ELAN - Linguistic Annotator

version 3.9.0

This manual was last updated on 2010-05-06

The latest version can be downloaded from http://www.lat-mpi.eu/tools/elan/

Original Author: Birgit Hellwig

Updates for version 2 and higher: Dieter Van Uytvanck

Updates for version 3.2.0 and higher: Micha Hulsbosch


Table of Contents

Introduction
Notation Conventions
Recent changes to this manual
I. Getting started
1. Installation
2. Selecting a user interface language
3. Consulting the manual and website
II. USER'S GUIDE
4. ELAN documents
Basic Information: Media Files and Annotation Files
How to manage documents
Creating a new document
Set the author of a document
Synchronizing video files
Opening an existing document
Re-open recently accessed files
Switching between multiple files
Saving a document
Saving a selection as .eaf file
Merging transcriptions
Saving a template
Changing the links to media files
Creating automatic backups
Printing
Configuring the page settings (page setup)
Previewing the printed pages
Importing Transcriber files
Importing a CHAT file
Importing a document from Shoebox
Importing a document from Toolbox
Importing a document from Fieldworks Language Explorer (FLEx)
Importing CSV / Tab-delimited Text Files
Importing a Praat TextGrid file
Exporting a document to Shoebox
Exporting a document to Toolbox (UTF-8)
Exporting a document as a tab-delimited text file
Exporting Tiger XML
Exporting CHAT files
Exporting traditional transcript files
Exporting a Praat TextGrid file
Exporting an alphabetical list of words
Exporting a part of a clip
Exporting a SMIL clip
Exporting to QuickTime Text
Exporting to Subtitle Text
Exporting ELAN’s document view
Exporting to interlinear text
Exporting to HTML
Exporting to a Filmstrip Image
Exporting Multiple Files
Exporting tiers from multiple files
Opening a wave file in Praat
Exporting a selection to a wave file with Praat
Closing a file
Exiting ELAN
Screen display and navigation through a document
Basic Information: The ELAN window
The Video Viewer
The Annotation Density Viewer
The Waveform Viewer
The Subtitle Viewer
The Grid Viewer
The Text Viewer
The Metadata Viewer
The Timeline Viewer and the Interlinear Viewer
The Timeseries Viewer
The Menu options
The Media Player options
The color coding
Increasing/decreasing the size of the ELAN window
Switching Viewers on/off
Increasing/decreasing the size of Viewers
Switching tiers on/off
Rearranging the order of tiers
Sorting tiers
Changing the time zoom
Changing the vertical (intensity) zoom
Changing the font size
Font Browser
Editing preferences
Importing and exporting preferences
Editing shortcuts
How to navigate through a document
Accessing points in time
Going to the borders of a selection
Jumping step by step through a document
Viewing a list of annotations within one tier (Grid Viewer)
Jumping from annotation to annotation (Interlinear Viewer)
How to play a document
Playing a document
Playing a selection
Playing around a selection
Playing in slow motion
Changing playback rate and volume via the keyboard
5. Annotations
Basic Information: Annotations, tiers and linguistic types
Data categories
How to define a linguistic type
Adding new linguistic types
Creating linguistic types
Changing linguistic types
Deleting linguistic types
Importing linguistic types
Associating a linguistic type with a Data Category
How to define a tier and its attributes
Adding new tiers
Importing tiers
Creating a tier using the Audio Recognizer
Changing tier attributes
Deleting tiers
Merging tiers
Merging tier groups
Changing the parent of a tier
Controlled Vocabularies
The creation of a CV
Associating a CV entry with a Data Category
Importing an existing CV
Exporting a CV
Using CVs
Associating a linguistic type with Controlled Vocabularies
How to make a selection
Making a selection on an independent tier
Using the selection controls
Creating annotation units without gaps
Making and saving a selection on a referring tier
Deselecting a selection
Changing the boundaries of an existing selection
Shifting annotations
Activating and deactivating the Bulldozer mode or Shift mode
How to enter annotations
Entering annotations (into the Inline Edit box)
Entering annotations (into the Edit Annotation box)
Entering annotations before/after other annotations
Creating annotations from gaps
Creating regular annotations
Duplicating annotation values
Automatic labeling and numbering
On-the-fly segmentation
Modifying the content of annotations
Changing the case of Annotations
Deleting annotation values
Deleting annotations
Merging annotations
Entering annotations in different character sets
Associating an annotation with a Data Category
How to create annotation units on dependent tiers
How to filter and copy tiers
Filtering tiers
Copying tiers
How to detect annotation overlaps
Creating annotations from overlaps
Comparing annotators
Copy and paste annotations
Copy annotation
Paste annotation
Paste annotation here
Copy and paste annotation groups
Duplicate annotation
Synopsis
How to undo an action
Information about annotations
Annotations Spreadsheet
Annotations Statistics
Editing multiple files
6. Searching
Searching in a single annotation file
Advanced searching: an example
Displaying search results
The search history
Refining a search
Saving and loading queries
Exporting the search results
Search and replace
Jumping from the search results to annotations
Searching through multiple annotation files
Structured search through multiple annotation files
Substring Search Tab
Single Layer Search tab
Multiple Layer Search tab
Search and replace in multiple annotation files
7. Reference guide
The mouse options
Resizing Viewers
Rearranging the order of tiers
Make a tier the active tier
Accessing points in time
Playing a document
Making a selection
Adding/modifying an annotation
The shortcut keys
File options
Playing a document & making selections
Working with annotations
Copy and paste
Working with selections
Searching
General
Key concepts of ELAN
Annotation file (*.eaf)
Media file (*.mpg, *.mov, *.wav etc.)
Annotation
Tier
A. REGULAR EXPRESSION SEARCH
Character Classes
Line terminators
Groups and capturing
Comparison to Perl 5

