Hamed Arab Academy
Free Blender add-on

Select, add to the selection, clear it, spot the active one

Pick one form, add another with Shift, clear the selection, and tell the active form from the rest. What is selected is what most of Blender acts on.

Written for version 2.22.0Updated 12 November 2026
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Workbook

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CAD/CAM Jeweller for Blender.

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What you will do

You will select the Box, add the Bar to it, and see which of the two Blender calls the active one: the one you picked last. Most of what you do in Blender acts on what is selected, so you need to see at a glance what is.

The box and the bar outlined in orange on Blender's grid, the disc plain grey, the bar's outline the lighter of the two
The Box and the Bar selected, the Bar active: its outline is the lighter one

About 8 minutes.

Files

Both were made in Blender 5.2.0.

Before you start

  • You can open a file and save a copy of it: Open an exercise file and keep the start file safe (P0-07).
  • You know that a key goes to the area under the pointer: Send a key to the right place (P0-03).

Build it

Step 1. Open the start file and save your own copy

WhereThe top bar: the row of words that begins File, Edit.

DoDownload p0-08-start.blend from Files above and open it. Then choose File > Save As and save it under the name below, in a folder of yours. Open an exercise file and keep the start file safe (P0-07) shows how.

Typemy-select.blend

You should seeThe 3D view shows a box, a bar and a disc. The Outliner, the list at the top right of the window, lists Bar, Box and Disc, and the title bar, the strip above File and Edit, begins my-select.

It worked whenThe title bar begins my-select.

The whole window with the box, the bar and the disc in the 3D view and their names in the Outliner at the top right
Your copy, open: nothing selected yet

Step 2. Select everything

WhereThe 3D view: the large dark area in the middle of the window.

DoMove the pointer over the 3D view and press A.

You should seeA thin orange line runs round the box, the bar and the disc, and their three rows in the Outliner light up. The selection is the set of things Blender will act on.

It worked whenAll three forms have an orange outline.

The whole window with the three forms outlined in orange and three rows lit in the Outliner
A: everything is selected

Step 3. Clear the selection

WhereThe 3D view: leave the pointer where it is.

DoPress Alt+A.

You should seeThe outlines go, and the rows in the Outliner are no longer lit. Nothing is selected.

It worked whenNo form has an orange outline.

The three forms in plain grey, with no outline on any of them
Alt+A: nothing is selected

Step 4. Select one form with a click

WhereThe 3D view: the box in the middle of it.

DoClick the box once.

You should seeOnly the box has an outline now. Its name, Box, stands at the top left of the 3D view, and its row in the Outliner is lit.

It worked whenThe box is outlined and the bar and the disc are not.

The box outlined in orange, the bar and the disc plain grey
One click: only the Box is selected

If it goes wrongEverything lost its outline: you clicked bare ground, which clears the selection. Click the box itself.

Step 5. Add the bar with Shift

WhereThe 3D view: the long bar behind the box.

DoHold Shift, click the bar once, then let go of Shift.

You should seeThe box keeps its outline and the bar gets one too. The bar’s is the lighter: the bar is the active one, the one you picked last. Its name now stands at the top left of the 3D view.

It worked whenBoth outlines show, and the words at the top left of the 3D view say Bar.

The box and the bar outlined in orange, the bar's outline the lighter, with labels for the selected box and the active bar
Shift+click adds: the Bar is active, the Box is selected

If it goes wrongThe box lost its outline: you clicked the bar without Shift, and a plain click lets go of the rest. Click the box, then Shift+click the bar.

Step 6. Read the active one’s numbers

WhereThe 3D view, then the sidebar at its right.

DoWith the pointer over the 3D view, press N, then click the Item tab on the sidebar’s right edge (marked 1).

You should seeThe sidebar shows the numbers of the active object only. Dimensions: (marked 2) reads X 30 mm, Y 4 mm, Z 2 mm: that is the Bar, not the Box.

It worked whenThe sidebar is open on Item, and Dimensions X reads 30 mm.

The sidebar on its Item tab, with the Item tab marked 1 and the Dimensions rows marked 2
The tab marked 1 shows the active object; its Dimensions are marked 2

Step 7. Save your work

WhereThe 3D view: move the pointer over it.

DoPress Ctrl+S.

You should seeBlender writes your copy at once, with no question, because the file already has a name. An asterisk, *, in the title bar marks changes that are not saved, and it goes now. Save your work and get it back (P0-12) says more about saving.

It worked whenThe title bar begins my-select, and no asterisk stands in it.

No picture: the only change is a message on the status bar, and it fades.

Check your result

What to readWhereWhat it should say
What is outlinedThe 3D viewThe box and the bar have an orange outline, the disc has none
The active oneThe words at the top left of the 3D viewThey name the Bar
Its sizeThe Item tab of the sidebar, Dimensions:X 30 mm, Y 4 mm, Z 2 mm: the Bar’s own size

Try it yourself

Open your copy again and Shift+click the Bar once more: it drops out of the selection and the Box stays. Then press Alt+A: nothing is outlined, and the words at the top left of the 3D view still name the Bar, because the active one is only the last you picked.

What you learned

  • A click selects what you click and lets go of the rest. Shift+click adds to the selection.
  • A selects everything in the 3D view, and Alt+A clears the selection.
  • The active object is the last one picked: its name stands at the top left of the 3D view, and the Item tab shows its numbers.

Next: Find and hide things in the Outliner