ez question??? how to select object + object under?

i have a black circle
then on top i have a yellow square which covers the black circle
-so i cannot see the black circle
(i have other objects on the canvas, so i dont want to 'select all')

now i want to select them both(the circle and the square), so i can try boolean operations. my
goal is to have a yellow square with a black circle

So how do i select them both?

Use Alt key while clicking on the yellow square. It will select object bellow the selected one.

To select them both use Alt to select black circle, then hold Shift and click to get the yellow square into selection.

You can also use Outline mode to select objects that aren't visible (View > Display mode > Outline, or Ctrl + KP_5).

Tab also selects objects one by one by their z-order so it's convenient if you don't have many objects.

Some window managers steal the Alt key for their functions so if you use win managers and still want to use Alt in Inkscape adjust the Super (windows logo) key to be the Movement key instead of Alt.

thank you, that helped alot.

i like alt and then pressing shift-click to also select the other or others (now i have two circles under the square)

the tab thru the z order doesnt do much for me. it does select one object and then the other and the other. but not at the same time.

There may be several different ways to select more than 2 objects in the Z-Order.

I usually enlist the Layers feature (Layers menu > Layers opens the Layers Dialog). Let's say I have one object in each of Layers 1, 2 and 3. I will turn off the visibility of layers 2 and 3, and select the object in layer 1. Then turn Layer 2 back on, hold down Shift and click the ojbect in Layer 2. And then likewise for layer 3.

Or, depending on what's happening on my canvas, I might disable the visibility of everything that I don't want selected. Then I can rubberband select everything that's still visible.

Good luck

thank you brynn. you make it sound so easy.
will practice.

Depending on your drawing, you may have been able to drag a selection around the square and it will grab the circle as well.