I use P to get what I want, when I want it, and you can too!

There are many times in AutoCAD when you need to select certain objects, but there just isn't a good way to do it while you are in a command. That is where the power of P can empower you and your selection sets.

If a command requires an object or objects to be selected then you can use the P option to select all objects that were previously selected. P stands for Previous. You can also use the SELECT command to, well, select objects. Once a set of objects has been selected it is saved in AutoCAD's memory until the next set of objects are selected. Here is a use case.



In an architectural drawing, say I start the move command and select the chairs in Conference Room A and move them to another Conference Room B. After I closed the move command I realized they need to go into room C. I start the Move command again and when prompted to select objects I type P on the command line and press enter. This will automatically select my previous selection set. In this case the chairs. I can now move them to the proper place.

The P (or previous) selection option is great when you need to continue working with the same objects in different ways. Keep in mind that you will lose your selection set once you pick different objects in a set. AutoCAD only retains one set of PREVIOUS objects.

The Previous selection option allows you to work with the same objects over and over again without having to pick them over and over again., It can save time or at least save you the aggravation have having to pick the objects. It's only one keystroke (two if you count the enter key) as opposed to the multiple clicks needed to make the secetions.