---
title: "FAQ"
description: "FAQ on LumiScan Annotation Web - desktop tool and files, browsers, HTTPS, several annotators, notes, undo, box suggestions, access, export and backups."
product: "LumiScan Annotation Web"
component: "lumiscan-annotation-web"
version: "2.4.0"
display_version: "2.4.0.0"
latest_version: false
language: "en"
url: "https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/faq.html"
---

# FAQ – LumiScan Annotation Web

Short answers to common questions about LumiScan Annotation Web. Each entry links to the page with the details.

> [!TIP]
> Each entry has a fixed anchor (for example `#faq-browsers`). Problems and error messages are described step by step in [Troubleshooting](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html).

## Requirements and setup

### Which browsers work, and do annotators need to install anything? {#faq-browsers}

- **Answer:** Current versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox. Annotators install nothing: they open the server’s address, for example `https://annotation-pc:8080/`, and sign in. Only the server is installed, on one computer in your network.
- **More:** [Requirements](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/requirements.html), [Installing the Server](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/installing-the-server.html)

### Do images leave the company network? {#faq-network}

- **Answer:** No. The server, the project folders or S3 buckets and the box suggestion service all run on your computers. Only the browsers of your users access them.
- **More:** [Description](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/description.html), [Before Installation](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/before-installation.html)

### Why does the browser warn that the connection is not private? {#faq-certificate-warning}

- **Answer:** The server speaks HTTPS by default. Without a certificate of its own, it creates a self-signed one at the first start, which browsers do not know yet.
  - Compare the SHA-256 fingerprint in the warning’s certificate details with the one the server log shows at the start (`HTTPS: SHA-256 fingerprint …`), then continue.
  - To get rid of the warning, import `tls/self-signed-cert.pem` from the server on the clients as a trusted certificate, or give the server a certificate of your company’s CA (`tls_cert`, `tls_key`).
  - Behind a reverse proxy that does TLS, the server stays on plain HTTP.
- **More:** [HTTPS](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/configuration.html#https)

## Desktop tool and files

### Can we keep using the desktop tool LumiScan Annotation? {#faq-desktop-tool}

- **Answer:** Yes. Both write the same files, so the desktop tool and the web app can work on the same project folder. The server takes changes made with the desktop tool into the history (it scans the folders every 60 seconds). If both change the same image at the same time, saving in the browser reports a conflict and offers **Load their version** or **Overwrite with mine**; the other version stays in the history.
- **More:** [Working at the Same Time](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/working-at-the-same-time.html), [Annotation Files](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/annotation-files.html)

### Does LumiScan Training read the files unchanged? {#faq-training-files}

- **Answer:** Yes. `<image>.csv` and `<image>.json` next to each image are byte-identical to those of the desktop tool. With several annotators per image, the reference annotation is written to exactly these files, so training reads only agreed or reviewed boxes.
- **More:** [Annotation Files](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/annotation-files.html), [Several Annotators per Image](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/several-annotators-per-image.html)

### Our cameras save JPEG or multi-page TIFF. Do we have to convert the images?

- **Answer:** No. PNG, JPEG, BMP and TIFF are read, every page of a multi-page TIFF is an image of its own. The export writes them as PNG for LumiScan Training.
- **More:** [Image Formats](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/image-formats.html)

## Annotating together

### Can several people annotate the same image? {#faq-same-image}

- **Answer:** Not at the same time in normal mode: whoever opens the image first holds the edit lock, the others see it read-only, with a banner that names who is editing. The lock ends 60 seconds after that person closes the image. With several annotators per image, every annotator has their own version, and they can work on the same image at the same time.
- **More:** [Working at the Same Time](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/working-at-the-same-time.html)

### Why can’t an annotator see the other annotators' boxes? {#faq-blind}

- **Answer:** With several annotators per image, annotation is blind on purpose: only independent annotations show where images are ambiguous. Reviewers see all versions side by side and decide.
- **More:** [Several Annotators per Image](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/several-annotators-per-image.html), [How To: Check Annotations with Two Annotators](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/how-tos/check-annotations-with-two-annotators.html)

### What happens when two annotators agree? {#faq-agreement}

- **Answer:** The server writes the mean of their boxes as the reference annotation. Training uses it, and nobody needs to review the image. Otherwise the image goes to review, sorted by the largest differences first.
- **More:** [Several Annotators per Image](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/several-annotators-per-image.html)

