What is the difference between moving a selection and transforming it?

Moving slides the stitches somewhere else and leaves them otherwise unchanged: drag inside the selection or press an arrow key. Transform (T) can also resize, rotate, flip and warp them, and shows a preview until you press Enter.

I only want to move the dashed outline, not the stitches. How?

Press Shift+V to switch the Selection tool to Marquee. Dragging now moves or resizes the outline and the stitches stay put. Press Shift+V again to go back to Move.

How do I select a few separate areas at once?

Make the first selection, then hold Shift while you draw the next one. Each one joins the selection. Hold Alt (Option on a Mac) instead to remove an area.

How do I select every stitch of one color?

Use the Color Wand and click a stitch of that color: it selects the touching stitches of that color. To grab another patch of the same color elsewhere, Cmd/Ctrl+click it.

Can I select whole rows or columns by number?

Yes. In the More menu choose Select rows… or Select columns… and type a number, a range like 10-14, or a list like 3, 7, 12, numbered the way the rulers are.

Selection Tool

Mark part of your chart, then copy it, move it, fill it, erase it, or hand it to Transform to flip and rotate.

Shortcut: V
Where to find it: Left toolbar → Selection

Keyboard & modifiers

V: Switch to the Selection tool
Cmd+ACtrl+A: Select all (press again for only the stitched area)
Esc: Deselect
Cmd+Shift+ICtrl+Shift+I: Invert selection
Cmd+CCtrl+C: Copy
Cmd+XCtrl+X: Cut
Cmd+VCtrl+V: Paste
F: Fill the selection with the active color
DeleteBackspace: Erase the stitches inside the selection
T: Transform the selection: resize, rotate, flip
Shift (while drawing): Perfect square or circle; with a selection already there, add to it
AltOption (while drawing): Draw from the center; with a selection already there, subtract from it
Cmd+clickCtrl+click: Add the same-color area you clicked
Cmd+Shift+clickCtrl+Shift+click: Remove the same-color area you clicked
Enterdouble-click: Close a Polygon selection
Arrows: Move by 1 stitch (the stitches in Move, the outline in Marquee)
Shift+V: Switch between Move and Marquee

Basics

Selecting is how you work on one part of the chart without disturbing the rest. Mark an area first, then copy it, move it, fill it or clear it. Whatever you do stays inside the dashed outline.

Draw a selection, then act on it: everything outside the dashed outline stays as it was

Press V for the Selection tool, drag across the chart, and you have a selection. Press Esc when you're done with it.

What do you want to do?

I want to…	Do this
Move a motif a few stitches to center it	Select it, then drag it or tap the arrow keys
Repeat a motif along a border	Select it, Cmd/Ctrl+C, Cmd/Ctrl+V, drag the copy into place
Mirror a motif for the other side	Select it, press T, flip it (Selection Transform)
Recolor a whole background	Click it with the Color Wand, pick a color, press F
Clear a messy corner	Select it, press Delete
Change one color only in one area	Select the area, then right-click the color (Editing Colors)
Paint without touching anything outside an area	Select it and turn on Limit edits to selection (Selection & Tools)
Put part of the design on its own layer	Select it, right-click, New Layer from Selection (Layers)

Choosing what to select

Open the selection type picker (the first button in the tool options) and choose the one that fits the shape you're after. The Selection tool remembers your last choice.

The selection type menu open in the tool options: Rectangle, Ellipse, Freehand Lasso, Polygon, Color Wand and Shape Wand

Shapes and lassos

Rectangle for blocks, borders and anything with straight sides. Hold Shift for a perfect square, Alt/Option to draw out from the center.
Ellipse for round and oval areas, with the same keys.
Freehand Lasso for organic shapes like a flower or an animal. Draw around it; the shape closes when you let go.
Polygon for shapes with straight but angled edges. Click to place each corner, then press Enter, double-click, or click the first point again to close it. Switch tools before closing and the half-drawn shape is dropped.

Magic Wand

The Wand selects by what's already stitched, so you don't have to trace anything.

Color Wand: click a stitch to select every touching stitch of the same color. The quickest way to grab a background or a solid shape.
Shape Wand: click a stitch to select every touching stitched cell, whatever its color. Handy for picking up a whole motif sitting on empty fabric.

You don't need to switch to the Wand for a quick grab: in any selection type, Cmd/Ctrl+click adds the same-color area under the pointer.

Before and after: one click with the Color Wand on a solid sky selects all of it and stops at the edges of the trees and roofline

Whole rows or columns

To select by number, open More and choose Select rows… or Select columns…. Type one number, a range like 10-14, or a list like 3, 7, 12, counted the way the rulers are. Useful on a big chart, or when you need exactly the rows your stitching has reached.

Adding & subtracting

Rarely does one shape catch exactly what you need. Build the selection up in pieces:

Add: hold Shift and draw another shape.
Subtract: hold Alt (Option on a Mac) and draw over the part you want to drop.
Add one color patch: Cmd/Ctrl+click a stitch.
Remove one color patch: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+click a stitch.

Without a modifier, a new shape replaces the old selection.

A rectangle around a house, Shift-drag to add the chimney, then Alt-drag to take out the doorway

Move the stitches or the border

Usually you want to move the stitches. Sometimes you just want to nudge the outline to select a slightly different area. The Selection mode button in the tool options decides which one a drag does, and Shift+V flips between the two:

Move (the default): drag inside the selection, or press an arrow key, to move the stitches. Each arrow press is one stitch and one undo step. The area they leave becomes empty.
Marquee: drag inside the outline to move it, or drag a handle to resize it. The stitches stay where they are.
Transform: resize, rotate, flip or warp the stitches. Same as pressing T; see Selection Transform.

Backstitches and embellishments inside the selection travel with the stitches. If you'd rather leave them behind, untick Move backstitches too or Move embellishments too in More.

In Move, dragging carries the stitches to a new spot; after Shift+V to Marquee, the same drag moves only the dashed outline

Copy, fill, erase and more

With an area selected:

Copy (Cmd/Ctrl+C) and Cut (Cmd/Ctrl+X). Paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V) drops the copy in already selected, so you can drag it straight into place.
Fill (F) covers the whole selection with the active color.
Erase (Delete or Backspace) clears it back to empty fabric.
Save as motif keeps it in your motif library for reuse in other patterns.

Under More you'll also find ways to reshape the selection itself:

Invert Selection (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I) swaps it for everything else. Select a motif, invert, and you can fill or clear the background around it.
Expand and Contract grow or shrink it by one stitch per click.
Select Outline keeps only the edge stitches of the selection, a quick start for a border around a motif.
Select All (Cmd/Ctrl+A) takes the whole chart. Press it again to narrow that to just the stitched area.

All of these can be undone.

Before and after: a selected heart on a sampler, then the same area filled with a new red using F

Tips & gotchas

Stitches won't move, only the outline does? You're in Marquee. Press Shift+V to go back to Move.
Shift and Alt change jobs. With nothing selected they shape what you draw (square, from center). With a selection already there, they add and subtract. If you wanted a perfect square, press Esc first.
Moving in a straight line. Start the drag first, then hold Shift. Holding Shift before you press would add to the selection instead.
Esc and Enter both deselect. Moves are already done when you let go, so there's nothing to confirm.
Fill uses full stitches. Pressing F fills with full crosses in the active color.
The selection outlasts the tool. It stays when you switch to the Brush or Fill. On its own it doesn't stop you painting outside it; Limit edits to selection does.
Watch for one extra column. When copying a repeat along a border, one stitch too many in the selection leaves a gap in every repeat. Check the selection size before you copy.