Editing tools

Halo can fix a picture or a video before it saves it. Start dragging it, tap Shift, then tap Alt (⌥ Option on a Mac) for the tools ring, and let go over a tool. A small window opens right on the page. Everything happens in your browser: nothing is uploaded to edit it. Save applies your changes to the full-size original, not the smaller copy the page shows, and the file lands in Downloads/Halo.

Pictures

Tool	What it does
Crop	Free, Original, 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 or 9:16. Drag the corners or edges, move the box, or drag a new one on the picture. Type an exact size in pixels. Turn and flip.
Edit	Brightness, contrast, fade, saturation, vibrance and warmth. Hold Original to compare.
Redact	Drag over what to hide, as solid colour or blur (pixelated first, so it can’t be reversed). Find text marks every line of text for you.
Annotate	Arrows, pen, text, boxes, circles, highlights and numbered steps, in five colours and three sizes.
Background	Sets the picture on a colour or gradient, with padding, round corners and a shadow, at Fit, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9. On a photo, choose the cut-out subject (Halo removes the background on your computer) or the whole picture. Saved as PNG.
Compress	JPG or WebP, a quality and a size. Shows exactly what the file will weigh before you save.

Crop
Annotate
Redact
Background

The Crop window: a puppy photo with a 4:5 crop box, the ratios, and the size in pixels

Changing what you’ve drawn

In Redact, click a box to select it. In Annotate, pick Select (V) first, then click a mark. Once something is selected:

drag it to move it, or drag its handles to resize it (an arrow has one at each end);
click a colour, a size, or Solid / Blur to change it;
press ⌫ (Delete), or click the bin, to remove it;
use the arrow keys to nudge it by a pixel, or by 10 with Shift.

Double-click a piece of text to change it. Something you’ve just drawn is already selected, so you can adjust it straight away.

Video

Video windows have their own player. The video on the page pauses while one is open, and goes back to where it was when you close it.

Tool	What it does
Trim	Drag the ends on the filmstrip, or type the times. Save that part as an MP4, a GIF (up to 30 seconds) or just the sound. Up to 10 minutes. Click inside the selection to move the playhead; drag it to move the whole selection.
Split	Play to a moment and press Split here. Save the pieces as separate clips, or as one video. Double-click a piece to leave it out.
Speed	0.25× to 4×. Voices keep their natural pitch, or leave the sound out.
Compress	The original height, 720p or 480p, and Best, Balanced or Smallest. Halo compresses a few seconds to show you about how big the file will be.

The Trim window: the video, a filmstrip with the part to keep selected, start and end times, and MP4, GIF or Audio only

The video tools save H.264 MP4s, which play everywhere (QuickTime included), starting exactly where you set them. The sound is copied as it is unless the speed changes. Mute (in the Save ring, no window) saves the video without its sound, with the picture untouched.

In every window


Undo / redo	The arrows at the bottom left. ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z on a Mac; Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y on Windows.
Bigger window	The button at the top right makes the window as big as your screen allows. Click it again to go back.
Copy	In Redact and Annotate: puts the full-size result on the clipboard, ready to paste into a chat or an email. The window stays open.
Save	Or press Enter.
Esc	One step at a time: it cancels the text you’re typing, then lets go of what’s selected, then closes the window. If you’ve changed something and not saved it, Halo asks before closing.

Keys in Annotate

Key	Tool
V	Select
A	Arrow
P	Pen
T	Text
B	Box
O	Circle
H	Highlight
N	Number

Uses

Opening a window is free. Saving or copying from it counts as one use, like any other save. See Unlock Halo.

Getting started

Guides

Editing tools

Pictures

Changing what you’ve drawn

Video

In every window

Keys in Annotate

Uses

​Pictures

​Changing what you’ve drawn

​Video

​In every window

​Keys in Annotate

​Uses

Pictures

Changing what you’ve drawn

Video

In every window

Keys in Annotate

Uses