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Boolean modes for Selection tool: Add / Remove instead of Invert with Shift only

If you drag Selection Tool while holding Shift over already selected objects it deselects them. This can be very frustrating in some cases, for example if you have to carefully select and delete multiple patches of overlapping shapes. Instad of just holding Shift and dragging a selection box multiple times and then deleting, you have to select, delete, select again, delete and so on.

It would be nice for Shift key to only add to selection without deselecting, and (for example) for Alt key - to only subtract.

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  • CK someone commented  ·   ·  Report

    The current selection method is really terrible for handling complex designs

  • asd commented  ·   ·  Report

    Still nothing? Seriously? We pay how many $$$ every year to not get something as simple as this done? What a worthless company

  • Mo'men Khalaf commented  ·   ·  Report

    We need it like in 3D Apps ( 3DS Max - C4D)
    Shift to only add to selection and Ctrl ( or ALT ) to minus from selection
    Nice and Clean
    Please make this happen
    Thanks

  • AdminEgor Chistyakov (Admin, Adobe Illustrator) commented  ·   ·  Report

    Meanwhile there is a trick that allows us to convert a partial selection to a full selection of selected paths — double Invert Selection command. By default it dies not have an assigned hotkey, but I changed it manually to be Ctrl+Shift+I, to be consistent with Photoshop (and moving Spellcheck to something else — it should be real-time anyway).
    The only problem is that you have to be sure that you need to run it, that is the partial selection has to be obvious.

    As for the Boolean modes — yes, we have no workarounds. Voted.

    (Edited by admin)
  • [Deleted User] commented  ·   ·  Report

    If I may suggest, an option in the selection menu would help.

    I'm mostly using white arrow tool + alt to select more. In some situations (here, different strokes), click and selecting the lines and realizing I didn't select all the other points, I would have LOVED to get an option somewhere (selection menu ? anchor point tool bar ?) to EXPAND that "some paths" selection into an "full path" selection. I even used the black arrow selection tool… but my previous selection acted. Of course it's not what I wanted. Here we're talking about 3 strokes but I'm sure it could be many more.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    Please. It is immoral for you to release any new updates without correcting this. You've literally had decades to address this most simple of requests.

    Give us updates we actually want, something so simple, so banal, but that will drastically improve the user experience. We don't need anything flashy and new, just let us select with shift and remove from selection with command, control, or literally any other key.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    YES. Please! At least make this an option users can choose in preferences if unwilling to change it unilaterally. I work with so many small paths and objects and constantly accidentally select or deselect something while trying to select or deselect the thing I missed. It is so annoying.

    Not only is shift exclusively to add, and command/control to remove from a selection a photoshop default behavior, but it is the case in almost every other design application that exists -- therefore clearly an intuitive means of selection.

    I can see absolutely no benefit to using the single key, "shift" for both selection and deselection.

    This software is expensive and you talk about the "creative Cloud" but there is so little continuity between simple things like this across the apps.

  • Eric Niu commented  ·   ·  Report

    They are too ******** to realize this? I have seen posts talking about this feature years ago.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    PLEASE DO THIS. I just assumed I was doing something wrong.

  • Michael Goldshteyn commented  ·   ·  Report

    Well, the previous posters already said what I want to say. This feature is a must and practically all other apps, including Adobe apps, already support it.

  • Aaron Sheffield commented  ·   ·  Report

    PLEASE! Even Photoshop has this feature. Literally every other design program has this. AutoCAD, Rhino, Blender, etc. etc.

  • Ilfrustrator commented  ·   ·  Report

    Totally agree. Illustrator really ********* its user interface, loads of nonsense and anti intuitive functions. Seriously doubt if the developer ever designed something. Please please get it done right Adobe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Orion commented  ·   ·  Report

    Absolutely agree. Please get on this, Adobe.

  • Hung commented  ·   ·  Report

    Exactly what I think about!

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    Also remove selection with rectangle selection, not toggle, just drag over and gone, but it keeps selecting unselected stuff again...SO MUCH TIME WASTED ON SELECTING and it happens to be the most frequent task you do btw...should be like the first priority to make selecting as easy as possible.

    If you are out of ideas about how to do it, please take a look at 3D software, all modes are available there and implemented nicely.

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Illustrator (Desktop) Feature Requests: Selection

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