UNDERSTANDING THE SELECTION TOOLS

Illustrator's selection tools are used to select or move shapes and anchor points, select objects within groups, or select parts of objects based on attributes (see Figure 14.3):

• Selection tool: Click to select entire objects. Drag around objects to select multiple items.

• Direct Selection tool: Click to select specific anchor points or paths on objects.

• Group Selection tool: Click to select specific items within groups of items. Click again on the same item to select the entire group, and again to select other groups of items that are grouped with the first one. Continue clicking until everything you want to select has been selected.

• Magic Wand tool: Click to select objects with similar attributes, such as the same color fill. Hold down the Shift key to select multiple objects. To set specifics of how the Magic Wand tool makes selections, either double-click on the tool itself or use the Magic Wand palette (choose Window, Magic Wand).

• Lasso tool: Drag around objects to select them. If you drag around a part of an object, it is selected, but only those anchor points you dragged around are active.

Figure 14.3. Use the Selection tools to select or move entire objects or anchor points.