March 5, 2000

Selecting Objects on a Layer

FreeHand 9 and above has given us much more flexibility with Layers and making selections. Besides being able to Subselect, Superselect, and Invert our selections, FreeHand 9 introduces the ability to only select objects that are on certain Layers.

The other options are obvious because they sit in the Edit menu. Selecting objects on a Layer is hidden and not so obvious, below I explain how it's done.

Version: 9 and above

 
 


In the example above, there are three layers with objects on them. The working layer is the Text layer (shown with the little pen icon). It's always a good idea to label layers so you know what exactly is on them.

In past versions, it was cumbersome to select objects only on one layer. You'd have to lock or hide the other layers, then make your selection.

 

The trick to selecting objects on a layer, is to hold the Option (Alt) key and click on a Layer name. As shown above, this makes it so much easier to select certain objects without all the other steps.

In addition, you can also use other modifier keys to get more out of your selections:

  • Shift + Option (Alt) + Click: Select multiple layers' objects.
  • Command (Control) + Option (Alt) + Click: Select multiple noncontiguous layers' objects.

With this and the other great Layer palette and Selection options, the days of limited control are nearing an end. The only thing that remains is cascading layers.... well maybe in the future ;-)