How to Use Select Features By Area in QGIS

Hello, welcome to another Basic QGIS Tutorial. In this article, we are going to learn something very basic but useful in QGIS. How to select features in QGIS? Let’s say we have a layer or shapefile containing polygons and then we want to export some parts into a new shapefile. QGIS has many different ways to select features. You can use the select feature by area or select feature by value. Both ways have their own benefits. So let’s jump into it.

Select Features by Area

The Select Features by Area has 4 different tools. The first one is Select Feature(s), as shown in the following picture. You can use this tool to select points, polygon or polyline by dragging it over the QGIS canvas. This tool will select your object with a rectangle shape or you can also click the feature directly.

Select Features by Polygon

This tool can be used if you need to select objects/features using polygon. It is good to select a complex feature.

Select Features by Freehand

This tool has a similar function to the previous tool. But, the polygon/select area will follow your mouse cursor. You have to click once and then move your mouse over the features.

Select Features by Radius

This tool will select features using a circle shape. Click on any area on your canvas and then move your cursor. It will create a circle that will select all features inside the circle radius.

Each tool has a different function and when you need to use one of them. So, try it on your own and see how it works.