Single cursor click

Pick the Arrow tool from the toolbox or hold the Shift key down on the keyboard and click on what you want to select. As you click on the elements, hold the Shift key down to add them to your selection set. To remove elements from the selection set, just click on them again with the Shift key pressed.

There is a mode within this mode called Quick Selection. It is toggled on and off from the Info Box palette. The icon looks like a magnet. When it is on, it works like a magnet because it will stick to faces or surfaces, such as slabs or fill patterns. If this mode is not on, then you are required to find an edge, endpoint, or hotspot node to select an element with a single click. Hold the Space button down to temporarily change the mode while selecting elements.

Window

Pick the Arrow tool from the toolbox or hold the Shift key down and draw your selection window. Click once for the window starting corner and click a second time for the end corner.

Note

This works just as windowing does in AutoCAD. Not as Revit does, where you need to hold the mouse button down while you draw your window.

There are 3 different windowing methods. Each one is set from the Info Box palette:

• Partial Elements: Anything that is inside of or touching the window will be selected. AutoCAD users will know this as a Crossing Window.
• Entire Elements: Anything completely encapsulated by the window will be selected. If something is not completely inside the window then it will not be selected.
• Direction Dependent: Click and window to the left, the Partial Elements window will be used. Click and window to the right, the Entire Elements window will be used.
  

Marquee

A marquee is a selection window that stays on the screen after you create it. If you are a MicroStation CAD program user, this will be similar to a selection window. It can be used for printing a specific area in a drawing view and performing what AutoCAD users would refer to as a Stretch command.

There are 2 types of marquees; single story (skinny) and multi story (fat). The single story marquee is used when you want to select elements on your current story view only. The multi-story marquee will select everything on your current story as well as the stories above and below your selections.

The Find & Select tool

This lets ArchiCAD select elements for you, based on the attribute criteria that you define, such as element type, layer, and pen number. When you have the criteria defined, click on the plus sign button on the palette and all the elements within that criterion inside your current view or marquee will be selected.

Tip

The quickest way to open the Find & Select tool is with the Ctrl + F key combination

Modification commands

As you draw, you will inevitably need to move, copy, stretch, or trim something. Select your items first, and then execute the modification command. Here are the basic commands you will need to get things moving:

• Adjust (Extend): Press Ctrl + - or navigate to Edit | Reshape | Adjust
• Drag (Move): Press Ctrl + D or…navigate to Edit | Move | Drag
• Drag a Copy (Copy): Press Ctrl + Shift + D or navigate to Edit | Move | Drag a Copy
• Intersect (Fillet): Click on the Intersect button on the Standard toolbar or navigate to Edit | Reshape | Intersect
• Resize (Scale): Press Ctrl + K or navigate to Edit | Reshape | Resize
• Rotate: Press Ctrl + E or navigate to Edit | Move | Rotate
• Stretch: Press Ctrl + H or navigate to Edit | Reshape | Stretch
• Trim: Press Ctrl or click on the Trim button on the Standard toolbar or navigate to Edit | Reshape | Trim. Hold the Ctrl key down and click on the portion of wall or line that you want trimmed off. This is the fastest way to trim anything!

Tip

Memorizing the keyboard combinations above is a sure way to increase your productivity.