Using AutoCAD Filter

We have discuss about using Quick Select before. QSELECT is very useful if you just use it occasionally and not many properties to FILTER. There is one more utility that we can use, very powerful even it’s not as pretty as QSELECT. You can save your filter and reuse it frequently. Very useful if you have many properties to filter, and use it many times.

FILTER tool may be not popular because there’s no button/icon to activate it. At least when I check in help file, I can’t find anything about it. You have to type it in command line. FILTER dialog box also might be scary when you first see it. But after you use it for a while, you probably don’t want to use QSELECT anymore.

The advantages of using FILTER are:

1. You can set multiple conditional filters at once. QSELECT only allow you to apply one conditional filter at a time. Then you need to apply another filter to your selection.
2. You can save the filter setting and use it again later.

Let’s see how it works.

Using the filter

Open your AutoCAD drawing. Type FILTER then [enter]. Filter dialog box is loaded.
Now let’s say that we want to select all objects that use By Layer as color.

How to do it?

1. In filter dialog box, choose color as filter. Click select to choose the color. Click by layer in Select Color dialog box.
2. Click Add to List to define the filter.

Click apply. Filter dialog box will close and let you to select object. Now select any AutoCAD object that you want. You can use all selection method you know.

After you press ENTER, you will select only objects with By Layer color.

If you want to select all objects that are not using By Layer color, change the filter from = to !=.

Using conditional statement

You can add more conditional for complex objects. Let’s say you want to quickly select all circle and lines, and the color must be red. We know that the conditional supposed to be:

(Circle or Line) and have to be red.

Or in filter, it will be:

Saving Filter

The beauty of filter is it can be saved. If you defined many conditional filters, then it would be ridiculous if we have to set it every time we want to use it. Type the filter name in Named Filters group and click save as.

Now, after you save some filters, you can quickly select your objects with selective properties in just a few clicks!

Imagine if you use Quick Select. You will need to do repetitive tasks every time you want to select objects.

About Edwin Prakoso

I work as a Sr. Consultant in PT Cipta Satria Informatika. I've been using AutoCAD since R14 and Revit since Revit Building 9. I occasionally write for AUGIWorld magazine and I am also active in Autodesk discussion forum. I'm a member of Autodesk Expert Elite, an appreciation for individuals who give contributions to the Autodesk community.
Connect with me on twitter or LinkedIn.