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Hi everyone,
โAn image is worth a thousand words.โ For that reason, images can be invaluable for conveying information. However, simply capturing a picture is sometimes not enough, especially in processes that require proof or documentation via images and where clearly relaying information is important. You need to guide the viewerโs attention to specific and important details.
Weโre excited to introduce to General Availability new tools to do just that, highlight and annotate images on Android devices. Now, your users can add precise highlights and markings to images, making visual communication clearer and more effective:
- Add geometric shapes: Draw rectangles, ellipses, and arrows to highlight key areas
- Include text: Add labels and descriptions directly onto the image
- Move and edit: Reposition shapes and text annotations with ease
- Zoom: Zoom in and out before and after adding drawings for added precision
Hereโs what this all looks like:
These highlights and markings could be useful in the following cases:
- Incident reporting: To document an incident on-site, you take a picture and highlight the exact location and cause of an incident on a photo, providing clear and actionable information for preventative measures
- Inventory checks: When people return borrowed equipment, you take a picture and highlight damaged areas making sure everyone is on the same page and accelerating the process.
You can set this up in your apps very quickly as follows:
- Turn these capabilities on by checking the โAllow drawing on imagesโ option in image columns configurations:
This lets all users add highlights and annotations on images.
Users on Android devices will see the new experience described and shown above.
Users on iOS devices and on non-mobile devices will see the existing free-form drawing experience (similar to what we currently have for columns of type โDrawingโ). - For columns of type โDrawingโ, Android users will also see the new capabilities mentioned above, but the experience for users on iOS and non-mobile devices remains the same.
Documentation is available at https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/10105830#allow-drawing-on-images.
This new feature has been in private preview for the last few months. Many thanks to the community members who opted in to try it early, gave us good feedback, and helped us make this feature better.
FAQ
What is the experience for non-Android users?
Browsers and iOS users will continue to use the existing free-form drawing tool.
Are there any plans for other platforms like iOS?
We are hoping to get improved tools on iOS as well, but have no timeline to share at this moment. There are no current plans for desktop.
