Annotations

Annotation Layers

Annotations are saved as layers to increase flexibility. Meaning, one image may have many layers stacked on it by different users. Once the layer has been saved, Documents Online writes the drawing information to a transparent image along with the user's ID, creation date, a user-entered description and whether or not the annotation is permanent (redaction). Because the annotation is stored as a transparent overlay image the annotation cannot be edited after it has been saved. If any part of the annotation is deemed unacceptable, it must be deleted from the Document in the Admin Console.

Imaging Annotations

BusinessPlus' previous Document Management application used a third-party product to implement annotations. Those annotations were stored in the Wang Annotation format. This format stored the annotations in the metadata of a TIFF image, allowing the annotations to be edited after initial creation. However, that format was somewhat limiting and made viewing the images with the annotations outside of our software or specific Image Viewers problematic. While the new approach to annotations is more restrictive, it provides a much easier transition to other applications and image viewers should the need arise. Potential third-party integration for Documents Online is a recurring design factor. Note that clients upgrading from Imaging to Documents Online have the option to convert the Imaging annotations to the new format using a conversion utility. Without conversion, Imaging annotations are not visible in Documents Online.

Annotation vs. Redaction

Both Annotations and Redactions are essentially drawings applied to an image. However, in Documents Online the Annotations can be visually removed from the image by the end user and the Redactions cannot. The decision whether or not the edits to the image will be a redaction or not is done at the time the annotations are saved to the image.

Annotation Security

The ability to annotate a document is based on Role-Based security. Refer to the Security guide for more information about creating roles.