Editing & Utility Tools

• 1: Join and slice tools
• 2: Shapes converter
• 3: Contextual images
• 4: Filter

1 - Join and slice tools

In CVAT you can modify shapes by either joining multiple shapes into a single label or slicing a single label into several shapes.

This document provides guidance on how to perform these operations effectively.

See:

• Joining masks
• Slicing polygons and masks

Joining masks

The Join masks tool (), is specifically designed to work with mask annotations.

This tool is useful in scenarios where a single object in an image is annotated with multiple shapes, and there is a need to merge these shapes into a single one.

To join masks, do the following:

1. From the Edit block, select Join masks .
2. Click on the canvas area, to select masks that you want to join.
3. (Optional) To remove the selection click the mask one more time.
4. Click again on Join masks (J) to execute the join operation.

Upon completion, the selected masks will be joined into a single mask.

Slicing polygons and masks

The Slice mask/polygon () is compatible with both mask and polygon annotations.

This tool is useful in scenarios where multiple objects in an image are annotated with one shape, and there is a need to slice this shape into multiple parts.

To slice mask or polygon, do the following:

1. From the Edit block, select Slice mask/polygon .
2. Click on the shape you intend to slice. A black contour will appear around the selected shape.
3. Set an initial point for slicing by clicking on the contour.
4. Draw a line across the shape to define the slicing path.
   Hold Shift to add points automatically on cursor movement.
   Note: The line cannot cross itself.
   Note: The line cannot cross the contour more than twice.
5. (Optional)> Right-click to cancel the latest point.
6. Click on the contour (Alt+J) (outside the contour) to finalize the slicing.

2 - Shapes converter

The shapes converter is a feature that enables bulk actions on filtered shapes. It allows you to perform mutual conversion between masks, polygons and rectangles.

See:

• Run actions menu
• Convert shapes
• Convert shapes video tutorial

Run actions menu

Annotations actions can be accessed from the annotation menu. To access it, click on the burger icon and then select Run actions.

You will see the following dialog:

With the following fields:

Convert shapes

Recommended Precautions Before Running Annotation Actions

• Saving changes: It is recommended to save all changes prior to initiating the annotation action. If unsaved changes are detected, a prompt will advise to save these changes to avoid any potential loss of data.

• Disable auto-save: Prior to running the annotation action, disabling the auto-save feature is advisable. A notification will suggest this action if auto-save is currently active.

• Committing changes: Changes applied during the annotation session will not be committed to the server until the saving process is manually initiated. This can be done either by the user or through the auto-save feature, should it be enabled.

To convert shapes, do the following:

1. Annotate your dataset.

   

2. Set up filters.

   

3. From the burger menu, select Run actions.

4. Choose the action you need from the Select action drop-down list.

5. (Optional) In the Starting from frame field, enter the frame number where the action should begin, and in the up to frame field, specify the frame number where the action should end.

6. (Optional) Select an option from Or choose one of the predefined options to apply the action.

7. Click Run.
   A progress bar will appear. You may abort the process by clicking Cancel until the process commits modified objects at the end of pipeline.

   

Convert shapes video tutorial

3 - Contextual images

Contextual images (or related images) are additional images that provide context or additional information related to the primary image.

Use them to add extra contextual about the object to improve the accuracy of annotation.

Contextual images are available for 2D and 3D tasks.

See:

• Folder structure
• Contextual images

Folder structure

To add contextual images to the task, you need to organize the images folder into one of the supported file layouts. A task with contextual images can be created both from an archive or from raw files.

Example for 2D tasks:

1. In the folder with the images for annotation, create a folder: related_images.
2. Add to the related_images a subfolder with the same name as the primary image to which it should be linked.
3. Place the contextual image(s) within the subfolder created in step 2.
4. Add folder to the archive.
5. Create task.

Supported file layouts for 2D and 3D tasks:

• 2D task
• 3D option 1
• 3D option 2
• 3D task KITTI format
• 3D task Supervisely format

root_directory/
  image_1_to_be_annotated.jpg
  image_2_to_be_annotated.jpg
  related_images/
    image_1_to_be_annotated_jpg/
      context_image_for_image_1.jpg
    image_2_to_be_annotated_jpg/
      context_image_for_image_2.jpg
    subdirectory_example/
      image_3_to_be_annotated.jpg
        related_images/
        image_3_to_be_annotated_jpg/
            context_image_for_image_3.jpg

root_directory/
  pointcloud1.pcd
  pointcloud1.jpg
  pointcloud2.pcd
  pointcloud2.png
  ...

root_directory/
  pointcloud1/
    pointcloud1.pcd
    pointcloud1_ri1.png
    pointcloud1_ri2.jpg
    ...
  pointcloud2/
    pointcloud2.pcd
    pointcloud2_ri1.bmp

image_00/
  data/
    0000000000.png
    0000000001.png
    0000000002.png
    0000000003.png
image_01/
  data/
    0000000000.png
    0000000001.png
    0000000002.png
    0000000003.png
image_N/
  data/
    0000000000.png
    0000000001.png
    0000000002.png
    0000000003.png
velodyne_points/
  data/
    0000000000.bin
    0000000001.bin
    0000000002.bin
    0000000003.bin

root_directory/
  pointcloud/
    pointcloud1.pcd
    pointcloud2.pcd
  related_images/
    pointcloud1_pcd/
      context_image_for_pointclud1.jpg
    pointcloud2_pcd/
      context_image_for_pointcloud2.jpg

For more general information about 3D data formats, see 3D data formats.

