Re:deselect surfaces

Normally using shift+click will allow you to deselect items that are already selected, but when working with surfaces does anyone know how you can deselect some of the faces if they are not directly clickable, because clicking on an edge of that surface doesn't work and trying to cycle through using tab when a surface is already highlighted doesn't work either.

Comments

  • Daniele Piazza
    edited March 2018

    Hi Steven,
    apparently working for me. What do you mean for "if they are not directly clickable"?

  • That is also my problem why I still prefer Microstation's more
    "tedious" but more flexible way of selection or activation.
    This way is also used in 3D Polygon Modelers.
    There you need to select the Object(s) first before you can enter
    a Sub-Object-Mode for Selection.
    Therefore this way you will be able to de/select Faces/Edges/Points
    much more reliable, even under crowded conditions.

    That is also the cases for Tools like especially PushPull.
    In Bricscad or Vectorworks you instead have to do a lot Visibility
    Actions before you can finally even reach your stuff, if your projects
    complexity starts to exceed typical tutorial and demo geometry.
    While in Microstation, Modo or C4D you reliably walk through your
    fully crowded model in Wireframe mode easily.

    At first sight it looks like the CTRL option and TAB for Selection would
    allow all possibilities but it will totally fail if you deal with a) multiple
    sub selections and b) occluded selections.
    Finally the chosen Tool ignores the explicit selection and reacts on the
    most near non-occluded Faces which are better to reach or does not
    work well with the CTRL option to temporary change the selection mode.
    Which needs to manually switch explicit between selection modes.

    Generally for me Selection is a very important Tool like any other Tool,
    not just "something" that happens in the void between when no
    "real" Tool is active.
    And I often am doing very hard or it is even not possible to do my selections
    in e.g. Vectorworks just because any option to explicitly De-Select is not
    available. (What about an ALT+Click ?)
    I think an explicit "De"Selection by mouse is what would also help in your
    case.

    At least the Selection Filter options in Bricscad do help a lot, but honestly
    are 3 times more clicky and complex than e.g. in Microstation.
    And if I am not wrong that will not help in Sub Object Modes at all.
    I think Modo is a milestone in what is possible in capability and ease of use
    of Selections and Visibility switching, so worth to watch one of its tutorial
    videos about selection to see what could be possible.

    • pick occluded geometry or not
    • Select or Add (SHIFT) or Deselect (STRG)
    • Loop Selections, Extend or Shrink a Selection
    • Convert Selections between Sub Modes
    • Remember Selections when switching between sub modes
    • Multiple options of Lists (like Structure Pane) to refine and add or detach
      Selections by + and - buttons.
  • @Daniele Piazza said:
    Hi Steven,
    apparently working for me. What do you mean for "if they are not directly clickable"?

    I think it is about occluded faces, hidden behind other Faces.

  • Yeah it's the hidden faces, these can be selected by cycling using the TAB key either hovering over an edge or just over the general area of the surface, but there doesn't appear to be a way to deselect. In my case I use the selectallignedfaces command to select all the faces on the end of a wall, which also selects the faces of adjoining walls inside a cavity, but I can then no longer deselect the unwanted areas.

    So as an example if you have two identical solids next too each other it is easy to select the surface that is between them, but not easy to deselect that surface(s).

    And it isn't the method of selection that I need to change I am happy with that, as the alternative that I have to use now means spending much more time going through a drawing and picking up many more individual surfaces rather than quickly selecting a large group and just removing a few from the selection. In the example attached, I would like to be able to select the ends of the smaller objects, cycle selection works to pick them individually, but it should be easier to select all alligned faces and then just deselect the two larger areas.

  • Perhaps you could proceed like this:
    1. select all aligned faces ( = two too many )
    2. as in the attached image, start a crossing window selection, tap the Ctrl key once to switch to 'Faces' selection mode (this is depicted in the Tips window), and finally, to trigger the deselection, press the shift button while clicking the second point of the window-crossing selection.

  • Hello Hans,
    what I expected by your proposal also happens when I try.
    The crossing Window Selection will successfully delete the unwanted
    selected Faces - but adds the unwanted Side Faces of these Slabs now
    for me.

