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Editor Settings

All users can configure the Label Editor, and configure the Label Editor to their specific needs. This includes changing the way elements display, drawing settings, and settings related to automated labeling.
A user’s settings persist and do not reset at the end of a session.
Editor settings are divided into several sections which can be filtered using the search bar:
  • Data details: Details relating to the file currently open in the Label Editor.
  • General: General interactions with the Label Editor.
  • Label display: Toggle elements to show or hide those elements within the Label Editor.
  • Drawing: Control how labels are drawn.
Use the search bar at the top of the Editor settings to search for specific settings, or keywords.

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Data Details

The Data details section displays information about the asset currently open for annotation, or review. This information is gotten from the data itself, and is not available for direct manipulation. We use this section to provide you with valuable information about the data you are working on, including if we may have detected any possible issues with the data encoding.

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General Settings

general settings in label editor The General section of the Label editor settings contains the following components:

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Label Display Settings

The Label display section of the Label editor settings contains the following components:

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Medical Imaging Settings

This section of the Editor settings is only visible for medical imaging (DICOM) Projects.
The Medical Imaging section of the Label editor settings contains the following components:

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Timeline Settings

The Timeline settings menu in the video Label Editor contains settings for dynamic attributes. Access it from the Timeline panel in the Label Editor.

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Dynamic Attributes

Propagate across gaps is designed for objects that appear on disjointed frame ranges (sparse objects). When you enable this setting and set a dynamic attribute value, the value covers every later occurrence of the object automatically, stopping only at the next deliberately-set keyframe for that attribute.
For checklist attributes, each option propagates independently. Only a later keyframe for the same checklist option stops propagation of that option — keyframes for other checklist options do not affect it.

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Drawing Settings

Drawing settings in label editor settings
The Drawing settings section of the Label editor settings contains the following components:

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Object Tracking

Number of frames to predict Specify how many subsequent frames that SAM 2 should continue from the current frame. For example, if you start on frame 50, and set Number of frames to predict to 50, the tracker attempts to predict labels on frames up to and including frame 100. Advanced tracking This toggle enables the advanced SAM 2 tracking algorithm, which improves accuracy but runs at a slower speed. It is enabled by default.

