Annotation tools

The Image Editor has 8 annotation tools: Point, Polyline, Polygon, Bounding Box, Rotated Box, Ellipse, Cuboid, and Magic Box (for OCR).

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• To move around an image while annotating, you can click and hold the scroll wheel and move the mouse, or you can use the W, A, S, and D keys on the keyboard. Press W and S to go up and down, and press A and D to go left and right.
• Use the ruler in the left panel to measure the size of your objects and instances.

Point

To annotate with the Point tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Point tool or press P on the keyboard.
2. Click on the object you want to annotate.

Polyline

To annotate with the Polyline tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Polyline tool or press L on the keyboard.
2. Click where you want to start outlining the object. If you want to annotate an irregular shape, you need to create multiple lines that are connected to each other. In this case, you can click to start a new line that goes in a different direction.
3. Finish the annotation by clicking twice where you want it to end.

Polygon

To annotate with the Polygon tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Polygon tool or press Z on the keyboard.
2. Click where you want to start outlining the object.
3. Outline the object using clicks.
4. Finish the annotation by clicking the starting point.

Create a polygon with an existing point

You can create a polygon using a point from an existing polygon as a starting point:

1. In the left panel, select the Polygon tool or press Z on the keyboard.
2. Hover over an existing polygon and click on a starting point.
3. Draw the polygon.
4. Finish the annotation by clicking the starting point.

Create a polygon with a common side with another polygon

To create a polygon that has a common side with an existing polygon:

1. In the left panel, select the Polygon tool or press Z on the keyboard.
2. Enable Clip mode.
3. Hover over an existing polygon and click the two points that make up the side you want to connect to your new polygon.
4. Draw the polygon.
5. Finish the annotation by clicking the starting point.

Subtract polygon

You can remove part of a Polygon.

To remove part of a Polygon:

1. Right-click on an existing Polygon. We’ll call this the parent polygon.
2. Click Subtract polygon or press Shift + S on the keyboard.
3. Draw a Polygon over the area you want to remove. Let’s call the removed area the child polygon. The intersection of the parent polygon and child polygon will be removed.

Magic Polygon

With the Magic Polygon, you can draw a line or scribble on an object to get a Polygon annotation. This will help you manually select the area you want to have annotated, making the process faster. Learn more.

Magic Select

Magic Select is powered by Meta's Segment Anything Model (SAM) and it will allow you to automate the annotation process and create more accurate annotations faster. Learn more.

Bounding Box

To annotate with the Bounding Box tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Bounding Box tool or press X on the keyboard.
2. Click on the image and drag the cursor to draw a Bounding Box.
3. Let go of the click.

Rotated Box

To annotate with the Rotated Box tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Rotated Box tool or press Ctrl + X on the keyboard.
2. Draw a line (click to start the line and click to end the line).
3. Move the cursor to draw a box.
4. Rotate the box (optional).

Ellipse

To annotate with the Ellipse tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Ellipse tool or press E on the keyboard.
2. Click on the image and drag the cursor to draw an Ellipse.
3. Let go of the click.

Cuboid

To annotate with the Cuboid tool:

1. In the left panel, select the Cuboid tool or press Q on the keyboard.
2. Click on the image and drag the cursor to draw a square.
3. Click when you're satisfied with the size of the square.
4. Drag the cursor forward, backward, or sideways to draw the cuboid.

Magic Box (OCR)

With this tool, you’ll be able to extract texts from images in the form of an OCR input. Learn more.

Point label

You can add point labels to all the instances in the Image Editor.

To do add a point label:

1. Select an instance.
2. Right-click on a point.
3. Type a point label name.
4. Click the check button.

When you add a label to a point, it turns red.

To delete a point label:

1. Select an instance.
2. Right-click on a point.
3. Click the X button.

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To add a point label on a Keypoint:

1. Select the Keypoint.
2. While holding the Shift key on the keyboard, right-click on the Keypoint.
3. Type a point label name.
4. Click the check button.

To delete a point label on a Keypoint:

1. Select the Keypoint.
2. While holding the Shift key on the keyboard, right-click on the Keypoint.
3. Click the X button.

