Visual annotations represent a powerful way to collaborate directly on the preview image of an asset stored in DF Studio. Points, sketches, and other image markups are stored within an asset's Notes and Conversations for review by other DF Studio users or for sharing with Messenger recipients.
Visual annotations can be created, edited, and viewed in the Notes tab of the DF Studio Asset Inspector. For additional details about the Notes tab and its features, see Organize Communication With Notes.
Access Visual Annotations
Visual annotations in DF Studio can only be viewed or modified in the 1-Up view of an image. Double-click any proofsheet thumbnail, or use the view menu to select the icon for 1-Up view. Open the Notes tab of the Asset Inspector to access any items or comments with visual annotations.
When browsing any Project or Collection, it is possible to filter the view to only those assets containing Notes content, which includes Conversations and list items as well as visual annotations. Use the Feature menu from the menu bar to select “Notes.”
In the Notes tab, visual annotations may be attached to items from the Note’s list, or any comment in the Note’s Conversations. The presence of visual annotations will be indicated by the icons for each individual markup, just beneath the text content of the list item or comment.
View Visual Annotations
Hover the mouse pointer over any markup icon to preview it on the 1-Up view of the image. Clicking an icon will display its markup persistently on the image, allowing for multiple markups (from one or more comments or list items) to be displayed on the image at once. Click the icon again to hide its markup.
The full set of visual annotations attached to any list item or comment can be viewed together by moving the mouse pointer over the list item or comment, then clicking the “view” icon. Click the “view” icon again to hide the visual annotations, or click the “view” icon on another list item or comment to switch.
Create Visual Annotations
Visual annotations can be added to any comment or list item—at the time it is created, or by editing after the fact. Enter 1-Up view and click “New Item” or “New Comment,” or click the “edit” icon next to an existing list item or comment. (See Edit Notes Content for more details.)
Buttons for the image markup tools appear above the text field. Click any button to activate its tool, then click and drag on the 1-Up preview to place markups. As each markup is placed, an icon to represent it will appear beneath the text field. Hovering the mouse pointer over these icons will highlight them on the 1-Up preview.
Click the button for the image markup tool again to disable it, or click the button for another tool to switch, and place additional markups on the image. Once the visual annotations are in place, click “Save” to save the comment or list item along with its visual annotations.
Visual annotations cannot be saved without text content in the comment or list item.
Image Markup Tools
DF Studio offers six different image markup tools, along with a tool for editing existing markups. The following guide explains their functionalities.
Point Tool: Precisely indicates a single point on the image. At any level of zoom, the point indicator is the same size, offering greater precision as the image is zoomed in.
Rectangle Tool: Creates a bounded rectangle. Click and drag to place opposite corners of the rectangle.
Freehand Shape Tool: Creates a bounded freeform shape. Click to begin drawing, then drag to outline the desired area. The tool automatically closes the shape by connecting the current drawing location back to the beginning of the line. Release when the shape is complete.
Freehand Tool: Creates a freeform line. Click and drag to draw, then release when the line is finished.
Line Tool: Creates a straight line between two points. Click to place the first point, then drag to the second point and release.
Arrow Tool: Creates a straight line between two points, with an arrowhead at the end. Click to place the first point, then drag to the end point and release.
Move Tool: Allows the relocation of any existing image markup. Activate the Move tool then click and drag to move any image markup. For rectangles, lines, and arrows, the corners or line endpoints can be selected individually and dragged to modify the shape of the markup.
Edit or Delete Visual Annotations
Edit any list item or comment in a Note to make changes to its visual annotations. Hover the mouse pointer over the comment or list item and click the “edit” icon to enter editing mode.
To adjust an existing image markup, click the Move tool button. Then click on the individual markup on the preview image and drag to relocate it. Rectangles, lines, and arrows can also be redrawn, by clicking any endpoint or corner and dragging it into a new position.
To add additional markups, click the appropriate tool buttons while in editing mode, and draw onto the preview as described in Create Visual Annotations above.
To delete a markup (or markups) from the visual annotations of a comment or list item, click the icon for the markup in the visual annotations summary while in editing mode. (Hover the mouse pointer over each icon to preview it on the image.) Click additional icons to select additional markups for deletion. Then click “Remove” to delete them from the comment or list item.
Once the visual annotations have been modified or removed as desired, click the “Save” button to commit the changes. Click the “Cancel” button to abandon all changes (including markup deletions) and restore the visual annotations to their last saved state.