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Scene

This section of the Editor settings is specific to PCD Projects and does not appear for other modalities.
Scene settings now persist across sessions. Your preferences for point cloud size, opacity, and helper visibility are automatically saved and restored when you reload the annotation editor.
Input DeviceSpecify using a mouse or trackpad to rotate or pan in the workspace.
We STRONGLY recommend using a mouse to rotate or pan in the workspace.
Pre-load dataPre-load data in the background for smoother navigation. Enabling this setting can improve performance when annotating or reviewing point cloud data.
FaceShows/Hides the “face” of cuboids in the PCD workspace.OrientationShows/Hides the orientation of cuboids in the PCD workspace.Set front face from motionWhen enabled, Encord automatically orients the front face of a cuboid annotation based on the object’s direction of motion whenever you add or paste a keyframe. Encord re-orients all existing keyframes for that cuboid in the same operation, so undoing the action also reverts the orientation change.
This setting is disabled by default. When disabled, the front face follows how the cuboid was originally created. You can always set the front face manually at any time using Alt+Click.
Use Set front face from motion when annotating moving objects (such as vehicles or pedestrians) to keep cuboid orientations consistent with the direction of travel across all keyframes.
Show Cuboid TrajectoriesWhen enabled, Encord renders the selected cuboid’s full trajectory path across frames. The trajectory path appears in the main 3D view and in the top-down (bird’s-eye) tile of grid view, giving you a visual reference line for the object’s direction of travel. The trajectory does not appear in side-view tiles (front, back, left, right) or camera-view tiles — only the top-down tile.
Use the trajectory path in the top-down grid view tile to verify and correct cuboid orientation against the object’s actual direction of travel, especially when a vehicle or object has an incorrect heading across keyframes.
GroundShows/Hides the “ground” plane as a grid in the PCD workspace.AxisShows/Hides the axis of the point of origin in the PCD workspace.CamerasShows/Hides camera helper lines to aid in annotating PCD.BackgroundShows/Hides the background in the PCD workspace.
The Color filter button appears in the 3D scene editor toolbar only when the loaded point cloud contains color or intensity data.
The color filter applies globally to all loaded point clouds in the scene. When you enable the filter, points outside the selected range are hidden in the viewport and cannot be selected by any segmentation tool.
Enabling the filterClick the Color filter button in the toolbar to toggle the filter on or off.Filter modesOpen the Color filter popover (click the chevron next to the button) to configure the filter. Select a mode using the mode selector at the top of the popover:
  • RGB — Filter points by red, green, and blue channel ranges (0–255 per channel). Available when the point cloud contains file color data.
  • HSV — Filter points by hue, saturation, and value ranges. Available when the point cloud contains file color data.
  • Intensity — Filter points by intensity range (0–100%). Available when the point cloud contains intensity data.
Use the range sliders to set the minimum and maximum values for each channel. Only points whose color or intensity falls within all specified ranges remain visible.Eyedropper (Pick color from scene)Click Pick color from scene in the popover to activate the eyedropper. Then click any point in the 3D viewport to seed the filter with that point’s color or intensity. The sliders update automatically to a range centered on the sampled value.Composition with other filtersThe color filter works together with the height filter and slicer planes. A point must pass all active filters to remain visible and selectable.Segmentation tool integrationWhen the color filter is active, the lasso, brush, and cuboid segmentation tools automatically exclude filtered-out points from selection. Only visible points can be selected.
If the cuboid tool cannot resolve a point cloud in the rendered scene, it falls back to unfiltered selection for that cloud.
Color settingsYou can change the color of point cloud data in the PCD workspace. Here are the options:
  • Solid: Displays points with a single uniform color.
  • Origin: Displays points in colors based on the distance from the world origin point.
  • Camera: Displays points in colors based on the distance from the camera position.
  • Height: Displays points in colors based on the distance from the “ground” plane.
    You can adjust the “ground” plane using the ground height feature on the Editor toolbar.
  • Provided: Displays points in colors based on how they were originally captured and recorded.
  • Image: Displays points in colors by projecting camera image data onto the points.
  • Sensor: Displays points colored by the sensor that captured them, making it easy to visually identify which sensor contributed which points in a multi-sensor setup.
  • When you enable Color by sensor mode, points from different sensors are automatically assigned distinct colors from a fixed palette of 20 maximally distinct colors.
  • Sensor colors are assigned consistently based on the sensor’s stream ID, so the same sensor is always use the same color across different frames and sessions.
PCD display settingsYou can change the display settings of point cloud data in the PCD workspace. Here are the options:
  • Show: Displays point cloud data in the PCD workspace.
  • Merge: Displays all point cloud data across time in the PCD workspace.
  • Uniform size: Displays all point cloud data in a uniform size in the PCD workspace.
  • Hide segmented: Hides all point cloud data that is behind segmented objects in the PCD workspace.
