To help you select the desired entities (vertices, edges, faces, cells, nodes, and elements) from the current viewport, Abaqus/CAE provides a set of filters that you can use to limit your selection based on the type of object. For example, if you are creating a set that contains only surfaces, you can limit your selection to only faces—vertices, edges, and cells will not be selected.

The object filters are listed in the Selection toolbar. Abaqus/CAE configures the filter list based on the current procedure. If you have not started a selection procedure, Abaqus/CAE lists some commonly used filters (for more information on selecting objects outside of a procedure, see “Selecting objects before choosing a procedure,” Section 6.3.7).

If the current viewport contains an Abaqus/CAE part or part instance, you can select one of the following filters:

By default, Abaqus/CAE selects from all vertices, edges, faces, cells, and reference points but excludes skins and stringers. You can select a skin or stringer from the viewport only after you select the appropriate filter. The list of available filters is updated as you change modules or selection procedures.

Similarly, if you are selecting orphan elements in the current viewport (to assign an element type, for example), you can select one of the following filters:

• All

• Zero-dimensional elements

• One-dimensional elements

• Two-dimensional elements

• Three-dimensional elements

• Skins

• Stringers

By default, Abaqus/CAE selects from all elements except skins and stringers.