Using the Graphic Editors : Working with Graphic Editors : Drawing Operations in Graphic Editors : Selecting Elements

Selecting Elements

When you select one or more graphic elements, the current selection is marked with filled squares, called selection handles. If the graphic editor is in selection mode (you are not drawing something), the current selection is also marked with hollow squares, called stretch handles.

Different kinds of drawing elements are marked with selection handles in the following ways:

Boxes - Have a marker placed on each corner.
Arrows and lines - Have a marker placed on each end of the line, and on each control point on the line. Selecting an arrow automatically selects its label. A label cannot become disconnected from its arrow, even when moved.
Connectors - Have a marker placed in the center of the connector. In this case, the marker color is different than the connector color, so that you can see it more easily.
Circles - Have four markers, one each side, and one at the top and bottom on the edge of the circle.
Text - Has a dotted box surrounding the words.
Note: There are usually eight stretch handles at the corners and edges of an imaginary rectangle that contains all the selected elements. If the markers are too close to each other, the number of stretch handles is reduced, which can make it impossible to resize an element without zooming in to that area of the diagram.