The Book of Inkscape

5.4 Selecting by Clicking: The Selector

Most likely you already know that the topmost tool in the toolbar is the Selector and that clicking an object with that tool selects that object. Of course, there is much more to the Selector tool than that, but let’s look at this simple action in more detail.

First, note that clicking an object deselects any previous selection. Also, observe that with the Selector tool, you can not only select objects, but also drag the selected objects in any direction. Combined, these two features make it extremely easy and natural to move objects around, almost without thinking about “selection” at all: You see an object, and you click and drag it to where you want it. The click selects it, deselecting anything else, ...