> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveinspect.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Photos, Videos and Annotations in the Hive Inspect Mobile App > Take photos and videos in the Hive Inspect mobile app, add them from your library, and annotate them: arrows, circles, boxes, lines, text, colors, crop, rotate, brightness and location tags. In the mobile app: the report editor → open a comment → the camera, video and library buttons. Every comment in the report editor can hold photos and videos. Take them with the Hive camera or add them from your phone's library, then draw on them to point out what matters. ## Add photos and videos to a comment Open the comment. The six buttons under its name are: | Button | What it does | | - | - | | **Camera** | Opens the Hive camera for photos. You can take several in a row. | | **Video camera** | Opens the Hive camera for video. | | **Location pin** | Adds location tags to the comment, such as "Basement" or "Rear". | | **Photo library** | Picks photos from your phone, up to 150 at a time. | | **Video library** | Picks videos from your phone. Each must be under 6 minutes. | | **Flag** | Flags the comment for attention. | Press and hold any of them to see its name. The **camera** and **library** buttons on a folded comment card do the same as the first and fourth. ![The open defect Downspouts Drain Near House: the camera button on its card shows 2, then six media buttons (camera, video camera, location pin, photo library, video library, flag), two photo thumbnails each with a red x, and the Description](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/t9Q1_TNVwS8aDUOV/images/how-tos/mobile-photos-strip.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=t9Q1_TNVwS8aDUOV\&q=85\&s=98d87da7a254b634c74f9bba4901e955) A comment holds up to **150 photos** and **10 videos**. Adding one turns the comment on. Under the buttons, each photo and video shows as a thumbnail: * **Tap a photo** to open it for annotating. * **Tap a video** to play it. You can add a caption and location tags, then tap **Save**. * **Press and drag** a thumbnail to change the order. The report uses the same order. * **Tap the red x** to remove one. The app asks "Remove Media: Are you sure you want to remove this item?" * A thumbnail can show **Pending** (waiting to upload), **Syncing...** or **Processing…** (a video being prepared). Photos upload when the report syncs. ## The Hive camera The camera opens full screen: | Control | What it does | | - | - | | **Shutter** (big white button) | Takes a photo. It fires as soon as your finger touches it. | | **Volume buttons** | Take a photo too, so you can shoot with one hand or with gloves on. | | **0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x** | Switch lenses. Only the lenses your phone has are shown. Drag the slider or pinch for anything in between, up to 10x on phones that support it. | | **Tap the screen** | Focuses on that spot. | | **Flash** | Turns the flash on or off. | | **Flashlight** (top) | Keeps the light on, for dark crawlspaces and attics. | | **Flip** (top) | Switches to the front camera. | | **Aspect ratio** | Cycles 4:3, 16:9, 1:1, 3:4 and 9:16. | | **Counter** | How many photos you've taken this time. | | **Done** (tick) | Finishes and adds the photos to the comment. | | **X** (top) | Leaves. If you have photos you haven't added, the app asks "Discard Photos?" | On a tablet the controls sit in a column on the right, and you can drag a second, floating shutter button wherever is easiest to reach. Your camera defaults (aspect ratio, flash, grid, locking the orientation to portrait or landscape, a date and time stamp on each photo, shutter sound and **Voice Shutter**) are in **My Profile → Camera Settings**. With **Voice Shutter** on, say "capture", "shoot" or "cheese" to take a photo; tap the microphone in the camera to pause it. ### After you tap Done 1. If your company has **Show Multi-Image Preview** on, you see your photos first. Remove any you don't want, then tap **Confirm**, or **Back to Camera** to take more. 2. If your company asks for annotations on this kind of comment, each photo opens for annotating. Defects ask by default; Information and Limitations don't. Tap **Skip All** to skip. 3. The photos are added to the comment. These options are in **My Profile → Annotation Settings** and apply to your whole company. See [Photo and annotation settings](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/mobile-profile-and-settings.md). > [!NOTE] > > Photos you take with the Hive camera are also saved to your phone's photo library, in an album named after the property address, so you have a backup until they sync. You can turn this off in **My Profile → Gallery Save Settings**, but it's safer to leave it on. ## Annotate a photo Tap a photo's thumbnail. The annotation screen opens: ![The annotation screen, titled Edit 1 of 2, with an X button and a greyed-out Clear button. The photo of a downspout fills the middle, with left and right arrow buttons and a blue tick button. Below it the caption Upper downspout empties onto the lower roof, and two rows of tools: brightness, rotate left, rotate right, crop and loupe; then arrow, circle, box (selected), line, Aa text, a blue colour swatch and a location pin](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-screen.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=f698e0b27656cd5292456377fa4d6100) ### The drawing tools | Tool | What it draws | | - | - | | **Arrow** | An arrow pointing at a spot. Drag from where the arrow starts to where it points. A magnifier helps you place the tip. | | **Circle** | An oval around an area. | | **Box** | A rectangle around an area. | | **Line** | A straight line. | | **Aa** (text) | A text label. Tap the photo, type up to 100 characters and tap **Add Text**. | | **Loupe** (magnifying glass) | A zoomed-in bubble of part of the photo, round or square, to show a small detail. | ![The same photo with a blue box drawn around the end of the downspout. The Clear button is now active](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-box.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=f94ad858f448940377ea8becca6a7971) The tool you start with, and the starting colour, come from your company's **Annotation Settings**. Without a default colour, each comment type gets its own: green for Information, mustard for Limitations, and blue, orange or red for each defect category. ![The Add Text Annotation window: a text box with Extend downspout, 84 characters remaining, a Preview showing Extend downspout in blue, and Cancel and Add Text buttons, above the keyboard](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-text.