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:
- Click the Text Annotation button
on the toolbar.
- Click anywhere on the canvas. A text insertion bar appears where you click.
- 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. |
- 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:
- Click the Line Annotation button
on the toolbar.
- 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
- 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:
- Click the Rectangle Annotation button
on the toolbar.
- 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
- 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:
- Click the Oval Annotation button
on the toolbar.
- 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.
- 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:
- Click the Polygon Annotation button
on the toolbar.
- Click in an empty part of the canvas to specify the first point of the polygon.
- Click again to specify the second point of the polygon. A line is drawn to connect the first and second points.
- 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. |
- 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:
- Click the Freehand Annotation button
in the toolbar.
- Click in an empty part of the canvas and, without releasing the mouse button, drag to draw a freehand shape.
- 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)