List of Figures

4.1. File menu
4.2. The New Transcription dialog window: media
4.3. The New Transcription dialog window: templates
4.4. Synchronizing video files: Offset of player 1
4.5. Synchronizing video files: Offset of player 2
4.6. Shift all annotations
4.7. Open dialog window
4.8. Error message: no eaf file
4.9. Locate media file
4.10. Windows dropdown menu
4.11. Save selection as .eaf file
4.12. Merge transcriptions dialog window
4.13. Merge transcriptions dialog window
4.14. Open new transcription
4.15. Linked files dialog window
4.16. Automatic backup
4.17. Printing
4.18. Page setup
4.19. Print preview
4.20. Font sizes
4.21. Print preview after changes
4.22. Database type properties dialog window
4.23. Import Shoebox file with TYP file
4.24. Import Shoebox file without TYP file
4.25. Set Shoebox/Toolbox field markers
4.26. Store markers
4.27. Shoebox field markers and ELAN tiers
4.28. Multiple speakers in ELAN
4.29. Time Subdivision
4.30. Fixed time intervals
4.31. Time alignment
4.32. Tab-delimited Text
4.33. Import CSV / Tab-delimited Text
4.34. Tab-delimited text, different orientation
4.35. Import CSV / Tab-delimited Text
4.36. Shoebox Export dialog window
4.37. Name and directory of exported file
4.38. File Exists
4.39. ELAN file and exported file
4.40. Toolbox Export dialog window
4.41. ELAN file and exported Toolbox file
4.42. Export as tab-delimited text dialog window
4.43. Tab-delimited text
4.44. Export Chat file
4.45. Export Transcript Text
4.46. Export SMIL
4.47. Export as Subtitles text
4.48. Set Layout options
4.49. Maximum line width
4.50. An exported filmstrip image
4.51. Exporting to a filmstrip image
4.52. Exporting by selecting tiers
4.53. Exporting by selecting linguistic types
4.54. Opening a wave pattern in Praat
4.55. Save on exit
4.56. Exit behavior
4.57. The ELAN window
4.58. The video viewer
4.59. Video information dialog window
4.60. Annotation density viewer
4.61. The waveform viewer
4.62. Waveformviewer modes
4.63. The subtitle viewer
4.64. Display multiple tiers as a subtitle
4.65. The grid viewer
4.66. Multiple tiers in the grid viewer
4.67. Export from the grid viewer
4.68. The text viewer
4.69. The timeline viewer
4.70. The ELAN window with timeline/interlinear viewer
4.71. The tier name panel
4.72. The timeseries viewer
4.73. Timeseries Viewer popup menu
4.74. Timeseries Viewer: Configure tracks
4.75. Timeseries viewer in the main window
4.76. The media player options
4.77. Timecode formats
4.78. Color coding
4.79. Changing size of the timeline viewer
4.80. Changing the size of the tier label panel
4.81. Switching tiers on/off
4.82. Rearranging the order of tiers
4.83. Changing time zoom
4.84. Changing vertical (intensity) zoom
4.85. Changing the font size
4.86. Font Finder-Explorer
4.87. Edit preferences
4.88. Click the timecode box
4.89. Use the crosshair
4.90. Set Frame Length menu
4.91. The grid viewer
4.92. Structure of the grid viewer
4.93. Grid viewer with context menu
4.94. Grid viewer with selected annotations
4.95. Interlinear viewer
4.96. Play/pause button
4.97. Play around selection
4.98. Playback rate
5.1. Annotation basics
5.2. Tier dependencies
5.3. Tier dependencies in the timeline viewer
5.4. Examples of the four stereotypes
5.5. Local Data Category Selection
5.6. Remote DCR
