AutoCAD: Filter Command Tutorial

The FILTER command is a powerful tool for modifying selection sets based on a set of criteria. For this tutorial I'll be using the collection of objects depicted below.

First we'll start the FILTER command (type 'FILTER<enter>') and AutoCAD presents us will a dialog to define our selection criteria. In the 'Select Filter' dropdown I'll select 'Line' and click 'Add-to-List'.

At this point my selection set is limited to only objects of the 'Line' type. I'll further filter the selection to only select objects of the color 'Cyan' by selecting 'Color' from the 'Select Filter' dropdown and clicking on 'Select' to open the color selection dialog.

After selecting the 'Cyan' color and clicking 'OK', I'll click 'Add to List' to add this criteria to my selection filter. Now my filter list will select only objects which are of the type 'Line' AND have the color 'Cyan'. After clicking 'OK', I'm returned to the select objects prompt.

Now, if I apply a crossing selection to this entire group of objects, only the Cyan line will be selected.

Filter lists can be as complex or as simple as needed and offer yet another way to quickly refine a selection set for performing an action on a group of objects--without selecting each object individually.