Milestone Smart Client 3.6 User Manual

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XProtect

Smart Client 3.6 User’s Manual

Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Target Audience for this Document

This document is aimed at users of Milestone XProtect Smart Client. This document provides detailed descriptions of Milestone XProtect Smart Client installation,

configuration, and use. It furthermore provides a number of targeted “how-to” examples, guiding users through completing common tasks in Milestone XProtect Smart Client.

Note that depending on the type of Milestone XProtect surveillance system you connect to, depending on your user rights, and depending on your role in your organization, some features in the Milestone XProtect Smart Client may not be available to you. Ask your surveillance system administrator if in doubt.

Tip: If you know that your surveillance system administrator has already configured the necessary views for you, you may skip parts of this manual: After installing (page 12) and logging in to your Smart Client (page 14), you can proceed straight to this manual’s chapters about viewing live and recorded video (on page 54 and 71 respectively). Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt.

Information for Milestone XProtect Transact Users

If your organization uses the Milestone XProtect Transact add-on solution for handling loss prevention through video evidence combined with PoS or ATM transaction data, it will be possible to view video together with time-linked transaction data in the Smart Client.

Viewing of transaction data in the Smart Client is not covered in this manual. If you require such information, please refer to the separate documentation for Milestone XProtect Transact available from www.milestonesys.com

SC36-um-4(f1)-060209

www.milestonesys.com Target Audience for this Document

Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Copyright, Trademarks and Important Information

Trademarks

XProtect is a registered trademark of Milestone Systems A/S. Microsoft All other trademarks mentioned in this document are trademarks of their respective owners.

Disclaimer

This document is intended for general information purposes only, and due care has been taken in its preparation.

Any risk arising from the use of this information rests with the recipient, and nothing herein should be construed as constituting any kind of warranty.

Milestone Systems A/S reserve the right to make adjustments without prior notification. All names of people and organizations used in this document’s examples are fictitious. Any

resemblance to any actual organization or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and unintended.

and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

www.milestonesys.com Copyright, Trademarks and Important Information

Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

INTRODUCTION.......................................................... 9

What Can You Do with Your Smart Client?............................................ 9

How Can User Rights Affect Your Use of the Smart Client?................. 10

System Requirements......................................................................... 11

INSTALLING THE SMART CLIENT.............................. 12

Download and Installation from Server .............................................. 12

Installation from CD ........................................................................... 13

For System Administrators Only: Silent Installation ........................... 13

LOGGING IN TO THE SMART CLIENT......................... 14

Logging In on Different Computers..................................................... 16

If You Get a Login Error Message........................................................ 16

SELECTING LANGUAGE ............................................ 18

Getting Further Language Versions .................................................... 18

VIEWS EXPLAINED................................................... 20

Difference between Private and Shared Views.................................... 20

How to Check if Views Are Already Available......................................... 21

SETUP OF VIEWS...................................................... 22

Checking which Views You Are Able to Create and Edit ...................... 22

Creating Private Views ....................................................................... 22

Creating Shared Views........................................................................ 24

Assigning Shortcut Numbers to Views................................................ 26

Renaming Views or Groups................................................................. 27

Deleting Views or Groups ................................................................... 27

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

How to Add Content to Views ............................................................. 27

Adding Individual Cameras................................................................. 27

Adding Carousels.............................................................................. 28

Adding Hotspots ............................................................................... 30

Adding Static Images ........................................................................ 32

Adding HTML Pages........................................................................... 32

Adding Matrix Content....................................................................... 34

Adding Other Content........................................................................ 36

Adjusting Camera Properties.............................................................. 37

Camera Name.................................................................................. 37

Image Quality & Keep When Maximized ............................................... 37

Frame Rate...................................................................................... 38

Fisheye Split Mode............................................................................ 38

Maintain Image Aspect Ratio .............................................................. 39

Update on Motion ............................................................................. 39

Sound on Motion Detection ................................................................ 39

Sound on Event................................................................................ 40

Apply to All...................................................................................... 40

Using Your Views on Different Computers .......................................... 41

System Changes May Affect Views...................................................... 41

FURTHER CONFIGURATION ...................................... 42

Customizing Joystick Setup ................................................................ 42

