Component empty space

[Mathias_Melling]

Is there a way to prevent a component from being selected if the mouse is in empty space, but within the component's bounds?

Using the below component as an example, I want to prevent it from being selected if the mouse is in either the top left or top right area.

[pturmel]

No, the designer's component selection operation is entirely opaque, and seems to rely on Java Swing component bounds, which are always rectangular.