    Only segmented objects that are set to be hidden hide all point cloud data behind them.
Specify the size of cloud data points in the PCD workspace.
Specifies the opacity of PCD in 2D views.
The default value is 0. PCD does not display in 2D views with a value of 0.
Ground mesh fitting is available to select customers. Contact your Encord representative to request access.
The ground mesh fitting tool improves ground detection for LiDAR/point cloud scenes, including curved roads and uneven terrain. When enabled, the tool fits a terrain-conforming mesh over the ground points Encord detects in the scene. Access the ground mesh fitting modal from the scene editor toolbar by clicking the Ground Height button.Ground segmentationEncord automatically segments the point cloud into ground and non-ground points. The segmentation algorithm handles curved and uneven terrain more accurately than a flat ground plane.Terrain clusteringEncord groups similar terrain grid cells together using agglomerative clustering. You can classify groups of similar cells in bulk rather than one cell at a time, speeding up ground classification on complex terrain.Cloth-simulation mesh fittingAfter you classify the ground points, Encord drapes a mesh over them using a cloth-simulation algorithm. The resulting mesh conforms to the terrain surface and provides a more accurate ground reference for downstream annotation tasks.
Cuboid fitting on the ground plane currently uses the flat ground plane, not the terrain mesh. Full integration with the terrain mesh is planned for a future release.
Ground mesh fitting runs in the browser. On large or merged point clouds, the fitting process may temporarily affect UI responsiveness while it completes.
Specifies the opacity of data points that fade into the background. For example, all data points outside of a Scene slice.
Controls whether points that fall inside cuboids are highlighted with special coloring to make them more visible. This setting overrides the normal point coloring mode for points contained within cuboid annotations.
Use “Selected only” mode when working with many overlapping cuboids to focus on the cuboid you’re currently editing.
Controls how 3D labels are colored during workflow review and consensus review tasks. This setting applies to all 3D label types: cuboids, spheres, polylines, and keypoints/points.
This setting only takes effect when you are in a workflow review stage or consensus review stage. It has no effect outside of review tasks.
By review statusWhen you set Label color mode (review) to By review status, all 3D labels in the point cloud viewport are recolored according to their current review state:Labels you action (approve or reject) during the current review session fade to the opacity configured in Reviewed label opacity, reducing visual clutter as you work through the scene.
The opacity fade applies only to filled shapes — cuboids and spheres. Polylines and keypoints/points are recolored by review status but do not fade.
Selected 3D labels retain their review-status fill color when selected. Only the selection outline switches to the selection highlight color, matching the behavior in 2D review tasks.
Specifies the opacity applied to 3D labels that you have actioned (approved or rejected) during the current review session. Reducing this value fades reviewed labels into the background, making it easier to focus on labels that still require review.
The opacity fade applies only to filled shapes — cuboids and spheres. Polylines and keypoints/points are recolored by review status but are not affected by this opacity setting.
This setting only takes effect when Label color mode (review) is set to By review status and you are in a workflow review stage or consensus review stage.
Scene-type (3D LiDAR/point-cloud) projects include interactive in-editor tutorials you can access directly from the label editor. Each tutorial guides you through a specific workflow step by step, and the editor automatically detects when you complete each action so the tutorial advances in real time.Accessing tutorialsClick the Help button in the top toolbar, then select Tutorials. The tutorials panel lists all available tutorials for your project type. Click Start on any tutorial card to begin.Cuboids across timeThe Cuboids across time tutorial teaches you the full multi-frame cuboid tracking workflow. It takes approximately 5 minutes and covers 10 steps:
  1. Select a cuboid — select an existing cuboid in the 3D view.
  2. Copy the cuboid — copy the selected cuboid to the clipboard.
  3. Place it on a later frame — navigate forward several frames, then hold Shift to preview the copied cuboid and click to place it.
  4. Interpolate between keyframes — fill every frame between your two keyframes using the interpolate shortcut or the right-click menu.
  5. View the trajectory — review the trajectory the editor draws between keyframes, then confirm with OK.
  6. Turn on auto re-interpolation — enable Auto interpolate under Drawing in the editor settings so the editor automatically re-runs interpolation when you adjust a keyframe.
  7. Edit the trajectory in grid view — open grid view, drag the cuboid in any frame column to refine its position, and close grid view when done.
  8. Toggle a keyframe — use Alt+K to unmark or re-mark the current frame as a keyframe.
  9. Lock the size — click Lock size in the cuboid pane to enforce a uniform size across all frames.
  10. Make it static — use Alt+S or the pushpin in the cuboid pane to mark the object as static, copying its current pose to every frame.
After you complete a step, the tutorial advances automatically. Step 5 (View the trajectory) requires you to click OK to advance manually. Once you finish a step, you can click its title to re-expand it and re-read the instructions at any time.
The Cuboids across time tutorial is only available in Scene-type (3D LiDAR/point-cloud) projects. It does not appear for other project types.

