Selection Tools
Parent page: Commands
Examine the connectivty by selecting the connected copper.
Summary
Selection is a core capability of all design software, commonly used for everyday editing tasks such as quickly identify objects of interest, moving objects, or deleting objects. In PCBWorks it can also be used to define a set of objects that can then be edited simultaneously, via an Inspector panel.
Details
Selection can be performed at any time using the mouse in combination with keyboard keys, using the following techniques:
- Left mouse click on an object to select it. With each new click any objects that were previously selected are de-selected.
- Click and drag a rectangle to select all objects that are completely enclosed by the rectangle.
- Shift+click to select an object while retaining previous selections.
- Ctrl+click and drag to sub-select primitive objects that belong to a group object, for example to select pads or strings in components.
Alternatively, the following selection commands are available. To access these commands click Home | Clipboard | 
to display the following menu of commands:
| Command | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Find Similar Objects | Select objects matching a defined template object. After launching the command, the Status bar will prompt you to choose the template object. Simply click on an object in the workspace, which can then be used to find similar objects. The Find Similar Objects dialog will appear. The dialog is divided into two primary sections; the upper section consists of a grid that lists the attributes of the template (or reference) object, and the lower section consists of a group of check boxes that define what will happen once the Apply or OK buttons are clicked. Define how each of the original object's attributes are to be used in finding other objects on the board. |
| Cross Select Mode | This is a toggle command, select it once to enable, again to disable. When enabled, each time a component is selected in the PCB editor, the matching component is selected in the Schematic editor. |
| Inside Area | Select design objects inside a user-defined area. After launching the command the Status bar will prompt to define a selection rectangle. Click to define the first corner, move the mouse to size the selection rectangle and click to define the second corner. All objects that fall completely within the defined area will be selected. |
| All | Select all design objects in the current document, including the Board Shape. |
| Net | Select all objects whose Net property is the same. After launching the command the Status bar will prompt to choose an electrical object, click on an object to select that object and all other objects with the same Net property. |
| Connected Copper | Select all objects on signal layers that are in contact with each other. Use this command to select routing across and through the board. After launching the command the Status bar will prompt to choose an object on a signal layer, when you click on an object all objects that are connected to the chosen object will also be selected. Note that pads and vias allow this command to select connected objects on other signal layers. |
| Physical Connection | Select all connected copper between 2 nodes in a net (a connection). After launching the command the Status bar will prompt to choose an object, click on any object within a connection to select only the routing objects that create the connection. Note that pads are not selected, and if a pad that joins two connections is chosen, both connections are selected. Note also that vias allow this command to select objects on other signal layers that are part of the connection. |
| All on Layer | Select all objects on the current (active) layer. |
| Toggle Selection | Interactively select objects one by one, without loosing the previous selection. After launching the command the Status bar will prompt to change any object, click on an object to change it from not-selected, to selected. Click a second time on the same object to toggle it back to not selected. Continue to click on other objects to add them to the selection set. |
Selection Color
To change the default selection color, press L while viewing the board in 2D. The View Configurations dialog will open, select the Board Layers and Colors tab where the Selections color can be changed by clicking the color box.
Polygon Selection
To make the selection process more efficient, polygons can only be selected if they are on the current layer.
Selecting when there are Stacked Objects
The default behavior is that when a click action is performed, the object under the cursor is selected. If there are multiple objects under the cursor, a list will appear to choose the required object.