Label Editor - Annotation

To ensure seamless data loading in Encord, whitelist https://app.encord.com/ or https://app.us.encord.com/ in any 3rd party VPNs, firewalls, or URL isolators. This helps to prevent potential issues with opening your data in Encord.

This documentation provides a comprehensive guide to using the Label Editor for annotation, covering its components, features, and the display of various elements.

For information on how to label, see our documentation here.

Annotation Mode

Introductory Video Tutorials

The following video goes through the basics of annotating images in the Label Editor.

The following video goes through the basics of annotating videos in the Label Editor.

Check out our Video Tutorials page for more introductory videos!

Annotation mode components:

A. Editor menu
B. Quick toolbar
C. Classes
D. Instances and Frame labels
E. Automated labeling
F. Editor timeline (for videos and image sequences only)
G. Annotation canvas: displays the media asset and provides interface for drawing and editing labels.
H. Editor header
I. Skip or Submit

Copy / Paste Labels & Instances

Using the copy and paste features in the Label Editor can significantly save time and effort. Here’s how you can efficiently use these features:

Copy: To copy both the label and the instance, use the keyboard shortcut CMD + C on Mac or Ctrl + C on Windows.
Paste instance: To paste the copied instance, use CMD + V on Mac or Ctrl + V on Windows. Instances can only be pasted onto a different frame from where they were copied.
Paste Label: To paste just the label / shape, use CMD + Shift + V on Mac or Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows. Labels can be pasted onto any frame.

Bulk Label Operations

Fixing incorrect labels is an important step in producing high-quality datasets. With bulk label operations, annotators can merge labels which should really be one instance, or efficiently delete multiple labels in bulk.

Bulk label operations are accessed in the editor menu.

Merge operations

Merge one or more label objects into a single object.

Select all objects to be merged in the Select objects to be merged drop-down menu.
Select the target object in the Select objects to be merged into field.
Click Merge.

Delete operations

Encord lets you perform bulk delete operations as follows:

Remove labels of a specific class:

Select a class to delete from the Select class menu.
Specify the frame range.
Click the Delete button.

Delete all labels within a frame range:

Navigate to the Delete all labels from range section.
Set a range to delete labels from.
Click Delete.

Delete labels below a specified confidence level:

Navigate to the Delete labels below confidence section.
Set the minimum confidence threshold. All labels with a confidence value below this threshold are deleted.
Specify a range of frames to delete the specified labels from.
Click Delete.

Classes

In annotation mode, the Classes section of the Label Editor shows you the available Ontology classes, both objects and classifications. You can create a new instance by either clicking the desired class, or by using the indicated instantiation hotkeys. Learn more about Ontologies in general here or learn more about the details of Ontology structure on Encord.

Instances and Frame labels

The canvas is your labeling area to annotate the instances of the Ontology classes.

An instance is a specific occurrence of a class. For example, if you have a class called “Car”, an instance of this class could be “Car(0)”, which might represent a specific black sedan. This single instance can appear in a single frame or a range of frames, and therefore, instances may contain multiple labels across frames. You can think of an instance as a unique object that belongs to a certain class.
A frame label is a frame-specific annotation of an instance. For example, the annotation of “Car(0)” on frame 201 is a label. Labels are used to annotate instances in specific frames, providing more detailed information about the instance in the context of that frame.

You can group instances of the same class together using the Group by class button.

Skip or Submit labels

Submit tasks

Labels are applied in the Label Editor. Click the Submit button to submit your labels for review.

All issues need to be resolved before a task can be submitted.

Skip tasks

Users have the option to skip tasks in instances where, for example, the file is blurred, or if they suspect the task was erroneously added.

When a user skips a task, it is automatically unassigned from them, and the task’s status is updated to Skipped. If another task is available, it automatically opens in the Label Editor and is assigned to the user.

Click the Skip button to skip an annotation task.

A dialog appears. Enter a reason for skipping the task - the reason is added as an issue to the task that annotators and reviewers can see. If no reason is entered “This task was skipped” is added by default.

Turbo mode

Turbo mode simplifies the standard annotation workflow, enabling annotators to rapidly assign or confirm attributes. Activate turbo mode and choose an instance from the top-left dropdown menu to set the instance and its relevant attributes.

In turbo mode, the auto-zoom feature automatically focuses the point of view on the active instance as you browse through them. You can adjust the zoom manually to get a better view of the instance’s context. The view auto-zooms again when moving to another instance.

