Applies to
Microsoft Office Visio® 2003

Selecting shapes is a basic activity you perform in Visio before you can do other things, such as move, rotate, or resize shapes. Visio provides several ways to select shapes, including new tools for selecting multiple shapes in Visio 2003. Knowing when to use each tool makes working with shapes easy in Visio.

This article describes how to:

• Select one shape
• Work with multiple shapes
• Select multiple shapes
• Select all the shapes on a page
• Cancel a selection
• Troubleshoot a selection

Select one shape

To work with a shape, you first select it on the drawing page, and then perform your task: apply formatting, move the shape, align it, or add text, for example.

To select a single shape

1. Click the Pointer tool on the Standard toolbar and then point to the shape on the drawing page you want to select.
2. When the pointer turns into a four-headed arrow, click the shape.

   

   Green handles appear on the shape when you select it.

   Note  You can resize shapes by dragging these handles, which are called selection handles on 2D shapes, and endpoints on 1D shapes. The green circle that appears above the shape is called the rotation handle — you can drag it to rotate the shape in any direction you want.

Work with multiple shapes

When you want to align or distribute multiple shapes or perform certain other formatting tasks, the results depend on the primary shape. When you select multiple shapes, the shape that is outlined with thick magenta lines is called the primary shape. The primary shape determines:

• How all the shapes are positioned when you click Align Shapes or Distribute Shapes on the Shape menu.
• The attributes that appear in the Size and Position window, Style dialog box, or any other dialog boxes.
• The order in which shapes are connected when you click Connect Shapes on the Shape menu.
• The shape to be subtracted from when you click Subtract under Operations on the Shape menu.

The primary shape is usually the first shape you drag on the page or the shape that is at the bottom of the stacking order (stacking order: The order in which shapes overlap other shapes on the page and the order in which shapes are selected. You can change the stacking order of shapes by using commands on the Shape menu.). When you select all the shapes on the page using the Select All command on the Edit menu, the last shape you dropped on the page becomes the primary shape.

You can control which shape in the selection is the primary shape by using the Multiple Select tool. For example, if you want to align your selected shapes with a specific shape, use the Multiple Select tool, click the shapes you want to align one at a time, and then click Align Shapes on the Shape menu. The shapes will align with the first shape you selected, which is the primary shape.

Select multiple shapes

When you want to move or format a number of shapes, you can select multiple shapes to work with them all at once. The method you use depends on several factors: the nature of the action you want to perform, which shape you want to be the primary shape, and how the shapes you want to select are arranged in your drawing—whether they are adjacent or scattered across the page.

You can select multiple shapes using one of the following methods:

• Area Select tool
• Lasso Select tool
• Multiple Select tool
• Keyboard shortcuts

Tip  To change to a different selection tool from the Multiple Select tool, click the Multiple Select tool again. The pointer reverts to the last tool you used (that is, Area Select or Lasso Select).

Using the Area Select tool

Use the Area Select tool when you can easily draw a rectangular selection net around the shapes. (The selection net defines with a green line the area that encloses all the shapes to be selected.)

To select shapes with the Area Select tool

1. On the Pointer tool arrow menu, click Area Select.
2. Place the pointer above and to the left of the shapes you want to select, and then drag to create a selection net around the shapes.

   

   After you select the shapes, you'll see green selection handles around the shapes you selected and magenta lines around the individual shapes.

   The primary shape has a thick magenta outline.

Using the Lasso Select tool

With the Lasso Select tool, you can select multiple shapes within a non-rectangular area.

To select shapes with the Lasso Select tool

1. Click the arrow next to the Pointer tool, and then click Lasso Select.
2. Drag a freeform selection net around the shapes you want to select.

   

   When you select multiple shapes, green selection handles appear around the selected shapes.

Tip  By default for both the Area Select and Lasso Select tools, the selection net must completely surround each shape for it to be selected. If you want more flexibility, you can widen the selection net so that shapes partially within it are also selected. To do this, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then on the General tab select the Select shapes partially within area check box.

Using the Multiple Select tool

With the Multiple Select tool you can add shapes to your selection. This tool gives you control over defining the primary shape.

For example, if you have shapes that are spaced close to one another, you can click a shape to make it the primary shape and then click additional shapes to add them to the selection.

To select shapes using the Multiple Select tool

1. Click the arrow next to the Pointer tool, and then click Multiple Select.
2. Click each shape you want to select.

   

   The first shape you selected is outlined with a thick magenta box and all the other shapes are outlined with thin magenta lines.

Note  When you use the Multiple Select tool and drag the mouse around shapes, the pointer acts like the Area Select tool.

Keyboard shortcuts

You can hold down SHIFT or CTRL while clicking shapes to select multiple shapes one at a time.

You can also use these keys to add another shape to a current selection. For example, if you want to add a shape to a selection you created with the Area Select tool, you can hold down SHIFT or CTRL and then click the shape.

Select all the shapes on a page

If you are zoomed into a page and want to keep that close-up view, you can easily select all the shapes on a page without having to click the shapes one-by-one or drag a selection net around them.

To select all the shapes on a page

Do one of the following:

• On the Edit menu, click Select All.
• Press CTRL+A.

Tip  You can easily select all of a particular type of object, such as shapes, groups, or guides. On the Edit menu, click Select By Type, and then check the type of object you want to select.

Cancel a Selection

If you inadvertantly include more shapes in your selection than you want, you can easily cancel all or part of the selection.

To cancel the entire selection

• Click a blank area on your drawing or press ESC.

To cancel part of a multiple shape selection

• Press SHIFT and click a shape to cancel its selection.

Troubleshoot a selection

If you are having trouble selecting shapes on your drawing page, the problem might be that the shapes are protected, or that they are grouped together.

Working with protected shapes

If you can’t select a shape, the shape might be protected against selection, which prevents you from deleting or applying any changes to it such as positioning, resizing, formatting, editing text, or rotating.

To remove protection against selection

1. On the View menu, click Drawing Explorer Window.
2. Right-click the drawing file name, and then click Protect Document.
3. In the Protect Document dialog box, clear the Shapes check box, and then click OK.

If you can select a shape, but can't apply any changes to it, the shape might still be protected. If grey handle bars on the shape you select, the shape is locked against all changes.

To remove protection against all changes

1. Select the shape, and then on the Format menu, click Protection.
2. Clear the check boxes that apply to the characteristics you want to change, and then click OK.

Working with groups

If you can select the shape, but you can't work with it as you expect, the shape might be a group. Shapes that are grouped together function as one unit. For example, if the shapes are grouped, you can change their color at the same time.

To find out if a shape is a group

You can find out if a shape is a group by selecting the shape and then clicking Special on the Format menu. If the shape Type is specified as Group, the shape is a group.

To select a shape within a group

You can select a shape within a group by selecting the group, and then on theEdit menu, clicking Open Group. A window opens that displays the group of shapes. You can then select a shape and apply changes to it. When you are finished, close the window by clicking the Close button on the upper right corner of the window.

Tip  You can also select a shape within a group by clicking a group once, and then clicking a specific shape within the group.