METHOD OF ANNOTATING A PRIMARY IMAGE WITH AN IMAGE AND FOR TRANSMITTING THE ANNOTATED PRIMARY IMAGE

A method of superimposing a secondary, graphical image on a primary image for annotating the primary image is provided. The secondary image is opened to access underlying information attached thereto, referred to as an annotation. The annotation communicates information that preferably pertains to the primary image. Annotations can be sorted and ordered by criteria including date and author. Preferably, position, shape, form, color, and animation provide information about the secondary image. The secondary image is displayed over the primary image as either a mark or glyph. The glyph is a pictographic icon that conveys information by its position on the primary image and its type. The mark is a simple glyph. A glyph or mark is opened by users enabling the users to annotate the primary image with their annotations. A plurality of marks and glyphs displayed on the primary image are initialized for viewing and inputting annotations and terminated for hiding the annotations, so that the annotations do not interfere with viewing the image. The invention enables users to either sequentially, or in parallel, review and annotate the primary image.