Enable turbo mode:

Open the editor settings.
Use the search bar to search for Turbo mode.
Enable the Turbo mode toggle.

View Annotator Instructions

The Annotator instructions button is available in the top-left corner of the Label Editor if annotation instructions are provided by the Admin or Team Manager.

To learn how to upload annotation instructions click here

Confidence Score

Each instance or label is assigned a confidence score (denoted with the symbol α) that appears next to the label name.

The confidence score is a measure of a machine learning model’s certainty that a given prediction is accurate. The higher the confidence score, the more certain a model is about its prediction.

Manual labels are always assigned α = 100%, while label predictions created via models and automated methods such as interpolation will have a confidence score below 100% (α < 100%).

Models allow you to select a Minimum confidence threshold that determines the lowest confidence that label predictions can have to appear as annotations. It ranges from 0 to 1.

A Minimum confidence threshold of 0.6, as seen in the image above, states that only labels above a confidence score α = 60% will be accepted as labels.

Labels pane

The Labels pane shows all the instantiated objects and classifications for a data unit. Objects are grouped first by class, and sorted by creation time within each class, with earlier objects on top. They are named in an “ABC (0)” format, where ABC is the Ontology class and 0 is the first instance annotation.

A: Toggle between showing displaying all labels, or only labels in the current frame.
B: Show / Hide details for this instance.
C: The range of frames the instances appears on.
D: Attributes the object has and the frames they appear on.
E: Filter by frame range.
F: Sort label instances.
G: Search for an instance.
H: Show / Hide labels.
I: Show / Hide labels for this instance.
J: Additional actions. Described below.
K: Keyboard shortcut to create a label for this instance.
L:Edit attributes for this instance.
M: Add a new label for this instance.
N: Toggle auto-annotation for SAM.

Click the three dots icon to access additional actions:

Copy URL: Copies the URL for the particular object.

Copy identifier: Each object instance is automatically assigned a unique alphanumeric ID, which can be used to identify it within the project. This ID is sometimes known alternately as a feature hash, instance hash, or instance identifier. For objects and classifications, it may also be known as the object hash or classification hash. Use this button to copy the instance identifier to your clipboard — which may help in workflows using specific instances in source code or for other purposes.

Track from this frame: Initiates single object tracking. This type of automated labeling creates labels for the specified object from the current frame, according to the Single object tracking settings section in the editor settings.

Interpolate: Interpolates this object’s location for a range between specified frames. Please see our documentation on interpolation for more details.

Go to object: Navigate to the specified object in the data asset. If it is present in more than one frame, the first frame the object appears is shown.

Split object track: In some cases, particularly when many objects overlap, labels may be associated with the correct instance in several frames, but later become associated with a different instance. In those cases, use the Split object track feature, which will split the labels from one instance into two at the frame specified.

Change class: Use the drop-down in the modal to change the current class of an instance. You can only switch within classes of the same annotation type. For example, you cannot switch from a bounding box to a polygon.

Delete object: Delete an object from a single frame or a range of frames. To delete labels between frame ranges, move the frame slider to the desired frames, or input the From and To (exclusive) values in the relevant form.

Attributes

The details pane allows you to modify attributes efficiently. For dynamic attributes, use the ‘Preserve chosen state’ feature. When this feature is toggled ‘ON’, any subsequent labels for that instance automatically inherit the same dynamic attribute value as the frame where ‘Preserve chosen state’ was enabled.

See our tutorial on adding attributes for a detailed guide

If you have numerous attributes, use the search bar to quickly find specific attributes or attribute values.

Automated Labeling

Automated labeling includes several techniques to quickly create labels and classifications automatically.

models must be created and trained before use.
Object tracking and interpolation do not require set up or training, and are always available.

For a more detailed explanation of these features, please visit our automated labeling page.

Click the Automated labeling button to open the Automated labeling panel.
Select the type of automated labeling you want to use.
Run automated labeling for the selected objects.

Alternatively, run object tracking or interpolation on videos, image groups, and image sequences by:

Right-clicking a label.
Selecting Track from this frame to initiate object tracking or auto-segmentation tracking, or select Interpolate to interpolate the selected object instance.

Segment anything model (SAM)

Segment anything model (SAM) allows you to create labels around distinct features in all supported file formats.

