4 SELECT MENU

The collection of currently selected blocks forms the selection list. The selection list is used as a filter for edit operations performed on the blocks of the model. Each select operation creates a new selection list; the list is first cleared and then rebuilt.

The list of selected blocks can be edited in the edit area of the main window. Functions from the Edit menu also operate on the blocks from the selection list.

The selection list can be created in four ways:

  1. When a block is created, either with a Create pointer action in a viewport or by an edit area Add operation, it is selected.
  2. A Select pointer action in a viewport selects the visible blocks within the boxed region.
  3. Blocks may be selected by name from the list in the View Blocks dialog. Unlike the other selection methods, newly selected blocks are added to the selection list, so a complete list can be built up incrementally.
  4. A function from the Select menu.

The functions available from the Select menu are:

All

All blocks in the model are selected.

Unselected

All unselected blocks are selected. This function is its own inverse; perform it twice and the original list is recovered.

By Name

The string given in the name field of the edit area is used as a pattern. All blocks with names that match the pattern are selected. The pattern can use shell wildcard characters (*?[]).

By Block Type

All blocks with the same block type currently displayed in the edit area are selected.

By Material

All geometry blocks of the material currently displayed in the edit area are selected. The name must be an exact match; wildcard characters are not allowed.

By Color

All blocks with the same color currently displayed in the edit area are selected.

Visible

All blocks that have the visible flag set are selected. This is the inverse of the Select Invisible function.

Invisible

All blocks that do not have the visible flag set are selected. This is the inverse of the Select Visible function.

4.1 SELECT BY REGION DIALOG

The Select By Region dialog is used to select blocks based on one or more bounding criteria. The bounds are specified by minimum and maximum values along the coordinate axes. Only blocks within the bounding region are selected by the Select button.

If the bound toggle is not set, then that dimension of the region is unbounded. For example, if the X Minimum toggle is not set, then blocks with any minimum X coordinate are selected. If the toggle is set, then only blocks with a minimum X coordinate greater than or equal to the bounding X value are selected.

If no bound toggles are set, then the select region is entirely unbounded, and all blocks are selected. If no value is entered for a bound toggle that has been set, then a default of 0 is used.