It is slightly odd that you can't select atoms etc. when you are working with a panel other than "select and display".
I can't see a problem with the "selection mode" being persistent, i.e. if you have selected "Element" selection mode, and are on the EFG panel, then selecting an atom of different element type would switch the selection. This would make it very easy to see the EFG parameters of different atom types. At the moment you have to switch to "Select and display" and back - two wasted mouse clicks.
It is slightly odd that you can't select atoms etc. when you are working with a panel other than "select and display".
I can't see a problem with the "selection mode" being persistent, i.e. if you have selected "Element" selection mode, and are on the EFG panel, then selecting an atom of different element type would switch the selection. This would make it very easy to see the EFG parameters of different atom types. At the moment you have to switch to "Select and display" and back - two wasted mouse clicks.