# 3.1.14: Select Elements

Use the **“Select Elements”** component to filter elements based on specific properties. The selected elements can then be used to retrieve results, calculate their mass, surface area, volume, or generate meshes (see the **“Element Query”** component). 

Fig. 3.1.14.1 shows how this works: the input plugs **“ElemIds”**, **“Colors”**, **“CrosSecs”**, **“Materials”**, **“LenInter”**, and **“ElemTypes”** can be supplied with lists of element identifiers, colors, cross sections, materials, length intervals, and type indexes. The values in each input plug form criteria via **“OR”**. For example, in Fig. 3.1.14.1, the selected elements may be either purple or red. The individual input plugs are connected via **“AND”**: in the image below, the selected element must be named **“Membrane\_D”**, be red or purple, and be either a membrane or shell, and so on.

For 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. 3.1.14.1: Selection of elements via identifiers, colors, cross sections, materials, size and type.](/files/-MjnvMuPa9Cmg61MWDsx)

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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.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.