  • Strange... when the Shift key is pressed, and Pickadd = 1 (default), only de-selection should occur.

  • Thought about something like this.
    Yes, PickAdd OFF + PickDrag ON here.

    I asume PickAdd ON would work as you describe.
    Fixed Standard in Shape.
    I don’t really want to get used to this way as it works different
    in any other of my Apps or Operating Systems.

  • Yes we have a winner, that works great thank you, I will add a proviso, my drawing is rather busy so although this works, sometimes a surface still remaind highlighted (when deselected) untill I did a regen which does then show the correct remaining surfaces.

    A combination of the crossing window to only select 'surfaces' in the area I want reduces the number of total selected surfaces (nice tip), and then this method to deselect is a time saver thank you.

  • Huh,
    currently I have Bricscad access only by Windows on my Parallels VM.
    It is V18.2 now.
    (Thank you so much for finally deleting Selections by click in blank screen !)

    After I thought about having key mapping issues with my VM and try to repair,
    I had to realize that V18.2 works now in Shape Mode.
    CTRL option for Selection is deactivated completely now !
    This, for me, means either even more manual switching Selection Modes
    or the need of 2 times TAB nearly for each Selection.

    Now I feel even a little more being forced into a unconventional proprietary
    ACAD user experience :wink:
    The fight against ACAD UX and pro common standard gets again a bit tougher
    now. Shape even took away all these little options to break out.

    I feel a bit lost and locked to things like :

    • BIM INSUNITS have to be mm
    • Selection Add Mode = 1 mandatory
    • Selections and Tools are disposable
      :wink: -
  • @Michael Mayer:
    'Huh' indeed... Clicking an empty spot in the drawing area does not deselect objects in V18.2.05 as far as I can tell. Are you sure about the behavior?

  • Michael Mayer
    edited March 2018

    Yes, it is mentioned in release notes
    (I am the one who reads such stuff)
    and I immediately checked if it works - it does.

    I think the magic trick is, again, to have Pick Add = 0 = Off

    Which makes kind of sense,
    as ACAD Pick Add 1 is in reality the explicit Add/Substract Modes
    option that I miss, in one feature.
    (Except that always on Add Mode, without a key, is a no go for me)

    As my preferred Pick Add = 0 is the Mode with the strange
    "My Marque will select what was not selected and deselect what
    was already selected" in one go :o

  • @Michael Mayer:
    Rest assured: more people read those Release Notes. But I have to admit I am a little behind. Thanks for pointing this out.

  • @Michael Mayer said:
    Huh,

    After I thought about having key mapping issues with my VM and try to repair,
    I had to realize that V18.2 works now in Shape Mode.
    CTRL option for Selection is deactivated completely now !
    This, for me, means either even more manual switching Selection Modes
    or the need of 2 times TAB nearly for each Selection.
    :wink: -

    I come to the conclusion that the CTRL-Option for temporary Selection Mode
    Switch, now missing totally in latest V18.2,
    got just accidentally lost while updating Bricscad to latest Shape functions.

    Because I see the Selection CTRL-Option still working in Shape.
    (Without conflicting the new behavior in any way)
    And that Selection CTRL-Option is still mandatory for the Quad to show
    the Tools of for the opposite Selection Mode of which you have chosen.

    E.g. Currently, I could get a Solid Selection, while being in Face Selection Mode,
    as a workaround by pressing Tab at least 2 times in the best case.
    (You can't imagine how many overlapping Faces a Liner Solid with I-Shape
    can have to Tab through until you can select the real Solid when in Face Mode)
    But beside that any accidental cursor movement will very likely throw you back
    to the top of Tab hierarchy, it is nearly impossible when you need to select
    more than one Object or even deselect some of them again.

  • Well, I have seen proper CTRL-Option Selection Highlighting in Shape
    this morning but it will no more work when I try now.
    Also selecting objects with CTRL Selection Option may or may not work,
    depending on Objects, one ore more objects selected, and such things.

    That may be just a problem of my virtual machine Windows after awaking
    from sleep or mean that CTRL Selection in Shape does not really work
    opposed to what I stated above.

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