Assigning Custom Keyboard Shortcuts ............................................... 44

Selecting Language ............................................................................ 45

Using an HTML Page for Smart Client Navigation................................ 46

Smart Client Scripting......................................................................... 50

Viewing a List of Possible Function Calls............................................... 50

Startup Scripting .............................................................................. 50

VIEWING LIVE VIDEO .............................................. 54

Live Video Is Not Necessarily Recorded.............................................. 54

Views and their Content ..................................................................... 55

Selecting a View............................................................................... 55

Camera Names and Colored Indicators................................................. 55

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Hotspot Positions.............................................................................. 56

Carousel Positions............................................................................. 57

Matrix Positions................................................................................ 57

Enlarging Camera Positions ................................................................ 58

Camera Shortcut Menus..................................................................... 59

Camera Messages............................................................................... 59

Switching Cameras in Camera Positions ............................................. 60

Sending Video between Views............................................................ 60

Starting Recording when Viewing Live Video...................................... 61

Starting Recording on More than One Camera....................................... 62

How Do I Know if a Camera Is Already Recording?................................. 62

Handling Sound Notifications.............................................................. 62

Audio (Microphones & Speakers)........................................................ 63

Listening ......................................................................................... 63

Talking............................................................................................ 63

Frequently Asked Questions about Live Audio ....................................... 64

Digital Zoom ....................................................................................... 65

Using PTZ ........................................................................................... 67

Point-and-Click................................................................................. 67

Zoom with Mouse Wheel.................................................................... 67

PTZ Navigation Buttons ..................................................................... 67

PTZ Preset Positions.......................................................................... 67

Stopping PTZ Patrolling ..................................................................... 68

Fisheye 360° Images.......................................................................... 68

Manually Triggering Events ................................................................ 69

Manually Triggering Outputs .............................................................. 69

Sending Video to Matrix Recipients .................................................... 70

Copying Single Images ....................................................................... 70

VIEWING RECORDED VIDEO..................................... 71

Views and their Content ..................................................................... 72

Selecting a View............................................................................... 72

Camera Names and Colored Indicators................................................. 72

Enlarging Camera Positions ................................................................ 72

Hotspot Positions.............................................................................. 73

Carousel Positions............................................................................. 73

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Matrix Positions................................................................................ 73

Camera Messages............................................................................. 73

Camera Shortcut Menus..................................................................... 74

Switching Cameras in Camera Positions ............................................... 74

Sending Video between Views............................................................. 75

Sending Video to Matrix Recipients...................................................... 75

Video Browsing Features.................................................................... 75

Timeline Browser.............................................................................. 75

Time Span ................................................................................... 76

Hiding and Showing the Timeline Browser ........................................ 76

Time Navigation ............................................................................... 76

Master Time Area.......................................................................... 76

Browse Buttons ............................................................................ 77

Time Sliders................................................................................. 77

Playback Slider and Buttons ........................................................... 77

Skip Gaps During Playback............................................................. 78

Quick Date and Time Navigation ..................................................... 78

Sequences....................................................................................... 78

Alerts.............................................................................................. 79

Smart Search................................................................................... 80

PTZ Cannot Be Used Retroactively...................................................... 82

Digital Zoom ....................................................................................... 82

Fisheye 360° Images.......................................................................... 84

Navigation by Dragging Inside Fisheye Images ..................................... 84

Navigation Buttons ........................................................................... 84

Defining a Favorite Fisheye Position..................................................... 84

Audio Recorded by Microphones......................................................... 85

Copying Single Images ....................................................................... 85

CAMERA MESSAGE TEXTS ......................................... 86

PRINTING EVIDENCE................................................ 88

EXPORTING VIDEO EVIDENCE.................................. 89

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Exporting in AVI and JPEG Formats.................................................... 89

Exporting in Database Format ............................................................ 91

Frequently Asked Questions about Exporting ..................................... 93

USING MULTIPLE WINDOWS.................................... 94

Sending a View to Primary Display ..................................................... 94

Sending a View to Secondary Display ................................................. 94

Sending a View to a Floating Window................................................. 95

Closing Separate Windows ................................................................. 95

Multiple Windows Are Stored for Next Login ...................................... 96

Frequently Asked Questions about Multiple Windows......................... 96

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS............................................ 97

Using Standard Keyboard Shor tcuts ................................................... 97

Using Custom Keyboard Shortcuts...................................................... 98

LOGGING OUT .......................................................... 99

SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM DIFFERENCES................... 100

REMOVING THE SMART CLIENT .............................. 104

INDEX .................................................................... 105

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Introduction

The Smart Client provides remote users with extremely feature-rich access to the surveillance system.

