Developing Drawing Strategies: Part 1 - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 160

U n d e r s t a n d I n g s e l e C t I o in W I n d o W s
In addition to selecting objects using a direct pick, you can select objects
using a rectangular selection window. To use a selection window at any
Select objects: prompt, pick a point at a blank spot in the drawing area
to define one corner of the window and then a second point to define the
opposite corner.
Selection windows come in two styles: windows and crossing windows.
When you use a window selection, all objects must be entirely inside the
boundary of the window to be selected. When you use a crossing window,
all objects entirely within the boundary as well as any objects that cross the
boundary are selected. AutoCAD distinguishes the two types of selection
windows visually. Window selection areas are transparent blue and have
solid boundary lines, and crossing windows are transparent green with
dashed boundary lines.
By default, window selections are used when the boundary is created from
left to right, and crossing selections are used when the boundary is created
from right to left. By entering W ↵ or C ↵ at the Select objects: prompt, you
can override the direction default or create a selection window even when
the mouse is clicked when the cursor is over an object.
Selection windows can even be used to select objects to be trimmed or
extended. For instance, visualize a horizontal line with dozens of vertical
lines crossing it, and each of those lines must be trimmed back to the hori-
zontal line. After designating the horizontal line as the cutting edge, use a
crossing selection window to select all of the vertical lines on the trim side.
All the lines are trimmed with two picks instead of many.
To change settings that control the appearance of the crossing and regular
selection windows, open the Application menu and click the Options button in
the lower-right corner, or enter OP ↵ at the command line.
Click the Selection tab of the Options dialog box and then, in the Selection
Preview area, click the Visual Effect Settings button, as shown in Figure 4.80.
In the Visual Effect Settings dialog box that opens (see Figure 4.81), you'll see
settings in the Area Selection Effect area for controlling whether the selection win-
dows have color in them, which color will be in each window, and the percentage
of transparency of the colors. The left side of the dialog box controls the appear-
ance of an object's highlighting when the cursor hovers over it. Experiment with
different settings. Click OK twice to return to your drawing, and test the windows
to see how they look.