Selection Mode
Selection > Selection Mode
 

Description:

      The Selection Mode (Selection > Selection Mode) submenu allows you to switch selection modes. The available modes are: Vertex Mode, Edge Mode, Face Mode, Object Mode, and Texture Mode. Object selection mode allows you to select or deselect objects as a whole. If you go into vertex, edge, face, or texture selection modes while a certain set of objects is selected in object mode, only those objects will be editable in the new mode.  These objects will remain as the only editable objects until you go back into object selection mode and select different objects.  This system allows you to not worry about selecting elements of an object that you aren't trying to edit.

    Face selection mode allows you to select faces by clicking anywhere on the face with the left mouse button (allowing you to only pick faces on the same side of the object as you are on), or by selecting the face's middle point using the mouse's middle button (allowing you to pick a face on the far side of an object).

    Texture Mode allows you to edit the textures of an object using the regular manipulator tools. Texture Mode is really just a special version of Face Mode- if a face is selected in face selection mode, it will be selected when switching to texture mode, and vice versa.


Notes:

-Except for conversions between Face and Texture modes, switching between selection modes this way will not preserve your selection. Use the Convert Selection (Selection > Convert Selection) submenu to preserve your selection when changing modes.

- In all selection modes, selecting with the left mouse button will pick only the items that are "in front", while using the middle mouse button will select everything behind the mouse selection.  This is true for area selection as well as point selection.

- When selecting, use Alt+Shift to deselect items and Ctrl+Shift to toggle selected items.