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=0a959b27411557c6971996c65ca8500e) ### Change or delete an annotation Tap an annotation to select it. Drag it to move it, use the handles to resize or turn it, or tap the red trash button to delete it. Double-press a text label to change its text. **Clear** at the top removes every annotation on the photo, after you confirm. ![The photo with a blue box around the downspout and the selected text label Extend downspout, showing a red trash button, a green rotate handle, an orange resize handle and a blue move handle](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-selected.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=9ade0d90a9dd868c10d5a6d2f2f85863) ### Colour Tap the coloured square to pick a colour: green, mustard yellow, blue, orange, red, yellow, white or black. The palette button below them opens **Custom Color**, where you type any colour code, such as #1E40AF. ![The Select Annotation Color window with eight colour circles (green, mustard, blue with a tick, orange, red, yellow, white and black), a palette button for a custom colour, and the text Selected: Blue](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-colors.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=e5f16f02bfa5d57e1a3367605593f3d4) ### Crop, rotate and brightness | Tool | What it does | | - | - | | **Crop** | Drag the corners, or pick **Free**, **1:1**, **4:3** or **16:9**, then tap **Apply**. | | **Rotate left / right** | Turns the photo 90 degrees. | | **Brightness** (sun) | Drag the slider to lighten or darken the photo, then tap **Apply**. **Reset** puts it back. | ![The crop view: the photo with a white crop frame, corner handles and grid lines, the caption below, preset buttons Free (selected), 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9, and Cancel and Apply buttons](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-crop.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=e078bb0ade2a9c9b089b0d90050c8855) ![The brightness panel under the annotated photo: a slider from a moon icon, 0%, and Reset and Apply buttons](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-brightness.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=ed61851f0e29e5621fd9160a3d6babb5) > [!WARNING] > > Rotating or cropping removes the arrows, shapes and text on the photo. The app warns you first. Location tags are kept. Crop and rotate first, then annotate. ### Caption and location tags * Type a **caption** in the box under the photo. It shows under the photo in the report. * Tap the **location pin** to tag where the photo was taken. Tap tags to add them, or type your own in **Current Tags**, then tap **Done**. The tags show on the photo. ![The Select Location Tags screen: Current Tags (editable) reads Basement Rear, with a Clear button. Three columns of tags: Group 1 (Basement, Crawlspace, 1st Floor, 2nd Floor, Attic, Garage), Group 2 (Front, Rear, Left Side, Right Side, North, South, East, West) and Group 3 (Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room, Primary Bedroom, Bedroom, Bathroom, Laundry, Hallway). Cancel and Done buttons at the bottom](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/t9Q1_TNVwS8aDUOV/images/how-tos/mobile-location-tags.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=t9Q1_TNVwS8aDUOV\&q=85\&s=cefd91da011de24da9c716f1aa8bec66) Your company sets the tag lists in **My Profile → Location Tags** or on the dashboard. The same screen opens from the **location pin** on a comment, to tag the whole comment. ### Save or leave * Tap the blue **tick** to save the photo with your annotations. * The left and right arrows move to the other photos on the comment. Your changes to the current photo are kept when you move. * **X** leaves. If you changed something, the app asks "Unsaved Changes: Save changes before closing?" Tap **Save & Close** or **Discard**. ![The Unsaved Changes message over the annotated photo: Save changes before closing? Buttons Discard and Save & Close](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/OI8u85scyIh0POXm/images/how-tos/mobile-annotate-unsaved.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=OI8u85scyIh0POXm\&q=85\&s=5fc590dff7cf867f7fcc03576b898105) When you annotate photos straight after taking them, the title reads **Annotate 1 of 3** and **Skip All** skips the rest. Closing there asks "Cancel Annotation: Discard all annotations and return?" The original photo is kept. Annotations are drawn on top and can be changed later, in the app or on the dashboard. Thumbnails in the app show a small copy of the annotations, so you can see at a glance which photos are marked up. ## Common questions > **Why does the annotation screen open after every photo?** > > Your company asks for annotations on that kind of comment. Defects ask by default. Change it in **My Profile → Annotation Settings** (it applies to everyone in your company), or tap **Skip All**. > **How do I change the starting tool or colour?** > > In **My Profile → Annotation Settings**: **Default Shape** and **Default Annotation Color**. They apply to your whole company. > **My arrows disappeared after I rotated the photo** > > Rotating or cropping removes annotations. Rotate and crop first, then draw. > **Are my photos safe if my phone dies before I sync?** > > The app saves them on the phone straight away, and the Hive camera also saves a copy to your photo library unless you turned **Save Captured Photos** off. Sync as soon as you have signal. See [Syncing and offline use](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/syncing-and-offline.md). ## Where to go next * [Comments on mobile](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/mobile-comments.md): every part of a comment card. * [CYA photos](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/mobile-cya-photos.md): overview photos that aren't tied to a comment. * [Add photos and videos](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/add-photos-and-videos.md): a quick walkthrough, and how to move a photo to another comment on the dashboard. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.