The Smart Client must be installed locally on the remote user’s computer.

What Can You Do with Your Smart Client?

With the Smart Client, you are able to:

• View live videos from cameras on the surveillance system.

• Browse recordings from cameras on the surveillance system with a selection of advanced

navigation tools, including a highly intuitive timeline browser.

• Use two-way audio: From the Smart Client you can listen to live recordings from

microphones attached to cameras, and talk live to audiences through loudspeakers connected to cameras. This way you can interact directly with your audiences. You can of course also listen to audio recordings when browsing recorded video. Note that audio is only available when connecting to selected Milestone surveillance systems; see Surveillance System Differences on page 100 for more information.

• Create and switch between an unlimited number of views, each able to display images from

up to 64 cameras from multiple servers at a time (depending on the type of Milestone surveillance system you connect to). Views can be placed in private groups (only accessible by the user who created them) or in groups shared with other users.

• Use views, private as well as shared, on any computer that has a Smart Client installed.

• Create special views for widescreen monitors.

• Use multiple screens as well as floating windows for displaying different views

simultaneously.

• Quickly substitute one or more of a view’s cameras with other cameras.

• View images from several cameras, one after the other, in a single camera position (a so-

called carousel).

• View images from selected cameras in greater magnification and/or higher quality in a

designated hotspot.

• Receive and send images through Milestone XProtect Matrix.

• Include HTML pages and static images (e.g. maps or photos) in views.

• Control PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) and fisheye (360° view) cameras.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

• Use digital zoom on live as well as recorded images.

• Manually activate triggered events.

• Manually activate external outputs (e.g. sirens or lights).

• Use sound notifications for attracting attention to detected motion or events.

• Get quick overviews of sequences with detected motion.

• Get quick overviews of detected alerts or system events.

• Quickly search selected areas of camera images for motion (also known as Smart Search).

• Skip gaps during playback of recordings.

• Configure and use several different joysticks.

• Print images, with optional comments.

• Copy images for subsequent pasting into word processors, e-mail, etc.

• Export recordings (e.g. for use as evidence) in AVI (movie clip), JPEG (still image) and

Milestone surveillance system database formats. The AVI and database formats can include audio.

• Use pre-configured as well as customizable keyboard shortcuts to speed up common

actions.

• Select between a number of language versions, independent of language used on main

surveillance system.

Note: Some of the above features may require certain user rights. Some of the above features may only be available if supported by the surveillance system; see Surveillance System Differences on page 100 for more information.

How Can User Rights Affect Your Use of the Smart Client?

The rights of individual users are specified centrally by the surveillance system administrator. The rights of an individual user will determine the user’s ability to use the Smart Client’s features.

Basically, the surveillance system administrator is able to restrict a user’s rights to the following:

• Access to the Smart Client

• Access to each of the Smart Client’s tabs: Live, Browse, and Setup

• Ability to use features on the Smart Client’s tabs

• Ability to create views (views determine the way in which images from one or more

cameras are displayed)

• Ability to view images from specific cameras

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

The ability to use various features of the Smart Client may therefore vary considerably from user to user. Ask your surveillance system administrator if in doubt about your user rights.

System Requirements

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® 2008 Server (32 bit or 64 bit*), Windows

Server 2003 (32 and 64* bit), Windows Vista 64* bit), Windows Vista Enterprise (32 bit or 64* bit) or Windows Vista Ultimate (32 bit or 64* bit), Windows XP Professional (32 bit or 64 bit*).

* Running as a 32 bit application.

