Creating SVG for use as mx annotation overlays
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Revision as of 09:40, 9 July 2010 by Matt Bertone (Talk | contribs)
Before you can annotate images in mx, you need to draw the annotation in image illustration software. For our purposes we are using Inkscape (freeware available here: http://www.inkscape.org/) or Adobe Illustrator, but any such vector-based program with capabilities to save as an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) file should work.
- for either application, the original image must be saved on the user's hard drive (e.g. from a microscope-captured image or off of an image database such as MorphBank: http://www.morphbank.net/)
- it is a good idea to record the actual dimensions of the image (which can be found by right-clicking the file and viewing the 'Properties > Details') especially when using Illustrator (as Illustrator tends to re-size the image when imported)
- the basic idea will be that if you zero the image as a base layer in illustration software and draw an overlay highlighting the structure, the SVG code will be translated as that exact overlay in mx
Instructions for Inkscape:
- Open inkscape and go to 'File > Import' (Ctrl+I); select the image that you want to annotate
- Go to the 'Edit' menu and select 'Guides Around Page'; you should now see blue lines around the frame
- Under the 'View' menu, click 'Snap' - the blue grid icon and backwards blue "N"-like icon should be activated
- Click the 'Snap to guides' icon - the backwards blue "N"-like icon on the middle row
- Drag the image to the top left corner until it snaps into place
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