Aj

In addition to cliffs post I did some investigating.

You can apply tool effects like drop shadow and transformations to grouped objects, but not filters.

For filters you could also try this method

Apply effect to one selected object
Goto menu option effects/repeat/'last filter' to all selected with don't include active option ticked.

You can assign a short cut key to this menu option from tools/options/customize/shortcut keys.

The action is in the folder effects/repeat.

HTH

Peter

The style challenged Pete'sCrypt