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.

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

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

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.

Please add this option.

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

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely agree. Please get on this, Adobe.

I agree.

Exactly what I think about!

Must be added.

Also, use shift to only ADD and alt to only REMOVE objects with ALL selection tools.

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.

Second the motion. Always use that funtion in Rhino, but wish it was in Illustrator. Sometimes I try to do most of the work in Rhino because its difficult to have precision when working in Illustrator.

I was going to post this, but found yours. But it's a very good idea - please implement it Adobe!

My original post:
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Could we have it so SHIFT "Adds" to selection (which is current effect), but then CONTROL or COMMAND "Subtracts" from the selection?

This would be a very useful interface tweak, and it works this way in Photoshop and Cinema 4D.

For example: I have a file with many overlapping shapes/masks. I make a large marquee selection, but accidentally grab several things I don't want. I can hold SHIFT and carefully select the objects I don't want to deselect them, BUT if I miss and hit something else I don't want, it gets added to my selection.

If CONTROL or COMMAND was always a "Subtract" modifier, I could easily click on objects to remove them from the current selection without worrying about it.

THIS. So much THIS. How can it not be better designed after all those years?

This is SO lacking in Illustrator. Guys at Adobe, take a look at what happens in 3DSMax or AutoCAD int his field. It's not acceptable for a program as old as Illustrator not to be at least a little better with complex selections. Shift for add, Alt for subtract, and Shift+Alt for exclusion. Simple, basic boolean operations.

This is a spectacular feature request, especially as someone who works back and forth between Illustrator and CAD/3D Modeling (Rhino). I would love the option to use Shift+Click for add to selection and Ctrl+Click to remove from selection, or even have the option to use the direct selection tool in addition only or subtraction only mode similar to the rectangular marque tool in Photoshop, although this would be more cumbersome.

Currently, when making complex direct selections, the Direct Selection Tool only allows addition or inversion of current selection, either by drawing a selection box or by clicking individual vertices (while holding Shift). This is kind of silly. It would be way more straightforward for the tool to allow either addtion, subtraction or inversion of selected vertices (you know, using Shift, Alt of Shift+Alt, respectively).

Shift + marquee selecting should not simultaneously select and deselect objects, instead the two should be separated into different keys, such as 'Shift' for only adding to the current selection and 'Alt' only subtracting from it.