Select, Multi-Select, and Edit Elements
The Select tool lets you click elements to modify them, select groups of elements, duplicate, delete, and reshape paths by dragging control points.
What you'll learn
- How to select and deselect elements
- Multi-selection (Shift+Click, area select)
- How to reshape a strand by dragging points
- Duplicating and deleting elements
Select an element
- Switch to the Select tool — Press A or click "Select" in the toolbar.
- Click any light in a strand or shrub. A cyan outline appears around the element, and white handle circles appear at each control point.
- The sidebar switches to "Editing Strand" or "Editing Shrub" — showing color, bulb type, spacing, and layer controls for that element.
To deselect, click on empty space or press Escape.
Multi-select
Shift+Click
Hold Shift and click additional elements to add them to your selection. Shift+Click a selected element to remove it from the selection.
Rectangle selection
With the Select tool active and Rectangle subtool chosen (in the options bar):
- Click and drag on empty space to draw a blue dashed selection box.
- Release — all elements with lights or points inside the box are selected.
Freeform (lasso) selection
Switch to the Freeform subtool in the options bar:
- Click and drag to draw a freeform lasso shape.
- Release — all elements inside the lasso are selected.
Select all
Press Cmd+A (or Ctrl+A on Windows) to select every element in the design.
Cycle through overlapping elements
When strands overlap — like a roofline strand crossing over a window strand — regular clicking selects the topmost one. To reach elements underneath:
Cmd+Click (or Ctrl+Click on Windows) at the overlapping spot. Each click cycles to the next element down in the layer stack.
Reshape a strand
When a single element is selected, white handle circles appear at each control point:
- Drag any white handle to move that point. Lights recalculate in real-time as you drag — you'll see them shift along the new path shape.
- Release to commit the change.
This works for straight strands, curved strands, and shrub boundaries. For curves, moving a control point adjusts the curve shape smoothly.
Tip: This is the fastest way to fine-tune a roofline trace. Draw approximately, then drag individual points to match the exact contour.
Duplicate an element
Hold Alt (Option on Mac) and drag a selected element. A copy is created at the original position, and the copy moves with your drag.
This is useful for repeating the same strand pattern across identical windows or sections.
Delete elements
- Select the element(s) you want to remove.
- Press Delete or Backspace — a confirmation dialog appears.
- Confirm to delete.
Deleted elements can be recovered with Cmd+Z (Undo).
What changes in the sidebar
| Selection state | Sidebar shows | |----------------|---------------| | Nothing selected | "Scene Settings" — brightness slider | | One element selected | "Editing Strand/Shrub" — color palette, bulb type, spacing/density, layer controls | | Multiple elements selected | Bulk property changes apply to all selected (colors, bulb type) |
Layer ordering
When one or more elements are selected, the floating action bar above the selection offers:
- Forward / Backward — click the up/down chevron buttons to move the selection one step within the stack. Shortcuts: ⌘] / ⌘[.
- Layers popover — click the layers icon for the full four-up surface: Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward, Send to Back. Shortcuts: ⌘⇧], ⌘], ⌘[, ⌘⇧[.
Forward and Backward are the common hot-path actions (one click). Bring-to-Front and Send-to-Back live in the Layers popover since they're used less often and benefit from being grouped with their "by one" counterparts.
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