Virtual.ink documentation

Live View

Live View is the operator canvas in Virtual.ink. It is where you frame the camera feed, paint live, start capture, preview recent output, and open the right-side tools without leaving the canvas.

It is a native desktop surface, not a standalone browser page.

What You See

The main surface is the live camera feed with the light-painting render composited on top.

When no camera is selected, Live View shows a no-signal state and prompts you to choose a device. While Virtual.ink is reloading a feed after a camera, codec, FPS, or resolution change, the canvas briefly shows a transition state.

Bottom Dock

A floating dock sits in the lower-left corner of the canvas.

Button	Action
Record / Stop	Start or stop the current capture action
Paint on / off	Enable or disable light accumulation
Reset	Clear the current paint buffer
Snapshot	Save a still frame
Hide UI / Show UI	Collapse or restore on-screen controls
Fullscreen / Exit	Switch the canvas between windowed and fullscreen

The dock also shows current resolution and target versus live FPS. When recording is active, a timer appears above the dock.

These actions mirror the default Button Mapping and Remote Control action set. Record and Snapshot become unavailable when saving is disabled on the current license.

Right-side Rail

The rail on the right opens the desktop-only side panels:

Live Setup opens Live Setup for camera input, capture behavior, replay sizing, thumbnails, and file options.
Effects opens Effects for live image processing.
Debug opens the diagnostics panel.
The home badge returns to the dashboard.

Only one right-side panel can stay open at a time.

Inline Replay

Live View can automatically show the most recent saved dataset in the corner after capture finishes.

This behavior is controlled by Replay in Live Setup:

None disables inline replay
Small, Medium, and Large keep the latest replay visible in the corner stack

When replay is active:

the newest saved playable dataset opens automatically
the corner card loops muted video playback
the X button dismisses the replay
clicking or pressing Enter or Space on the replay opens it fullscreen

If replay is disabled, no replay card is kept on the canvas after save.

Fullscreen Replay Overlay

Opening the replay expands it into a fullscreen overlay above the live canvas.

The fullscreen overlay can show:

the replayed media
dataset share actions such as email or QR sharing
dataset media actions such as rating or delete/archive flows
a capture-resolution and timestamp summary for the current dataset

Keyboard behavior while replay is active:

Escape closes fullscreen replay
Left Arrow and Right Arrow move to the previous or next playable dataset
Delete archives the current replayed dataset and advances to the next playable item

Replay navigation uses the current playable gallery order, not a separate replay-only list.

Camera 2 Picture-in-Picture

When dual-camera access is enabled in Live Setup and Camera 2 is set to BTS, Live View shows Camera 2 as a second corner surface.

Important behavior:

Camera 2 picture-in-picture shares the same corner stack area as inline replay
its size tracks the same replay size setting
Camera 2 flip can be synchronized with Camera 1 or configured independently

Dual-camera workflows are typically tied to Pro, Pulse, or an explicit entitlement override.

This is useful when you want a behind-the-scenes or ambient angle visible while the main camera keeps the paint composition.

Countdown And Recording Overlays

When a timed action uses a countdown, Live View shows a large centered numeric countdown before capture begins.

During capture, the live timer switches to a recording state and the remaining time is shown when the action is timed instead of manual.

Debug Overlay

Press D to toggle the debug overlay at any time. It is the technical inspection surface for Live View.

It includes:

requested versus actual resolution
input, processing, filter, and render FPS
update and copy durations
GPU mode, renderer, and warnings
current device details and capability lists
secondary camera diagnostics when Camera 2 is active

Use it for troubleshooting feed mismatches, performance problems, or GPU issues.

Display Fit

Live View supports two canvas fit modes from Live Setup:

Mode	Behavior
Fill	Fills the window and may crop the edges
Fit	Preserves aspect ratio and can add letterboxing

Use Live Setup to control camera, capture, file, and replay behavior.
Use Effects to change the live look.
Use Remote Control for large touch-first actions on eligible browser or dashboard surfaces.
Use Button Mapping to customize the keyboard, clicker, and gamepad actions that trigger these Live View controls.