Perform Extended Entity Selection

Use extended entity selection to find, filter, and select subsets of entities. You can also save and retrieve previous selections.

To access extended entity selection:
  • Right-click in the modeling window and choose an option from the Select menu.
    This menu shows all available selection functions and methods for the currently active entity selector types.
  • Use the Advanced Selection dialog.
    1. Click next to an entity selector.
    2. Choose a selection method from the drop-down menu in the top-left of the dialog.
    3. Select a subset of entities.
      The process for selecting entities varies depending on the method.
    Tip: Right-clicking in the modeling window and selecting Select > Advanced Select brings up the same options as the Advanced Selection dialog.

Extended Entity Selection Options

The following options are available for extended entity selection.

Note: The following selection options do not apply to all entity types. Only valid selections for the current entity type are displayed in the menu.

Context Menu Options

Displayed
Select all entities of the specified type currently displayed in the modeling window.
Reverse
Allows for a Boolean "not" to be performed on the currently displayed entities; all selected entities are removed from the mark; all entities which are not on the mark and are currently active are selected.
All
Select all entities of the specified type. The set to be added to the user mark includes entities displayed and those not displayed.
Adjacent
Select entities adjacent to the entities already selected.
Attached
Select entities by specifying an entity among a large group of continuously connected elements. HyperMesh CFD includes the entities currently displayed that are attached to the entities already selected. Entities that are not displayed will not be selected although they may be attached to the entity selected.
Face
Select entities by surface face. HyperMesh CFD finds entities that are attached to each other without crossing a feature line. The Geometry feature angle option in Preferences > Geometry determines the feature lines. Attached, adjacent surfaces or elements are progressively selected when the angle between them is less than or equal to the specified feature angle.
Similar
Select entities that are similar to the your current selection based on config.
Save
Save the currently selected entities to a holding area known as the user mark.
Retrieve
Retrieve previously saved entities from the user mark.

Advanced Selection Dialog Options

The following options are available throughout CFD and from the right-click context menu:
By Boundaries
Select entities associated with a boundary condition.
By Feature
Select entities by defining a feature's minimum and maximum width/radius.
By Group
Select entities by group.
By Material
Select entities associated with a material.
By Mesh Control
Select entities associated with a mesh control.
By Metadata
Select an entity type then input a metadata key and value.
By Parts
Select entities associated with a part.
By Porous
Select entities associated with porous domains.
By Reference Frame
Select entities associated with a reference frame.
By Solid Bodies
Select solid body entities.
By Thin Solids
Select entities associated with thin solids.
By Topology
Select entities by topology.
These options are found only in certain tools on the Geometry ribbon and the Interactive tool on the Mesh ribbon:
By Collector
Select elements, lines, surfaces, and points by collector.
If you select component collectors in regard to elements or lines, the elements or lines contained in the selected components are selected. With all other entities, the entities selected by this operation are those attached to the selected component.
By Component
Select entities by component.
By Config
Select elements by configuration and type. The element type is dependent on the template file.
Use the visibility filter drop-down menu to apply your settings to all entities in the model, regardless if they are displayed on the screen or not, or only the entities that are displayed.
By Edge
Select entities (nodes, elements) by surface edge. HyperMesh CFD finds entities that are attached to each other without crossing a feature line. The feature line can be adjusted using the Angle slider. Attached, adjacent surfaces or elements are progressively selected when the angle between them is less than or equal to the specified feature angle.
Click to view more options.
Tip: You can also select elements by edge by holding Alt while left-clicking. Hold Alt and scroll to adjust the feature angle.
By Face
Select entities (nodes, elements) by surface face. HyperMesh CFD finds entities that are attached to each other without crossing a feature line. The feature line can be adjusted using the Angle slider. Attached, adjacent surfaces or elements are progressively selected when the angle between them is less than or equal to the specified feature angle.
Click to view more options.
Tip: You can also select elements by face by holding Alt while left-clicking. Hold Alt and scroll to adjust the feature angle.
By ID
Select entities by typing in their ID numbers.
Use a comma to separate multiple entities.
By Line
Pick lines in the modeling window. Entities associates with the lines are selected.
By Part
Select entities associated with a part.
By Path
Pick multiple nodes, lines, or elements and select all the nodes/lines/elements that fall in the closest connecting path. If you select two nodes on a free edge of some elements, the function tries to find the closest path along that free edge. This function uses the connectivity of the elements between the nodes, and thus requires the selected nodes to be part of a continuous shell mesh. Similarly, By Path for lines uses the connectivity of surfaces/solids and thus requires the selected lines to be surface/solid edges.
Activate the Show path preview option to the visualize the path before you create it.
Tip: You can also select node/line paths by holding Alt while left-clicking. Note that the path preview is not displayed when using the keyboard shortcut.
By Points
Pick points in the modeling window. Entities associates with the points are selected.
By Solid
Pick solids in the modeling window. Entities associates with the solids are selected.
By Surface
Pick surfaces in the modeling window. Entities associates with the surfaces are selected.
By Width
Select surfaces by width, either by picking a sample surface or by specifying a range of values for the width.