Annotation-Zones

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Zones

Drawing and Annotating Zones

The most important way to groundtruth using GEDI is by drawing and annotating zones. A zone can be one of three shapes: normal (rectangle), oriented rectangle, or a polygon. A zone also has a type, and if there are any attributes associated with the type, each zone can have its own values for those attributes. Different zone types can have different colors. This system allows parts of an image to be classified, and the contents of those parts to be entered.

Normal Zones

Zones that have a Normal shape are rectangular, and will always be oriented so their sides are parallel to the sides of the image.

Drawing a Normal Zone

To draw a normal zone, first press the "Normal" button in the left panel. Once the button is outlined in red, select a zone type for the new zone from the list above the it. To draw multiple normal zones of that type in a row, you can toggle on the draw mode by double clicking on the zone type. If there is a hotkey associated with the zone type, you also can press the hotkey to toggle the draw mode.

Once the shape and zone type are selected, you can draw the zone on the image by starting where you want a corner, pressing the left mouse button, and dragging the mouse to the place you want the opposite corner. When you release the left mouse button, the zone will be created.

If GEDI is in toggled drawing mode, you can then draw more zones of the same shape and type. To turn off toggled drawing mode, you can click the zone type name once, or press the hotkey for that zone type if there is one.

Resizing a Normal Zone

To resize a normal zone, first select the zone by clicking inside the zone or by dragging a box around it. A normal zone can be resized by either moving a side or a corner. Moving a side will change only the height or only the width of the zone and moving the corner will change both at the same time. Grab a side or a corner by mousing over it until the cursor changes shape and press the left mouse button. Drag the mouse to the new location of the side or corner and release the left mouse button to resize the zone.

Oriented Zones

Zones that have an Oriented shape are rectangular, and can be rotated to have any orientation.

Drawing an Oriented Zone

To draw an oriented zone, first press the "Oriented" button in the left panel. Once the button is outlined in red, select a zone type for the new zone from the list above the it. To draw multiple normal zones of that type in a row, you can toggle on the draw mode by double clicking on the zone type. If there is a hotkey associated with the zone type, you also can press the hotkey to toggle the draw mode.

Oriented zones are drawn by drawing the top side first, then setting the width. Once the shape and zone type are selected, you can draw the top side by pressing the left mouse button at the start, dragging the mouse to the place you want the end, and releasing the left mouse button. You can then set the width of the zone by moving the mouse to where you want the bottom of the zone to be and clicking.

If GEDI is in toggled drawing mode, you can then draw more zones of the same shape and type. To turn off toggled drawing mode, you can click the zone type name once, or press the hotkey for that zone type if there is one.

Rotating an Oriented Zone

To rotate an oriented zone, first select the zone by clicking inside the zone or by dragging a box around it. An oriented zone can be resized by moving the handle at the top of the zone. Mouse over the handle until the cursor changes to two arrows forming a circle, and grab it by pressing the left mouse button. Drag the mouse until the zone is oriented the way you want it, and let go of the left mouse button. The size of the zone will not change.

Resizing an Oriented Zone

To resize an oriented zone, first select the zone by clicking inside the zone or by dragging a box around it. An oriented zone can be resized by either moving a side or a corner. Moving a side will change only the height or only the width of the zone and moving the corner will change both at the same time. Grab a side or a corner by mousing over it until the cursor changes shape and press the left mouse button. Drag the mouse to the new location of the side or corner and release the left mouse button to resize the zone. The orientation of the zone will not change.

Polygons

Zones that have a Polygon shape can be any polygon, and are not limited to convex polygons.

Drawing a Polygon

To draw a polygon, first press the "Polygon" button in the left panel. Once the button is outlined in red, select a zone type for the new zone from the list above the it. To draw multiple normal zones of that type in a row, you can toggle on the draw mode by double clicking on the zone type. If there is a hotkey associated with the zone type, you also can press the hotkey toggle the draw mode.

Polygon zones are drawn by placing the vertices of the polygon in order. Once the shape and zone type are selected, you can draw a polygon by clicking at each location you want a vertex. For the last vertex, double click to finish the shape.

If GEDI is in toggled drawing mode, you can then draw more zones of the same shape and type. To turn off toggled drawing mode, you can click the zone type name once, or press the hotkey for that zone type if there is one.

Moving a Vertex

To move a vertex of a polygon, first select the polygon by clicking inside the zone once or by dragging a box around it. Grab a vertex by mousing over it until the cursor changes to show arrow pointing inward and pressing the left mouse button. Drag the mouse to the new location of the vertex and release the left mouse button.

