Can't Select a Shape in Silhouette Studio V5? Here's Why

If' you're trying to select a design or element in Silhouette Studio and your mouse just can't click it...it's most likely that nothing is broken.

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Silhouette Studio is not actually glitching. It's most likely working exactly how it's supposed to.

Read to on learn why you can't select a shape and how to fix it.

Your shape is hollow

When you draw a rectangle or a circle in Silhouette Studio using one of the drawing tools the design is hollow or transparent. Most of the time SVG files import this way too. In other words, the middle of it the design is empty space.

When the design is on your white mat it looks like it is a white design with a red line around it. But adjust the transparency in the Page Setup Panel or move the design off the virtual mat and you'll see it's not white at all. It's transparent.

When a design is transparent, when you click on that empty space "in the design" you're not clicking on anything which means you're not able to select it.

Think of it this way - imagine trying to pick up a donut by only grabbing the hollow area in the middle. There's nothing there to grab.

Add a Fill or Click the Line

But if you fill the shape with a color or pattern so it's no longer transparent. This makes it possible to click anywhere on the design and select it.

If you don't want to fill the design with a color, you can click directly on the transparent shape's line you'll be able to select it - but you need to be precise.

The other option is to drag your mouse across the entire shape to select it or use the Lasso tool on the left sidebar. Doing this you don't have to be so precise and you don't have to fill the shape to make it solid and easily select-able.

Learn the Silhouette Studio Tools

There are dozens of tools in Silhouette Studio and more than a few of them are a little wonky like this. I walked down the entire left tool bar, one tool at a time, in a new video at Silhouette U. Every tool, what it's actually for, and the specific settings that cause the problems I get emails about.

That's the difference with a Silhouette U membership. Stop piecing your answers together from outdated tutorials and stop losing an afternoon to a setting nobody told you about. Get the full video library, plus same-day help from an actual person when you're stuck.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

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