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

  • Click an object to select it.
  • Click away from the objects to deselect.

To select objects by a window rectangle

  • Drag a selection rectangle from left to right to use a window selection.

Note

  • When you make a window selection, objects completely enclosed in the selection rectangle are selected.

  • To make the mouse always use either a window or crossing selection, see Mouse Options, Mouse group select.

  • Search for SelectionWindowStrokeColor and SelectionWindowFillColor in Tools > Options > Advanced to change the colors of the window selection rectangle.

See: SelWindow

To select objects by a crossing rectangle

  • Drag a selection rectangle from right to left to do a crossing selection.

 

See: SelCrossing

Note

  • When you make a crossing selection, all objects inside or partially inside the selection rectangle are selected.

  • To make the mouse always use either a window or crossing selection, see Mouse Options, Mouse group select.

  • Search for SelectionWindowCrossingStrokeColor and SelectionWindowCrossingFillColor in Tools > Options > Advanced to change the colors of the crossing selection rectangle.

To add objects to a selection

  • Press and hold Shift while clicking single objects or using a window or crossing.

    Shift + or

To remove objects from a selection

  • Press and hold Ctrl(CMD) while clicking single objects or using a window or crossing.

    Ctrl(CMD) + or

    • When two shaded objects, one behind the other, are selected, Ctrl(CMD)+clicking on the wireframe of the object behind, it gets deselected, not the object in front.

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

  • Click the desired object name in the selection menu list with the left mouse button.
    Or
  • Click the left mouse button at the original pick point to cycle through the object name list.
  • Click the right mouse button to accept the currently-highlighted object name.
    Or
  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

  • Click None.
  • Click away from the objects.
  • Click another object.

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:

  • Curve and surface control points
  • Polysurface and extrusion faces and edge curves
  • Surface edge curves
  • Mesh vertices, faces, boundaries, and edges
  • SubD surface points, faces, boundaries and edges.
  • Objects and sub-objects within a group
  • Polycurve and polyline segments
  • Surface, polysurfaces, and extrusion object vertices. These are the equivalent of the points enabled by SolidPtOn.
  • Whole objects in block instances.

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

  • Press and hold Ctrl(CMD) + Shift and left mouse click, window, or crossing.

    Ctrl(CMD) + Shift + or

To de-select sub object parts with a mouse

  • Press and hold Ctrl(CMD) and left mouse click, window, or crossing.

    Ctrl(CMD) + Or

Restrictions for blocks:
  • Only whole objects in blocks can be selected.
    For example, you can select a box in a block, but you cannot select its faces or edges.
  • Whole objects and sub-objects in nested blocks cannot be selected.

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.

  • for curves, crv
  • for dimensions, dim
  • for edges, edge
  • for meshes, mesh
  • for points, pt
  • for polysurfaces, polysrf
  • for surfaces, srf
  • for mesh and SubD faces, face
  • for polysurface, mesh and SubD vertices, vertex

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:

  • The command determines that the objects can be used and proceeds without further prompting.
  • The command may proceed, but the result may be unexpected.
  • The command cannot determine which objects are to be used and the pre-selected objects are unselected, and you are prompted to select specific objects again.
  • Options may not appear at the command prompt.

Select all objects

Select

Toolbar Menu

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

The Select command selects objects.

Steps

  • Click an object to select it.

SelAll

Toolbar Menu Shortcut

Select
Standard

Edit

Select Objects >

All Objects

Ctrl (CMD) + 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

  • Drag a selection rectangle enclosing or crossing objects.

SelRectangular

Toolbar

Menu

New in V8

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Rectangular

The SelRectangular command emulates the regular window selection action with some control options.

Steps

  1. Start the command.

  2. Select command-line options.

  3. Draw a selection rectangle in a viewport.

Command-line options

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely inside the selection region.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the selection region.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection region.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the selection region.

SelectThroughObjects
Yes

Selects objects/sub-objects regardless of their visibility.

No

Only selects visible objects/sub-objects.

SelWindow

Toolbar Menu Alias

Not on toolbars.

Not on menus.

W

The SelWindow command selects with an enclosing window.

