EFFICIENTLY DETECTING GRAPHICS OBJECTS NEAR A SELECTED POINT

A computer-implemented method for efficiently detecting graphics objects near a selected point in an application is disclosed. The method implements a two-stage selection technique. In a first stage, a set of one or more graphics objects that are considered equally good candidates for selection is determined, and in a second stage one of the graphics objects from the set is ultimately selected based on certain other selection criteria. In the first stage, the application determines if a selected pixel overlaps with any graphics objects. If the selected pixel does not overlap with any graphics objects, then the application determines whether one of a set of cursor footprints overlap with any graphics objects. If multiple graphics objects overlap the selected pixel, or the minimum sized cursor footprint, then, in a second stage, one of the multiple graphics objects is selected based on certain other selection criteria.