# Image Annotation

Mark part of an image. The part becomes a note you can write in and embed anywhere.

## What you can do

- Mark a rectangle, or draw an outline around an irregular shape.
- Write about each region in its own note, named with the region's title.
- Embed a region in any note with `![[Eyes]]`. The embed shows the crop and your text.
- See where a region is used, through Obsidian's backlinks.
- Duplicate a region to say something different about the same part of an image.
- Rename, reshape, or delete a region. Links to it follow, as they do for any note.

Images can come from your vault, or from web images in a note.
The original image stays unchanged.

## Annotate your first image

1. Right-click an image in a note and select **Annotate image**.
   The image opens in an editor tab.
2. Drag over the detail you want.
3. Type a name for the region and press Enter.
4. In the region list, select **Open note**. The region note opens beside the image.
5. Write about the region.

To use the region in your writing, select **Insert in <note>** in the region list.
The embed goes into the note you last wrote in. To choose another note, select **Insert in…**;
the embed goes at its end. You can also drag the region into a note, or type `![[` and the region's name.

For an irregular outline, press P or select the polygon tool.
Click points around the detail. To finish, click the first point, double-click, or press Enter.

## Change a region

Run **Image Annotation: Browse image regions** to find a region, or select the button on its crop.

- To change the shape, drag the region or its handles. The change saves when you release the pointer.
- To rename, double-click the name in the list or press F2.
- For more, right-click the region: Duplicate, Redraw shape, Open source note, or Delete region.

Renaming the region note in the file explorer renames the region too.
Deleting a region moves its note to the trash. Links to it stay, and show as unresolved.

## The region note

| Property | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `image` | The image the region is part of |
| `source` | The note the image came from |
| `shape` | The outline, in fractions of the image |
| `region_id` | A fixed name for the region, for other plugins |

The note starts with an `image-region` block that draws the crop. Write below it.
If the plugin does not know the source note, `source` stays empty for you to fill in.

## Settings

**Region folder** sets where new region notes go. The default is `Regions`.

## Your annotations stay in your vault

Regions are ordinary notes. Without the plugin, a region note still shows its properties and your text.

When you annotate a web image, the plugin saves a local copy from its source website.
It does not upload your notes. There are no accounts, analytics, or paid services.

See the [guide](docs/guide.md) for keys, storage, and sync.
See [development instructions](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md) to build and check a release.

## License

[MIT](LICENSE). Created by Micah.

[Support development on GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/sponsors/micahchoo).