Steps

  • Drag a selection rectangle enclosing objects.

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

  • Drag a crossing selection.

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 inside the lasso path.

Crossing

Selects objects crossed by or completely inside the lasso path.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the lasso path.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects crossed by or completely outside the lasso path.

Undo

Removes the last point of the lasso path.

Note

  • Objects outside the viewport boundaries but within the boundaries of the selection object can be selected.

  • The view can be panned during the selection to bring more objects into view.

  • Use the CullControlPolygon command to hide control points and mesh vertices behind objects.

  • Use Selection Filters to change what types of objects/sub-objects are selectable.

SelBoundary

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Boundary

The SelBoundary command selects objects with a view based boundary defined by a closed curve.

Command-line options

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely inside the boundary curve.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the boundary curve.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the boundary curve.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the boundary curve.

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

SubD Tools

Edit

Select Objects >

Area and Volume Select >

Brush

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

Steps

  • Click and drag or click repeatedly to draw the stroke.

    By default it uses crossing select: objects touched by the stroke are selected.

    Use Selection Filters to change what types of objects/sub-objects are selectable.

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 inside the brush stroke.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the brush stroke.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the brush stroke.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the 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.

  • Hold Ctrl(CMD) to deselect objects.
  • Hold Ctrl(CMD) + Shift to select sub-objects.
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

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 on the view plane to select objects.

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely inside the circle.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the circle.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the circle.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the circle.

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.

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely inside the box.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the box.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the box.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the box.

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.

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely inside the pipe.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the pipe.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the pipe.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the pipe.

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 inside the sphere.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the sphere.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the sphere.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the sphere.

SelVolumeObject

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelVolumeObject command selects objects inside, outside, or crossing an closed extrusion object, surface, polysurface, or mesh.

Command-line options

SelectionMode
Window

Selects objects completely inside the selection object.

Crossing

Selects objects completely or partially inside the selection object.

InvertWindow

Selects objects completely outside the selection object.

InvertCrossing

Selects objects completely or partially outside the selection object.

Select annotation objects

SelAnnotationStyle

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select by Object Property >

By Annotation Style

The SelAnnotationStyle command selects annotation objects based on their style.

SelDim

Toolbar Menu

Drafting

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Dimensions

The SelDim command selects all dimensions.

SelDimOverride

Toolbar Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Select Objects >

Dimensions with Style Override

The SelDimOverride command selects dimension objects that have style settings changed and different from the associated annotation styles.

  • Dimension text change is ignored.

  • The Fit text setting is ignored.

See also

SelDimTextOverride

Selects dimension objects with non-default dimension text.

SelDimTextOverride

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Select Objects >

Dimensions with Text Override

The SelDimTextOverride command selects dimension objects with non-default dimension text.

See also

SelDimOverride

Selects dimension objects that have style settings changed and different from the associated annotation styles.

SelDot

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelDot command selects all annotation dots.

SelFontUse

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Select by Object Property >

By Annotation Font

The SelFontUse command selects annotations by fonts.

Steps

  1. Start the command.

    A dialog lists the fonts used by annotations (which are not locked, hidden, selected, or in blocks) in the current model or layout space.

  2. Select a font in the list.

    Hold Shift or Ctrl(CMD) to select more fonts.

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.

SelDimAngular

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Dimension Types >

Angular Dimensions

The SelDimAngular command selects all angular dimension objects.

SelDimCentermark

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Dimension Types >

Centermarks

The SelDimCentermark command selects all center mark dimension objects.

SelDimLinear

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Dimension Types >

Linear Dimensions

The SelDimLinear command selects all linear dimension objects.

SelDimOrdinate

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Dimension Types >

Ordinate Dimensions

The SelDimOrdinate command selects all ordinate dimension objects.

SelDimRadial

Toolbar

Menu

Select Dimensions

Edit

Dimension Types >

Radial Dimensions

The SelDimRadial command selects all radius and diameter dimension objects.

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

Not on menus.

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

SelControlPointRegion

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Not on menus.

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

Note

  • If curve or surface control points are pre-selected, the command expands the selection to cover all control points between the limits set by the selected control points.
  • If nothing is selected, the command asks to select a curve or surface, and then asks for two points that define a region of control points to select.

