Graphical Selection

Select and deselect entities to modify with other HyperWorks tools. Selected entities are outlined to indicate their selection state.

Hover over an entity to highlight it.

In idle mode, entities can be selected from either the modeling window or the browser area. Selecting an entity in the modeling window automatically selects the corresponding entity in the browser and vice versa.

When working in a tool, entities should be selected from the modeling window.

Entity Selectors

Use entity selectors to specify which type of entity you are able to select.

Entity selectors act as a filter by limiting your selection to a single entity type in the modeling window. For example, if an entity selector is set to Surfaces, only surface are available for selection. If it is set to Points, you can draw a window around the entire model and only the points will be selected. After performing a selection, the number of selected entities appears in parenthesis.

If two or more selections are required to complete a workflow, left-click on a selector to make it active or press Tab to cycle between selectors. The active selector is highlighted blue.


Figure 1.

If a selector supports multiple entity types, click the arrow to view a drop-down menu of available options.

In idle mode, the entity selector is located in the top, left corner of the modeling window. It shows all of the entity types available in your model that can be selected from the modeling window.


Figure 2.

Entity selectors do not affect your selection in a browser. The entity selector in the modeling window will automatically update to match the selected entity type. You're also able to select multiple entities of different types in a browser.

Tip:
  • Use keyboard shortcuts to change the active entity type in an entity selector.
  • In idle mode, convert your selection to a new entity type by changing the entity selector. For example, if you select elements, and then set the entity selector to nodes, all of the nodes associated with the selected elements will be selected.

Select Single Entities

Select a single entity by left-clicking.


Figure 3.

Append and Remove Entities From a Selection

  • In a browser or a dialog:
    • Append and remove individual entities to/from your selection by holding Ctrl while left-clicking.
    • To extend your selection from a selected entity to a target entity, hold Shift while left-clicking.
  • In the modeling window:
    • Append entities to your selection by holding Ctrl while left-clicking.
    • Remove entities from your selection by holding Shift while left-clicking.
    Figure 4.
  • Clear your selection in the following ways:
    • Left-click in empty space.
      Note: Only available in idle mode.
    • Click on an active entity selector.
    • Press Backspace to clear the active entity selector or press Esc to clear all entity selectors.

      (HyperMesh only)

Select Multiple Entities Simultaneously

Select multiple entities simultaneously using window selection.
  • For box, circle, or freehand selection, click-and-drag to draw a selection window.
  • For polyline selection, click-and-drag to draw a line, then release the mouse to create an end point. Continue drawing lines, then left-click the start point, middle-mouse-click, or press Enter to close the selection window.
Figure 5.
Tip: You can also click and drag to select multiple entities in a browser.

Window Selection Settings

Change window selection settings from the modeling window right-click context menu.

Available in HyperMesh, HyperView, and HyperGraph.



Figure 6.
  1. Window Select Disabled. Disable window selection. Allows for fast clicking without the risk of dragging a mini window.

    (HyperMesh only)

  2. Window Shape. Change the shape of the selection window when you drag your mouse.
  3. Intersection. Select entities that intersect the window. Available for elements, lines, and surfaces.

    (HyperMesh only)

  4. Only Select Visible. Only select visible entities.

Perform Extended Entity Selection

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

  • Right-click in the modeling window and choose an option from the Select menu.
  • Use the Advanced Selection dialog, which can be opened in the following ways:
    • Click next to an entity selector.
    • Press Spacebar.
    • Right-click in the modeling window and choose Select > Advanced.
    Pick a selection method from the drop-down menu in the top-left of the dialog then select a subset of entities.

    The process for selecting entities varies depending on the method.

    Tip: The options in the context menu beneath Advanced (By Entity, By ID, etc. ) correlate to different selection methods in the Advanced Selection dialog. Choosing one of these options opens the dialog with the selected method.

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. HyperWorks 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 that are located on the same surface face as the previously selected entity. HyperWorks finds entities that are attached to each other without crossing a feature line. Attached, adjacent surfaces, nodes, or elements are progressively selected when the angle between them is less than or equal to the specified feature angle.
In HyperMesh, the feature angle option is set in Preferences > Geometry. In HyperView, it is set in Preferences > Visualization.
HyperView limitations:
  • Works on shell elements only.
  • Does not handle flipped normals.
  • Cannot be used to select components.
By Dimension
Select entities by dimension (0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D). You can select one or more of the dimensions available.
Setting the entity selector to Nodes allows you to select nodes attached to all elements with the selected dimension. HyperView performs the entity binding changes for proper selection.
HyperView only
Similar
Select entities that are similar to the your current selection based on config.
Clear Selection
Remove all entities from your active selection.
(HyperMesh only)
Save Selection
Save the currently selected entities to a holding area known as the user mark.
Retrieve Selection
Retrieve previously saved entities from the user mark.

