Select Objects

Click single objects

Click an object to select it.

Click away from the objects to deselect.

Objects by a window rectangle

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

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

Objects by a crossing rectangle

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

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

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

Add and remove from selection

To add to selection

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

To remove from selection

Press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking single objects or using a window or crossing.

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

1. Click the left mouse button at the original pick point to cycle through the object name list.

2. 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.

Select commands

Dedicated selection commands let you select by object properties.

All Objects

Select

Select objects.

SelAll

Select all objects.

Standard > Select All

Select > Select All

Edit > Select Objects > All Objects

Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + A

SelBadObjects

Select all objects that do not pass Check.

Note: Delete or rebuild the object.

Analyze > Select Bad Objects

Geometry Fix > Select Bad Objects (Right click)

Geometry Fix > Select Bad Objects

Diagnostics > Select Bad Objects

Analyze > Diagnostics > Select Bad Objects

SelShortCrv

Select all curves less than a specified length.

Sel Curves > Select Short Curves

None

SelChain

Selects curve or surface edges that touch end-to-end.

Select > SelChain

None

Options

AutoChain

Selecting a curve or surface edge automatically selects all curve segments connected with the level of continuity set by the ChainContinuity option.

ChainContinuity

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

Position

Tangency

Curvature

Undo

Undo last segment selection.

Next

Select next segment.

All

Select all segments.

SelNone

Deselect all objects. Note: SelNone does not run inside a command to clear pre-selected objects.

Select > Select None

Edit > Select Objects > None

Keyboard Shortcut: Esc

Invert

Deselects all selected objects and selects all visible objects that were not previously selected.

Select > Invert Selection

Edit > Select Objects > Invert

InvertPt

Deselects all selected control or edit points and selects all visible control or edit points that were not previously selected.

Select Points > Invert Point Selection

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Invert

Control Points

AddNextU

Adds the control point in the positive u-direction to the selection.

Select Points > Add Next U

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Add Next U

AddNextV

Adds the control point in the positive v-direction to the selection.

Select Points > Add Next V

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Add Next V

AddPrevU

Adds the control point in the negative u-direction to the selection.

Select Points > Add Previous U (Right click)

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Add Previous U

AddPrevV

Adds the control point in the negative v-direction to the selection.

Select Points > Add Previous V (Right click)

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Add Previous V

NextU

Selects the control point in the positive u-direction.

Select Points > Next U

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Next U

NextV

Selects the control point in the positive v-direction.

Select Points > Next V

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Next V

PrevU

Selects the control point in the negative u-direction.

Select Points > Previous U (Right click)

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Previous U

PrevV

Selects the control point in the negative v-direction.

Select Points > Previous V (Right click)

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Previous V

SelConnected

Selects adjacent control points.

Select Points > Select Connected Points

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Connected

SelU

Selects all control points in the u-direction.

Select Points > Select U

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Select U

SelUV

Selects all control points in the u- and v- directions.

Select Points > Select UV

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Select UV

SelV

Select all control points in the v-direction.

Select Points > Select V

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Select V

Blocks

SelBlockInstance

Select all block instances.

Select > Select All Block Instances

Edit > Select Objects > Block Instances

SelBlockInstanceNamed

Select all block instances of a specified name.

Select > Select Blocks by name (Right click)

Edit > Select Objects > By Block Name

Closed Objects

SelClosedCrv

Select all closed curves.

Sel Curves > Select Closed Curves

None

SelClosedMesh

Select all closed mesh objects.

Sel Meshes > Select Closed Meshes

None

SelClosedPolysrf

Select all closed polysurfaces.

Sel Polysrf > Select Closed Polysurfaces

None

SelClosedSrf

Select all closed surfaces.

Sel Srf > Select Closed Surfaces

None

Open Objects

SelOpenCrv

Select all open curves.

Sel Curves > Select Open Curves

None

SelOpenMesh

Select all open mesh objects.

Sel Meshes > Select Open Meshes

None

SelOpenPolysrf

Select all open polysurfaces.

Edge Tools > Select Open Polysurfaces

Sel Polysrf > Select Open Polysurfaces

None

SelOpenSrf

Select all open surfaces.

Sel Srf > Select Open Surfaces

None

Properties

SelColor

Select all objects of a specified color.

Select > Select by Color

Edit > Select Objects > By Color

SelID

Select objects by object ID number.

Select > Select by ID

None

SelMaterialName

Select objects with the same render material name.

None

None

SelName

Select object by name.

Select > Select by Object Name

Edit > Select Objects > By Object Name

Note

• Use wild cards (*, ?, etc.) to select multiple objects.

• Press Enter to select all objects with no name.

• Objects on hidden or locked layers cannot be selected.

Enclosure

SelBox

Select by surrounding objects with a 3-dimensional box. Draw the selection box using the same options as the Box command.

