Tech Tip: 3 Quick Ways to Select Covered Geometry in Onshape

We’ve all been there. You’re working on an assembly and need to quickly select a face or edge of a part that’s hidden behind a cover or just buried deep in there somewhere.

There are many ways to do this. In this Tech Tip, we’ll look at three shortcuts that I like to use.

Shortcut 1: Hide the Part That’s in the Way

The simplest way to access something behind is to hide the stuff that’s in the way! Sure, you can do this from the instance list. You can also right-click a part and select “hide.” But my preference is to use a keyboard shortcut.

While cursoring over a part, hit the “Y” key on your keyboard. Poof! The part is now hidden. When you’re done and ready to bring it back, simply use Shift + “Y” while hovering where the part should be and watch it magically reappear.

Shortcut 2: Make the Part Transparent

Making a part transparent is a quick way to select behind it because, by default, Onshape selects through any transparent parts. Again, you can find the part in the instance list, or right-click on it and find “Make transparent,” but let’s use a shortcut. I promised you quicker ways, right?

Cursor over the part and use shift + “T” on your keyboard to make the part transparent. Notice the transparency dialog will default with an unchecked “Select transparent geometry,” so go ahead and click right through that part.

When you’re done, simply hit the Esc key to close the transparency dialog and return your part to its normal render state.

Shortcut 3: Select Other

What if there was a way to select something behind, even without seeing it? That’s exactly what Select other does. It presents other options to select directly below the cursor. Like the others, it can be invoked from a right-click, but there’s actually some additional usability when invoked from its shortcut.

Cursor over the part and use the “`” key on your keyboard, which is typically just above your left tab key on U.S. keyboards. Notice that a list of other available selections appears on screen, with the selected option outlined in the graphics area. You can use your cursor to move through the options on the list, but if you continue to tap “`”, it cycles through them for you in order. At any point, press Enter to confirm the selection or press Esc to cancel.

3 Shortcuts to “Unblock” You

With these three shortcuts at your fingertips, you’ll make quick work of any parts that are blocking your view.

All shortcuts mentioned here are the Onshape defaults, but remember you can customize these shortcuts as you wish!