Click the wand icon within the polygon class.
Click on the part of the frame or image you want segmented.
- Left-click a section you want to add to your label.
- Right-click a part of the selected area to remove it from the label.
Click Add label once the area you want labeled is highlighted.

A step-by-step guide for using SAM can be found here.

Edit polygons and polylines

Encord provides multiple tools to edit polygon and polyline labels after they have been created.

Move vertices:

Click and drag a vertex to move it to a new location.

Adding a polygon or polyline vertex:

You can add more vertices to a polygon after it has been created.

Click the polygon you want to add a vertex to
Click the position along the edge of the polygon you want to add a vertex. Repeat to add as many vertices as necessary.

Removing a polygon or polyline vertex:

You can remove the last vertex by pressing the Backspace key while still in draw mode.

Remove vertices from a polygon as follows:

Click the polygon you want to remove vertices from
Right-click a vertex to delete it

Polygon and polyline brush tool:

Use the brush tool to modify the edge of a polygon or polyline in a free-hand manner.

Right-click the polygon you would like to edit.
Click Edit with brush or click the G hotkey. A floating brush tool menu appears.
Adjust the brush size to suit your needs.
Mouse over location you would like to start editing from, and click and hold to start the edit process.
Drag the cursor freely to draw out the new polygon edge let go of mouse to finish editing.

Eraser tool:

Use the eraser tool to remove any part of a polygon in a free-hand manner.

Right-click the polygon you would like to edit.
Click Edit with brush or click the G hotkey. A floating brush tool menu appears.
Select the eraser tool.
Adjust the brush size to suit your needs.
Mouse over location you would like to start editing from, and click and hold to start the edit process.
Drag the cursor freely to draw out the new polygon edge let go of mouse to finish editing.

Editor Canvas Interactions

Shape-specific interactions:

Shape	Interactions	Modalities
Bitmask	Ability to move (one or multiple)	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Ability to ‘select multiple’ with `Shift` + click	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Draw using polygon ‘pen’	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Panoptic mode	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
Polygon		Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Add vertex with left-click	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Remove vertex with right-click	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
Polyline		Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Add vertex with left-click	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM
	Remove vertex with right-click	Video / Image Group / Image Sequence / DICOM

Right-click interactions:

Track from this frame refers to auto-segmentation tracking for Polygons and Bitmasks, and to object tracking for all other label shapes.

Shape	Right-click Interactions	Modalities
Bounding Box	Track from this frame	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Bounding Box	Interpolate	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Bounding Box	Split object track	All
Bounding Box	Change class	All
Bounding Box	Copy identifier	All
Bounding Box	Delete object	All
Bounding Box	Copy URL	All
Rotatable Bounding Box	Track from this frame	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Rotatable Bounding Box	Interpolate	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Rotatable Bounding Box	Split object track	All
Rotatable Bounding Box	Change class	All
Rotatable Bounding Box	Copy identifier	All
Rotatable Bounding Box	Delete object	All
Rotatable Bounding Box	Copy URL	All
Polygon	Interpolate	All
Polygon	Split object track	All
Polygon	Change class	All
Polygon	Copy identifier	All
Polygon	Delete object	All
Polygon	Copy URL	All
Polygon	Track from this frame	Videos
Polygon	Edit with brush	All
Polygon	Freehand edge touchup	All
Polyline	Track from this frame	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Polyline	Interpolate	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Polyline	Split object track	All
Polyline	Change class	All
Polyline	Copy identifier	All
Polyline	Delete object	All
Polyline	Copy URL	All
Polyline	Freehand edge touchup	All
Keypoint	Track from this frame	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Keypoint	Interpolate	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Keypoint	Split object track	All
Keypoint	Change class	All
Keypoint	Copy identifier	All
Keypoint	Delete object	All
Keypoint	Copy URL	All
Bitmask	Interpolate	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Bitmask	Change class	All
Bitmask	Copy identifier	All
Bitmask	Delete object	All
Bitmask	Copy URL	All
Bitmask	Select more bitmasks to combine	All
Bitmask	Track from this frame	Videos
Object Primitive	Track from this frame	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Object Primitive	Interpolate	Videos, image groups, and image sequences only
Object Primitive	Change class	All
Object Primitive	Copy identifier	All
Object Primitive	Delete object	All
Object Primitive	Copy URL	All

Controls Common To Both Modes

The current workflow status is displayed in the top left corner of the label editor.

Editor Layout

Contact support to gain access to custom editor layouts.

