Selecting objects

Almost all editing commands work on a set of selected objects. You can select them before starting the command (pre-selection, or noun/verb selection) or when the command asks for them with the prompt:

Select objects:

Ways to select

Action	Result
Click an object	Selects it (5-pixel pick box). A block is selected by its lines and a text by the rectangle of its letters, as in AutoCAD
Drag from left to right	Window: selects what lies entirely inside the rectangle
Drag from right to left	Crossing: selects what lies inside or crosses the rectangle
Shift + click or Shift + drag	Removes those objects from the selection
Ctrl+A or AI_SELALL	Selects everything that can be selected
Enter, Space or right-click > Enter	Ends the selection and the command goes on

"Select objects" options

While selecting for a command you can type AutoCAD's options (? lists them):

Option	Result
Window	Two corners: what lies entirely inside
Crossing	Two corners: what lies inside or crosses the rectangle
BOX	Two corners: window if the second is to the right, crossing if to the left
AUto	A point: the object it touches or, if none, the first corner of a box. A typed point that touches nothing does the same without the option
Fence	A polyline (Enter to end it): what crosses it
WPolygon	A polygon (Enter to close it): what lies entirely inside
CPolygon	A polygon: what lies inside or crosses it
ALL	Everything that can be selected
Last	The last object created
Previous	What the last command selected
Group	Asks for a group name and selects its members
Remove / Add	From then on, what you select is removed / added again
Undo	Undoes the last selection
SIngle	The first selection that finds something ends the prompt
Multiple, SUbobject, Object	Accepted; they change nothing (each selection is added at once)

If the command's prompt has its own options (for example GROUP: [Name/Description]), the command's win.

While selecting, the object under the cursor is highlighted so you can see what a click would select. Selected objects are drawn highlighted and, with no command running, show their grips (see Editing).

Pre-selection

With no command running, each click or window adds objects to the selection. If you then start an editing command (ERASE, MOVE, COPY...), the command uses that selection and does not ask again. To clear it:

press Esc (with a command running, the first Esc cancels the command and the second one clears the selection);
click an empty area of the drawing;
or use Deselect All on the shortcut menu.

With something selected, Delete erases it and right-clicking offers the most common editing commands.

What cannot be selected

Objects on locked layers: they are visible, but neither clicks nor windows select them (a few layer commands, which only need to know an object's layer, do accept them).
Objects on layers that are off or frozen, which are not visible.
Objects hidden with HIDEOBJECTS or left out by ISOLATEOBJECTS.

Groups

A group (GROUP) is a named set of objects that are selected together. With the PICKSTYLE variable set to 1, selecting a member selects the whole group; Ctrl+Shift+A toggles this behavior. GROUPEDIT adds or removes members and UNGROUP dissolves the group.

Selecting by properties

QSELECT: selects by object type and by the value of a property (layer, color, linetype...).
SELECTSIMILAR: selects the objects of the same type and properties as the selected ones.
FILTER: selects with a list of type and property conditions combined with AND, OR, XOR and NOT, which can be saved with a name.
The PROPERTIES palette shows a drop-down list by type ("All (6)", "Line (2)"...) to view or change only part of the selection.

Table cells

With no command running, a click inside a table selects the cell; Shift+click or dragging from one cell to another selects a range (see Tables).

Notes

Selection cycling between overlapping objects is not available yet.
AutoCAD's selection variables (PICKFIRST, PICKADD...) cannot be changed: LinceCAD behaves as with their default values.