CPU Intel RAM Minimum 512 MB (1 GB recommended for large views, 1 GB

Network Ethernet, 100 Mbit or higher recommended. Graphics Adapter AGP or PCI-Express, minimum 1024×768 (1280×1024

Hard Disk Space 100 MB free. Software Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework, and DirectX 9.0 or newer.

Tip: To check which DirectX version is installed on a computer, click Start, select Run..., and

type dxdiag. When you click OK, the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window will open; version information is displayed near the bottom of its System tab. If your computer requires a DirectX update, the latest versions of DirectX are available from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/

Core2™ Duo, minimum 2.4 GHz.

recommended on Microsoft Windows Vista).

recommended), 16 bit colors.

Business (32 bit or

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Installing the Smart Client

The Smart Client must be installed on your computer before you are able to use it. Typically, you download the Smart Client from the surveillance system server, then install it on

your computer. Alternatively, your surveillance system administrator may ask you to install the Smart Client from a CD (see page 13).

In some organizations, your surveillance system administrator will be able to install the Smart Client on your computer through the network, in which case you will not have to perform any installation yourself.

Download and Installation from Server

To download and install the Smart Client from the surveillance system server, do the following:

1. Verify that your computer meets the Smart Client’s system requirements (see page 11).

2. Open an Inte rnet Explorer browser (version 6.0 or later), and connect to the surveillance

system server at the URL or IP address specified by your system administrator. When you are connected to the surveillance system server, you will see a welcome page.

3. On the welcome page, select your required language in the menu in the top right corner.

Then go to the welcome page's Smart Client Installers section, and click the required Smart Client language version link.

Example: Selecting welcome page language and r equired Smart Client language version. Number of available languages may be different in your organization.

My welcome page is different, why? The illustration shows the type of welcome

page that most users are likely to see. Other versions of the welcome page also exist:

If you see this type of welcome page, go to the welcome page's XProtect Smart Client section, and click the Download and Install XProtect Smart Client Locally link.

If you see this type of welcome page, click the Install the XProtect Smart Client link.

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4. Dependi n g on your security settings, you may receive one or more security warnings when

clicking the link (Do you want to run or save this file?, Do you want to run this software? or similar; exact wording depends on your browser version). When this is the case, accept the security warnings (by clicking the Run button or similar; exact button names depend on your browser version).

5. The Sm art Client setup wizard begins. In the wizard, click Next, and follow the installation

instructions.

Installation from CD

To install the Smart Client from a CD, do the following:

1. Verify that your computer meets the Smart Client’s system requirements (see page 11).

2. Insert the surveillance system software CD, wait for a short while, select required

language, then click the Install Milestone XProtect Smart Client link.

Tip: Depending on your security settings, you may receive one or more security warnings when clicking the link (Do you want to run or save this file?, Do you want to run this software? or similar; exact wording depends on your browser version). When this is the case, accept the security warnings (by clicking the Run button or similar; exact button names depend on your browser version).

3. When the installation wizard starts, click Next to continue the installation and follow the

steps in the installation wizard.

For System Administrators Only: Silent Installation

For surveillance system administrators, it is possible to deploy the Smart Client to users’ computers using tools such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS).

Such tools let administrators build up databases of hardware and software on local networks. The databases can then—among other things—be used for distributing and installing software applications, such as the Smart Client, over local networks.

For more information of silent installation (when available), see the separate documentation for your surveillance system server software.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Logging In to the Smart Client

Logging in to the Smart Client is very straightforward. So is the initial configuration of the Smart Client upon your first login; in fact, configuration may in some cases not be required at all.

To log in to the Smart Client, do the following:

1. Double-click the Smart Client shortcut on your desktop. If no Smart Client desktop shortcut is available, select the Smart Client from

Windows’ Start menu (exactly how you do this is determined by where and how you have installed the Smart Client on your computer, but you would typically select Start > All Programs > Milestone XProtect Smart Client > Smart Client).

2. A splash screen is displayed while the Smart Client loads; this typically takes a few seconds only.

3. The Smart Client login window appears:

4. Specify your login information in the following fields:

• Server address: Type the URL or IP a

specified by your surveillance system administrator.

