# 3.1.16: Select Elements

Use the **"Select Elements"**-component for getting element with specific properties. The resulting elements can later on used to retrieve results or calculate their mass, surface, volume or meshes (see component "Element Query"). 

Fig. 3.1.16.1. shows how this works: the input-plugs 'ElemIds', 'Colors', 'CrosSecs', 'Materials', 'LenInter' and 'ElemTypes' can be supplied with lists of element identifiers, element colors, cross sections, materials, length intervals and type indexes. The values in each input-plug form criteria via 'OR'. in fig. 3.1.16.1 the selected elements may have purple or red color for example. The individual input-plugs are connecte via 'AND': in the image below the selected element needs to be named 'Membrane\_D' and be of color red or purple and needs to be either a membrane or shell and so on.

in case of shells and membranes the length refers to the diagonal of their axis aligned bounding box. For 1-D Elements it is simply their length.

The element types are indexed starting with zero. Right-click on the component-icon and select 'Expand ValueLists' to make the Value-list input appear.

 

![Fig. 3.1.16.1: Selection of elements via identifiers, colors, cross sections, materials, size and type.](/files/-MjnvMuPa9Cmg61MWDsx)

{% file src="/files/gHq03LYKhO46ra3fzqBu" %}

{% file src="/files/ZlB0DbEdncdHAecNMLQI" %}

{% file src="/files/YcnyQtTxrYbZ8OZpwK72" %}

{% file src="/files/T5olZTf2ljU4XPrSFoQB" %}


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://manual-2.karamba3d.com/3-in-depth-component-reference/3.1-model/3.1.16-select-elements.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.