HyperMesh Advanced Selection Dialog Options

By Assembly
Select entities by assembly.
By Block
Select entities associated with one or more block entities.
By Collector
Select elements, lines, surfaces, loads, coordinate systems, vectors, equations, 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 Connector Group
Select entities associated with one or more connector groups.
By Domains
Select entities associated with a morph domain.
By Edge
Select entities (nodes, elements) by surface edge. HyperWorks 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 that are located on the same surface face as the previously selected entity. HyperWorks 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, nodes, 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 Group
Select entities by group.
By Handles
Select entities associated with morphing handles.
By ID
Select entities by typing in their ID numbers.
Use a comma to separate multiple entities.
By Include
Select FE entities such as elements, loads, and groups that belong to the selected include.
Note: Includes created via the Model Browser are only valid for solvers that support them.
By Laminate
Select entities associated with one or more laminate entities.
By Line
Pick lines in the modeling window. Entities associates with the lines are selected.
By List
Select entities from a list.
By Material
Select entities by material.
By Morphing Volumes
Select entities associated with morphing volumes.
By Multibodies
Select entities associated with one or more multibody entities.
By Output Block
Select the nodes, elements, comps, systs, groups and mats within an outputblock.
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 Ply
Select entities associated with one or more ply entities.
By Points
Pick points in the modeling window. Entities associates with the points are selected.
By Property
Select entities by property.
By Set
Select the entities within a set.
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.

HyperView Advanced Selection Dialog Options

All selection methods in the dialog include a visibility filter. This allows you 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.

In addition,HyperView is capable of entity binding changes between nodes, elements, and components - which provides you with easy selection. For example, when Nodes is specified on the entity selector, the By ID option allows you to select either By Node ID, By Element ID, or By Component ID.

By ID
Select entities by entering an ID number.
Make a selection from the By ID drop-down menu (By Node ID, By Element ID, or By Component ID), and then enter a valid expression (listed below) and an ID in the text box.
==
Displays entities equal to the ID entered
!=
Displays entities not equal to the ID entered
<
Displays entities less than the ID entered
<=
Display entities less than or equal to the ID entered
>
Displays entities greater than the ID entered
>=
Display entities greater than or equal to the ID entered
Note: You can also enter IDs and/or ranges, separated by commas (for example: 1, 3, 5-12) in the text box.

In addition, you may also make a selection from the Look in drop-down menu. When a model contains duplicate IDs, HyperView organizes the model into different pools - therefore you need to specify a pool in order to select a unique element.

If All is used, all the entities with duplicate IDs are selected.

By Type
Select elements by configuration. You can select one or more of the various element configurations available.
If Element configuration is selected, HyperView will apply the binding changes to find the nodes connected to the elements.
By Sets
Select the entities within a set.
By Contour
Select entities by contour.
The following contour options are available:
Value
Enter a contour value in the text box (see the Note below).
Percent
Enter the percentage of entities to select (0 to 100) in the text box (see the Note below).
Top N
Enter a positive decimal value for N, where N is the number of entities to be selected. For example, if you enter 50, the application displays the top 50 elements/nodes that have the highest contour value.
Bottom N
Enter a positive decimal value for N, where N is the number of entities to be selected. For example, if you enter 50, the application displays the bottom 50 elements/nodes that have the lowest contour value.
No result
All nodes or elements without any results are selected.
Max of Window
Displays the maximum contour value for the entities selected with a window.
Min of Window
Displays the minimum contour value for the entities selected with a window.
Note: If you select Value or Percent, you must select a quantifier from the bottom, left-most drop-down menu:
=
Displays entities equal to the contour value/percent entered.
!=
Displays entities not equal to the contour value/percent entered.
<
Displays entities less than the contour value/percent entered.
<=
Display entities less than or equal to the contour value/percent entered.
>
Displays entities greater than the contour value/percent entered.
>=
Display entities greater than or equal to the contour value/percent entered.
By Sphere
Allows you to select entities by entering location information for x, y, z and a user-defined radius.