Internet connections may use different ports for different purposes. Therefore, the URL or IP address may include a port number (example: 123.123.123.123:80, where :80 indicates the port number).

Tip: If you have logged in before, you may simply select the required server from the Server address list.

• Authentication: Select between different methods of authentication (i.e. the process

of verifying that you are who you claim you are). Note: Not all Milestone surveillance systems support the use of all three authentication

methods; see Surveillance System Differences on page 100 for more information. Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt about which authentication method to use.

o Windows authentication (current user) with which you will be authenticated

through your current Windows login, and do not have to specify any user name or password. This is the Smart Client’s default authentication method, i.e. the method which is automatically used unless you select another method.

o Windows authentication with which you will be authenticated through your

Windows login, but you will need to type your Windows user name and password.

o Basic authentication, with which you must specify a special user name and

password for accessing the surveillance system. This method can only be used with selected Milestone surveillance systems.

ddress

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

• User name: Only required if the authentication method Windows authentication or

Basic authentication is selected. If using Windows authentication, type your Windows

user name. If using Basic authentication, type your surveillance system user name as specified by your surveillance system administrator. The user name is case-sensitive, i.e. there is a difference between typing, for example, amanda and Amanda.

• Password: Only required if the authentication method Windows authentication or Basic

authentication is selected. If using Windows authentication, type your Windows

password. If using Basic authentication, type your surveillance system password exactly as specified by your surveillance system administrator.

• Remember password: When using Windows authentication or Basic authentication,

you have the option of selecting Remember password, in which case you can simply click Connect the next time you want to log in.

Note: Depending on your type of organization and work environment, security restrictions may apply. Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt about whether it is safe to use this feature.

• Auto-login: If selected, you will automatically be logged in to the Smart Client, when

you log in to Windows. For some authentication methods, the Remember password check box must be selected in order for the auto-login feature to be available.

When ready, click Connect.

Tip: If a problem or other issue occurs during login, you will receive an error message;

see Login Error Messages on page 16 for more information.

5. Only relevant if you have logged in before; if logging in for the first time, move to step 6. The Smart Client will ask you if you want to keep the view(s) you last used.

Your options are:

• Main View: If the check box is selected, the

view you last used in the Smart Client’s main window will be restored. If you clear this check box, no view will initially be displayed, in which case you must select the required view yourself.

• Detached Views: Available when connecting to selected Milestone surveillance

systems only, and only if you used views in detached windows the last time you were logged in on the computer in question (see Using Multiple Windows on page 94 for more information). If you select this check box is selected, the views you last sent to Primary Display, secondary displays and floating windows will be restored.

6. After a short wait, the Smart Client window will open. The Smart Client window has three tabs: Live, Browse and Setup.

The Live tab is used for viewing live video, the Browse tab is used for browsing recorded video, and the Setup tab is used for configuring the

Smart Client. Depending on your user rights, you may not be able to access all three tabs.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

If you have logged in for the first time, you need to determine whether any views exist. Views determine how video from cameras are displayed in the Smart Client, and are thus required in order to be able to use the Smart Client.

One or more views may already have been created for you, or you may need to create views yourself. Read more about views, including how to determine if any views have already been created for you, in Views on page 20.

Logging In on Different Computers

Your user settings are stored centrally on the surveillance system server. This means that your login can be used on any computer that has a Smart Client installed.

If You Get a Login Error Message

If a problem or other issue occurs during login to the Smart Client, you will see one of the following error messages:

Error Message Description

You do not have access to any part of the application (live, browse or setup). Please contact the system administrator.

Failed to connect. Maximum number of clients are already connected.

Failed to connect. Please check the server address.

Issue: You currently have no access rights to any part of the Smart Client, therefore you cannot log in to the Smart Client.

What to do: Consult your surveillance system administrator, who will be able to change your access rights if required.

Issue: The maximum number of remote access clients allowed to connect to the surveillance system server simultaneously has been reached.

What to do: If possible, wait for a while before connecting again. If access to the surveillance system is urgent, contact your surveillance system administrator who may be able to extend the allowed number of simultaneously connected clients.

Issue: It was not possible to connect to the surveillance system server at the specified server address.