5.7. Local Data Category Selection: Result
5.8. Add a linguistic type
5.9. Change a linguistic type
5.10. Delete a linguistic type
5.11. Linguistic type is used
5.12. Local Data Category Selection
5.13. Tier attributes
5.14. Import tiers
5.15. Audio Recognizer
5.16. Timeline context menu
5.17. Change tier attributes
5.18. Tier menu
5.19. Timeline context menu
5.20. Delete tier
5.21. Deleting tier confirmation
5.22. Dependent to independent tier
5.23. Edit controlled vocabulary
5.24. Local Data Category Selection
5.25. Controlled vocabulary already exists warning
5.26. Controlled vocabulary drop down box
5.27. Change linguistic type
5.28. Making a selection
5.29. Change selection
5.30. Crosshair on begin of selection
5.31. Selection mode
5.32. Back one second
5.33. Selection mode off
5.34. Annotation without gaps (steps 1-3)
5.35. Annotation without gaps (step 4)
5.36. Annotation without gaps (step 5)
5.37. A selection on referring tier
5.38. Select annotation unit
5.39. Region for modified annotation
5.40. Modify annotation time
5.41. Annotation length changed
5.42. Changing selection boundaries by mouse
5.43. Shift annotations
5.44. Normal mode
5.45. Bulldozer mode
5.46. Shift mode
5.47. Inline Edit box
5.48. Select character set
5.49. Edit annotation
5.50. Select language
5.51. Subdividing annotation
5.52. New annotation after
5.53. Regular Annotations
5.54. Label and Numbering annotations
5.55. Segmentation
5.56. Merge annotations
5.57. ipa-96 keyboard map
5.58. Arabic keyboard map
5.59. Roman typographic root
5.60. Non-letter symbols
5.61. Diacritics
5.62. Chinese characters
5.63. Keyman
5.64. Ukelele
5.65. Local Data Category Selection: Annotation
5.66. Tokenize tier
5.67. Tokenization
5.68. Source and destination tier
5.69. Filter tier
5.70. Create annotations from overlaps
5.71. Create annotations from overlaps
5.72. Create annotations from overlaps
5.73. Copying a annotation group
5.74. Synopsis copy and paste annotations
5.75. Annotations Statistics
5.76. Tiers statistics
5.77. Transcription Scrubber
5.78. Multiple File Editor
6.1. Search dialog
6.2. Find with constraints
6.3. Find sequences
6.4. Advanced searching example
6.5. Search results
6.6. Search history
6.7. Refining a search
6.8. Saving a query
6.9. Exported search results
6.10. Export search results
6.11. Search and replace
6.12. From search results to annotations
6.13. Searching through multiple annotation files
6.14. Searching through multiple annotation files: result
6.15. Search eaf files
6.16. Substring Search Results
6.17. Hit in transcription
6.18. Frequency View
6.19. Single Layer Search
6.20. Minimal Duration
6.21. Multiple Layer query

List of Tables

4.1. Media Controls
4.2. Selection Controls
4.3. Annotation Controls
4.4. Selection Mode
4.5. Sort tier options
5.1. Nested tier dependencies
5.2. Linguistic type stereotypes
5.3. Change parent of tier wizard
5.4. Diacritics
6.1. Annotation example
A.1. Characters
A.2. Character classes
A.3. Predefined character classes
A.4. POSIX character classes (US-ASCII only)
A.5. Classes for Unicode blocks and categories
A.6. Boundary matchers
A.7. Greedy quantifiers
A.8. Reluctant quantifiers
A.9. Possessive quantifiers
A.10. Logical operators
A.11. Back references
A.12. Quotation
A.13. Special constructs (non-capturing)