Object and Animation Basics - Blender Foundations: The Essential Guide to Learning Blender 2.6 - page 39

Lasso Select (Ctrl-LMB). Holding down the Ctrl key while LMB dragging in the 3D view draws a line
wherever the mouse goes. If you use that line to encircle several objects, then release the LMB, the
objects within the lassoed area are selected.
Paint Select (C key). Pressing the C key changes the cursor into a resizable selection brush. With the
cursor in this mode, objects are selected by LMB clicking directly on them or by LMB dragging across
them. The mouse wheel grows and shrinks the brush indicator. The RMB returns the cursor to its
normal state.
As we proceed through the tutorials in the rest of the topic, we'll mention which selection method is
most appropriate for the task at hand, but you are always free to use any way that suits you.
Menu Selection
The Select menu on the 3D header has a few selection methods that, while you won't use them
all the time, can really come in handy on special occasions. Select by Layer selects all of the
objects on the designated layer. Later on, you'll learn how to organize a project into layers, and
this is perfect for dealing with things a layer at a time. Also available is Select by Type , which
pops up a menu for all of the different object types (mesh, camera, lamp, etc.).
Transformation Manipulator
If you're coming from another 3D application, you might be thinking, “These keyboard commands are
nice for engineers, but I'm an artist. I want my transformation manipulator!” Figure 3.12 shows the header
of the 3D view with a section of controls isolated. These enable and configure the transformation
manipulator.
Figure 3.12 The transformation manipulator buttons and their 3D view representations.