You must click on an edge or corner node of the element to select it.
Unless you have the 'Quick Selection' (magnet) turned on for the selection tool.
Space Bar is a temporary activation of the Quick Select while you press and hold it.
With the Quick Select, if your element has a solid surface (it can be transparent), you can click anywhere on the element to select it.
Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11