Selecting Points, Curves, and Shapes

Before you can modify an existing object, you need to select the object that you want to change first. This can be accomplished by using several different tools.

Using the Select Points Tool

The Select Points tool (G) is used to select individual points, but it can also be used to select all the points on a curve or in a shape. To select a single point, simply click it. The selected point turns red. If you click a curve, then all points in the clicked curve or in the clicked shape are selected, and if you click in the middle of a shape, then all points in the shape are selected, as shown in Figure 11.1.

Selecting Multiple Points

To select multiple points, you can click and drag out a rectangular section, as shown in Figure 11.2. All points that are within the dragged area are selected, as shown in Figure 11.3. If you need more control over the points that are selected, you can enable Lasso mode using the Lasso Mode checkbox in the Options bar at the top of the main window. This changes the tool so that you can define the selection area by dragging the cursor around the points you want to select. When you release the mouse button, a straight line is drawn back to the beginning of the lasso line to complete the area. You can also access Lasso mode directly by holding down the Ctrl/Cmd key before you begin dragging.

Every time you drag with the Select Points tool, you create a new selection set, but you can maintain the current selection by holding down the Shift key when selecting more points. When you hold down the Shift key, any new points that you select are added to the current selection set, and any points that are already selected will be deselected.

Defining a Selection Group

When a group of points is selected with the Select Points tool (G), you can name the selection set using the text field in the Options bar at the top of the main window and the Create button, as shown in Figure 11.4. New selection sets can then be recalled using the Select Group drop-down list (also in the Options bar). The Select Group drop-down list is available on the Options bar for most of the Draw and Fill tools. When a selection set is chosen, it can also be deleted using the Delete button.

Selecting Points with the Edit Menu

The Edit menu also includes several commands for selecting points. These commands work regardless of which tool is selected. The Edit, Select All (Ctrl/Cmd+A) menu command selects all points on the current layer. The Edit, Select None command deselects all selected points so that none are selected. The Edit, Select Inverse (Ctrl/Cmd+I) command selects all points that are not currently selected and deselects all points that are currently selected. This is especially handy if you want to select all but a few points.

The Edit, Select Connected command causes the remaining unselected points in a curve or shape to be selected. For example, if one point of a wavy line with seven total points was selected, then the Select Connected command automatically selects all points in the curve.