Contextual images

The maximum amount of contextual images is twelve.

By default they will be positioned on the right side of the main image.

When you add contextual images to the set, small toolbar will appear on the top of the screen, with the following elements:

Element	Description
	Fit views. Click to restore the layout to its original appearance. If you’ve expanded any images in the layout, they will returned to their original size. This won’t affect the number of context images on the screen.
	Add new image. Click to add context image to the layout.
	Reload layout. Click to reload layout to the default view. Note, that this action can change the number of context images resetting them back to three.

Each context image has the following elements:

4 - Filter

There are some reasons to use the feature:

1. When you use a filter, objects that don’t match the filter will be hidden.
2. The fast navigation between frames which have an object of interest. Use the Left Arrow / Right Arrow keys for this purpose or customize the UI buttons by right-clicking and select switching by filter. If there are no objects which correspond to the filter, you will go to the previous / next frame which contains any annotated objects.

To apply filters you need to click on the button on the top panel.

Create a filter

It will open a window for filter input. Here you will find two buttons: Add rule and Add group.

Rules

The Add rule button adds a rule for objects display. A rule may use the following properties:

Supported properties for annotation

• Supported properties for projects list
• Supported properties for tasks list
• Supported properties for jobs list
• Supported properties for cloud storages list

Supported operators for properties

== - Equally; != - Not equal; > - More; >= - More or equal; < - Less; <= - Less or equal;

Any in; Not in - these operators allow you to set multiple values in one rule;

Is empty; is not empty – these operators don’t require to input a value.

Between; Not between – these operators allow you to choose a range between two values.

Like - this operator indicate that the property must contain a value.

Starts with; Ends with - filter by beginning or end.

Some properties support two types of values that you can choose:

You can add multiple rules, to do so click the add rule button and set another rule. Once you’ve set a new rule, you’ll be able to choose which operator they will be connected by: And or Or.

All subsequent rules will be joined by the chosen operator. Click Submit to apply the filter or if you want multiple rules to be connected by different operators, use groups.

Groups

To add a group, click the Add group button. Inside the group you can create rules or groups.

If there is more than one rule in the group, they can be connected by And or Or operators. The rule group will work as well as a separate rule outside the group and will be joined by an operator outside the group. You can create groups within other groups, to do so you need to click the add group button within the group.

You can move rules and groups. To move the rule or group, drag it by the button. To remove the rule or group, click on the Delete button.

If you activate the Not button, objects that don’t match the group will be filtered out. Click Submit to apply the filter. The Cancel button undoes the filter. The Clear filter button removes the filter.

Once applied filter automatically appears in Recent used list. Maximum length of the list is 10.

Sort and filter lists

On the projects, task list on the project page, tasks, jobs, and cloud storage pages, you can use sorting and filters.

Sort by

You can sort by the following parameters:

• Jobs list: ID, assignee, updated date, stage, state, task ID, project ID, task name, project name.
• Tasks list or tasks list on project page: ID, owner, status, assignee, updated date, subset, mode, dimension, project ID, name, project name.
• Projects list: ID, assignee, owner, status, name, updated date.
• Cloud storages list: ID, provider type, updated date, display name, resource, credentials, owner, description.

To apply sorting, drag the parameter to the top area above the horizontal bar. The parameters below the horizontal line will not be applied. By moving the parameters you can change the priority, first of all sorting will occur according to the parameters that are above.

Pressing the Sort button switches Ascending sort/Descending sort.

Quick filters

Quick Filters contain several frequently used filters:

• Assigned to me - show only those projects, tasks or jobs that are assigned to you.
• Owned by me - show only those projects or tasks that are owned by you.
• Not completed - show only those projects, tasks or jobs that have a status other than completed.
• AWS storages - show only AWS cloud storages
• Azure storages - show only Azure cloud storages
• Google cloud storages - show only Google cloud storages

Date and time selection

When creating a Last updated rule, you can select the date and time by using the selection window.

You can select the year and month using the arrows or by clicking on the year and month. To select a day, click on it in the calendar, To select the time, you can select the hours and minutes using the scrolling list. Or you can select the current date and time by clicking the Now button. To apply, click Ok.