In the v7 version, pressing the Ctrl key and clicking on any position in the model can deselect it
However, in v8, this cannot be done. It can only be deselected by moving the mouse to a blank position, which is difficult to use and does not feel as convenient as in v7
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Thanks @xkdsofa , Filed as https://mcneel.myjetbrains.com/youtrack/issue/RH-78608 , You can use Alt+click for this global deselect too.
@xkdsofa After checking with the developers it looks like this change was a side effect of allowing Ctrl to be used to deselect sub-objects. Specifically the dragging of a window selection with Ctrl held will now deselect sub-objects. Previously you would have to hold Ctrl+Shift and individually click the sub-objects as Ctrl+Shift held with a window selection would only add to the current selection. You’ll need to use Alt/Option to globally clear the selection in Rhino 8 instead as a result of this change.
Sorry to barge in…
How that is different from just clicking in an empty space??
This is a feature less than 7. Objectively.
Rhino 7, first CTRL-SHIFT select, then CTRL deselect
This is incredibly useful, and I exploit this quite a lot.
This example is simple but imagine the same “trick” in complex and “crowded” projects, where you would be forced, otherwise, to manually select one by one hundreds or even thousands of elements…
Now it doesn’t work in Rhino 8.
Removing this design ability from the user will surely trigger many complaints later.
You are not receiving more feedback about this now only because not enough (power)users gone to 8.
Get it back or… get it back. 
Rhino is filled with small gimmicks and features. Touching anything can potentially kill something else. I can imagine how hard is from a dev pov.
This feature is a mush have, imho.
Give us an alternative to achieve what in the .gif ^ … another way for ALT key maybe?
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V7 has been used to press shfit+ctrl to select a child object,
When canceling, simply drop your finger down to the ctrl key to make the pad more usable,
Instead of having to pan your finger to the alt key to cancel, this gesture is too much to use in a day’s work,
It’s too tiring, but I think we can change it to support ctrl to cancel like V7You need to move your fingers from side to side hundreds, thousands of times a day
Rhino 8
I really hoped I didn’t have to explain it…
Very, very often I sub-select a whole bunch of subd edges or vertexes but at the same time also lots of other geometries (surfaces, curve, etc etc) are being selected, then with a precise de selection I can remove them
If you want to make it even simpler, In that gif example I could’ve just selected the correct edge with a single selection window, don’t you think? 
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I agree ctrl+crossing deselection on objects should override subselection.
It’s muscle memory, and changing muscle memory is both annoying at first, and possible. I agree that changing habits is not ideal.
However, it’s currently not possible to make both window and crossing select deselect with Ctl and also have click Deselect everything. (I never use Ctl+click to deselect, my muscle memory from Rhino 1 sends me to the Esc key).
Because there are lots of ways to clear the selection, and in Rhino 7 exactly zero ways to do sub-object crossing/window deselection, what we’ve done seems like the least bad option. At this point, we don’t plan to revert the change for how Ctl+click anywhere works.
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I would understand changing habits going from a software to another, but not from a main release to another.
Bit this is different from “changing habits”. Here you (McNeel devs) unilaterally killed a feature as well as a workflow.
In 7 we can deselect an object and its sub-objects by CTRL-selecting it (with click or window).
Please don’t tell me you are not seeing how this can be useful.
This is impossible in any way in in 8. (but please tell me if I’m wrong)
??
Enable sub-object filter and you can do that! In 7.
We simply lost a feature … for… ?
This is bad.
As explained above, sometime deselecting sub-object by hitting objects spared me hours of work (when you have countless similar object partially aligned).
At least give another way to access the same exact functionality.
ALT key is unused most of the time…
I thought that’s what we did, exactly - alt+click deselects the objects.
ALT+click deselect everything. Unrelated to the problem.