Smart Selection

Smart Selection enables you to expand a small selection of elements into a larger selection based on shared characteristics. Instead of manually selecting similar elements one by one, select a few sample elements and let Smart Selection find all matching elements by category, family, type, phase, or workset.

Getting Started

Find Smart Selection on the Amorphous ribbon tab in the UI Selection panel.

The button is enabled when one or more elements are selected in Revit. If nothing is selected, the button is disabled.

Features

• Multi-criteria filtering - Filter by Category, Family, Type, Phase (Created/Demolished), or Workset
• Three selection scopes - Draw a rectangle, search the active view, or search the entire model
• Group and nested family expansion - Optionally expand groups and nested families for criteria extraction
• Keyboard hotkeys - Quick access via single-key shortcuts for faster workflow
• Persistent settings - Remembers your last filter type and scope between sessions
• Modeless dialog - Stays open for repeated selections without blocking Revit

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How to Use

Basic Workflow

1. Select sample elements - Pick one or more elements that represent what you want to match
2. Click “Smart Selection” on the ribbon
3. Choose a filter type - Select how to match elements (Category, Family, Type, Phase, or Workset)
4. Choose a scope - Select where to search (Rectangle, View, or Model)
5. Click Apply (or press Enter/Space)
6. All matching elements are selected in Revit

Selecting by Category

Use Category to select all elements of the same Revit category, regardless of family or type.

Example: Select one wall, choose Category filter, and click Apply to select all walls in the scope.

Selecting by Family

Use Family to select all elements from the same family, regardless of type variations.

Example: Select a “Basic Wall” element, choose Family filter, and click Apply to select all Basic Wall instances (of any type) in the scope.

Selecting by Type

Use Type to select elements of the exact same type - this is the most specific filter.

Example: Select a “Generic - 200mm” wall, choose Type filter, and click Apply to select only walls of that exact type.

Selecting by Phase

Use Phase to select elements based on their phase properties:

1. Select elements that were created in (or demolished during) the target phase
2. Click the Phase chip - a dropdown appears
3. Choose the mode:
   • Phase Created - Match elements created in the same phase(s)
   • Phase Demolished - Match elements demolished in the same phase(s)
4. Click Apply

Note

Elements without phase information (some system families, imported geometry) are excluded from phase-based matching.

Selecting by Workset

Use Workset to select all elements assigned to the same workset(s).

Caution

The Workset filter is only available in workshared (multi-user) projects. In non-workshared models, the Workset chip is disabled.

Rectangle Selection

When you choose Rectangle scope:

1. The dialog hides temporarily
2. An instruction bar appears: “Draw a rectangle to select elements”
3. Click and drag to draw a selection rectangle
4. Matching elements within the rectangle are selected
5. The dialog reappears

Tip

Rectangle selection works like Revit’s native crossing selection but filters results based on your chosen criteria.

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User Interface

Main Dialog

The dialog uses a chip-based interface where you select one filter type and one scope.

Element	Description
Filter chips (C, F, T, P, W)	Choose how to match elements - Category, Family, Type, Phase, or Workset
Scope chips (R, V, M)	Choose where to search - Rectangle, View, or Model
Settings button (gear icon)	Open expansion settings for groups and nested families
Apply button	Execute the selection (shows “REGION SELECT” for Rectangle scope)

Keyboard shortcuts:

• C, F, T, P, W - Select filter type
• R, V, M - Select scope
• Enter or Space - Apply selection
• ESC - Close dialog

Expansion Settings

Click the gear icon to access expansion settings:

Setting	Options	Description
Groups	Parent element / Expand members	When “Expand members”, criteria is extracted from group members instead of the group itself
Nested Families	Parent element / Expand nested	When “Expand nested”, nested family instances (up to 3 levels deep) are analyzed

Note

Expansion settings reset to defaults when you restart Revit. They affect how criteria is extracted from your initial selection, not which elements can be selected.

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Use Cases

Scenario	Filter	Scope	Example
Bulk property editing	Type	View/Model	Select all doors of a specific type to change parameters
Quality control	Phase	Model	Find all elements created in a specific phase for review
Model organization	Workset	View/Model	Select all elements on a workset for visibility control
Graphic overrides	Category	View	Select all furniture in a view for color override
Data export	Family	Model	Select all instances of a family for scheduling
Regional cleanup	Type	Rectangle	Select specific element types in a drawn region

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Options & Settings

Persistent Settings

Smart Selection remembers these settings between Revit sessions:

Setting	Description
Last filter type	The most recently used filter (Category, Family, Type, Phase, Workset)
Last scope	The most recently used scope (Rectangle, View, Model)
Last phase mode	The most recently used phase mode (Created or Demolished)

Settings are stored in %AppData%\Amorphous\SmartSelection\settings.json.

Session Settings

These settings reset when you restart Revit:

Setting	Description
Group expansion	Whether to expand groups for criteria extraction
Nested family expansion	Whether to expand nested families for criteria extraction
Dialog position	The dialog remembers its screen position within a session

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Tips & Best Practices

• Start specific, go broader - Begin with Type filter for precise matches, then try Family or Category if you need more elements
• Use View scope first - View scope is faster than Model scope; only use Model when you need project-wide selection
• Keyboard shortcuts - Learn the hotkeys (C/F/T/P/W for filters, R/V/M for scopes) for rapid operation
• Sample selection matters - For Family and Type filters, the matching criteria comes from your initial selection
• Group contents - If you need to match elements inside groups, enable “Expand members” in settings before applying
• Combine with other tools - Use with Zoom Selected to quickly view your selection, or with Isolate by Filter / Hide by Filter to control visibility of matching elements

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Limitations

Limitation	Details
Workset filter	Only available in workshared (multi-user) projects
Initial selection limit	Limited to 1000 elements for performance
Large model performance	Model scope with 10,000+ matching elements may be slow
Missing metadata	Elements without category, family, type, phase, or workset information are excluded
View-specific elements	Some view-specific elements may not be selectable depending on the active view type

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Troubleshooting

No elements found matching criteria

This can occur when:

• The sample elements have no matchable metadata (try a different filter type)
• The scope doesn’t contain matching elements (try a broader scope)
• Phase filter is used with elements that don’t have phase properties

Workset chip is disabled

The Workset filter only works in workshared models. Enable worksharing in your project to use this filter.

Selection seems incomplete

If groups or nested families aren’t being analyzed:

1. Click the gear icon to open settings
2. Enable “Expand members” for groups
3. Enable “Expand nested” for nested families
4. Try the selection again

Dialog position resets

The dialog position is remembered within a Revit session but resets when you restart Revit. This is expected behavior.

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Related Tools

• Zoom Selected - Instantly zoom to fit your selection
• Color Tools - Apply color overrides by filter with QA checking capabilities
• Isolate by Filter - Isolate elements using view filters
• Hide by Filter - Hide elements using view filters