| iTool User's Guide: Adding Annotations |

## Annotations

The following types of annotations can be added to iTool visualizations:

Table 5-1: Types of Annotations

Table 5-1: Types of Annotations
Annotation Type | Description
--- | ---
Text | Single lines or multiple lines of text can be added to a visualization to provide a label or description.
Line | Straight line annotations can be added to a visualization to link labels to objects or to identify an object.
Rectangle | Rectangular annotations can be added to a visualization to identify rectangular areas.
Oval | Oval annotations can be added to a visualization to identify circular areas.
Polygon | Polygon annotations can be added to a visualization to identify areas bounded by a multi-sided polygon.
Freehand | Freehand annotations can be added to a visualization to identify an area.

Note Annotations are 2-D in nature and are defined in their own data space. They are most useful for adding notes to a data visualization for which the orientation has been finalized.

### Text Annotations

To add a text annotation:

1. Click the Text Annotation button on the toolbar.

2. Click anywhere on the canvas. A text insertion bar appears where you click.

3. Type the annotation text.

- To add a new line, press Ctrl + Enter

- To add superscript characters, press Ctrl + U

- To add subscript characters, press Ctrl + D

- To return to normal characters, press Ctrl + N

Note For information on how to embed these and other formatting commands from the Text Annotation property sheet, refer to Text Annotation Properties.

4. Press Enter. A bounding box appears around the annotation text.

- To position the annotation, position the mouse pointer within the bounding box so that it changes to a translation pointer . Click and drag the annotation to the desired location.

- To display and modify text annotation properties such as font, text color and transparency, double-click the bounding box or inside the bounding box.

### Line Annotations

To add a line annotation:

1. Click the Line Annotation button on the toolbar.

2. Click in an empty part of the canvas and, without releasing the mouse button, drag to draw a line of the desired length.

- To constrain in the direction that you are drawing, hold down the Shift key while drawing

- To draw the line from the center, hold down the Ctrl key while drawing

3. Release the mouse button. Selection handles appear at both ends of the line annotation.

- To position the line annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selected line so that it changes to a translation pointer . Click and drag the annotation to the desired location.

- To resize the line annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle at one end of the line so that it changes to a resize pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired line length.

- To display and modify line annotation properties such as line thickness and arrow style, double-click the annotation.

### Rectangle Annotations

To add a rectangle annotation:

1. Click the Rectangle Annotation button on the toolbar.

2. Click in an empty part of the canvas and, without releasing the mouse button, drag to draw a rectangle of the desired size.

- To constrain the rectangle to a square, hold down the Shift key while drawing

- To draw the rectangle from the center, hold down the Ctrl key while drawing

3. Release the mouse button. Selection handles appear at the corners and sides of the rectangle annotation.

- To position the rectangle annotation, position the mouse pointer inside the selected rectangle so that it changes to a translation pointer . Click and drag the annotation to the desired location.

- To resize the rectangle annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle on one side of the rectangle so that it changes to a resize pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired shape.

- To scale the rectangle annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle at one corner of the rectangle so that it changes to an unconstrained scaling pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired scaling.

- To display and modify rectangle annotation properties such as background color and transparency, double-click the annotation.

### Oval Annotations

To add an oval annotation:

1. Click the Oval Annotation button on the toolbar.

2. Click in an empty part of the canvas and, without releasing the mouse button, drag to draw a circular annotation of the desired size.

- To constrain the oval to a circle, hold down the Shift key while drawing.

- To draw the oval from the center, hold down the Ctrl key while drawing.

3. Release the mouse button. Selection handles appear at the corners and sides of the oval annotation.

- To position the oval annotation, position the mouse pointer inside the selected oval so that it changes to a translation pointer . Click and drag the annotation to the desired location.

- To resize the oval annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle on one side of the oval so that it changes to a resize pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired shape.

- To scale the oval annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle at one corner of the oval so that it changes to an unconstrained scaling pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired scaling.

- To display and modify oval annotation properties such as background color and transparency, double-click the annotation.

### Polygon Annotations

To add a polygon annotation:

1. Click the Polygon Annotation button on the toolbar.

2. Click in an empty part of the canvas to specify the first point of the polygon.

3. Click again to specify the second point of the polygon. A line is drawn to connect the first and second points.

4. Click to specify the third and each consecutive point of the polygon. Lines are drawn to connect each subsequent point, forming a multi-sided shape.

Tip To remove the last point, press the Esc key.

5. Double-click to specify the last point of the polygon. Selection boxes appear at the corners and sides of the newly-created annotation.

- To position the polygon annotation, position the mouse pointer inside the selected polygon so that it changes to a translation pointer . Click and drag the annotation to the desired location.

- To resize the polygon annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle on one side of the polygon so that it changes to a resize pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired shape.

- To scale the polygon annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle at one corner of the polygon so that it changes to an unconstrained scaling pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired scaling.

- To display and modify polygon annotation properties such as background color and transparency, double click the annotation.

### Freehand Annotations

To add a freehand annotation:

1. Click the Freehand Annotation button in the toolbar.

2. Click in an empty part of the canvas and, without releasing the mouse button, drag to draw a freehand shape.

3. Release the mouse button. Selection handles appear at the corners and sides of the selected freehand annotation.

- To position the freehand annotation, position the mouse pointer inside the selected freehand shape so that it changes to a translation pointer . Click and drag the annotation to the desired location.

- To resize the freehand annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle on one side of the freehand shape so that it changes to a resize pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired shape.

- To scale the freehand annotation, position the mouse pointer over the selection handle at one corner of the freehand shape so that it changes to an unconstrained scaling pointer . Click and drag the selection handle to obtain the desired scaling.

- To display and modify rectangle annotation properties such as background color and transparency, double-click the annotation.

IDL Online Help (March 01, 2006)