Selecting Objects

Selecting Objects
In AutoCAD, you can select objects in many ways. This section has two parts: The first part covers
object-selection methods unique to AutoCAD, and the second part covers the more common selection
method used in most popular graphic programs, the Noun/Verb method. Because these two methods
play a major role in working with AutoCAD, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with them early on.
TIP If you need to select objects by their characteristics rather than by their location, see Chapter 15,
which describes the Quick Select and Object Selection Filters tools. These tools let you easily select
a set of objects based on their properties, including object type, color, layer assignment, and so on.
Selecting Objects in AutoCAD
Many AutoCAD commands prompt you to Select objects:. Along with this prompt, the cursor
changes from crosshairs to a small square (look back at Figure 2.8). Whenever you see the Select
objects: prompt and the square Object Selection cursor, you have several options while making
your selection. Often, as you select objects on the screen, you’ll change your mind about a selection or accidentally select an object you don’t want. Let’s look at most of the selection options available
in AutoCAD and learn what to do when you make the wrong selection.
Before you continue, you’ll turn off two features that, although extremely useful, can be confusing
to new users. These features are called Running Osnaps and Osnap Tracking. You’ll get a chance to
explore these features in depth later in this book, but for now follow these steps to turn them off:
1. Check to see if either Running Osnaps or Osnap Tracking is turned on. Look at the Osnap
and Otrack buttons in the status bar at the bottom of the AutoCAD window. If they’re
turned on, they look like they’re pressed.



2. To turn off Running Osnaps or Osnap Tracking, click the Osnap or Otrack button in the
status bar. When turned off, they look like they aren’t pressed.
Now, let’s see how to select an object in AutoCAD:
1. Choose Move from the 2D Draw control panel, or type M↵.
2. At the Select objects: prompt, click each of the two horizontal lines that constitute the door.
As you know, whenever AutoCAD wants you to select objects, the cursor turns into the small
square pickbox. This tells you that you’re in Object Selection mode. As you place the cursor
over an object, it appears thicker to give you a better idea of what you’re about to select. As you
click an object, it’s highlighted, as shown in Figure 2.11.

WARNING If objects don’t become “thicker” as you roll over them with your selection cursor, the
Selection preview system variable may be turned off. You can turn it back on by entering selectionpreview↵
3↵. This setting can also be found in the Selection tab of the Options dialog box. See
Appendix A for more on the Options dialog box and Appendix C for more on system variables.



3. After making your selections, you may decide to deselect some items. Enter U↵ from the
keyboard. Notice that one line is no longer highlighted. When you type U↵, objects are deselected,
one at a time, in reverse order of selection.
4. You can deselect objects in another way. Hold down the Shift key, and click the remaining
highlighted line. It reverts to a solid line, showing you that it’s no longer selected for editing.
5. By now, you’ve deselected both lines. Let’s try another method for selecting groups of
objects. To select objects with a window selection, type W↵. The cursor changes to a Point
Selection cursor, and the prompt changes to
Specify first corner:
6. Click a point below and to the left of the rectangle representing the door. As you move your
cursor across the screen, a selection window appears and stretches across the drawing area.
Also notice that the window has a blue tint.
7. After the selection window completely encloses the door but not the arc, click this location
to highlight the entire door. This window selects only objects that are completely enclosed
by the window, as shown in Figure 2.12.


TIP Don’t confuse the selection window you’re creating here with the zoom window you used in
Chapter 1, which defines an area of the drawing you want to enlarge. Remember that the Window
option works differently under the Zoom command than it does for other editing commands.
8. Press ↵. This tells AutoCAD that you’ve finished selecting objects. It’s important to remember
to press ↵ as soon as you finish selecting the objects you want to edit. A new prompt,
Specify base point or [Displacement] :, appears. The cursor changes
to its Point Selection mode.
Now you’ve seen how the selection process works in AutoCAD—but you’re in the middle of the
Move command. The next section discusses the prompt that’s on your screen and describes how to
enter base points and displacement distances.