In a desktop application or a website we may have a UI element called [`multiple select`][1]. The user may select multiple options by holding the mouse button down, like so:

[![selecting multiple options with mouse button down][2]][2]

Is there a word or a phrase that can be used to describe this specific action?

A technically inclined friend suggested simply *multiple select*, but it seems too broad, while a non-nerd native speaker said *highlighting*, which doesn't seem to fit the bill either.

In Finnish, this is commonly called *painting the selection*, with the mouse acting as a makeshift paintbrush, indicating the selection by painting the options with a different colour.

I believe that a similar action, selecting, for instance, a group of files from the desktop with the mouse button down is called *lasso select*, but it is different in that the lasso is actually visible.

  [1]: http://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_select_multiple.asp
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/EJsZP.gif