Screen Annotation Tool for Unix Systems

BRENDAN ARMSTRONG, BRENNAN S. RINGEL, and BROOKE L. BROWN

Aboard naval vessels, salient information on computer screens is still generally annotated using a grease pen and sheet of plexiglass. This method of annotation results in impermanent data and a significant amount of effort required to deliver annotated information to involved parties. Our project serves as a digital alternative to these physical annotation techniques for CentOS 7 systems. The program makes use of JavaFX to allow the user to annotate their screen with text, shapes, and freehand drawings using both touch and cursor-based controls. Screenshots or video of the process can be saved and shared, as well as replayable demos which can be run by another user of the program. JNA was also used to integrate with the X11 system, allowing users to switch between annotating their entire screen, a portion of their screen, and snapping the annotation tool to specific windows on CentOS 7 and other compatible Unix operating systems.