You can customize the default Label Editor layout by uploading a JSON file that defines your preferred arrangement. These JSON files can be added in the Project settings and are applied to all tasks in a Project.

Custom editor layouts depend on a file’s client_metadata or their DICOM tags. This means that custom editor layouts only work for files that contain client_metadata or DICOM tags. Watch the video tutorials below to learn how it fits together.

To upload an editor layout:

Navigate to the Project settings.
Click on Layouts.
Click Upload JSON.
Select the JSON file containing the layout you want the Label Editor to have.

JSON file requirements:

The JSON file must follow the JSON schema defined here. The following fields are required:

In Workflow Projects, tasks with matching values in the field specified by the topLevelGridFilter progress through the Workflow as a unit. When encord-LayoutGroup is set as the topLevelGridFilter, for example, tasks sharing the same encord-LayoutGroup value are opened, submitted, reviewed, and reopened together, enabling seamless coordination across the Workflow. This behavior does not apply in Manual QA Projects.

The operator value must be =. This means the value must be equal to.

"topLevelGridFilter": {
  "client_metadata": {
    "key": "encord-LayoutGroup",
    "operator": "="
  }
}

Another example is displaying images from the same patient together in the Label Editor using the topLevelGridFilter to group tasks based on a patient-id.

"topLevelGridFilter": {
  "client_metadata": {
    "key": "patient-id",
    "operator": "="
  }
}

The grid key defines the basic layout of the Label Editor. The grid is a list of lists, where each value represents a window.

In the following example, the values 0, 1, 2, and 3 represent individual windows. The layout is defined as two separate lists [0, 1] and [2, 3], resulting in a 2x2 grid configuration:

  "grid": [[0, 1], [2, 3]]

This configuration translates to the following visual layout:

The gridContent key specifies what content to display in each window defined in the grid. It includes the following elements:

Grid Values: Assigns content to each window based on its grid value.
Content Query: Defines the criteria for displaying content, which can be either dicom_tags_query or client_metadata_query.
Conditions: Specifies the conditions for displaying the content, which can be either and_conditions or or_conditions.
Operator value can only be =. This means the value must be equal to.

In the following example, window 0 displays content based on a dicom_tags_query with specific conditions.

The dicom_tags_query specifies that the content is determined by DICOM tags.
The and_conditions key specifies that all conditions listed must be met for the content to be displayed.
There are two conditions:
1. The DICOM tag 00185101 must equal CC.
2. The DICOM tag 00200062 must equal R.

This setup ensures that the content for window 0 is only displayed if both conditions are satisfied.

  "gridContent": {
    "0": {
      "dicom_tags_query": {
        "and_conditions": [
          {
            "tag": "00185101",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "CC"
          },
          {
            "tag": "00200062",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "R"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
    }

In the following example, window 1 displays content based on a client_metadata_query with specific conditions.

The client_metadata_query specifies that the content is determined by client metadata.
The or_conditions key specifies that any of the conditions listed must be met for the content to be displayed.
There are two conditions:
1. The client metadata group-id must equal A.
2. The client metadata group-id must equal B.

This setup ensures that the content for window 1 is only displayed if the group-id is either A or B.

  "gridContent": {
    "1": {
      "client_metadata_query": {
        "or_conditions": [
          {
            "key": "group-id",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "A"
          },
          {
            "key": "group-id",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "B"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }

Complete example

Add client metadata to files

Editor layouts are based on DICOM tags for DICOM files or on client_metadata for all other use cases. We provide templates for common mammography layouts based on DICOM tags here.

This example uses client_metadata. The following SDK script can be used to add client metadata to specific data units in a Dataset.

from encord import EncordUserClient
from encord.client import DatasetAccessSettings

# Instantiate Encord client by substituting the path to your private key
user_client = EncordUserClient.create_with_ssh_private_key(
                ssh_private_key_path="<private_key_path>",
            )


