In addition to the multiple selection operators, the program features several smart selection commands that enable selection of entities based on the context of the active command.
The main differences of smart selection commands from the multiple selection operators are:
To select these commands, right-click to display the context-sensitive menu, and then choose Select to display a list of commands. Alternatively, you can customize your toolbar to include these commands, so that you can use them when they turn active (due to the use of a supported command).
Smart selection commands that enable selection of entities based on their significance — that is, selection of entities that are somehow related (geometrically, topologically, associatively, etc.) — are as follows:
| Contour | The Contour command enables you to make curve selection as the contour of a face. You can decide whether to include All Contours or just the Internal Contours or the External Contour in the selection. |
| Loop | The Loop enables you to make curve selection in form of edges forming a loop. |
| From-To Loop | The From-To Loop command enables you to select only a portion of the loop formed by a set of edges. You need to select two edges of the loop that will act as the start and end edges. All the edges lying in-between the two selected edges will automatically get selected. |
| Tangent Chain | On making use of Tangent Chain command you need to select only one edge and all other edges forming a tangential chain with your selection are automatically selected. |
| Propagated Faces | The Propagated Faces command enables you to make selection of faces in a group that propagate from one another. You just need to select a face and all the faces that propagate from the selection automatically get selected. You also have an option to select a stop face; it represents a boundary that stops the selection propagation. |
| Tangent Faces | The Tangent Faces command enables you to make selection of faces in a group that are tangent to one another. You just need to select a face and all the faces that tangentially propagate from the selection automatically get selected. |
| Siblings | The Siblings command enables you to select all the siblings created by the same command. Siblings are the entities created as a result of multiple events, such as isoparametric or boundary curves. |
| Crease Angle | The Crease Angle command enables you to make mesh facet selection using as criteria the angle between the normal of the picked facet and the normal of the other facets of the mesh. |
| Geodesic Distance | The Geodesic Distance command enables you to make mesh facet selection using as criteria the distance between the picked point on the facet and the other facets of the mesh. |