Specify selection preferences, Isolate artwork for editing – Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 User Manual
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Selecting and arranging objects
Last updated 6/5/2015
Selection commands
(located in the Select menu) Let you quickly select or deselect all objects, and select objects based
on their position relative to other objects. You can select all objects of a specific type or that share specific attributes,
and save or load selections. You can also select all objects in the active artboard.
To temporarily activate the last-used selection tool (Selection tool, Direct-Selection tool, or Group Selection tool) when
using another type of tool, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS).
For a video on selecting and manipulating objects, se
.
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Specify selection preferences
Selecting paths and points in complex images can be challenging. Using the Selection and Anchor Display preferences,
you can specify the tolerance for pixel selection and choose other options that can make selection easier for a particular
document.
1
Choose Edit > Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display (Windows) or Illustrator > Preferences > Selection &
Anchor Display (Mac OS).
2
Specify any of the following Selection options:
Tolerance
Specifies the pixel range for selecting anchor points. Higher values increase the width of the area around
an anchor point that you can click to select it.
Object Selection By Path Only
Specifies whether you can select a filled object by clicking anywhere in the object or
whether you have to click a path.
Snap To Point
Snaps objects to anchor points and guides. Specify the distance between the object and anchor point
or guide when the snap occurs.
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Isolate artwork for editing
Isolation mode isolates objects so that you can easily select and edit particular objects or parts of objects. You can isolate
any of the following: layers, sublayers, groups, symbols, clipping masks, compound paths, gradient meshes, and paths.
In Isolation mode, you can delete, replace, and add new art relative to the isolated art. As soon as you exit isolation
mode, replaced or new art is added at the same location as the original isolated art. Isolation mode automatically locks
all other objects so that only the objects in isolation mode are affected by the edits you make— you don’t need to worry
about what layer an object is on, nor do you need to manually lock or hide the objects you don’t want affected by your
edits.
Note: When you edit a symbol’s definition, the symbol appears in isolation mode. (See
.)