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Dan Perico/3 min read

Selection Part 2

Essential AutoCAD Commands

OFFSET

Create parallel lines at a set distance — fundamental drafting move.

TRIM / EXTEND

Clean intersection of geometry — speeds up every drawing.

MIRROR

Reflect geometry across an axis — symmetric layouts in seconds.

ARRAY

Rectangular or polar duplication — handles repeating elements.

Master AutoCAD at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's AutoCAD Certification teaches drafting, layouts, blocks, and dimensions.

Explore this professional tutorial that covers key topics in AutoCAD, including how to make selections in a file, work with blocks, and effectively use the Erase Command.

Topics Covered in This AutoCAD Tutorial:

Selection

Exercise Preview

ex preview selection

Exercise Overview

In this exercise, blocks will be used. Blocks are pre-drawn named objects that are selected as single entities rather than the individual objects that make up each block. Unlike other objects, they only have one grip, which makes them easier to select and manipulate.

Selection in a File

  1. Open the file Selection-ElectronicScematic.dwg.

  2. Move the cursor above and to the right of the outer rectangle. Without holding down the mouse button, pull the cursor to the left to create a green selection box. This is a Crossing Selection. Create a box that encompasses the upper half of the diagram and click to establish the opposite corner of the box. Every object that the box touches including the outer rectangle, which is a polyline, will be selected. Create another Crossing Selection to select more objects. Hold down the Shift key and create another crossing selection to deselect some of the selected objects. Press Escape to deselect all objects.

  3. Move the cursor above and to the left of the outer rectangle. Without holding down the mouse button, pull the cursor to the right to create a blue selection box. This is a Window Selection. Create a box that encompasses the upper half of the diagram and click to establish the opposite corner of the box. Only objects that are completely covered by the box will be selected. The outer rectangle, which is a polyline, will not be selected because it’s only partially covered by the window selection. Press Escape to deselect all objects.

  4. Press E Enter to start the Erase command. When the Select Objects prompt appears in the Command Line, use a Window Selection to select the upper row of symbol blocks without selecting any lines on the schematic drawing. Press Enter to end the command and erase the objects.

    window

  5. Click to select the Transistor, Capacitor, and Fuse. Hold down the Shift Key and click on the Transistor to deselect it. Press the Delete key to erase the blocks that are still selected.

  6. Click to select one of the Resister symbol blocks. Right–click on the block and choose Select Similar from the menu to select all of the Resister blocks. Press E Enter to start the Erase command. The blocks will be deleted without prompting to select objects because objects were already selected and the Erase Command will end.

  7. Press Enter to repeat the Erase command. At the Select Objects prompt, press CTRL–A. All of the objects will be selected, but you will see grips, indicating that you are no longer in the Erase Command. Press Escape to deselect all objects. Press E Enter to start the Erase Command. When the Select Objects prompt appears in the Command Line, type the word ALL and press Enter. All objects will be selected and you will still be in the Erase Command. Press Enter to complete the Erase Command and all objects will be deleted.