Preselecting Geometry – Workflow Order of Operations
So, when do we want to preselect our Geometry? We can preselect in any Edit workflow, and some modelers prefer to preselect every time they use an Edit workflow. When using an Edit tool that can select more than just a single piece of Geometry, such as Move, Scale, or Rotate, preselecting is the only way to select multiple Edges, Faces, or Objects. When an Edit tool is activated, you cannot drag a selection window or use a modifier key to add other Geometry to the selection set—the first element that is clicked will be the active selection in the Edit workflow. In the following screenshot, we can see that while using the Rotate tool, any Face that is clicked will choose only the Face and activate the next step in the Rotate workflow:
Figure 5.3: Rotate Tool Activated (Left); Face is Selected and Basepoint Set (Middle); Rotate Activates Autofold (Right)