Annotate a photo or video

Annotations let you mark up a photo or video in the field so the defect is obvious later — a crack, a missing bolt, a measurement on the wall.

Annotation is mobile only. On the web, saved annotations show on the media preview but cannot be edited.

Open the annotation editor

• Right after capture, tap Annotate on the review action bar, or
• Open a saved photo or video in the app and tap Edit annotations.

Photo tools

On the Annotate screen the primary toolbar is:

• Select — tap an existing shape to move it, edit it, or delete it.
• Pen — freehand draw (drag with your finger).
• Line — tap once for each vertex. The app draws a straight segment between taps (not freehand). Keep tapping to add more points. Use Finish line when you have at least two points, or Cancel line to discard. With three or more points, tap near the first point to close a shape.
• Arrow — tap the start, then tap (or drag to) the end. The arrow is a straight callout between those two points.
• More — opens Rectangle and Ellipse (drag to size), plus Back to return to the primary tools.

Colors and stroke

Pick a color (black, red, blue, or yellow) and a stroke width (2 px, 3 px, or 5 px). Use Undo for the last change, or Clear to remove every annotation on the photo (you will be asked to confirm).

Text and Measure (after a shape)

These are not primary toolbar tools. They appear as chips when a line or shape supports them:

• Text — add a label on the drawing (available while placing a line with two or more points, or after Select on a shape).
• Measure — only for a two-point Line or Arrow. The first time, the app asks you to Set measurement scale: draw a reference length on something you know, enter the Known length and a Unit (mm, cm, m, in, ft). After that, Measure turns that line or arrow into a real-world length label.

Annotate a video

Video annotation is different from photos:

• The only drawing tool is Pen.
• You must pause the video to draw. While it is playing you will see Pause the video to annotate.
• Strokes are timed to the current moment and show again during playback for a short segment.
• Use playback speed (0.25x through 2x, including 0.5x) and the scrubber to land on the right frame before you draw.

Reports / PDFs: Photo annotations are baked into the image file, so they appear wherever that photo is used (including formal reports). Video annotations are an overlay for playback only — they do not appear in reports or PDFs.

Save or discard

Tap Done (check) to keep your work. Photos bake the drawing into the image; videos keep an annotation overlay (the video file itself is not re-encoded).

If you go back with unsaved changes, the app asks Discard unsaved changes? before leaving.

Need to capture first? See Capture photos and videos. Related: Add a description to a photo.