# Specify a Dataset to read or write metadata to
dataset = user_client.get_dataset("<dataset_hash>")

# Fetch the Dataset's metadata
dataset.set_access_settings(DatasetAccessSettings(fetch_client_metadata=True))

# Add your file names and client metadata here
layouts = {
  'Image1.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "A", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '1'},
  'Image2.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "B", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '1'},
  'Image3.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "A", 'encord-LayoutGroup': "2"},
  'Image4.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "B", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '2'},
  'Image5.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "A", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '1'},
  'Image6.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "B", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '1'},
  'Image7.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "A", 'encord-LayoutGroup': "2"},
  'Image8.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "B", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '2'},
  'Image9.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "A", 'encord-LayoutGroup': "1"},
  'Image10.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "B", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '1'},
  'Image11.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "A", 'encord-LayoutGroup': "2"},
  'Image12.jpg': {"encord-EditorGridPosition": "B", 'encord-LayoutGroup': '2'},
}

for dr in dataset.data_rows:
  dr.client_metadata = layouts[dr['data_title']]
  print (dr.title)
  print (dr.client_metadata)
  dr.save()

Create a JSON file

Create a JSON for specifying the editor layout that suits your needs.

In the JSON file below:

The grid arrangement is configured to display two files side by side in the Label Editor.
The gridContent section specifies that tasks in either position (0 or 1) can have client metadata values for encord-EditorGridPosition set to either A or B.

The topLevelGridFilter is defined as encord-LayoutGroup, meaning tasks with matching encord-LayoutGroup metadata values are displayed together in the Label Editor, ensuring they appear side by side when they share the same encord-LayoutGroup values.

{
  "grid": [
    [0],
    [1]
  ],
  "gridContent": {
    "0": {
      "client_metadata_query": {
        "or_conditions": [
          {
            "key": "encord-EditorGridPosition",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "A"
          },
          {
            "key": "encord-EditorGridPosition",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "B"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "1": {
      "client_metadata_query": {
        "or_conditions": [
          {
            "key": "encord-EditorGridPosition",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "A"
          },
          {
            "key": "encord-EditorGridPosition",
            "operator": "=",
            "value": "B"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "topLevelGridFilter": {
    "client_metadata": {
      "key": "encord-LayoutGroup",
      "operator": "="
    }
  },
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/encord-team/Annotate/main/editor-layouts/editor_layout_schema.json"
}

Create a JSON file

Upload the JSON file to your Project in Encord.

Navigate to the Project settings.
Click on Layouts.
Click Upload JSON.
Select the JSON file containing the layout you want the Label Editor to have.

Create a JSON file

Open any task in the task queue of your Project.

The JSON file in this example results in the following Label Editor layout.

We provide end-to-end walkthroughes for how to set up custom editor layouts using:

clientMetadata here.
DICOM Tags here.

Open the editor menu by clicking the menu icon in the top left corner of the Label Editor.

The editor menu contains the following controls:

Return to Project - Returns the user to the Project navigation.
Save changes - Saves the current state of all labels.
View - Allows users to change what information is displayed next to all labels.
Bulk label operations (annotation mode only) - Allows the user to perform actions on many labels at once.
Automated labeling (annotation mode only) - Lets the user choose between several automated labeling techniques.
Dark mode - Toggle dark mode on and off.
Keyboard shortcuts - Displays a full list of keyboard shortcuts.
Editor settings - Opens the Editor settings.

Editor Header

The Editor header at the top-right of the navigation bar contains buttons and menu items to perform labeling activities as well as manage general app settings and notifications.

Icon	Name	Description
	Help	Links to the: quick start guide, documentation, learning hub, and Encord support team.
	Notifications	Shows the current status and history of actions taken in the application. This includes uploading datasets, training models, and exporting labels.
	Share	Copies the URL of the asset currently being labeled or reviewed.
	Save labels	Manually saves labels on the Encord server.
	Label Editor settings	Settings controlling your labeling and reviewing experience.
	Issues	Shows any issues and comments for the current task, such as any objects or classifications marked as Required, or comments added by other users.

A toolbar with handy tools to:

Rotate the label editor.
Adjust filters; contrast, brightness, gamma, pixelated scaling, and grayscaling.
Remove polygon vertices.
Add comments or issues to a frame or image.
Quickly center an image.
Zoom in and out.

Remove polygon vertices (the scissors tool) is currently not available in review or review-edit mode.

Click the zoom icon again to disable zoom.

Rotate the Label Editor

Click the Rotate toolbar icon on the quick toolbar to bring up a pop-up that enables you to rotate the label editor by using the slider, as shown below.

Click the Rotate 90 degrees icon to rotate the editor in increments of 90 degrees.

Pixelated Scaling

The Pixelated scaling feature enhances the visibility of individual pixels in an image or frame by disabling the browser’s automatic edge smoothing. This increased pixel clarity aids annotators in creating precise, pixel-perfect annotations, thereby improving their annotation accuracy, especially when zooming into an image.

