Ink Masks
An ink mask is a map of where the ink is on a manuscript image, made by a machine-learning model. For every pixel it records how likely that pixel is to be ink. The Editor uses it for one thing: Fit to ink, which turns a rough polygon into an outline traced around the sign.
The mask is a working aid only. It is not part of the edition, and the Viewer never shows it.
How a mask is made
Uploading an image queues a mask for it automatically. Generation runs in the background and usually takes a few minutes; you can carry on working meanwhile, and draw by hand until it is ready.
Images uploaded before masks existed, and images whose mask failed, are generated by an administrator from the Ink masks dialog.
Deleting an image deletes its mask with it.
What contributors see
The Outline section at the top of the akṣara editor reflects the state of the current image's mask:
| Mask | The Outline section shows |
|---|---|
| None | Nothing — the section is hidden |
| Queued | Ink mask is queued for generation. Check back in a few minutes. |
| Processing | Ink mask is being generated. Check back in a few minutes. |
| Failed | Ink mask generation failed. Ask an admin to regenerate it. |
| Ready | Fit to ink, Revert, and Fit settings |
The state is checked each time the akṣara editor opens, so to see whether a queued mask has finished, close the editor and open it again.
Generating masks (administrators)
Administrators only
The wrench in the header appears only for administrator accounts.
The wrench → Ink masks opens a table of every image, with its mask state.
The filter at the top narrows the list:
| Filter | Shows images |
|---|---|
| Missing | With no mask at all — the default |
| Failed | Whose last generation failed |
| In progress | Queued or processing |
| All | Every image |
Each row gives the Text, the Image name, its pixel Size, the Mask state, the Model that made the mask, when it was last Updated, and the Error for a failed one. Hover a truncated model or error to read it in full.
To generate, tick the images — the selection is kept as you page through the list, up to 100 images per request — and press Generate. A notice reports how many were queued, how many were already in progress, and any that could not be queued.
If any selected image already has a ready mask, the button reads Regenerate and asks for confirmation first: Fit to ink is unavailable for those images until their new mask is ready.
The table does not update by itself. Use the refresh button beside Generate to check on masks in progress.