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Branch Overlay

This feature is ONLY available to Workspace and Project Admins, and Team Managers:
  • Point cloud data (PCD) Projects
  • In the REVIEW and COMPLETE workflow stages
  • On PCD data types. Any other data types in a Scene do not display labels.
The branch overlay feature allows you to view read-only labels from different branches alongside your current working branch in the Label Editor. This is useful for comparing annotation work across different branches or reviewing labels from previous workflow stages.

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Access Branch Overlay

The Branches button appears in the Label Editor header when:
  • You have Admin or Team Manager permissions
  • You are working on a point cloud project
  • You are in a Review or Complete workflow stage
  • Other label branches exist for the current data unit
For other label branches to exist on a Scene, you must import a prediction branch to the data unit. Use branch_name to create a prediction branch in label_rows_v2 for a data unit.
  • branch_name supports alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and is case sensitive
  • branch_name supports the following special characters: hyphens (-), underscores (_), and periods (.)
Click the Branches button to open the branch overlay panel, where you can select which branches to display as overlays.

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Using Branch Overlays

To overlay labels from other branches:
  1. Click the Branches button in the Label Editor header. The branch overlay panel opens.
  2. Select the checkboxes for the branches you want to overlay. Each branch displays with a unique color indicator.
  3. Click outside the panel to close it. The selected branch labels now appear as read-only overlays in the 3D scene.
Branch overlay features:
  • Color-coded display: Each branch uses a distinct color to differentiate overlay labels from your working branch
  • Read-only overlays: Overlay labels cannot be edited or modified
  • Multiple branch support: You can overlay labels from multiple branches simultaneously
  • Visual distinction: Overlay labels appear as wireframe outlines to clearly distinguish them from editable labels
  • Object identification: Overlay labels display object hash IDs for reference
Use branch overlays to compare your current annotations with previous work or to ensure consistency across different annotation stages.

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Metadata Panel

The metadata panel displays item metadata for the currently open data unit in the Label Editor. Access the metadata panel using the Metadata button (code icon) in the editor header.
This feature can be enabled or disabled per account. Admins may wish to disable it if task metadata contains sensitive information that should not be visible to Taskers.
The metadata panel only appears when metadata is available for the current data unit
Metadata panel
Metadata panel features: The metadata panel provides the following capabilities:
  • Field-by-field display: Each metadata field appears with its key and value clearly separated
  • Copy functionality: Click any field to copy its value to your clipboard, or use the copy button in the header to copy all metadata as JSON
  • URL detection: URLs in metadata values automatically become clickable links
  • JSON formatting: Complex nested objects display as formatted JSON for better readability
  • Large metadata handling: Very large metadata files show a message directing you to use the copy function
  • Embedding field filtering: Fields containing “embedding” in their names are automatically hidden from display to improve readability. Hidden fields are listed in a “Hidden fields” section at the bottom of the panel.
Use the copy button in the metadata panel header to copy all metadata as formatted JSON for use in external tools.
Embedding-related metadata fields are automatically filtered out of the display but remain accessible through the copy function. The panel shows which fields were hidden in a “Hidden fields” section.

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Trackpad Support

Encord’s Label Editor supports trackpad gestures for improved navigation and annotation workflows. This feature works alongside traditional mouse controls to provide a more intuitive experience when using laptops or external trackpads.

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Trackpad Gestures

The Label Editor recognizes the following trackpad gestures:
  • Pinch-to-zoom: Use two fingers to pinch in or out for precise zoom control. Pinch out (fingers apart) to zoom in, pinch in (fingers together) to zoom out.
  • Two-finger scroll: Use two fingers to pan around the canvas. The content follows your finger movement naturally.
Trackpad support is automatically enabled when you set your input device to “trackpad” in the Scene settings. For non-scene projects, trackpad gestures work automatically when detected by your browser.

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Input Device Configuration

For point cloud data (PCD) Projects, you can specify your preferred input device in the Scene settings:
  1. Open the Editor settings panel
  2. Navigate to the Scene section
  3. Under General settings, select your Input Device:
    • Mouse: Optimized for traditional mouse interactions
    • Trackpad: Enables trackpad gesture recognition and optimized sensitivity
We strongly recommend using a mouse for point cloud annotation, but trackpad support is available for users who prefer or require trackpad navigation.