Pixelated Scaling turned on	Pixelated Scaling turned off

Enable Pixelated scaling by selecting the Adjust filters icon ()in the Quick toolbar and enabling the Pixelated scaling checkbox, as shown below.

Pixelated scaling is a browser-specific feature. The table below shows which types of files Pixelated scaling works for Firefox and Chrome.

File type	Chrome	Firefox
Image	✅	✅
Image group	✅	✅
Video	❌	✅
Image sequence	❌	✅

Grayscale Filter

The Grayscale filter feature enhances the visibility across an image or frame by applying an RGB grayscale to the image/frame. The filter applies across the pixels of an image/frame using the value for Red, Green, or Blue as a base then converting to grayscale.

You can use the Grayscale filter on images, videos, and DICOM (DICOM and NIfTi) series.

Grayscale Image/Frame

Grayscale DICOM/NIfTi

The video frame slider lets you quickly scroll through frames in a video asset. Below the frame slider are a range of controls to let you play, skip and navigate through media. Notice that the navigation controls are not displayed in single images files, as well as any media with only 1 frame.

Icon descriptions:

The Time and Frame rate information for each frame is displayed in the far lower right corner.

Comments and Issues

Issues can be added to annotation and review tasks to communicate with other users. All issues contain comment threads relating to the entire task or specific sections of the task. A small notification badge on the Issues icon displays the number of unresolved issues in a task.

Selecting an issue card highlights the associated label. If a frame number is present, clicking it navigates directly to the corresponding frame.

Issues can be added to:

The entire task.
The current frame (for videos, image groups, and image sequences).
A specific location on the frame or task.

Issue threads can be filtered by Resolved and Unresolved issues.

Types of Issues:

There are two types of issues: general issues and rejection issues.

Rejection issues are created when a reviewer rejects labels. The reviewer is prompted to provide a reason for the rejection in the form of a comment. If all instances in a frame or image are rejected, a separate rejection issue is created for each label. Any comment provided is applied to all rejection issues. Labels with rejection issues display a red Issues icon next to the instance name, which turns green once the issue is resolved.
General issues function as comments to facilitate communication between users. They can be created at any stage within the Label Editor.

To Create a New General Issue:

Use the Control N keyboard shortcut to create a new issue.
Right click the canvass and select Add comment to create an issue on a specific location of the frame or image.

Open the Issues pane by clicking the Issues icon.
Click + New.
Choose the part of the task where you want to create the issue.
Add a comment on the issue.
If you selected ‘Pin on canvass’ in step 3, click the desired location on the canvas.
Click Create issue.

To Resolve an Issue:

Open the Issues pane by clicking the Issues icon.
Click the tick to mark a thread as resolved.

Resolved issues remain visible but can be filtered out. All users can resolve issues.

To Delete an Issue Thread:

Open the Issues pane by clicking the Issues icon.
Click the Ellipsis icon to show more options.
Click Delete thread.

Users can only delete issues that they created. Label rejections cannot be deleted.

Use Cases:

Ask questions: Annotators and reviewers can ask questions about the task. Admins can use this feedback to improve guidance.
Explain task rejection: Reviewers can provide reasons for rejection, helping annotators avoid repeating mistakes.
Track unresolved issues: Keep a record of open discussions that need follow-up before finalizing annotations.

Editor Lock

The ‘Editor lock’ is a safety feature we implemented to prevent several people making changes to the same file - annotators labeling, or reviewers reviewing the same data unit.

A warning is triggered in two cases:

When you have the same task open in two different tabs or browser windows:

When a different user is editing the same task:

WACOM Tablet Support

Our Label Editor fully supports Wacom tablets and pens. You get the best experience if you enable freehand drawing mode.

Label Editor V1 (Legacy)

Label Editor V1 has been deprecated.

The following actions vary significantly between the legacy Label Editor V1 and the new Label Editor. To see how to perform these in the new Label Editor, see our documentation here.

