Selecting objects
Direct selection
To select an object, the easiest way is to click directly on it. For objects that are not filled, you have to click directly on the object's outline to select it.
You can select several objects by dragging a large rectangle around the objects with the select button, as shown.
For an object to be selected, it must be entirely within the rectangle.
When objects are located behind others, they can still be selected. To select an object that is covered by another object, hold down the Alt key and click the object. To select an object that is covered by several objects, hold down the Alt key and click through the objects until you reach the required underlying object. To cycle through the objects in reverse order, hold down the Alt+Shift keys when you click. To help in making accurate selections, you can check the number and type of the selected objects, shown at the left of the status bar.
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There may be some variation in the use of the Alt key on different operating systems. |
To select an object that is covered by another object using the keyboard, press Tab to cycle through the objects. To cycle through the objects in reverse order, press Shift+Tab.
The easiest method is to use the Tab key to cycle through the objects, stopping at the object you wish to select. (This may not be practical if you have a large number of objects in your drawing.) When you click on your selected object, its outline will appear briefly through the objects on top of the selected object.
In the illustration below, the square located beneath the circle was selected in this way (the circle was made transparent in order to see the square).
Arranging objects
In a complex drawing, you may have objects stacked up, one on top of the other. To rearrange stacked objects, use either of these methods:
- Select one of the stacked objects and then click Modify > Arrange and select the appropriate Bring Forward or Send Backward options.
- Right-click the object and select Arrange from the pop-up menu, then select the appropriate Bring Forward or Send Backward options.
Draw also provides tools for aligning multiple objects; details are given in the Draw Guide.
Selecting several objects
To select or deselect several objects one by one, press the Shift key and click on the various objects to be selected or deselected.
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