Tools
Common Controls
These controls apply across all annotation tools.Selection
- Press
Vto switch to the Select tool - Click an annotation to select it
- Click empty canvas to deselect
- Hold
Ctrl/⌘and click to multi-select
Move and Resize
- Drag a selected annotation to reposition it
- Drag handles to resize
- Use the properties panel for exact numeric values
Delete
- Select one or more annotations
- Press
DeleteorBackspace - Confirm deletion if prompted
Undo / Redo
Undo and redo work across all tools. The history tracks annotation creation, modification, and deletion.
Save
- Press
Ctrl+S/⌘Sto save your work - The viewer auto-saves periodically, but manual saves are recommended before navigating away
Zoom and Pan
Tool Shortcuts Reference
General Tips
- Switch tools quickly: Use single-key shortcuts to switch between tools without reaching for the toolbar
- Zoom in for precision: Small objects and fine boundaries benefit from zooming in before drawing
- Use undo liberally: It is faster to undo a mistake than to manually correct it
- Review at full zoom-out: After annotating, zoom out to verify nothing was missed
- Keyboard over mouse: Almost every action has a keyboard shortcut; learning them significantly speeds up annotation
Next Steps
- Follow the Video Annotation tutorial for tracking workflows
- Learn about AI-Assisted Annotation for SAM and auto-labeling
- See Annotation Types for the data format of each annotation type
- Review Keyboard Shortcuts for the complete shortcut list