Selecting objects is the first step for almost every edit in Snaptrude: moving, rotating, copying, isolating, hiding, locking or changing properties. You can build a selection with a single click, cycle through overlapping objects, drag a marquee, or filter the whole project by story, object or tag.

Select a single object

Make sure the Select tool (first tool in the top toolbar) is active. If you have nothing selected, pressing Spacebar also returns you to the Select tool.
Click the object on the canvas. It highlights and the Properties panel shows its properties.
To clear the selection, press Esc or click an empty part of the canvas.

This works in 2D and 3D, and includes reference lines and dimension lines at any zoom level.

Add objects to a selection

Select the first object.
Hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) and click each additional object.

When the selected objects have different values for a property, the Properties panel shows Varies for that field.

Tip: If you hold Ctrl + Shift and accidentally click empty canvas, your current selection is kept rather than cleared.

Select overlapping objects with Tab

When objects overlap, for example a space inside a larger mass, a wall on top of a floor slab, or several stacked imports, use Tab to pick the one you want.

Hover over the spot where the objects overlap.
Press Tab to cycle through the overlapping objects, from the smallest surface area to the largest.
Press Shift + Tab to cycle in the reverse direction.
Stop when the object you want is highlighted. A Tab selection stays active until you press Esc or click elsewhere.

You can also start a tool first and then use Tab to choose the object. This works for Move, Copy and Rotate.

Note: Overlapping imports (CAD, PDF and images) select in stacking order, newest on top, and Tab follows the same order. Change the order with Bring to Front or Send to Back in the Right-click menu. On an edge where a reference line sits, Tab cycles to the line as well.

Select with a marquee (window or crossing)

Drag a selection box across the canvas. The direction you drag decides what gets selected:

Left to right (window): selects only objects that are fully enclosed by the box.
Right to left (crossing): selects every object the box touches, even partially.

With the Select tool active, press and hold on an empty part of the canvas.
Drag left to right or right to left, depending on which behaviour you want.
Release to select.

Marquee selection is optimized for large projects, so dragging across a big model stays responsive.

Note: Overlapping imports follow the same rule: left to right selects enclosed imports, right to left selects any import the box crosses.

Select everything

Press Ctrl + A (Cmd + A on Mac), or right-click an empty part of the canvas and choose Select All.

Filter a selection by story, object or tag

Filter Select lets you build a selection across the whole project without clicking objects one by one. It is available from the Right-click menu, including when you right-click empty canvas, and as Filter selection in the Select tool's dropdown in the top toolbar.

Right-click on the canvas, or open the Select dropdown in the top toolbar.
Choose Filter Select (Filter selection in the dropdown).
Pick from one or more of the three options:
- By Story: select objects on specific stories.
- By Object: select by object class, such as walls or spaces. For spaces, you can narrow the selection by Space Type.
- By Tag: select objects carrying particular tag values, across several tag categories at once.

Filter Select combines your choices with OR logic: an object is selected if it matches at least one of the criteria you picked. Locked objects remain uneditable and hidden objects stay hidden.

Tip: Once a filtered set is selected, you can isolate, hide, lock, group or edit it as one selection, for example to work on everything tagged Phase 2.

Select similar objects with the Same options

With an object selected, the Right-click menu offers shortcuts that select every matching object in the project:

Same Label: every object with the same label.
Same Type: every object of the same type.
Same Tags: every object with the same tag values.
Same Instances: every instance of the same source object.

Select an object.
Right-click it.
Choose the Same option you need.

Only the options that apply to the selected object are shown.

Recover your last selection with Select Previous

If you cleared a selection by mistake, you can get it back.

Right-click an empty part of the canvas.
Choose Select Previous.

Snaptrude restores your last selection and moves the camera to it, in 2D or 3D.

Select linked objects

Snaptrude also includes a Select Linked command for selecting the objects linked to your current selection, so you don't have to pick each one by hand.

How selections behave

Across views: your selection is kept when you switch between 2D, 3D and the Site Plan. If some selected objects aren't visible in the new view, a message tells you.
Right-click: right-clicking an object opens its Right-click menu directly, without having to select it first. Right-clicking keeps your current selection.
Undo and redo: undoing or redoing an action does not change what is selected.
Moving between stories: changing the Story field in the Properties panel moves the selected objects and keeps them selected.

Tips

Boolean tools (Union, Difference, Trim, Intersect, Split) use selection order: the first object you select is the target. Click objects in order with Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) rather than using a marquee, Ctrl + A or Filter Select when order matters.
Press Shift + S to zoom to the current selection.
The Select dropdown in the top toolbar also offers Story selection for selecting by story.
To select everything on one layer, use the select-all option for that layer in the Layers section of the left panel.
Press Spacebar with objects selected to rotate the selection 90°.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Right-click Menu
Tags and Color Mode
Copying Objects: Instance and Unique
Boolean Operations

Selecting Objects