SelConnected

Toolbar Menu

Select Points

Edit

Control Points >

Select Control Points >

Connected

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

It also selects adjacent SubD surface points (turned on by EditPtOn ).

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(CMD) 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(CMD) 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 Planes

The SelClippingPlane command selects all clipping planes.

SelClippingPlaneInViewport

Toolbar

Menu

New in V8

Select

Visibility

Select

Edit

Select Objects >

Clipping Planes in Viewport

The SelClippingPlaneInViewport command selects the clipping planes that clip the current model or detail viewport.

Steps

  1. Select a model viewport or enable a detail view in a layout.
  2. Run the command.

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

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.

    Type "edge" before selecting the first segment, or uncheck the "Curves" selection filter before starting the command to only chain-select surface edges.

Chain options

ChainContinuity

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

Tip: You can double-click or Ctrl (CMD) + double-click on a curve to select or deselect all the curves connected with tangent continuity.

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.

SelSelfIntersectingCrv

Toolbar

Menu

Select Curves

Edit

Select Objects >

Self‑Intersecting Curves

The SelSelfIntersectingCrv command selects the curves that pass through themselves.

See also

IntersectSelf

Finds self-intersections in curves and marks them with point objects.

Select meshes

SelClosedMesh

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes

Not on menus.

The SelClosedMesh command selects all closed mesh objects.

SelEdgeLoop

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes

Select SubD

SubD Tools

Texture Tools

Not on menus.

The SelEdgeLoop command selects a loop of mesh/SubD edges by picking an edge in the loop.

Steps

  1. Pick a mesh/SubD edge.

    The picked edge is highlighted brighter than the rest of edges in the loop.

    You can hold down Ctrl(CMD) and pick the brighter edge to deselect the loop.

  2. Press Enter to accept the selection.
    An edge loop is selected.

  3. Hold down Shift + Ctrl(CMD) and pick the edges to deselect individually.

  • This command only works on meshes with UV information.
  • This command can be used when a command prompts for selecting mesh/SubD edges.

SelEdgeRing

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes

Select SubD

SubD Tools

Not on menus.

The SelEdgeRing command selects a ring of mesh/SubD edges by picking an edge in the ring.

Steps

  1. Pick a mesh/SubD edge.

    The picked edge is highlighted brighter than the rest edges in the ring.

    You can hold down Ctrl(CMD) and pick the brighter edge to deselect the ring.

  2. Press Enter to accept the selection.
    An edge ring is selected.

  3. Hold down Shift + Ctrl(CMD) and pick the edges to deselect individually.

  • This command only works on meshes with UV information.
  • This command can be used when a command prompts for selecting mesh/SubD edges.

SelFaceLoop

Toolbar Menu

Select Meshes

Select SubD

SubD Tools

Not on menus.

The SelFaceLoop command selects a loop of mesh/SubD faces by picking an edge between any two faces in the loop.

Steps

  1. Pick a mesh/SubD edge.

    The picked edge is highlighted brighter than the rest edges in the loop.

    You can hold down Ctrl(CMD) and pick the brighter edge to deselect the loop.

  2. Press Enter to accept the selection.
    A face loop is selected.

  3. Hold down Shift + Ctrl(CMD) and pick the faces to deselect individually.

  • This command only works on meshes with UV information.
  • This command can be used when a command prompts for selecting mesh/SubD faces.

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

  • Polygon mesh vertices are not completely surrounded by faces are displayed.
  • Joined meshes, such as those made by the MeshBox command, have naked mesh edge points where the sub-meshes are joined.
  • To eliminate naked mesh edge points, match them in pairs, and then use the Weld command to make a single mesh that cannot be exploded. Edges that formerly rendered sharp will shade rounded, unless you use the FlatShade command.
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.

SelSubDFriendlyCrv

Toolbar Menu

Select Curves

Select SubD

Edit

Select Objects >

SubD Friendly Curves

The SelSubDFriendlyCrv command selects SubD friendly (compatible) curves.

A SubD friendly curve (left) and a standard curve (right).
  • SubD friendly curves are degree 3 uniform curves that have the second point on both ends locked. The first and last three control points are always collinear.

