User Guide

ImageOverlayTool is a desktop application for overlaying and comparing multiple images with precision. It supports developers’ image verification work and design comparison tasks.

1. Installation

Download

Get it from Microsoft Store or download from GitHub Releases.

• Windows: .exe or .zip file
• Linux: .AppImage or .deb file

System Requirements

• Windows 10 or later / Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+)

2. Basic Operations

Loading Images

There are four ways to load images:

1. From file dialog: Select “Image Settings” from the menu (or press Ctrl+I), then click the “Add” button to select files.
2. Drag & Drop: Drag and drop image files onto the main window or image settings window.
3. Paste from clipboard: Press Ctrl+V to paste an image from the clipboard (added as a temporary cache image).
4. Launch from Command Line (CLI): You can pass command-line arguments from a terminal to load images immediately upon startup. For details, please refer to the Command Line (CLI) Integration Guide.

Manipulating Images

• Move: Drag an image to adjust its position.
• Transform: Drag the corner anchor points for perspective correction (free transform).
• Zoom: Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the entire stage.

Fit to Screen

Use “Fit to Screen” (Ctrl+F) from the menu to fit the selected image to the window size.

3. Image Settings Window

Open from the menu via “Image Settings” (Ctrl+I) or the FAB menu’s settings button.

Image List and Reordering

• A list of loaded images is displayed.
• Drag the grip handle (☰) to reorder layers by drag & drop.
• Click an image to select it; it will be highlighted on the main canvas.

Transparency

Adjust each image’s opacity (0–100%) with the slider. Making foreground images semi-transparent enables easy comparison with background images.

Scale

Adjust the display scale of images with the slider.

Rotation

Set the rotation angle of images using the slider or numeric input.

Reset Transform

Click “Reset Transform” to restore the image’s position, transformation, and rotation to their initial state.

Image Filters

Click the “Filter” button to open a popover with the following filters:

• Binarization: Converts the image to black and white. Adjust the threshold (0–255) with a slider.
• HSV Adjustment: Individually adjust Hue (H: -180 to +180), Saturation (S: -100 to +100), and Value/Brightness (V: -100 to +100) with sliders.

Visibility and Lock

• Visibility (👁 icon): Toggle image visibility. Hidden images remain in the layer list.
• Lock (🔒 icon): Locked images cannot be moved or transformed on the canvas, preventing accidental modifications.

Relinking Missing Images

When opening an existing project with missing image files, a warning is displayed in the list. Use the “Relink” button to select a replacement file.

Saving Clipboard Images

Images pasted from the clipboard (cache images) can be saved as regular files using the “Save As” button.

4. Project Management

Save and load your work as .iot project files.

Project files store image paths, placement, transformation state, filter settings, layer order, and more.

5. Image Export & Capture

Capture

Use “Capture” (Ctrl+Shift+C) from the menu to capture the desktop background and import it as an image.

Image Export

Use “Image Export” (Ctrl+E) from the menu to export the current canvas state as an image file. You can choose whether to include the background color in the export.

6. Dimension Lines

Open the dimension settings window from “Dimension Settings” (Ctrl+D) in the menu or from the FAB menu. Draw dimension lines on the canvas with resolution-factor-aware real dimension display.

7. View Customization

Background Color/Style

Change the canvas background color from “Background Style” (Ctrl+B) in the menu or the FAB menu’s background style button. You can choose any color from the color picker, and frequently used colors can be saved and managed as presets.

Always on Top

Toggle this from “Always on Top” in the menu or the FAB menu. Click-through mode can be controlled only while this mode is ON.

Click-Through Mode

Toggle via “Click-Through Mode” (Ctrl+Shift+M) in the menu or the FAB menu. It can be enabled only when “Always on Top” is ON. When using the global shortcut Ctrl+Shift+M, the app can enable “Always on Top” automatically and enter click-through mode in one step. When enabled, clicks on the canvas area pass through to the window below (the menu bar and FAB buttons remain interactive). A yellow indicator appears in the menu bar when active.

8. FAB Menu

A floating action button (+ button) is located in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Click it to expand the following shortcut buttons:

9. Settings

Open the settings dialog from “Settings” (Ctrl+,) in the menu.

• Language: Switch between Japanese and English.
• Log Level: Set the verbosity of application logs.
• Export/Import Settings: Export and import app settings as JSON files.

Window size, position, background color, preset colors, language, and other settings are automatically saved and restored on next launch.

10. Keyboard Shortcuts

11. Troubleshooting

Exporting Logs

If you encounter issues, export logs from “Export Logs” (Ctrl+Shift+L) in the menu and attach them to your support request.

Contact

If you have any questions, please post them to GitHub Issue or email yhmr.develop@gmail.com.