-shaped volume.

Command-line options

SelectionMode

Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

SelVolumeSphere

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Sphere

The SelVolumeSphere command selects objects inside, outside, or crossing a spherical volume.

Command-line options

SelectionMode

Window

Selects objects completely covered by the selection object or brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object or brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects outside and crossed by selection object or brush stroke.

SelVolumeObject

Toolbar Menu

Select

New in V6

Not on menus.

The SelVolumeObject command selects objects enclosed by an extrusion object, surface, polysurface, or mesh.

Select annotation objects

SelAnnotationStyle

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

By Annotation Style

The SelAnnotationStyle command selects annotation objects based on their style.

SelDim

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Dimensions

The SelDim command selects all dimensions.

SelDot

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelDot command selects all annotation dots.

SelLeader

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Edit

Select Objects >

Leaders

The SelLeader command selects all leaders.

SelText

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Text

The SelText command selects all text.

Select control points

AddNextU

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Add Next U

The AddNextU command adds the control point in the positive u direction to the selection.

AddNextV

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Add Next V

The AddNextV command adds the control point in the positive v direction to the selection.

AddPrevU

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Add Previous U

The AddPrevU command adds the control point in the negative u direction to the selection.

AddPrevV

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Add Previous V

The AddPrevV command adds the control point in the negative v direction to the selection.

NextU

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Next U

The NextU command selects the control point in the positive u direction.

NextV

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Next V

The NextV command selects the control point in the positive v direction.

PrevU

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Previous U

The PrevU command selects the control point in the negative u direction.

PrevV

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Previous V

The PrevV command selects the control point in the negative v direction.

SelControlPoint

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

New In V6

Not on menus.

The SelControlPoint command selects all control points on a curve or surface.

SelControlPointRegion

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

New in V6

Not on menus.

The SelControlPointRegion command selects a range of control points on a curve or surface.

Note

SelConnected

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Connected

The SelConnected command selects adjacent control points of a curve, surface, or mesh.

SelU

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Select U

The SelU command selects all control points in the u direction.

Note:

When Make control polygon pickable is enabled, double-clicking a control polygon selects all control points in the row. Hold down Ctrl and double-click to deselect a row of control points in selection.

SelUV

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Select UV

The SelUV command selects all control points in the u and v directions.

Note:

When Make control polygon pickable is enabled, double-clicking a control polygon selects all control points in the row. Hold down Ctrl and double-click to deselect a row of control points in selection.

SelV

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Select V

The SelV command selects all control points in the v direction.

Select by object type

SelClippingPlane

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Clipping Plane

The SelClippingPlane command selects all clipping planes.

SelDetail

Toolbar

Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelDetail command selects all Detail view rectangles in the current Layout viewport.

SelExtrusion

Toolbar Menu

Select Polysurfaces

Edit

Select Objects >

Extrusions

The SelExtrusion command selects all objects created as light-weight extrusions.

SelHatch

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Hatches

The SelHatch command selects hatch objects.

SelLight

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Lights

The SelLight command selects all lights.

SelMappingWidget

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelMappingWidget command selects all texture mapping widgets.

SelNamedViewWidget

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelNamedViewWidget command selects all named view widget objects.

SelPicture

Toolbar Menu

Select Surfaces

Not on menus.

The SelPicture command selects all objects created with the Picture command.

Select curves

SelCrv

Toolbar Menu

Select
Select Curves

Edit

Select Objects >

Curves

The SelCrv command selects all curves.

SelShortCrv

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Not on menus.

The SelShortCrv command selects all curves less than a specified length.

SelOpenCrv

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Not on menus.

The SelOpenCrv command selects all open curves.

SelPlanarCrv

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

New in V6

Not on menus.

The SelPlanarCrv command selects all planar curves.

SelClosedCrv

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Not on menus.

The SelClosedCrv command selects all closed curves.

SelChain

Toolbar Menu

Select
Select Chain

Edit

Select Objects >

Chain

The SelChain command selects curve or surface edges that touch end-to-end.

To chain-select objects

  1. Inside a command that accepts chain selection, type chain.

  2. Select first chain segment.

Chain options

ChainContinuity

Controls the level of continuity required between segments to be selected.

Direction

Forward

Selects curves in the positive curve direction.

Backward

Selects curves in the negative curve direction.

Both

Selects curves in both the positive and negative curve direction.

GapTolerance

If the gap between two edges/curves is less than this value, the chain selection will ignore the gap and will select the next segment.

AngleTolerance

When Continuity is set to Tangency, if the angle between two edges/curves is less than this value, the chain selection will consider the criteria for continuity met and will select the next segment.

Undo

Undo last segment selection.

Next

Select next segment.

All

Select all segments.

SelLine

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Edit

Select Objects >

Lines

The SelLine command selects all lines and straight, higher degree curves. For example, a straight degree three curve with four points will be selected, but a degree three curve with five or more points will not be selected.

SelPolyline

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Edit

Select Objects >

Polylines

The SelPolyline command selects all polylines.

Select meshes

SelClosedMesh

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes

Not on menus.

The SelClosedMesh command selects all closed mesh objects.

SelMesh

Toolbar Menu

Select
Select Meshes

Edit

Select Objects >

Polygon Meshes

The SelMesh command selects all mesh objects.

SelNakedMeshEdgePt

Toolbar Menu

STL Tools

Not on menus.

The SelNakedMeshEdgePt command selects unwelded vertices on polygon mesh edges.

Note

Command-line options

IncludeUnweldedEdges

The IncludeUnweldedEdges option determines whether points on edges that are unjoined or only naked edge vertices will be included.

This is good for troubleshooting MatchMeshEdge.

SelOpenMesh

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes

Not on menus.