Automate tool selection

In cases where you have specific annotation tools that you are likely to use all across your project, you can automate the process of tool selection by creating a General steps. You can create one manually to best suit the needs of your project and your team. Learn more.

Using the steps

In the editor, click Start steps from the left panel, or press . on the keyboard.

After starting the set, you will see the name of the first step above your cursor. If you had selected an attribute for the step, you will see the attribute’s name under the step name.

Begin your annotation. After each annotation is made, the set will automatically move on to the next step, and that step’s annotation tool will be selected and ready to use.

Navigating the steps

During the process, you can go back and forth between steps as many times as you like, and you can reuse steps you have already done. It won't replace the existing annotations.

To skip a step, click Next step, or press . on the keyboard.

To go back a step, click Previous step, or press , on the keyboard.

If you go back to a previous step in the set, the order will continue from that step onward. For example, let’s say you have 5 steps in your set. If you have annotated steps 1, 2, and 3, but you want to go back to step 1, after annotating it again, the set will move onto step 2 instead of step 4.

Layer instances

You can layer instances in the Image Editor.

To send an instance to the top:

1. Right-click on the instance.
2. Select the ↑ arrow or press Shift + ] on the keyboard.

To send an instance to the bottom:

1. Right-click on the instance.
2. Select the ↓ arrow or press Shift + [ on the keyboard.

Copy instance

To copy and paste an instance:

1. Select the instance you want to copy.
2. Press Ctrl + C to copy the instance once.
3. Press Ctrl + V to paste the instance (this can be done multiple times).

Group instances

In some cases, you might need to use more than one tool to annotate a single object. To indicate that several instances form one object, you need to group them.

To group instances:

Method 1:

1. Right-click on the instance.
2. Go to the Group tab.
3. Click the + button or choose a Group ID from the drop-down list.

Method 2:

1. Select the instance.
2. Press Ctrl + G on the keyboard.

Method 3:

1. Select the instance that you want to add to a new group.
2. Expand it in the right panel.
3. In the Group tab, click the + button.

To add an instance to an existing group:

Method 1:

1. Right-click on the instance.
2. Go to the Group tab.
3. Select a group from the list under Group ID.

Method 2:

1. Select the instance that you want to add to an existing group.
2. Expand it in the right panel.
3. Go to the Group tab.
4. Select a group from the list under Group ID.

Ungroup instances

To ungroup instances:

Method 1:

1. Select the group.
2. Click Ungroup in the top panel or press Ctrl + Shift + G on the keyboard.

Method 2:

1. Right-click on the instance.
2. Go to the Group tab.
3. Select the X button next to the group name.

Method 3:

1. Select the instance.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + G on the keyboard.

Approve/Disapprove instance

To approve an instance:

1. Select the instance.
2. Click the corresponding thumbs up button in the right panel or press Shift + ↑.

To disapprove an instance:

1. Select the instance.
2. Click the corresponding thumbs down button in the right panel or press Shift + ↓.

Show/Hide multiple instances

To show and hide multiple objects at the same time:

1. Select one or multiple instances on the canvas or the group’s dashed line.
2. Right-click on any instance.
3. Select the eye icon to show or hide the instances.

To unhide instances, select the eye icon of every instance you want to unhide in the right panel.

Delete instance

Delete one instance

There are 2 ways to delete an instance:

Method 1

1. Select the instance you want to delete.
2. Press the Backspace or Delete keys on the keyboard.

Method 2

1. Find the instance you want to delete in the right panel.
2. Click the corresponding delete button.

Delete multiple instances

There are 2 ways to delete multiple instances at the same time:

Method 1

1. Select an instance.
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
3. While holding the Ctrl key, select other instances.
4. Press the Backspace or the Delete keys on the keyboard.

Method 2

1. In the left panel, select the Select button.
2. Click and hold while you drag your cursor to select the instances you want.
3. Press the Backspace or the Delete keys on the keyboard.

Delete all the instances

To delete all the instances, click the Delete button in the right panel.