Select edges, faces and bodies
Tap what you want to work on. Fillet tells you what it is, measures it, and suggests the next step. Loops, chains and boxes pick many edges at once.
Pick edges and faces
A tap picks one thing. Picked edges and faces turn blue.
- Tap a face or an edge to select it.
- Tap more to add them to the selection.
- Tap a picked one again to drop it.
- Tap empty space to clear the selection.
- Click a face or an edge. A click replaces what was selected.
- Shift-click or ⌘-click to add more, or to drop one.
- Click empty space to clear the selection.
A tap close to an edge picks the edge. To pick the face, tap further inside it.
See what you picked
The inspector on the right describes each picked item:
- A face: its shape and area, such as “Flat face, Area 3908.75 mm²”.
- An edge: its shape and length. A circular edge also shows its diameter.
- A body: its name and size, such as “80 × 50 × 8 mm”.
Pick exactly two things and the inspector shows the shortest Distance between them. With more than four picked, it lists four and counts the rest.
Go on to the next step
Under Next, the inspector lists the steps that fit your selection. Tap one to start it on what you picked.
| You picked | Next offers |
|---|---|
| Edges | Fillet edges, Chamfer edges |
| A flat face | Sketch on this face, Drill holes in this face, Lay flat on the bed |
| Any faces | Press Pull these faces, Shell, removing these faces |
To start over, tap Clear selection at the bottom of the list.
Pick a whole loop or chain
You can pick a row of edges without tapping each one.
- Double-tap an edge to select the loop of the face beside it: the face’s whole outline. Tap on the side of the face you mean. On a Mac, double-click.
- Select more › Tangent chain adds every edge joined smoothly to the last edge you picked. On a plate with rounded corners, one top edge grows into the whole rounded outline.
- Select more › Loop adds the loop around the face of the last edge you picked, on the face turned most towards you.
Select more shows in the inspector whenever an edge is picked. On a Mac, the same commands are in the Design menu.
Select many at once with a box
A box picks everything in an area in one drag.
- Tap Box select in the tool strip, or press W. A bar appears over the model.
- In the bar, choose Edges, Faces or Bodies.
- Drag with one finger. Drag right to take only what is wholly inside the box. Drag left to take anything the box touches.
- Check what lights up and the count on the box’s tag, then lift your finger.
The box shows which kind it is. A box dragged right has a solid rim and its tag says Inside. A box dragged left has a dashed rim and says Touching.
On iPad, what a box takes is added to the selection. When you lift your finger, Box select turns off, so one finger orbits again. To turn it off without boxing, tap Done or press W or Esc.
A box takes only what you can see. It skips hidden bodies and anything behind a face. To get the back of a part, turn the view first.
Box select isn’t available in a sketch, while choosing a plane, while placing holes or while measuring.
On a Mac, Shift-drag or ⌘-drag draws a box any time. A plain box replaces the selection, a Shift box adds to it, and a ⌘ box adds or drops. With Box select on, a left-drag draws a box and Box select stays on. Right-drag to orbit.
Pick bodies
A tap in the view picks faces and edges, never a whole body. To pick a body:
- Tap its row under Bodies in the browser. This picks that body alone. Tap the row again to drop it.
- Or draw a box with Bodies chosen in the box bar.
The inspector shows the body’s name and its size.
Pick for a step
Steps such as Fillet, Chamfer, Shell and Press Pull ask you to pick edges or faces. While a step picks, the rules change a little:
- Every tap adds or drops, on iPad and on Mac.
- A box takes the kind of thing the step needs. The bar names it, such as “Drag across edges”, and has no Edges, Faces or Bodies choice.
- A box adds to the step’s picks. Hold ⌘Cmd while you drag to box picks out again.
- A double tap on an edge picks its loop for the step.
Fillet and Chamfer start with Tangent chain on, so one tap picks every edge joined smoothly to the one you tapped.
What you pick in a step belongs to that step. Cancel throws it away with the step.
Round, bevel and hollow: Fillet, Chamfer and ShellRound edges, bevel corners and hollow out a part.Keys
On iPad with a trackpad or mouse, a click replaces the selection, as on a Mac. Finger and Pencil taps add.
Questions
- Why does a tap add instead of starting over?
- On iPad, taps add, because touch has no Shift key. Tap empty space or Clear selection first.
- Why didn't my box take the edges at the back?
- A box only takes what you can see. Turn the view so those edges face you, then box again.
- Why does one finger turn the view again after my box?
- A finger box turns Box select off when you lift your finger. Press W or tap Box select to draw another.
- Can I undo a selection?
- No. Selecting isn’t an undo step, so Undo skips it and takes back your last change to the design.