Quick Advanced Selection

Use quick advanced selection to associate a preferred advanced selection method to different entity types. The advanced method becomes instantly accessible while holding the Alt key during any selection action.

Appending and deselecting while using quick advanced selection is also possible via Alt + Ctrl and Alt + Shift, respectively.

Configure quick advanced selection controls and associated methods via Preferences > Mouse Controls.


Figure 7.

Keyboard Shortcuts & Mouse Controls

Selection

To do this Press
Window select Left Mouse Drag
Append selection Ctrl + Left Mouse Click
Deselect Shift + Left Mouse Click
Select displayed Ctrl + A
Select all Ctrl + Shift + A
Select adjacent Ctrl + J
Select attached Ctrl + T
Select similar (based on type and config if applicable) Ctrl + M
Reverse selection Ctrl + R
Open advanced selection Spacebar
Quick advanced selection

Configurable via Mouse Control Preferences

 Alt + Left Mouse Click
Adjust feature angle when selecting elements By Face or By Edge Alt + Scroll
Edit Double Mouse Click
Suspend snaps Alt
Clear active selector Backspace
Clear all guide bar selectors Esc

Entity Selector

To do this Press
Set to components/connectors C
Set to elements E
Set to laminates/lines/loads L
Set to materials M
Set to nodes N
Set to plies/points/properties P
Set to solids/surfaces/systems S
Set to all Esc + Esc
Tip: For entity types that have the same first letter (solids, surfaces), continually press the keyboard shortcut to alternate between entity types.

Select Entities Using Legacy Selectors

For older contexts, selection is performed via yellow entity selectors.

The yellow entity selectors allow you to indicate which entities are to be modified when a function is performed. Their behavior is similar to the newer entity selectors elsewhere in the application.
Note: When using the Dark theme, the legacy entity selector color turns blue.
A legacy selector contains an entity type selection switch, an entity type button, and a reset button. An input collector is active when the entity type button is enclosed in a blue rectangle, as shown in the image below.


Figure 8.

An entity type in the plural form, such as "elements", indicates that you are able to select more than one entity from your model. An entity type in the singular form, such as "node", indicates that you can select only one entity from your model at a time.

When you need to define a plane by specifying a plane's normal vector, the selector allows you to select nodes one at a time by entering the node ID. Similar to other selectors, the active node is surrounded by a blue square.

Examples of this type of input collector include:



Figure 9. Plane normal vector definition using the global axis


Figure 10. Plane normal vector definition

Use the Extended Entity Selection Menu

  1. Click the entity type button on the selector to access the extended entity selection menu.
    A pop-up menu containing the available selection techniques is displayed. This menu allows alternative methods for selecting elements of the specified entity type.
    Note: The options displayed on the extended entity selection menu are dependent upon the active input collector.
  2. Choose an entity selection technique from the menu.
  3. Fill in any secondary dialog that is displayed.
    The selected entities are highlighted in the modeling window.
Note: When working with newer entity selectors, the equivalents of these options are accessed:
  • By right-clicking in the modeling window.
  • In the Advanced Selection dialog by clicking on an entity selector.

Change the Entity Type

  1. Click the entity type selection switch to access a pop-up menu of possible entity types.
  2. Select the type that you want to use.

Reset the Selector

Click the reset button, , to deselect all entities.

Card Filter

Use the Card Filter to restrict the list of entities displayed when you click the entity selector.



Figure 11. Card Filter. Card Filter is outlined in red.

Some panels present a list of entities when you click their Entity Selector button instead of the Extended Entity Selection options.

They do this by limiting the list to only those entities that have the specified card type associated with them. Not all entities display in this fashion, so the Card Filter feature is limited to the following entity types:
Assembly Beamsection collector Blocks
Component Contact surfaces Control volume
Curves Ddvals Groups
Laminates Load collector Load steps
Material Multibodies Plies
Plots Property Sensors
Sets Shapes System collector
Tags Titles Vector collector
To filter the entity list, click the switch for the filter and select card.


Figure 12.

This displays a read-only text field adjacent to the Card Filter control. Click card to open a pop-up window that lists all of the cards defined in your model for the selected type of entity, and pick the card that you wish to filter by.

Once selected, only entities with the chosen card type will display in the entity list on the panel.

To remove the filter, simply use the switch to select all, displaying all entities regardless of card association, or no card, displaying only those entities that do not have a card at all.