Adding a Vertex

To add a vertex to a polygon, first select the polygon by clicking inside the zone or by dragging a box around it. Hold the Ctrl key, and move the mouse close to the side where you want the new vertex to be added. Once the side is highlighted, click with the mouse. A new vertex will be added between the two vertices that the highlighted side connected. You will not always be able to add the vertex in the exact place you want, so you may have to move the new vertex to the place you want it to be.

Deleting a Vertex

To delete a vertex of a polygon, first select the polygon by clicking inside the zone or by dragging a box around it. Then, select the vertex that you want to delete by clicking on it. Once the vertex is selected, press the Delete key on you keyboard to remove the vertex. Warning: if you select a polygon but don't select a vertex and press Delete, then the entire zone will be deleted.

Labeling Zones

Zone Attributes

A zone attribute allows information about a particular instance of a zone to be entered. Any string can be the value of an attribute, though the possible values for a particular attribute can be limited to a set of strings. Zone attributes are specific to a zone type. Zone attributes can be configured in the Zones tab of the Preferences menu.

Setting a Value for an Attribute

To set a value for the attribute of a particular zone, first select the zone by clicking inside it or by dragging a box around it. The lowest table in the left panel will display the attribute names and values for the selected zone. Select the value you wish to change by clicking on the cell displaying it. You can then type in a new value for the attribute, or select the value from a drop down menu if a list of possible values is defined for that attribute. Not all attributes listed in the table can be changed directly in the table.

Using Hotkeys to Set a Value for an Attribute

To set a value for the attribute of a particular zone, first select the zone by clicking inside it or by dragging a box around it, then press the hotkey combination for the value and attribute that you wish to set. Hotkey combinations can be set in the Zones tab of the Preferences menu, and are always Ctrl + a number.

Changing the Zone Type

To change the zone type of a particular zone, first select the zone by clicking inside the zone or by dragging a box around it. The zone type can be changed in the attributes table at the bottom of the left panel. The attribute that determines the zone type is named gedi_type. To change the zone type, click in the cell containing the current value of the gedi_type attribute. A list of possible zone types will appear, and you can choose a new type by clicking on it.

DL_TEXTLINEGT

The DL_TEXTLINEGT zone type is a predefined zone type used for groundtruthing text. This zone type makes entering and viewing the text contents of a zone faster, and allows the addition of text offsets for proper text alignment within the zone. This zone type can be created in the Zones tab of the Preferences menu.

Entering text into a DL_TEXTLINEGT Zone

To enter the text contents of a DL_TEXTLINEGT zone, right click inside the zone. A contents window will appear above the zone where you can type in the text. When you are done, press OK to save the text you entered, or CANCEL to cancel your changes.

Offsets

Adding offsets to a DL_TEXTLINEGT Zone

Before adding text offsets, enter in all the text contents of the zone. Offsets can align text by the character, word, or line. To change the unit of alignment, change the "segmentation" attribute of the zone. To add offsets, first select the zone by clicking inside it or by dragging a box around it. Then hold Ctrl and click on the zone where you want the offset be added. You are limited to adding one less offset than the number of units of segmentation in the text for the zone.

Moving offsets in a DL_TEXTLINEGT Zone

To move offsets within a zone, first select the zone by clicking inside it or by dragging a box around it. Then mouse over the offset, until the cursor changes to two arrows pointing away from the offset. Grab the offset by pressing the left mouse button, and drag it to its new location.

Deleting offsets in a DL_TEXTLINEGT Zone

To delete offsets within a zone, first select the zone by clicking inside it or by dragging a box around it. Then mouse over the offset, and click to select the offset. Once the offset is highlighted, you can press the Delete key to remove the offset.

Manipulating Zones

Moving a Zone

To move any type of zone, first select the zone by clicking inside it or by dragging a box around it. Then mouse over the inside of the zone until the cursor changes to four arrows pointing outwards. Grab the zone by pressing the left mouse button, drag the zone to its new location, and release the left mouse button.

Moving Multiple Zones

To move multiple zones at once, first select all of the zones that you want to move by dragging a box around them by clicking at the starting corner, pressing the left mouse button, and dragging the mouse to the opposite corner. The starting corner of the box cannot be inside a zone. Once the zones are selected, hold the Shift key, click and drag the mouse to move all of the selected zones.

Deleting Zones

Zones can be deleted by selecting the zones by either clicking inside them or dragging a box around them and pressing the Delete key. Multiple zones can be deleted at once.

Splitting a Zone

Merging Zones

Reading Order

The reading order tool allows you to input information about the order in which the zones on the page get read.

Adding

Toggle View

Editing

Deleting