Selecting Objects Graphically
Every object can be selected in the work window with a mouse click. It is then highlighted in another color in the graphic. Only the last clicked object remains selected, provided that the New Selection default setting is not changed.
If you want to select several objects by clicking them, hold down the [Ctrl] key while clicking. By switching to the Add to Selection setting with the toolbar button shown on the left or by using the Edit → Select menu item, you can individually click objects to select them one by one.
The so-called preselection allows you to locate relevant objects before clicking. If selecting objects proves to be difficult for complex structural systems, you can exclude non-required model objects from the graphical preselection in the Display navigator category Preselection.
Use the window selection to mark a lot of objects in a single step: Simply hold down the left mouse button and draw a window across the relevant objects. If you draw the window from left to right, all objects that are completely within the window are selected. If you draw the window from right to left, you also select the objects that are only partly within the window.
Note
Lines or nodes that lie in surfaces can be selected without unintentionally displacing the surfaces: Hold down the [Alt] key while you draw the window over the objects inside the surface.
In the isometric view, it is sometimes difficult to select an object with a rectangular window. In such a case, it is recommended to use the Selection via Rhomboid function, which you can access with the menu entry
- Edit → Select → Rhomboid
or with the corresponding toolbar button.
The possibility to select objects via an ellipse or annulus are alternatives to the rhomboid selection, which can be used for circular surfaces, for example. To access the corresponding functions, select the menu item
- Edit → Select → Ellipse or Circular Ring
or use the corresponding toolbar buttons.
The elliptical or annular selection zone can be defined by clicking the center point and both radii.
You can select objects by means of a line that runs anywhere through the model. To access this function, use the menu option
- Edit → Select → Section Line.
The section line can not only be defined as a simple line but also as a polygonal chain in the work window. Click the relevant points one after the other to define the line. These points are independent of the work plane: The selection includes all objects that are cut by the intersection line displayed in the current view.
After setting the endpoint of the section line, click it once again (alternative: double-click the last point). Make sure to place this point into an empty area of the work window.
Objects that lie in one plane (e.g. roof surfaces) can be easily selected with the In Plane selection function. To open the corresponding dialog box, use the menu option
- Edit → Select → In Plane.
A dialog box appears with detailed settings for selecting the objects and the plane.
After clicking [OK], you can graphically define the selection plane: Click 3 Nodes or draw a Polygonal chain freely or with the help of nodes in the work plane.
Nodes that are not used for defining lines or surfaces can be selected with the menu entry
- Edit → Select → Free Nodes.
The easiest way to delete selected free nodes is to use the [Del] key.
When you select a surface with a click, for example, the related nodes and lines are not included in the selection. To select the components of objects, use the menu option
- Edit → Select → Related Objects.
Use this function to, for example, quickly integrate the supports of members or surfaces into the selection and save them as related objects in a Visibility (see Chapter 9.9.1.2).