Selection and grip settings

When you select entities in a drawing, the selection method and the display of selected entities, e.g. whether grips display or not, is controlled by a number of settings.

Selection settings

Selection settings sit in the Selection settings group of the Program Options settings category in the Settings dialog.

Name	System Variable	Description
Pick add	PICKADD	Controls whether subsequent selections replace the current selection set or add to it. ON: The selection set is extended if you select additional entities. Press and hold the Shift key to remove entities from the selection set. OFF: You cannot add entities to a selection set. The newly selected entity or entities replace the existing selection set. However, if you press and hold the Shift key, you can add entities. If you select an entity that was already selected while pressing the Shift key, this entity is removed from the selection set.
Pick automatic	PICKAUTO	Controls automatic windowing at the Select Objects prompt. ON: The Window-Inside and Crossing Window options of the Select command are chosen by default. This method is referred to as Automatic Windowing. OFF: You need to explicitly specify a selection method.
Pick box	PICKBOX	Defines the size of the small square at the end of the selection cursor () . If you select an entity by clicking the Pick Box must touch or overlap the entity. The default size of the Pick Box is 3.
Pick drag	PICKDRAG	Controls the method of drawing a selection window. ON: Allows to define a selection window by dragging:press and hold the left mouse button to define the first corner of the rectangle, then move the mouse to define the size of the selection window and release the mouse button to define the opposite corner. OFF: Define the selection window by clicking two opposite corners.
Pick first	PICKFIRST	Controls whether you select objects before or after you issue a modification command. ON: Allows to first compose a selection set, then launch a modification command. OFF: You must first start the command, then compose the select entities.
Pick style	PICKSTYLE	Controls selection of associative hatch patterns and their boundaries. To select the hatch without its associated boundary, first set PICKSTYLE to 0 or 1. To select both the hatch and boundary, set PICKSTYLE to 2 or 3. To erase a boundary hatch pattern without erasing the boundary object, first set PICKSTYLE to 1. PICKSTYLE default setting is 1.
Selection preview display	SELECTIONPREVIEW	Controls when entities highlight when the cursor hovers over them: 0=never; 1=when no commands are active; 2=when a command prompt for entity selection; 3= both, when no commands are active and when a command prompt for entity selection.
Selection preview effect	PREVIEWEFFECT	Controls the appearance of highlighted entities: 0=dashed lines; 1=thickened lines; 2=dashed and thickened lines (not yet supported).
Selection preview filter	PREVIEWFILTER	Controls which entity types are excluded from selection previewing.

Grips settings

If the Grips system variable is ON, grips display on selected entities.

Grips settings sit under Display/Viewing in the Drafing settings group of the Drawing settings category in the Settings dialog.

Grips can be used to manipulate entities (see Grips Editing)

Name	System Variable	Description
Grips	GRIPS	Toggles the display of grips on/off.
Grips in blocks	GRIPBLOCK	Toggles the display of grips on entities in blocks on/off.
Grip color	GRIPCOLOR	Sets the color of unselected grips. Default value is Green.
Selected grip color	GRIPHOT	Sets the color of selected grips, so called 'hot grips'. Default value is Red.
Hover grip color	GRIPHOVER	Sets the color of an unselected grip when the cursor pauses over it. Default value is Blue. (not supported yet).
Grip size	GRIPSIZE	Sets the size of the grip box, expressed in pixels. Default value = 3.
Grip object limit	GRIPOBJLIMIT	Suppresses the display of grips if the number of selected objects exceeds the value of GRIPOBJLIMIT. If set to 0 (zero) grips always display.
Grips attraction		Toggles the magnetism of grips on/off.
Grips attraction distance		Sets the grips attraction distance: if the cursor is within this distance the cursor is attracted by the grip and jumps to it.