Selecting Elements in the Model

You need to select the desired model element before you can edit it or show information about it. This choice is called a selection. Selected model elements are marked in color. The sequence of a selection can be important in diagrams. If this is the case, the first element selected is provided with a special marking.

Selecting in the Model Contents or Result Region tool windows

Innovator always differentiates between two types of selection:

Single selection:
this is normally used to edit the selected element.
Multiple selection:
this is usually used to collect the selected elements in the Result Region tool window; the sequence of the selection is irrelevant. The selected elements' common properties can be edited during multiple selection.

To select elements in the tool windows, proceed as follows:

Objective	Procedure
Select a model element	Click on the element with the left mouse button [LMB].
Select a model element in the model tree using the keyboard	Select any element in the model tree and enter the letter(s) the element starts with; multiple entry is possible for multiple elements which start with the same letter.
Select multiple related model elements in the structure content, in the model element list, in the list of bookmarks or in the result region; extend selection in one direction	Select the first element, then click on another element with the [LMB] while pressing the [Shift] key; all elements lying between these two elements are selected.
Select multiple model elements of any type in the structure content, in the model element list, in the list of bookmarks or in the result region; extend selection by any element	Select the first element then click on any other element with the [LMB] while pressing the [Ctrl] key.
Select all model elements in the structure content, in the model element list, in the list of bookmarks or in the result region	Click on an element with the [LMB], then press the shortcut [Ctrl]+[A].
Select or deselect a single model element, modify selection	Click on the element with the [LMB] while pressing the [Ctrl] key.
Cancel current selection	Click with the [LMB] on an element not contained in the selection.

Selecting in the Diagram

To select elements in a diagram, proceed as follows:

Objective	Procedure
Select a diagram element	Click the element's icon with the left mouse button [LMB] or hover over the element with the mouse, and click on it when the color changes, indicating that it can be selected.
Select several elements, expand selection	Select the first element in the diagram (primary selection), then click on the other elements with the [LMB] while pressing the [Shift] or [Ctrl] key.
Select multiple nodes in an area	With the [LMB] and [Ctrl] key pressed, make a rubber band selection of this area.1 You can switch this mouse behavior in the Options dialog in the Mouse tab in the Drag Effect in Diagrams section.
Select more nodes in an area, extend selection	With the [LMB] and [Shift] key pressed, make a rubber band selection of this area.
Select diagram contents (all nodes and edges)	Select the Design>Editing>Select>Select Diagram Content (Ctrl+Shift+A) menu item.
Select all nodes shown in the diagram	Click in the diagram background with the [LMB] and select the Design>Editing>Select>Select All (Ctrl+A) menu item.
Select all edges shown in the diagram	Click on an edge with the [LMB] and select the Design>Editing>Select>Select All (Ctrl+A) menu item.
Select another model element in a selection as the primary selection	Click on this model element with the [LMB].
Deselect individual model elements	Click on this model element with the [LMB], with the [Shift] or [Ctrl] key pressed. If this element was the primary selection, the primary selection changes
Cancel selection	Click in the diagram background with the [LMB].

Note
In diagrams the labeling of an element can be selected separately. To select the element (and not just its label), please always click on the icon of the element.

For a more detailed explanation of making selections in diagrams see "Selecting Elements in the Diagram".

Collecting Elements in the Results Tool Window

To manage any number of elements together, add them to the Results tool window – e.g. using the Show all hits in result region result option in the search function.

You can also display and hide the results tool window separately. The tool window is automatically shown as soon as an element is assigned. To add to the result region, select Add to Result Region in the context menu.

Adding Elements to Bookmarks

To have quick access to any number of elements you can add them to the Bookmarks view in the Model Contents tool window.

To add to the bookmarks, select Add to Bookmarks.