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 polysurfaces and meshes.

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

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 by Object Property >

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.

  • In a display mode that shows materials, the SelColor command selects objects by material diffuse colors.
  • Objects enclosed in block instances or groups are not selected.

Command-line options

Color

Select a color from the Select Color dialog box.

RGBA

Select color using red, green, blue, alpha 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/sub-objects with the same render material name assigned by object or by layer.

Steps

  • Click Select in the dialog box to select objects or sub-objects with the material assigned.

SelName

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select by Object Property >

By Object Name

The SelName command selects object by name.

Steps

  • Choose from the list or click Select to select an object with the target name.
    Objects on hidden or locked layers cannot be selected with SelName.

Use of scriptable command, -SelName

  • The scriptable command works with pre-pick and allows using wildcard character ? (question mark) and * (asterisk) for matching text strings. Details...

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.

  • Wildcard character ? (question mark), * (asterisk), and ~ (tilde) can be used for matching text strings. Details...

SelValue

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelValue command selects objects by their user attribute value.

  • Wildcard character ? (question mark), * (asterisk), and ~ (tilde) can be used for matching text strings. Details...

SelKeyValue

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

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

  • Wildcard character ? (question mark), * (asterisk), and ~ (tilde) can be used for matching text strings. Details...

Select blocks, layers, and groups

SelBlockInstance

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select Objects > Blocks

Block Instances

The SelBlockInstance command selects all block instances.

SelBlockInstanceNamed

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select by Object Property >

By Block Name

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

  • Pre-selected blocks will be highlighted in the list.

SelMirroredBlocks

Toolbar

Menu

New in V8

Select

Edit

Select Objects > Blocks

Mirrored Block Instances

The SelMirroredBlocks command selects the block instances that were mirrored or scaled with a negative factor.

  • Block instances being mirrored even times are seen as not mirrored.

SelGroup

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select by Object Property >

By Group Name

The SelGroup command selects a group by name

SelLayer

Toolbar Menu

Select

Edit

Select by Object Property >

By Layer

The SelLayer command selects all objects on a layer.

Steps

  • Click Select in the dialog box to select an object on the layer.
Command-line options

Select

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

Use the scriptable command: -SelLayer

  • Separate sublayer names from parent names with double colons (::).

    -SelLayer LayerA::Layer01

  • Wildcard character * (asterisk) and ? (question mark) are supported.

    -SelLayer *

    -SelLayer LayerA::*

    -SelLayer Layer?01

  • If the layer names contain spaces, surround the names with double-quotes.

    -SelLayer "Layer 01"

SelLayerNumber

Toolbar Menu

Select

Not on menus.

The SelLayerNumber command selects objects by layer number.

Note

  • The number of the first layer is zero.
  • Each layer has a number that is assigned to it for a Rhino editing session.
  • The numbers may change when the model is closed and then reopened.
  • This number has nothing to do with the order the layers appear in the layer dialog box.
  • Deleted layers keep their number.

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.

DeselectOthersBeforeSelect
Yes

Remove the current object from selection when its child object is added.

Repeat the SelChildren command.
No

Keep the current object in selection when its child object is added.

Repeat the SelChildren command.
IgnoreAnnotations

Do not select annotation objects created with History recorded.

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.

DeselectOthersBeforeSelect
Yes

Remove the current object from selection when its parent object is added.

Repeat the SelParents command.
No

Keep the current object in selection when its parent object is added.

Repeat the SelParents command.

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

  • Type a hyphen in front of the command name: -SelLast.
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 of objects or sub-objects.

To access hidden command-line options

  • Type a hyphen in front of the command name: -SelPrev.
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.

SubDFaceEdgeVertexToggle

Toolbar

Menu

Select SubD

SubD Tools

Not on menus.

The SubDFaceEdgeVertexToggle command toggles SubD sub-object selection between SubD faces, edges, and vertices.

Steps

  1. Ctrl(CMD)+Shift+Click one or more SubD faces.

  2. Run the SubDFaceEdgeVertexToggle command several times.

    The selection cycles through faces, edges, and vertices.