How can I unselect a feature in Openlayers?

I am able to identify the selected features on my map using the following line:

vector_layer.selectedFeatures

I would like to be able to deselect this feature using a standalone function (not an event-handler). I've tried using the functions unselect() and unselectAll() unsuccessfully and can't find any examples of this approach.

I am aware that clicking on the selected object can be used to unselect. In this case I want a programmatic solution.

Answer

OpenLayers 2: You can unselect features with unselect and unselectAll methods of SelectFeature control:

selectControl = new OpenLayers.Control.SelectFeature(vectorLayer);
...
map.addControls([selectControl]);
selectControl.activate();

// unselect any specific feature...

selectControl.unselect(vectorLayer.features[0]);
// ...or all features
selectControl.unselectAll();

If this doesn't work, there's probably bug in your code.

Here is fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/dHxnh/1/