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Gesture Behavior

Zoom behavior:
  • Trackpad pinch-zoom provides smooth, proportional zooming based on your gesture speed
  • Zoom centers on your cursor position for precise control
  • The Invert mouse wheel zoom direction setting also affects trackpad pinch direction
Pan behavior:
  • Two-finger scroll moves the content in the direction of your fingers
  • Panning disables auto-centering, preserving your chosen view across frame changes
  • Pan sensitivity is optimized for trackpad input
When using trackpad mode, two-finger scroll is dedicated to panning. Frame navigation using scroll gestures is disabled to prevent conflicts with pan gestures.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Encord supports customizing keyboard shortcuts to suit your needs. Contact us at support@encord.com for more information.
The words ‘keyboard shortcuts’ and ‘hotkeys’ are used interchangeably and refer to the same concept.
A full list of keyboard shortcuts can be found in the Label Editor. Use Control + Shift + K to open the full list of shortcuts.
Windows and Mac may have different keyboard shortcuts. Use Control + Shift + K to open the full list of shortcuts
Use the following hotkeys to speed up common or useful operations.

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Actions Menu

The Actions menu provides quick access to all available Label Editor functions through a searchable interface. Access it using Ctrl + K (Windows) or Cmd + K (Mac). The Actions menu includes:
  • All keyboard shortcuts with their hotkey combinations
  • Editor settings and configuration options
  • Navigation and tool selection commands
  • Automated labeling functions
  • All Ontology classes for annotation creation, including those without assigned hotkeys
Use the search bar in the actions menu to quickly find specific functions by typing keywords or partial command names.
In large Ontologies where not all classes have assigned hotkeys, the Actions menu displays all available annotation classes, making it easy to create labels for any object type in your Ontology.
Some actions — such as Go to middle frame — have no default keyboard shortcut assigned. These actions still appear in the Actions menu and are fully functional. You can assign a custom shortcut to any unassigned action via the hotkey customization settings. Contact support@encord.com to enable hotkey customization for your account.

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Review Mode

Single label review:
Single label review can be enabled using the hotkey CTRL+SHIFT+T

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General

Keyframes:

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Annotate Mode

Common Actions:
Go to middle frame has no default keyboard shortcut. You can assign one via the hotkey customization settings in the label editor.
Classification Ranges: Draw Polygon Mode: Draw Bitmask Mode: DICOM specific operations: Bulk 3D Scene Editor Copy/Paste keyboard shortcuts

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Label Editor Settings Templates

Workspace and Project Admins can configure Label Editor templates to provide a consistent and optimized experience for their annotators and reviewers on a Project. Annotators and reviewers can make the choice of using the Label Editor settings or customizing the Label Editor settings.

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Configure Label Editor Settings templates

Only Workspace and Project Admins can create Label Editor templates. Create Label Editor Settings Template To create a Label Editor Settings Template:
  1. Go to Annotate > Projects > [select a Project]. The Project page appears.
  2. Click Queue. The Task Queue appears.
  3. Click Initiate for a data unit in the queue.
  4. Click the Editor settings icon. The Editor settings panel appears.
  5. Click Use Project settings. The Use Project settings panel appears.
  6. Specify the Label Editor settings you want your annotators and reviewers to use in the Project.
  7. Click Select a template.
  8. Click Save current settings as template. A dialog box appears.
  9. Provide a meaningful name and description for the template.
  10. Click Set as template to use the template in the current Project.
  11. Click Save.

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Apply a Label Editor Settings Template

Only Workspace and Project Admins can apply Label Editor templates to Projects. Apply Label Editor Settings Template To apply a Label Editor Settings Template to a Project:
  1. Go to Annotate > Projects > [select a Project]. The Project page appears.
  2. Click Queue. The Task Queue appears.
  3. Click Initiate for a data unit in the queue.
  4. Click the Editor settings icon. The Editor settings panel appears.
  5. Click Use Project settings. The Use Project settings panel appears.
  6. Click Select a template.
  7. Select the template you want to use.

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Use Your Own Label Editor Settings

Annotators and reviewers can use their own settings instead of the Label Editor Setting template settings. Use your own settings To use your own settings instead of the Label Editor Template settings:
  1. Go to Annotate > Projects > [select a Project]. The Project page appears.
  2. Click Queue. The Task Queue appears.
  3. Click Initiate for a data unit in the queue.
  4. Click the Editor settings icon. The Editor settings panel appears.
  5. Click Use my user settings.