How to Select Objects in AutoCAD

Selection of Objects in AutoCAD can be done by many ways, however the help within AutoCAD is not that promising for users to know the different ways to select autocad objects. In this post we will review How to Select Objects in AutoCAD.

AutoCAD Objects Selection

The various options that are included in SELECT Command can be seen by typing ? after entering SELECT in command prompt

Command: SELECT
Select objects: ?
Expects a point or Window/Last/Crossing/BOX/ALL/Fence/WPolygon/CPolygon/Group/Add/Remove/Multiple/Previous/Undo/AUto/SIngle/SUbobject/Object

1. Selection by picking

AutoCAD Objects can be selected just by picking them see the figure below

Command: SELECT
Select objects: 1 found
Select objects:

2. Selection by Cross Window (CP)

- Drag from left to right to select all objects entirely enclosed in the selection rectangle (window selection).

- Drag from right to left to select all objects crossed by the selection rectangle (crossing selection).

- Enter SELECT and a ? at the prompt to see a list of selection options.

- Crossing or Window is used in below case

Press Enter to end object selection

objects selected using window selection box

objects selected using crossing selection box

Note: To deselect objects, SHIFT-click individual objects, SHIFT-drag across multiple selected objects, or press ESC to deselect all selected objects.

3. Selection by Fence Command

A user can ensure AutoCAD Objects can be selected by using the ” Fence Command ” This is rather a simple process – When you are in Select Command, type F and you will be prompted to use the Fence Command. By creating a fence around the autocad objects of interest, the selection is complete.

Command: SELECT
Select objects: f
Specify first fence point:
Specify next fence point or [Undo]:
Specify next fence point or [Undo]:
Specify next fence point or [Undo]:
Specify next fence point or [Undo]:
7 found

4. Selection by Window Polygon 

AutoCAD Objects can also be selected by Window Polygon selection (WP) after you type Select Command. This enables the selection of objects that are within the polygon selection.

Resuming SELECT command.
Select objects: WP
First polygon point:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
2 found

5. Selection by Crossing Polygon

This process is similar to Cross Window selection.  CP

Command: SELECT
Select objects: ?
Expects a point or Window/Last/Crossing/BOX/ALL/Fence/WPolygon/CPolygon/Group/Add/Remove/Multiple/Previous/Undo/AUto/SIngle/SUbobject/Object
Select objects: CP
First polygon point:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
Specify endpoint of line or [Undo]:
8 found

Remove/Add

Sometimes it’s easier to select all elements then remove some of them from your selection set. You can do this by holding [shift] and select object you want to exclude. OR, you can type R then [enter] to switch to remove mode.

To activate add objects, type A then [enter].

Select Previous Selection or Last Object

Did you ever want to select your previous selection?  Easy, just type P then [enter] when AutoCAD ask you to do selection! What about last object created? Either the last drawn or result from modify operations such as copy. Type L then [enter]!

Cycle Overlapping Objects

If you have many overlapped drawing elements or close to each other, and you are too lazy to zoom in, you can cycle between them by pressing [shift] + [space]. Hold your [shift] key, and press [space] several times until you found your object. Release your keyboard key, then click your mouse.

AutoCAD Objects Selection Additional Commands

- FILTER

- QSELECT

- SELECT

- SELECTSIMILAR