Is there a way to select all objects of the same color at once in AutoCAD?

Short Answer

Yes — in AutoCAD, the fastest professional way to select all objects of the same color is with QSELECT. It lets you filter objects by Color across the current drawing or current selection set in seconds. However, it only works reliably when objects actually have an assigned color property.

What You Need to Know Before

Warning: Objects set to ByLayer or ByBlock may not behave the way users expect when filtering by color. A common failure is trying to select “red objects” when the visible red appearance comes from the layer color, not from the object’s own Color property.

How to Select All Objects of the Same Color in AutoCAD

• Command: QSELECT

• Shortcut: No default alias

• Quick Steps:

  1. On the Ribbon, go to Home tab > Utilities panel > Quick Select, or type QSELECT.
  2. In the Quick Select dialog, set Apply to = Entire drawing, then choose Object type = Multiple or a specific object type.
  3. Set Properties = Color, Operator = Equals, pick the target color, then make sure How to apply = Include in new selection set, and click OK.

Variables & Settings

• Key Setting: Apply to = Entire drawing
  This controls whether AutoCAD searches the whole drawing or only a preselected group of objects. For most professional workflows, use Entire drawing to avoid missing matching objects outside the current selection.

Why it Fails

• Cause 1 (Geometry): The objects may be different types, and the selected object type filter excludes some matching items such as hatches, dimensions, or blocks.
• Cause 2 (layers/Locks): Matching objects may be on locked layers, making them difficult to modify even if they are successfully selected.
• Cause 3 (Command/Logic): The visible color may come from ByLayer rather than a directly assigned object color, so filtering by object Color does not return the expected results.

Quick Fix & Best Practice

• Quick Fix: Use LIST or the Properties palette to confirm whether the object color is explicitly assigned or set to ByLayer before running QSELECT.
• Manager’s Verdict: Use QSELECT for fast one-time color-based selection in live production drawings, but avoid relying on color alone for standards-based workflows where layer filtering is more consistent.

FAQ

Can I select objects by layer color instead of object color?

Not directly with object Color unless those objects have that color explicitly assigned.

Can QSELECT find objects inside blocks?

No, it does not directly select nested objects inside block definitions.

Is there another way besides QSELECT?

Yes, SELECTSIMILAR can work in some cases, but QSELECT is usually more precise for color-based filtering.

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