Use Shift + Ctrl to Select Entire Path to clicked Element

[till-stadtler]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

I want to be able to easily select all elements along a path in a complex process. Imagine a model with multiple gateways and multiple end events. The "happy path" might not be modeled as a straight line. I want to easily select this happy path to "extract" it (align it via the context pad and shift it to a free space).

Describe the solution you'd like

Currently, we can select multiple elements by holding shift. But to select an entire path, we need to click each element individually.
I would like to be able to select one element, then hold shift and ctrl, and click on another element, which selects all elements along the "shortest" path from the initially selected element to the clicked element.

Even in complex models, an entire path from start to end can be selected with a few clicks along the way.

In the first implementation, deselection has to be done element by element. We can improve on the behavior of deselection when we have gained some experience with the new functionality.

Describe alternatives you've considered

• Click on each element along the path.
• Make the lasso tool SHIFT+SELECT aware so it can be used to accomplish the task

Additional context

Here is an example of an initial selection (start event), and a shift + ctrl + click on the lower end event. All elements from the start event to the lower end event are now selected.

[nikku]

Question: Is there anything that keeps you from using the lasso tool to accomplish the job?

Answer: The lasso tool is currently not SHIFT+ (add to selection) aware, hence unusable.

[nikku]

If you ask me my favorite would be to make the lasso (multi-select) tool SHIFT+ aware and add to the existing selection.

[till-stadtler]

Hi!

It is difficult to select the colored path with the lasso tool:

With the lasso being SHIFT+ aware, it can be done by using the lasso three times. The second usage has to be precise:

In a more complex process, using the SHIFT+ aware lasso to select a specific path through the model might be significantly more difficult than using the requested feature!

I think the lasso being SHIFT+ aware is already a great improvement and I would like to see that as well!

My specific request might also be covered in another ticket (https://github.com/bpmn-io/internal-docs/issues/867).
This other ticket is about "path analysis"; a tool to visualize all possible paths through a specific BPMN element. One of the outcomes of that tool might also be a selection of one specific path. (e.g., select the last highlighted path when "exiting" the tool.)

All of this selection is about the following scenario:
When discussing a BPMN process with a customer, I ask them what the happy path is. When the happy path is established, I want to be able to easily select and "extract" it. The path analysis tool also tackles this problem.

[nikku]

Created #2053 as a feature request to improve the lasso tool.