Adding a polygon vertex - Label Editor V1

To add more vertices to a polygon after it has been created:

Click the polygon you want to add a vertex to
Click the Add vertex icon in the floating window that appears, or use the A hotkey to activate ‘Add vertex mode’
Move the mouse, which should now be in a ’+’ icon, over the edge where you wish to add a vertex. The edge in question should highlight indicating you’ve placed the mouse correctly. Click to place a vertex
Continue placing vertices until you’re satisfied. Press A or click the Add vertex icon on the floating toolbar to turn off add vertex mode

Removing a polygon or polyline vertex - Label Editor V1

To remove vertices from a polygon::

Click on the polygon you want to remove a vertex from.
Click the Remove vertex icon in the toolbar that appears, or use the S hotkey to activate ‘Remove vertex mode’.
Move the cursor to the vertex you want to remove. The cursor should have a ‘cancel’ icon attached.
Click the vertex you want to remove.
Continue removing any vertices until you are satisfied.
Click the icon from step 2 again, or press the S hotkey again to exit ‘Remove vertex mode’.

Freehand edge touchup - Label Editor V1

If you need to modify the edge of a polygon to account for complicated shapes or other requirements, the freehand edge touchup feature allows you edit the edge of the polygon in a free-hand manner, from one vertex to another.

If you need to edit your shape along the edge of the polygon, in between vertices, use the polygon brush tool instead.

Click the polygon you would like to edit.
Click the Freehand edge touchup icon in the floating toolbar that appears, or use the F hotkey to activate ‘freehand edge touchup’ mode.
Mouse over the vertex you would like to start editing from, and click to start the edit process.
Drag the cursor freely to draw out the new polygon edge. Navigate the cursor to the pre-existing vertex you want to finish on, and click to finalize the new edge boundary.

Was this page helpful?

Webhooks and Notifications Label Editor - Review

On this page

Annotation Mode
Introductory Video Tutorials
Copy / Paste Labels & Instances
Bulk Label Operations
Classes
Instances and Frame labels
Skip or Submit labels
Turbo mode
View Annotator Instructions
Confidence Score
Labels pane
Attributes
Automated Labeling
Segment anything model (SAM)
Edit polygons and polylines
Editor Canvas Interactions
Controls Common To Both Modes
Editor Layout
Editor Menu
Editor Header
Quick Toolbar
Rotate the Label Editor
Pixelated Scaling
Grayscale Filter
Media Navigation Controls
Comments and Issues
Editor Lock
WACOM Tablet Support
Label Editor V1 (Legacy)

Get Started

General

Index

Annotate

Active

Other

Label Editor - Annotation

Annotation Mode

Introductory Video Tutorials

Copy / Paste Labels & Instances

Bulk Label Operations

Classes

Instances and Frame labels

Skip or Submit labels

Turbo mode

View Annotator Instructions

Confidence Score

Labels pane

Attributes

Automated Labeling

Segment anything model (SAM)

Edit polygons and polylines

Editor Canvas Interactions

Controls Common To Both Modes

Editor Layout

Editor Menu

Editor Header

Rotate the Label Editor

Pixelated Scaling

Grayscale Filter

Media Navigation Controls

Comments and Issues

Editor Lock

WACOM Tablet Support

Label Editor V1 (Legacy)

Get Started

General

Index

Annotate

Active

Other

​Annotation Mode

​Introductory Video Tutorials

​Copy / Paste Labels & Instances

​Bulk Label Operations

​Classes

​Instances and Frame labels

​Skip or Submit labels

​Turbo mode

​View Annotator Instructions

​Confidence Score

​Labels pane

​Attributes

​Automated Labeling

​Segment anything model (SAM)

​Edit polygons and polylines

​Editor Canvas Interactions

​Controls Common To Both Modes

​Editor Layout

​Editor Menu

​Editor Header

​Quick Toolbar

​Rotate the Label Editor

​Pixelated Scaling

​Grayscale Filter

​Media Navigation Controls

​Comments and Issues

​Editor Lock

​WACOM Tablet Support

​Label Editor V1 (Legacy)

Annotation Mode

Introductory Video Tutorials

Copy / Paste Labels & Instances

Bulk Label Operations

Classes

Instances and Frame labels

Skip or Submit labels

Turbo mode

View Annotator Instructions

Confidence Score

Labels pane

Attributes

Automated Labeling

Segment anything model (SAM)

Edit polygons and polylines

Editor Canvas Interactions

Controls Common To Both Modes

Editor Layout

Editor Menu

Editor Header

Quick Toolbar

Rotate the Label Editor

Pixelated Scaling

Grayscale Filter

Media Navigation Controls

Comments and Issues

Editor Lock

WACOM Tablet Support

Label Editor V1 (Legacy)