Selection in Modeling Tools

Unlike the standard behavior in Houdini, all Modeler tools in component selection mode treat an empty selection as a command to select the entire geometry. Isolated faces are ignored in the process. This allows to quickly apply tools to the entire model without manually selecting all components.

The Select Radial Menu

The primary set of component selection tools is stored in the Select radial menu, which by default opens with the ` (backtick) hotkey. This menu offers smart selection mode switching.

How it works: Imagine you applied the Extrude tool to some faces. This activates the Extrude viewer state, highlighting the front part of the extruded faces. Now, if you open the Select radial menu and choose Faces, the viewer will switch to selection state, and the highlighted components will become selected. Selecting Faces again will clear the selection. If, in the Extrude state, you select Points, the highlighted faces will be converted into points, and selecting Points from menu again will also clear the selection.

Tools:

• Points — Switches to point selection mode.
• Edges — Switches to edge selection mode.
• Faces — Switches to face selection mode.
• State | Select — Toggles between selection and node states, making it more convenient than pressing Enter to activate the node state.
• Loops — Converts selected components into loops. For points and faces, at least two elements must be selected to define the loop direction.
• Rings — Selects edge rings.
• Lasso | Box — Switches between lasso and box selection style. In Lasso style, only visible components are selected.
• Tools Submenu:
  • To Shells — Converts any selection into polygonal shells.
  • Similar — Procedurally selects similar components based on criteria, such as faces with the same number of points or edges with similar angles between faces. After activating the tool, you can drag Parm Slider to adjust the tolerance for finding similar components.
  • Edge Contour — Selects the edge contours of selected components.
  • By Normal — Selects face regions whose normals do not differ significantly. For example, you can quickly select all faces in a flat area. After activation, drag Parm Slider to adjust the angle and capture larger areas.
  • Sharp Edges — Selects all sharp edges of selected faces. Parm Slider allows to adjust the angle.
  • Grow — Expands selected area.
  • Curves — Selects all curves.
    • By Color — Selects faces with the same color as the selected polygons.

Additional Selection Tools from the Select shelf

The Select shelf provides additional tools that extend the functionality of selection and object management: