How to make a selection

In order to make an annotation, you first have to select a time interval. ELAN supports the following options:

Making a selection on an independent tier

There are several ways to make a selection. If you wish to only use the mouse, do the following:

  1. Go either to the Waveform or the Timeline Viewer.
  2. Go with the mouse to the beginning of the time interval you want to select.
  3. Click the mouse button, keep it clicked and drag it to the endpoint of the time interval you want to select.

Figure 2.54. Making a selection

Making a selection


The video image will be continuously updated. The selected part is highlighted in light blue color. You can use the shortcut SHIFT+A to put the selection in the center of the Timeline Viewer.

The selection can be extended beyond the size of the current window. The display in all Viewers will automatically move along.

You can change the beginning and endpoints of the selection. Choose one of the following options:

  1. Either use the mouse: press the SHIFT key, keep it pressed and click with the mouse to the left/right of the selected part. The selection will be extended to include this point.
  2. Or enable the Selection Mode by selecting the Selection Mode checkbox. When selection mode is enabled, you can use the media controls to edit the selected part. When moving the crosshair in Selection Mode, the current selection is narrowed or broadened, depending on the direction the crosshair is moved to. For a complete overview of the use of the media controls, see The Media Player options.

Figure 2.55. Change selection

Change selection


If there is not already a selection, there is another way to make a selection. First put the cross hair at a position where you want the beginning or the end of the selection to be. Then press the SHIFT key and keep it pressed while clicking with the mouse at the position where you want the other end of the selection to be. A selection between the cross hair and the click position is created.

Selecting multiple annotations

It is also possible to select an annotation as a whole by clicking on the annotation unit. The annotation will then be selected. This way, it's also possible to make a selection spanning multiple independent annotations. To do so, press and hold crtl+alt (windows) or alt (osx) and click on the annotations you want to select. The selection will expand accordingly. To remove an annotation from the selection, just click it again and it will be deselected.

Using the selection controls

The selection controls allow you to navigate through or to change the active selection. For their use, see again The Media Player options.

Example: extending the begin of a selection with one second

Assume that you have made a selection and that you want to add a time interval of 1 second to the begin of it. In that case you should perform the following actions:

  1. Move the crosshair to the begin of the active selection

    Figure 2.56. Crosshair on begin of selection

    Crosshair on begin of selection


  2. Enable Selection Mode

    Figure 2.57. Selection mode

    Selection mode


  3. Go back one second by clicking the corresponding button from the media controls.

    Figure 2.58. Back one second

    Back one second


  4. Turn off the selection mode and enter an annotation for the selection.

    Figure 2.59. Selection mode off

    Selection mode off


Creating annotation units without gaps

It is possible to start a new selection immediately after a previous selection has ended, i.e., the endpoint of one selection will be taken as the starting point for the next selection. Do the following:

  1. Make a selection on an independent tier (see Making a selection on an independent tier).
  2. Double-click on the selection.
  3. Optionally enter the content of the annotation unit. Press the keys CTRL+ENTER. The selection is saved.

    Figure 2.60. Annotation without gaps (steps 1-3)

    Annotation without gaps (steps 1-3)


  4. Press the keys ALT+SHIFT+C (or ALT+C) or click on the clear selection icon to deselect the selection (see Deselecting a selection for deselecting a selection).

    Figure 2.61. Annotation without gaps (step 4)

    Annotation without gaps (step 4)

  5. Enable the selection mode. Then, play the video or sound file until the playback stops. The new selection extends from the endpoint of the previous selection until the point when the playback was stopped.

    Repeat steps 2 and 3 to save the new selection.

    Repeat steps 3 to 5 to add another selection.

    Figure 2.62. Annotation without gaps (step 5)

    Annotation without gaps (step 5)

Making and saving a selection on a referring tier

A referring tier inherits all its time alignments from its parent tier. To make and save a selection on a referring tier, do the following:

  1. Select and save a time interval on the corresponding parent tier (see Making a selection on an independent tier and How to enter and edit annotations).
  2. Double-click somewhere within the time interval of the parent annotation at about the height of the referring tier. The Inline Edit box appears.

    Figure 2.63. A selection on referring tier

    A selection on referring tier


  3. Do one of the following:
    1. Enter an annotation (see How to enter and edit annotations), and then press the keys CTRL+ENTER to save the selection.
    2. Press the keys CTRL+ENTER (without entering an annotation) to save the selection.

Deselecting a selection

To deselect a selection, do one of the following:

  1. Use the Deselection icon from the selection controls:
  2. Use the shortcut key ALT+SHIFT+C or ALT+C.
  3. Use the shortcut key CTRL+SHIFT+Z. This shortcut also cancels selecting mode (see Making a selection on an independent tier).

Note

Whenever you select another time interval, the old selection is automatically deselected, unless you enabled Selection Mode.

Changing the boundaries of an existing selection and annotation

By selection

In the timeline viewer, go through these steps:

  1. Click on an annotation unit to select it.

    Figure 2.64. Select annotation unit

    Select annotation unit


  2. Select the region where you want the modified annotation to be placed.

    Figure 2.65. Region for modified annotation

    Region for modified annotation


  3. Right click on the original annotation and select Modify annotation time or press CTRL+ENTER

    Figure 2.66. Modify annotation time

    Modify annotation time


  4. Now the length of the annotation becomes that of the selection from the second step.

    Figure 2.67. Annotation length changed

    Annotation length changed


By dragging with the mouse

If you press ALT, the active annotation is indicated in green and becomes adjustable with the mouse:

  • drag in the middle of the annotation and drop it somewhere else to move it
  • drag and drop the borders to change the boundaries of the annotation unit

Figure 2.68. Changing selection boundaries with the mouse

Changing selection boundaries with the mouse


Note

  • Only the time-alignment of annotations on the following types of tiers can be modified: annotations on independent tiers, and annotations on referring tiers that fall under the Time Subdivision stereotype (but note that in the latter case, the alignment cannot be extended beyond the boundaries of its parent annotation, see Basic Information: Annotations, tiers and tier types).
  • To modify the time alignment of annotations on all other tiers, change the time alignment on the corresponding parent tier (following the steps above). The time alignment on all referring tiers is automatically updated. The annotations on the referring tier that are no longer within the borders of the annotation on the parent tier are discarded. If you want to shift the annotations on a referring tier in the same way as the annotation on the parent, use the methods described in Shifting annotations.
  • If two annotations are adjacent you can snap them by specifying the maximum close-value in ms.

By entering a new begin and/or end time

The precise begin and end time of an annotation can be entered in the hh:mm:ss:ms format in a window that can be invoked via the Annotation > Modify Annotation Time... menu or the corresponding keyboard shortcut (by default CTRL+SHIFT+M).

Figure 2.69. Modify annotation boundaries by typing

Modify annotation boundaries by typing


By entering a number of milliseconds for shifting

Annotations can be shifted to the left or the right by a number of milliseconds. See Shifting annotations.

Changing selection boundaries with the shortcut keys

Use the shortcut key CTRL+J and CTRL+U to change the left boundary of a selection to the left and to the right, respectively. To change the right boundary use the shortcut key CTRL+SHIFT+J and CTRL+SHIFT+U.

Shifting annotations

To shift a specific annotation, go through these steps in the timeline viewer:

  1. Click on an annotation unit to select it.
  2. Right click the annotation and select Shift Active Annotation or press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.
  3. Enter a number of ms/ss.ms/mm:ss.ms/hh:mm:ss.ms (between -510 ms and 1080 ms) by which the annotation should shifted. If the number is greater that zero, the annotation is shifted to the right. If it is less that zero, is shifted to the left.

    Figure 2.70. Shift annotations

    Shift annotations


  4. Click on OK.

Note

The number of milliseconds you can enter is limited by the end of the annotation to the left and the begin of the annotation to the right, or by the begin or end of the timescale.

It is also possible to shift more than one annotations at once. To do so, first decide which annotations you would like to shift:

  • The annotations within a selection. In this case, select the annotations to shift.
  • The annotations to the left or to the right of a point on the timeline. In this case, place the crosshair on that point.

Then click Annotation in the main menu and select Shift >. This sub menu has the following options:

  • Active Annotation: same as described above.
  • Annotations on the Active Tier in the Selected Time Interval.
  • Annotations on the Active Tier, Left of Crosshair.
  • Annotations on the Active Tier, Right of Crosshair.
  • Annotations on All Tiers, Left of Crosshair.
  • Annotations on All Tiers, Right of Crosshair.

All these options result in a window as in Figure 2.70, “Shift annotations”. Enter a number of millisecond and click OK. All annotations referred to in the Annotation > Shift > menu option are now shifted by the number of millisecond you entered.

A final option is to shift all annotations on all tiers. To do so, click Annotation > Shift All Annotations.

Activating and deactivating the Bulldozer mode or Shift mode

ELAN supports three editing modes: Overwrite mode, Bulldozer mode and Shift mode. These modes are somehow comparable to the Overwrite and Insert modes that are supported by many text editor programs such as, e.g., Microsoft Word.

  • Normal (i.e. overwrite) mode: if you extend a selection into a time interval that is already occupied by an annotation, that annotation is (partly or wholly) overwritten.

    Figure 2.71. Normal mode

    Normal mode


  • Bulldozer mode: if you extend a selection into a time interval that is already occupied by an annotation, that annotation is moved to the right/left. Think about it as a bulldozer which pulls all annotations together, discarding the spaces in between.

    Figure 2.72. Bulldozer mode

    Bulldozer mode


  • Shift Mode: like Bulldozer Mode, but the spaces between annotations are preserved too. This resembles most to the insert mode of text editors (see also Synchronizing video files).

    Figure 2.73. Shift mode

    Shift mode


The following conventions apply for the Bulldozer mode:

  • Annotations are moved to the right if you extend your selection from left to right. They are moved to the left if you extend your selection from right to left.
  • If a moved annotation extends into the time-interval of yet another annotation, that other annotation is moved accordingly. If it extends into empty space, no other annotations are affected.

Note

Moving annotations may thus affect the whole document, and may thereby destroy previous time alignments. Please make sure that the Bulldozer Mode is not accidentally switched on.

The Overwrite mode is the default mode. To switch to another mode, do the following:

  1. Click on Options > Propagate Time Changes.
  2. Click on Normal Mode, Bulldozer Mode or Shift Mode. A check mark appears next to it. To switch back to the Overwrite mode, repeat steps 1 and 2 above. The check mark disappears.