### Where do I find the notes left for me? {#faq-notes}

- **Answer:** **✎ n notes for you** in the top bar opens the next image with a note for you. Use **Reply** to answer and **Done** once you have fixed the image; done notes stay visible.
- **More:** [Revision Notes](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/revision-notes.html)

### How do I undo a save? {#faq-undo}

- **Answer:** Open **History**, click the earlier version, choose **Restore**, then **Save**. Saving adds a new version; the history is never rewritten.
- **More:** [History and Undo](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/history-and-undo.html)

## Box suggestions

### Why is **Suggest boxes** missing? {#faq-suggest-missing}

- **Answer:** The server has no box suggestion service configured (`pre_annotation` in the configuration), or you have no annotator role in the project.
- **More:** [Box Suggestion Service](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/box-suggestion-service.html), [Box Suggestions](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/box-suggestions.html)

### Do the suggestions get better over time? {#faq-suggestions-improve}

- **Answer:** Yes, if you retrain the network regularly with the corrected annotations and put the new network into the service. Every corrected suggestion is training data for the next network.
- **More:** [How To: Annotate Faster with Box Suggestions](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/how-tos/annotate-faster-with-box-suggestions.html)

### Which images should we annotate first? {#faq-which-images-first}

- **Answer:** The ones the network is least sure about. **Rate with network** above the image list rates the folder; **Network least sure first** sorts by it.
- **More:** [Rate with network](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/finding-and-sorting-images.html#rate-with-network)

### How do the images get into LumiScan Training? {#faq-training-split}

- **Answer:** **Export** in the top bar downloads a ready LumiScan Training project with training and validation images. Unpack it into the Training’s projects folder and open it there.
- **More:** [Exporting the Annotations](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/export-for-lumiscan-training.html)

### Can we use the annotations in other tools?

- **Answer:** Yes. **Export** also offers the COCO format, with or without the images. Standard tools draw each oriented box from its corners (`segmentation`); the exact box is in `obb`.
- **More:** [COCO](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/export-for-lumiscan-training.html#coco)

## Projects, access and backups

### How do I give a whole department access? {#faq-department-access}

- **Answer:** Add their directory group as a member of the project, or map the group to a role under **Groups → roles**. Members of the group sign in with their directory or single sign-on account and get the role of their group.
- **More:** [Groups](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/users-and-roles.html#groups), [Sign-in Methods](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/sign-in-methods.html)

### How do I send a project to HD Vision Systems? {#faq-send-project}

- **Answer:** **Projects** → **Export** gives one file with images, annotations, settings and notes. HD Vision Systems imports it, annotates and sends it back the same way.
- **More:** [Export and import](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/projects.html#exporting-and-importing)

### What is backed up, and how often? {#faq-backup}

- **Answer:** The server backs up the database (accounts, projects, history, notes), the configuration and the HTTPS certificate automatically, every 24 hours by default, and keeps the last 14 backups. The images and annotation files are backed up with your folders, or per project with the export.
- **More:** [Backup and Restore](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/backup-and-restore.html)

## Troubleshooting {#troubleshooting}

Problems and error messages are described step by step in [Troubleshooting](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html):

- [The page does not open](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-page-does-not-open)
- [A certificate warning in the browser](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-certificate-warning)
- [Sign-in fails](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-sign-in-fails)
- [Signed in but no access ("No role")](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-no-role)
- [Nobody can sign in as administrator](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-no-admin)
- [The project is not in the list](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-project-missing)
- [The image is read-only](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-read-only)
- ["Changed by someone else" when saving](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-changed-by-someone-else)
- [New images do not appear](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-new-images-missing)
- ["No suggestions" or an error after **Suggest boxes**](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-no-suggestions)
- [S3 project: access or signature errors](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-s3-errors)
- [The server does not start](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#ts-server-does-not-start)

## Licence and support

### Which licence do I need? {#faq-licence}

- **Answer:** This version of LumiScan Annotation Web runs without a LumiScan Key. For licensing questions, contact HD Vision Systems.
- **More:** [Requirements](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/requirements.html#licence)

### Where can I find more answers or get support? {#faq-support}

- **Answer:** See the site-wide [LumiScan FAQ](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/faq.html). Contact HD Vision Systems at [info@hdvisionsystems.com](mailto:info@hdvisionsystems.com) or +49 6221 67219-00, and send the server log and the version (`lumiscan-annotation-server --version`).
- **More:** [Logs](https://docs.hdvisionsystems.com/en/lumiscan-annotation-web/2.4.0/troubleshooting.html#logs)