Abstract: This invention provides a system and method for automating the setup of Locators and Detectors within an image view of an object on the HMI of a vision detector by determining detectable edges and best fitting the Locators and Detectors to a location on the object image view following the establishment of an user selected operating point on the image view, such as by clicking a GUI cursor. In this manner, the initial placement and sizing of the graphical elements for Locator and Detector ROIs are relatively optimized without excessive adjustment by the user. Locators can be selected for direction, including machine or line-movement direction, cross direction or angled direction transverse to cross direction and movement direction. Detectors can be selected based upon particular analysis tools, including brightness tools, contrast tools and trained templates.