---
layout: default
title: Select Regions
---

<p>
  Many editing operations in Ardour require you to first <dfn>select one or more
  regions</dfn> that you want to change in some way. You can select a single region,
  or multiple regions, including regions in different tracks. When you select
  a region, it will appear in a darker color than unselected regions.
</p>
<p>
  Note that if a track is a member of a group that is active and has the
  <kbd class="option">Select</kbd> property enabled, then Ardour will attempt to
  match whatever selections you make in one track across every other track of the
  group. See
  <a href="/working-with-regions/corresponding-regions-selection/">Corresponding
  Regions Selection</a> for more information on precisely how selections will be
  propagated to other tracks.
</p>

<h2>Region Selection and Track Selection</h2>
<p>
  Please read
  <a href="/working-with-tracks/selecting-tracks/">Region &amp; Track Selection</a>
  for more information on how selecting regions and selecting tracks interact.
</p>

<h2>Select a Region</h2>
<p>
  Confirm that you are using the
  <a href="/ardours-interface/the-editor/the-toolbar/the-toolbox/">Grab Mode tool</a>,
  then click on a region to select it. If
  <a href="/ardours-interface/the-editor/the-toolbar/the-toolbox/">Smart mode</a>
  is enabled, click in the lower half of the region.
</p>

<h2>Deselect a Region</h2>
<p>
  Confirm you are using the
  <a href="/ardours-interface/the-editor/the-toolbar/the-toolbox/">Grab Mode tool</a>,
  then <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click the region. If
  <a href="/ardours-interface/the-editor/the-toolbar/the-toolbox/">Smart mode</a>
  is enabled, click in the lower half of the region.
</p>
<p>
  Note that a <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd> click simply toggles the
  selected status of an object, so it can be used to select unselected regions
  too.
</p>

<h2>Select Multiple Regions in a Track</h2>
<p>Do one of the following:</p>
<ul>
  <li><kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click each region, or</li>
  <li>
    drag a rubberband box from an empty point in a track before the first
    region you wish to select to a point within or after the last region
    you wish to select (you can <kbd class="mouse mod1">left</kbd>-drag to do this
    multiple times), or,
  </li>
  <li>
    if the regions are all adjacent to one another, click the first region
    you wish to select, then <kbd class="mouse mod3">Left</kbd>-click the last
    region you wish to select.
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Select All Regions in a Track</h2>
<p>
  Context-click the track, and in the context menu, navigate to
  <kbd class="menu">Select &gt; Select All In Track</menu>.
</p>
<p>
  See the <a href="/working-with-tracks/track-context-menu/">Track Context Menu</a>
  for more information on other per-track selection operations that are available.
</p>

<h2>Select Multiple Regions Across Different Tracks</h2>
<p>
  <kbd class="mouse mod1">Left</kbd>-click or <kbd class="mouse
  mod3">Left</kbd>-click the regions you wish to select.
</p>

<h2>Select a Region From the Region List</h2>
<p>
  Click the name of the region in the
  <a href="/ardours-interface/the-editor/the-editor_s-lists/region-list/">Region List</a>.
  Note that this will do nothing for whole-file regions, since they do not exist
  anywhere in a playlist or track.
</p>