None

None

SelCrossing

Select with a crossing window.

None

None

SelWindow

Select with an enclosing window.

None

None

Lasso

Selects point objects, control points, and edit points by sketching an irregular shape around them.

Select > Lasso Points

Select Points > Lasso Points

Organic > Lasso Points

Edit > Control Points > Select Control Points > Lasso

Steps:

1. Use the PointsOn command to show control points.

2. Start the Lasso command.

3. Click and drag, or repeatedly click to select points.

4. Press Enter to close the lasso.

SelVisible

Select all surfaces or meshes that are in front of other objects in the active viewport with a crossing selection.

None

None

Steps:

• Drag a crossing selection.

• In the illustration, using SelVisible in the Top viewport selects the green spheres and the plane.

Object Type

SelCrv

Select all curves.

Select > Select Curves

Sel Curves > Select Curves

Edit > Select Objects > Curves

SelDim

Select all dimensions.

Select > Select Dimensions and Text Blocks

Edit > Select Objects > Dimensions

SelDot

Select all annotation dots.

Select > Select Dots

None

SelLeader

Select all leaders.

None

None

SelLight

Select all lights.

Select > Select Lights

Edit > Select Objects > Lights

SelMappingWidget

Selects the texture mapping widget in a viewport.

None

None

SelMesh

Select all mesh objects.

Select > Select Meshes

Sel Meshes > Select Meshes

Edit > Select Objects > Polygon Meshes

SelPt

Select all point objects.

Select > Select Points

Edit > Select Objects > Points

SelPtCloud

Select all point cloud objects.

Select > Select Point Clouds

None

SelPolyline

Select all polylines.

Sel Curves > Select Polylines

Edit > Select Objects > Polylines

SelPolysrf

Select all polysurfaces.

Select > Select Polysurfaces

Sel Polysrf > Select Polysurfaces

Edit > Select Objects > Polysurfaces

SelSrf

Select all surfaces.

Select > Select Surfaces

Sel Srf > Select Surfaces

Edit > Select Objects > Surfaces

SelText

Select all text.

Select > Select Text Blocks (Right click)

None

SelTrimmedSrf

Select all trimmed surfaces.

Sel Srf > Select Trimmed Surfaces

None

SelUntrimmedSrf

Select all untrimmed surfaces.

Sel Srf > Select Untrimmed Surfaces

None

Duplicates

SelDup

Selects objects that are geometrically identical with another object and visible, regardless of other object properties.

Select > Select Duplicate Objects

Edit > Select Objects > Duplicate Objects

SelDupAll

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.

Select > Select All Duplicate Objects (Right click)

None

Layers and Groups

SelGroup

Select a group by name

Select > Select by Group Name

Edit > Select Objects > By Group Name

SelLayer

Select all objects on a layer. Use the Pick button in the dialog box to select an object on the layer.

Select > Select by Layer

Edit > Select Objects > By Layer

SelLayerNumber

Select objects by layer number. 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 > Select layer by number (Right click)

None

Mesh

SelNakedMeshEdgePt

Select 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.

STL Tools > Show and Select Naked Mesh Edge Points

None

Cage

SelCaptives

Selects captive objects set up using the CageEdit command.

Cage > Select captives

None

SelControls

Selects control objects set up using the CageEdit command.

Cage > Select controls

None

History

SelChildren

Selects child objects of the currently selected objects.

History > Select children

Select History > Select children

None

SelObjectsWithHistory

Selects objects that have history.

Select > Select objects with history

History > Select objects with history

Select History > Select objects with history

None

SelParents

Selects parent objects of the currently selected objects.

History > Select parents

Select History > Select parents

None

Action Order

SelLast

Selects the last changed objects.

Select > Select Last Created Objects

Edit > Select Objects > Last Created Objects

-SelLast

The hyphenated version adds command line options.

DeselectOthersBeforeSelect=<Yes/No>

SelPrev

Re-selects the previous selection set.

Select > Select Previous Selection

Edit > Select Objects > Previous Selection

-SelPrev

The hyphenated version adds command line options.

DeselectOthersBeforeSelect=<Yes/No>

Select sub-parts of objects

For many commands, you can select sub parts of objects, such as surfaces that make up polysurfaces, edge curves of surface, or control points. You can also restrict selection to object types such as meshes, dimensions, surfaces or curves to allow you to restrict selection in a tight area.

These selection filters only work for commands that ask you to pick objects after the command starts such as ClosestPt, ExtrudeCrv… , Sweep1, Sweep2. These commands let you use filters to pick a sub-part of an object rather than the whole object.

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

Ctrl + Shift + Left mouse click select

Ctrl + Shift + Left mouse click to select polysurface/surface faces, edges, boundaries, and objects within groups.