Selecting

Auto-select

By default, the Auto-select option is checked on the context toolbar. As expected, it automatically selects the layer content and its layer entry when you click to select it on the page. The option can be disabled if preferred.

Edit All Layers and Select All

The behaviour of the Select All command depends on the Edit All Layers setting on the Layers panel:

When enabled, the command will select all objects across all layers and sub-layers.
If this option is off, only objects on the current layer are selected. Objects within sub-layers are not selected.

Selection box types

For some shapes (e.g. star shapes), a Base box type will be established on shape creation to accommodate the range of different potential shape sizes when creating variants of that shape. However, you can temporarily swap to a 'tighter' bounding box called Regular bounds if needed. The latter is useful for accurately resizing a shape by its corner/edge handles to another object or page element.

Base box and regular bounds — Selection box types: Base box (A) and Regular bounds (B)

For rotated multiple selections of objects or pixel layers, you can temporarily reorient the selection's selection box to vertical using the same Regular bounds type. Otherwise, the selection box will stay transformed with the transformed item.

Rotated multiple selection with reoriented selection box — Rotated multiple selection before (A) and after (B) reorienting the selection box to Regular bounds

It's possible to permanently set the object's selection box to orient to the page's horizontal and vertical edges. The object is unaffected. When reselecting the items again, the selection box will remain unrotated.

If you're using axonometric grids, the additional selection box type Planar bounds, which matches the current grid, can also be swapped to and be made permanent if needed.

To select a layer:

Do one of the following:

With the Move Tool selected, click layer content on the page.
On the Layers panel, click a layer.

To select multiple layers:

Do one of the following:

With the Move Tool selected, click the layers' contents on the page while pressing the .
With the Move Tool selected, drag to draw a marquee around the layer contents.
On the Layers panel, -click each layer.
On the Layers panel, -click two layers to select them and all layers between.

To select all layers:

On the Select menu, select Select All Layers.

To select a specific child layer:

On the Layers panel, expand the parent layer or layer group to show its contents by clicking the layer's arrow.
Click to select the child layer.

To deselect layers:

With the Move Tool selected, click on any empty area of the canvas or anywhere else in the document view.

To select all layers sharing the same name:

With a layer selected, on the Layers panel, -click and choose Select Same Name from the pop-up menu.

To select all layers sharing a tag colour:

With a layer selected, on the Layers panel, -click and choose Select Same Tag Colour from the pop-up menu.

To select other layers in a selected layer's z-order:

Do one of the following:

With the layer selected, on the Select menu, choose:
- Select Next Layer / Select Previous Layer—selects a layer adjacent to the selected layer in z-order sequence, within the same layer, group or entire layer stack. The option will cycle selection from bottom to top and vice versa.
- Select Top Layer / Select Bottom Layer—as above but selection is made of the top or bottom layer in the layer, group or entire layer stack in z-order.
- Select Parent Layer—selects the parent clipping layer or group in which the selected layer is placed.
-click the layer, then choose the same options as above from the pop-up menu.

To control automatic selection behaviour:

On the Move Tool's context toolbar, choose one of the following options. These let you optionally select only layers or groups on the page, or just from the Layers panel (on-page selection is prevented).
- Default—objects and groups can be selected on the page or Layers panel.
- Layers—only layers can be selected on the page, while grouped items will be selected as if ungrouped; both groups and layers can be selected from Layers panel.
- Groups—only groups can be selected on the page; both groups and layers can be selected from Layers panel.

To cycle between selection box types:

On the Select Menu, choose Cycle Selection Box.

To set the selection box permanently:

Cycle to the selection box you want using Cycle Selection Box on the Select Menu.
On the same menu, choose Set Selection Box.

Modifier keys

When using the Move Tool, the following modifier keys can be used to aid layer selection:

With the Auto-select option disabled:
- -click layer content on the page to temporarily override the option and enable the selection.
With the Auto-select option enabled:
- On the Layers panel, holding the and clicking selects multiple layers. The same is achieved by clicking layer contents on the page whilst holding the key.
- Holding the + keys while clicking on multiple layer contents on the page in turn, selects them.
- Holding the + keys while clicking on multiple layer contents on the page in turn, selects them.
- -click a layer in the panel temporarily disables the whole composition preview leaving only the one (clicked on) selected—helpful in confirming selection of layers in complex compositions.
- The . toggles a shape's bounding box between a Base box and a Regular bounds box. Alternatively, use Cycle Selection Box on the Select Menu. To permanently use a Regular bounds box on the object, use +..
- As you drag a selection marquee, pressing the selects layers which are only partially covered by the selection marquee. This behaviour can be made the default in Settings (Preferences)*.

To find a layer in the Layers panel manually:

Do one of the following:.

-click the layer content on the page and select Find in Layers Panel.
From the Layer menu, select Find in Layers Panel.
On your keyboard, press K.
On your keyboard, press +K.

Auto-select

Edit All Layers and Select All

Selection box types

SEE ALSO: