Getting Started

Select Tools opens as a Revit side panel named Select Tools. Dock it beside Properties, Project Browser, or any other Revit panel. It watches what you pick and gives you buttons to bring picks back, filter them, match pasted lists, and copy useful names.

After installation, the panel is available under the Pixeltools tab on the Revit ribbon. Click the Select Tools button to open it. Dock it beside Properties or the Project Browser so it stays visible while you work. It does not open automatically on the first launch but stays docked between sessions after that.

Main Pane Layout

• Selection History remembers recent picks and lets you bring them back, pin them, rename them, delete them, or save them.
• Selection Switches strip gives you quick keep-only buttons like Pipe, Duct, Assemblies, and Hangers.
• Bottom action buttons open Select to Clip, Paste & Match, and Selection Filter.
• Settings opens the unified settings window for History, Switches, Paste & Match, and Select to Clip.

First Use

1. 01Select elements in Revit. The history pane remembers the pick.
2. 02Click a history entry or its restore action to restore that selection in Revit.
3. 03Use Select to Clip to copy names from the current selection, Paste & Match to pick items from a pasted list, or Selection Filter to narrow a big selection.

Selection History

Selection History remembers Revit selections so you do not have to pick the same stuff twice.

Every time you finish a pick, an entry appears at the top of the list. The entry shows a count and an auto-generated name based on the dominant category in the pick, such as "Pipework: 34 Pipes" or "Ductwork: 14 Ducts". Click the entry to restore that pick in Revit.

What Gets Captured

• Recent element selections show up in the history list.
• Entries can be named from what was selected, such as a category or system.
• Paste & Match and Selection Filter results can show up in history too.

Entry Actions

Action	Use
Restore	Picks those same elements again in Revit.
Pin	Keeps important picks from getting cleared out.
Rename	Lets you name the pick in plain project language.
Snapshot anyway	Saves the actual elements for a big pick that was first saved lightly.
Save as Selection Filter	Saves the pick as a named Revit Selection Filter under Manage > Selection.
Re-run	Reopens the Paste & Match input that produced the entry.

Example

You finish picking 34 hangers in Zone 3 and switch to a sheet view to check a detail. When you come back, the selection is gone. Find the entry in the history list and click it. The 34 hangers are selected again. No hunting, no box select, no filter.

Large Selections

Select Tools is careful with huge picks. By default, it treats 3,000 elements as large and protects Revit from saving extremely large selections by accident.

• Skip saves the count only.
• Capture Truncated saves the first chunk of element IDs.
• On-Demand Only saves a light record first and lets you use Snapshot anyway later.
• Hard ceiling override is an advanced option for unusually huge selections and may slow Revit.

When an entry was saved lightly, the entry shows a count but restoring it does nothing because no element IDs were stored. Use Snapshot anyway to save the full element list while the entry is still in the pane.

Select to Clip

Select to Clip builds a clipboard list from the current Revit selection. Each selected element adds one value, duplicates are ignored, and the list is copied after each add.

Using Select to Clip

1. 01Select one or more elements in Revit.
2. 02Click the Select to Clip action in the Select Tools pane.
3. 03Paste the list into another tool, email, spreadsheet, or Paste & Match input.

Hover Add

Assign the Hover Add command to a keyboard shortcut in Revit Options. Hover over an element in the model and press the shortcut. The element's name lands in the clipboard list in the pane without a click. Use this to build a list while walking through the model.

Example: you are walking through the model checking spools. Hover over a spool and press the shortcut. Do this for 12 spools. When done, click Match to send the list to Paste and Match and select all 12 at once.

Copied Property

In Settings, the Select to Clip tab controls which property is copied:

• Assembly Name
• Mark
• Type Name
• Family
• Comments
• Custom parameter

For custom parameters, type the exact parameter name or pick one from a selected element.

Export to Excel

The Export button in Settings > Select to Clip writes the current Revit selection directly to an .xlsx file using the active mode's fields. Works for Fields, Fabrication part data, and Schedule modes. No Excel installation required.

Paste & Match

Paste & Match takes a text list and finds the matching Revit elements. Use it for sheet numbers, assembly names, view names, marks, spool names, or parameter values from a spreadsheet or email.

Example: Sheet Numbers From an RFI

An RFI comes in asking you to check sheets A201, A202, and A203. Copy those numbers from the email. Open Paste and Match from the Select Tools pane. Paste with Ctrl+V. Select Tools finds all three sheets in the project and selects them. If you want to open them as tabs or add them to the print set, those options are in the results panel.

Example: Spool Names From the Foreman

Your foreman sends a list of spool names that need coordination review. Copy the list from the email or spreadsheet, even if it has extra text around the names. Open Paste and Match. Paste it in. Switch to Extra Messy mode if the input is not clean. Select Tools strips out the noise, matches the spool names to assembly elements in the model, and selects them.

Basic Workflow

1. 01Open Paste & Match from the Select Tools pane or paste text into the pane with Ctrl + V.
2. 02Paste or type a list. Lines and commas work for normal lists.
3. 03Review what matched, what did not match, and what was duplicated.
4. 04Click Select to select matched elements in Revit.

Match Modes

Mode	Use
Clean	Best for normal spreadsheet or email lists.
Verbatim	Use this when you want Select Tools to split the list exactly where you tell it.
Extra Messy	Use this when the pasted text is ugly and has extra notes, junk, or shortened names mixed in.

Use Clean for normal spreadsheet exports and tidy email lists. Use Verbatim when the list is already one item per line and you do not want any cleanup applied. Use Extra Messy when the input is from a PDF, a forwarded email chain, or a table that has extra text mixed into the names.

Categories

The built-in choices include Sheets, Assemblies, and Views. Leave it on Auto, or force one choice when you know exactly what the list is.

Custom categories let you match your own Revit parameter. For example, match doors by Mark or fabrication parts by a spool-number parameter.

Large Inputs and Actions

• Very long pasted lists ask before matching everything.
• Very large match results ask before selecting everything in Revit.
• Revit cannot select more than 16,383 elements in one selection set.
• Matched sheets can be added to the active print set or opened as view tabs.
• The combined actions panel can run Add to Print Set, Select, and Open Sheets together.

Unmatched Items

After matching, the results show what matched, what did not match, and any duplicates that were removed. Unmatched items are listed so you can review them. Common causes: a name spelled differently in the model, a spool that has not been created yet, or a sheet number from a previous revision. You can copy the unmatched list to the clipboard and send it back to whoever gave you the list.

Selection Filter

Selection Filter narrows down elements by text, category, and parameter values. Use it on the whole model or just on what you already picked.

Example

You need all hangers in the CHWS service. Open Selection Filter. Set scope to Entire Document. Under Categories, check Structural Connections. Under Advanced Conditions, add a rule: Service equals CHWS. The preview shows 47 elements. Click Select. The 47 hangers are selected in the model.

Filter Inputs

• Where to search chooses Entire Document or Current Selection.
• Quick Search searches name, category, family, type, or mark.
• Wildcard lets you use simple patterns like *PIPE*.
• Regex is there if you need a more exact pattern.
• Categories narrows the list to checked Revit categories.
• Advanced Conditions checks parameter values.

Preview and Select

The preview shows the matching elements before you select them in Revit. You can keep only certain preview rows or remove rows you do not want.

Scope matters. Entire Document searches the whole model and is useful when you do not already have a relevant selection. Current Selection narrows what you already picked and is faster on large models.

Search Sets

Click Save as Search Set to save a filter you use often. Run it again later instead of rebuilding it.

Selection Switches

Selection Switches are keep-only buttons. After a box select, click a switch and the pick trims itself to that category. Only the elements that match the switch stay selected. Everything else is dropped.

Default Active Switches

• Pipe
• Assemblies
• Duct
• Hangers

Using the Strip

• Draw a box select around a bay or room. You will grab pipe, duct, hangers, walls, and everything else in the area.
• Click the Pipe switch. The selection drops to pipe only.
• Click the Duct switch to add duct back in. Now you have pipe and duct.
• Click the Hangers switch to add hangers. Keep adding trades until you have what you need.
• Click a highlighted switch to remove that trade from the selection.
• Use the Switch Manager to create custom switches for your own categories and parameters.
• Use invert mode when you want to keep everything except what the switch matches.

Auto-Filter New Picks

When Automatically filter new selections through active switches is enabled, new picks are cleaned up right away. For example, with Pipe and Duct active, a window selection around a room keeps only pipe and duct.

Settings

The unified settings window contains four tabs: Selection History, Switches, Paste & Match, and Select to Clip.

Tab	Important Settings
Selection History	How many history entries to keep, what to do with huge selections, compact list view, automatic names, and cleaned names for Paste & Match entries.
Switches	Auto-filter new picks, invert switch actions, and Manage Switches.
Paste & Match	Close after a good match, how pasted lists are cleaned up, preferred match type, sheet-opening warning, and custom match categories.
Select to Clip	Copied property, including Assembly Name, Mark, Type Name, Family, Comments, or a custom parameter.

Settings Worth Knowing

• Large selection threshold (Selection History tab): Sets the cutoff above which a pick is saved lightly. Default is 3,000 elements. Raise it if your picks regularly hit that number. Lower it if Revit slows down during capture.
• Auto-name entries (Selection History tab): Lets Select Tools name each pick by the dominant category. Turn it off if you prefer to name everything yourself.
• Auto-filter new picks (Switches tab): When this is on, every new selection is filtered through your active switches automatically. Useful when you are working in one trade all day. Turn it off when you need to pick mixed elements.
• Close after a good match (Paste and Match tab): Closes the Paste and Match dialog automatically when all items matched and only one category was found. Saves a click in normal workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What versions of Revit does Select Tools support?

Select Tools supports Revit 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027.

Why did a large selection not restore?

The entry may have been saved lightly because the selection was huge. Use Snapshot anyway when available, or change the large selection setting.

Can Paste & Match use my own parameters?

Yes. Add a custom category and choose the Revit category and/or parameter name you want to match.

Are Search Sets the same as Revit Selection Filters?

No. Search Sets are saved Select Tools filters. A history entry can also be saved as a named Revit Selection Filter.

Does Select Tools slow down Revit?

Not in normal use. The large selection threshold stops Select Tools from storing huge picks in memory. If you notice lag, lower the threshold in Settings so fewer picks trigger a full capture.

Why does an entry say it was saved lightly?

The selection was above the large selection threshold when it was captured. The entry stores the count but not the element IDs. Use Snapshot anyway on that entry to save the full list while it is still in the pane.

Can I use Selection Switches with a box selection?

Yes. That is the main workflow. Draw a box, then click the switches for the trades you want to keep. You can also turn on auto-filter so every new box select is filtered automatically.

Does Paste and Match work with names that have extra text around them?

Yes. Switch to Extra Messy mode before matching. It strips out list numbers, bullets, punctuation, and surrounding text to pull out the names you are looking for.

Do pinned entries stay after I close Revit?

Yes. Pinned entries are saved to disk and reload when Revit starts. Unpinned entries are session-only and are cleared when you close Revit.

What is the difference between a Search Set and a Revit Selection Filter?

A Search Set is a saved filter rule inside Select Tools. Run it again any time to re-select elements that match the criteria. A Revit Selection Filter is a named set saved in the project file under Manage and then Selection. You can create a Revit Selection Filter from any history entry using the Save as Selection Filter action.

Does Paste and Match work with sheet numbers that include the sheet name?

Yes. "A201 - Level 2 Plan" and "A201" both match sheet A201. The matching logic strips out extra text around the sheet number automatically.

Can I paste a list that has duplicate names in it?

Yes. Paste and Match removes duplicates before matching. The results show how many duplicates were found and removed.