Introduction

The Image Annotation Tool allows you to view a zooming, high resolution image, and add "sticky notes" to annotate features of the image.

There are five areas of the tool's user interface:

1.	Use the Chooser to open an image annotation document, change the title of an document, or save a copy.
2.	The Image Area displays a zooming image and annotation markers that associate notes with image features.
3.	Use the Note Toolbar to create new notes and control the visibility of notes by color.
4.	Use the Navigation Toolbar for zooming in and out and changing the visible portion of the image.
5.	The Thumbnail indicates what part of an image is being viewed. The Thumbnail can be hidden or shown.

Opening an Image Annotation Document

The Chooser lets you select an image annotation document to edit with the tool. An annotation document links to but doesn't contain the image you are annotating. To open an annotation document:

1.	Click the "Open" button (). A dialog box will appear showing the resource areas and folders available to you. Your personal workspace's tab will be highlighted.
2.	Select a workspace tab by clicking on it.
3.	Within a workspace, red triangles () mark nested folders. Clicking on a triangle reveals additional folders and individual resource items. Image annotation documents appear in black. Scroll down and click on the name of an annotation document, then click "Open" to open it in the tool.

Viewing and Exploring the Image

The tools on the Navigation Toolbar are used to indicate the area of the image that is visible within the canvas, to zoom in and out on areas of the image, to reset the image display so that the full image is visible on the canvas, and to pan within the viewable area of the image on the canvas.

The Thumbnail view (), toggles an "image within the image" display. When open, the view will show you the relationship between the part of the image visible in the viewer and the image as a whole. The visible area of the image is shown as a red rectangle. To explore the image click and drag and red rectangle in the thumbnail view.

Four tools on the Navigation Toolbar zoom in or out on areas of the image:

1.	Use the zoom in button () to zoom in on the image from the upper left corner. Successive clicks will bring the upper left corner closer and closer, until the viewable limit is reached.
2.	Use the zoom out button () to zoom away from the image. As you zoom away you will see a larger and larger area of the image.
3.	Use the reset tool () to return the image to its full view.
4.	Use the magnifying glass tool ( to zoom in on any desired region of the image. Click the tool button then click and drag over the image to select an area. As you drag a green box will show the selected rectangle. When you release the mouse the image will zoom to a view that includes the selected area.
5.	Use the hand tool () to pan within the image. Click the tool button, position the mouse over any area of the image, and drag to move the image. Note that if the full image is visible, dragging will have no effect, as there are no parts of the image obscured from view.

Adding Notes to Mark Image Features

You can use the tool to add notes that Annotation specific image features. The notes will retain their position on the image as the image is panned or zoomed. Holding the mouse over any note will reveal text associated with that note. To create a note:

1.	Click on the "Add note" icon () in the "Note Toolbar".
2.	An empty semi-transparent marker will appear on the image. Hold the mouse button down on the marker and drag it to the desired position.
3.	Use the handles on the marker corners to position or resize the marker. Click on lower right corner handle and drag to resize the marker.
4.	When you hold the mouse over the note an "Edit" button will appear near the top of the note (). Click this button to bring up a small dialog box that you can use to edit the text of the note. When you have finished press the "close" button () to save your changes.

Removing Notes

When you hold your mouse over the note marker you will see a "delete" button in the upper left corner (). Click this button to remove the note.

Controling Note Visibility

When editing a note you can select one of four colors. When you select a color and click close the translucent marker will be tinted with the selected color. You can use these colors to create a scheme for classifying different types of notes. A group of users working together on an image can assign a different color to each group member so that one user's notes can be distinguished from another's.

You can show or hide all notes with a given color. To hide all notes of a particular color, click that color's button on the Note Toolbar. Click again to release the button and again display all notes of the selected color. You can choose to show any combination of colors.

Changing the Title of the Document

To edit the title of the current document, click the "Edit Title" button (). Click inside the title box and type in a new title. When you are finished press the save button or cancel to restore the title.

Saving a Copy of the Annotation Document

The "Save As" button allows you to save a copy of the annotation document. When the "Save As" button is clicked, you can choose a workspace and folder in which to save the document. If you want to use the same folder to store the revised annotation document, you will need to give the clip a new file name. This will prevent the overwriting of any earlier annotation documents that may be in the folder.

Preparing Images for Annotation

The image annotation tool can be used with the built-in basic image server or an external image server. The internal server can serve large JPG or PNG files. To use the internal server place the image in a disk directory visible to the Project Pad installation. The first time you view an image it will prepare the image by generating a folder of image tiles at different scales.

If you are running with the default configuration in Project Pad, then you already have a folder /sakai-ppad/media that is visible to the system. Just drop your files into this folder.

Use the "Import" button () to prepare an image for annotation. Click "Import" and use the dialog to select an image file. Press "Open" to create a new annotation document for that clip. The "Save As" dialog will open to allow you to save the new document.

To use the tool with a compatible external image server you will need to set the 'image' attribute in the annotation document to a valid image server URL. The tool has been successfully used with Scene 7 image servers.