# Cell and point selection does not work in CMB on SMTK file
**URL:** https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639
**Category:** Computational Model Builder (CMB)
**Created:** [November 5, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639 "2025-11-05T14:04:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CsatiZoltan](https://discourse.kitware.com/u/CsatiZoltan)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639/1 "2025-11-05T14:04:28Z")
Hi,
I would like to select cells or points in a discrete model imported into CMB. As an example, I considered the [knee.smtk file](https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmb/cmb/-/tree/master/data/model/3d/exodus) shipped with CMB. I open it in CMB. I can select blocks with the “Select Block” command, but not cells or points with “Select Cells With Polygon”, “Select Points With Polygon”, etc. If I open the [knee.ex2 file](https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmb/cmb/-/tree/master/data/model/3d/exodus) (since this is not an SMTK file, it does not appear in the _Resources_ panel) in CMB, the cell and point selection tools work.
Is this is an intended behavior or a bug?
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### Author:  [@dcthomp](https://discourse.kitware.com/u/dcthomp)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639/2 "2025-11-05T14:08:45Z")
This is expected behavior; not all geometric models allow you to select portions of model entities as if they were model entities (e.g., CAD modeling kernels do not allow you to choose points in the middle of a face without changing the model to add “hard points”).
The aeva project (built on top of CMB) provides a discrete model that allows the creation of new model entities selected from regions of existing ones.
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### Author:  [@CsatiZoltan](https://discourse.kitware.com/u/CsatiZoltan)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639/3 "2025-11-05T14:11:10Z")
Yes, I saw aeva videos, and I thought that that type of selection is available in the base CMB. Thank you.
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### Author:  [@CsatiZoltan](https://discourse.kitware.com/u/CsatiZoltan)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639/4 "2025-11-05T14:12:26Z")
As opposed to the ParaView discourse forum, I don’t see the “Solution” button, so I cannot accept your answer…
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### Author:  [@dcthomp](https://discourse.kitware.com/u/dcthomp)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2025, 2:17pm UTC](https://discourse.kitware.com/t/cell-and-point-selection-does-not-work-in-cmb-on-smtk-file/1639/5 "2025-11-05T14:17:32Z")
Yes, the discourse sites (Kitware, VTK, ParaView) have different modules installed according to the tastes of the moderators.