The SelOpenMesh command selects all open mesh objects.

SelClosedSubD

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelClosedSubD command selects all closed subdivision objects.

SelOpenSubD

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelOpenSubD command selects all open subdivision objects.

SelSubD

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelSubD command selects all subdivision objects.

Select point objects

InvertPt

Toolbar Menu

Select
Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Invert

The InvertPt command deselects all selected control or edit points and selects all visible control or edit points that were not previously selected.

SelPt

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Points

The SelPt command selects all point objects.

SelPtCloud

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelPtCloud command selects all point cloud objects.

Select polysurfaces

SelPolysrf

Toolbar Menu Alias

Select
Select Polysurfaces

Edit

Select Objects >

Polysurfaces

SelPolysurface

The SelPolysrf command selects all polysurfaces.

SelClosedPolysrf

Toolbar Menu

Select Polysurfaces

Not on menus.

The SelClosedPolysrf command selects all closed polysurfaces.

SelOpenPolysrf

Toolbar Menu

Edge Tools
Select Polysurfaces

Not on menus.

The SelOpenPolysrf command selects all open polysurfaces.

SelNonManifold

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelNonManifold command selects non-manifold polysurface objects.

Select surfaces

SelSrf

Toolbar Menu

Select
Select Surfaces

Edit

Select Objects >

Surfaces

The SelSrf command selects all surfaces.

SelClosedSrf

Toolbar Menu

Select Surfaces

Not on menus.

The SelClosedSrf command select all closed surfaces.

SelOpenSrf

Toolbar Menu

Select Surfaces

Not on menus.

The SelOpenSrf command selects all open surfaces.

SelPlanarSrf

Toolbar Menu

Select Surfaces

New in V6

Not on menus.

The SelPlanarSrf command selects all planar surfaces.

SelTrimmedSrf

Toolbar Menu

Select Surfaces

Not on menus.

The SelTrimmedSrf command selects all trimmed surfaces.

SelUntrimmedSrf

Toolbar Menu

Select Surfaces

Not on menus.

The SelUntrimmedSrf command selects all untrimmed surfaces.

Select by object properties

SelColor

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

By Color

The SelColor command selects all objects of a specified display color or material diffuse color depending on the display mode of the active viewport.

Command-line options

Color

Select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

RGB

Select color using red, green, blue values.

SelID

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelID command selects objects by object ID number.

SelLinetype

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Not on menus.

The SelLinetype command selects objects with the specified linetype.

SelMaterialName

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelMaterialName command selects objects with the same render material name assigned by object or by layer.

Steps

SelName

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

By Object Name

The SelName command selects object by name.

Steps

SelRenderColor

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The SelRenderColor command selects objects by their (diffuse) render color. Objects enclosed in block instances are not selected. Objects enclosed in groups are selected.

Command-line options

Color

Select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

RGB

Select color using red, green, blue values.

SelKey

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelKey command selects objects by their user attribute key.

SelValue

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelValue command selects objects by their user attribute value.

SelKeyValue

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelKeyValue command selects objects by their user attribute key and value.

Select blocks, layers, and groups

SelBlockInstance

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Block Instances

The SelBlockInstance command selects all block instances.

SelBlockInstanceNamed

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

By Block Name

The SelBlockInstanceNamed command selects all block instances of a specified name.

SelGroup

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

By Group Name

The SelGroup command selects a group by name

SelLayer

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

By Layer

The SelLayer command selects all objects on a layer.

Steps

Command-line options

Select

Allows selecting an object in the model to specify the layer.

Use the scriptable command: -SelLayer

SelLayerNumber

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelLayerNumber command selects objects by layer number.

Note

Select cage objects

SelCaptives

Toolbar Menu

Cage

Not on menus.

The SelCaptives command selects captive objects set up using the CageEdit command.

SelControls

Toolbar Menu

Cage

Not on menus.

The SelControls command selects cage control objects set up using the CageEdit command.

Select objects with history

SelObjectsWithHistory

Toolbar Menu

History
Select
Select History

Edit

Select Objects >

History >

Objects with History

The SelObjectsWithHistory command selects objects that have history.

SelChildren

Toolbar Menu

History
Select History

Edit

Select Objects >

History >

Children

The SelChildren command selects child objects of the currently selected objects.

Command-line options

(These options are not visible with pre-selection.)

All

If no objects are selected, the All option will select all child objects.

SelParents

Toolbar Menu

History
Select History

Edit

Select Objects >

History >

Parents

The SelParents command selects parent objects of the currently selected objects.

Command-line options

(These options are not visible with pre-selection.)

All

If no objects are selected, the All option will select all parent objects.

Select by action order

SelLast

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Last Created Objects

The SelLast command selects the last changed objects, including importing objects.

To access hidden command-line options

Command-line options

DeselectOthersBeforeSelect

Deselect currently selected objects before selecting the last changed objects.

SelPrev

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Previous Selection

The SelPrev command re-selects the previous selection set.

To access hidden command-line options

Command-line options

DeselectOthersBeforeSelect

Deselect currently selected objects before selecting the previous objects.

Select duplicate objects

SelDup

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Duplicate Objects

The SelDup command selects objects that are geometrically identical with another object, visible, and in the same location regardless of other object properties.

SelDupAll

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelDupAll command selects all visible objects that are geometrically identical, including the original.

Since this command selects both the copies and the originals, it lets you find objects that have been changed by comparing a before and after version of the model.

Compare to the SelDup command, which selects all visible objects that are geometrically identical, excluding the original.

See also

Select objects

Edit objects using control points.

 

 

 

Rhinoceros 6 © 2010-2020 Robert McNeel & Associates. 11-Nov-2020