What to do: Verify that you have typed the correct server address. Bear in mind that the http:// prefix as well as a port number is typically required as part of the server address (example: http://123.123.123.123:80, where :80 indicates the port number). Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt.

Failed to connect. Please check the username and password.

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Issue: It was not possible to log in to the Smart Client with the specified user name and/or password.

What to do: Verify that you have typed your user name correctly, then re-type your password to ensure it does not contain errors. Bear in mind that user names as well as passwords may be case sensitive (i.e. there is a difference

Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

between typing Amanda and amanda). Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt.

New Client Available.

Update is recommended / Update is required.

The new version can be downloaded from ...

Issue: A new version of the Smart Client is available. This message is typically accompanied by information about

whether an update is recommended or whether it is a requirement (for example due to recently introduced features not working in your current Smart Client version).

The message will typically also contain information about where to download the new version from.

What to do: Follow the advice given in the message. Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Selecting Language

1. Click the Show Application Menu button in the right side of the Smart Client’s top bar.

2. From the menu, select Language, then the required language.

Tip: If the language you require is not available, you may be able

to install a language pack; see Getting Further Language Versions below.

3. The Smart Client must be restarted in order for the change to take effect. Close your Smart Client, then log in again to use the new language version.

Getting Further Language Versions

If you would like to be able to select from more language versions in your Smart Client, you will often be able to install so-called language packs. Example: You have an English-language version of the Smart Client, but you would like to be able to view your Smart Client in Spanish as well. To allow this, you install a Spanish language pack on your computer. Typically, you download language packs from the surveillance system server, and then install them on your computer. Alternatively, your surveillance system administrator may ask you to install language packs from a CD.

Note: The language packs option is only available when connecting to selected surveillance systems; see Surveillance System Differences on page 100. Even for surveillance systems which support language packs, the choice of downloadable language packs may vary from organization to organization; some organizations may not provide any language packs for download. Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt.

How to Download and Install a Language Pack

1. Open an Inte rnet Explorer browser (version 6.0 or later), and connect to the surveillance

system server at the URL or IP address specified by your system administrator. When you are connected to the surveillance system server, you will see a welcome page..

2. On the welcome page, select your required language in the menu in the top right corner.

Then go to the welcome page's Smart Client Language Packs section, and click the required language pack link.

Example: Selecting welcome page language and required language pack. The number of available languages may be different in your organization.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

My welcome page is different, why? If your organization uses certain surveillance system versions, the welcome page looks differently (see small examples to the right). In that case, language packs are not available.

3. Dependi n g on your security settings, you may receive one or more security warnings (Do

you want to run or save this file?, Do you want to run this software? or similar; exact wording depends on your browser version). When this is the case, accept the security warnings (by clicking Run or similar; exact button names depend on your browser version).

4. The language pack is self-extracting: Once the language pack is downloaded, it will extract

and install itself on your computer. When ready, you will see a confirmation dialog in the required language. In this example, we installed a Spanish language pack:

You can now select the new language in your Smart Client as described on page 18.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

Views Explained

The way in which images from one or more cameras are displayed in the Smart Client is called a view.

A view may contain video from up to 64 cameras, depending on the surveillance system to which you connect. A Smart Client can handle an unlimited number of views, allowing you to switch between video from various collections of cameras.

The illustration to the right provides an example of a Smart Client displaying a view, in this case with video from six different cameras (view is highlighted in red frame).

In order to help you maintain an easy overview when you navigate between various views in your Smart Client, all views are placed in folders called groups. A group can contain any number of views and, if required, subgroups.

Difference between Private and Shared Views

Views can be private or shared:

• Private views can only be accessed by the user who created them.

• Shared views allow many Smart Client users to share the same views. This is possible since

all views are stored on the surveillance system server. Depending on the type of surveillance system you connect to, shared views can simply be shared by all Smart Client users, or access to selected shared views can be given to selected groups of Smart Client users.

Before you create any views, it is important that you are sure about the difference between private and shared views—not least because a number of shared views may already exist for Smart Client users in your organization.

If you already know that shared views exist, and that you have access to them, you can start using your Smart Client straight away. See Viewing Live Video on page

54 and Viewing Recorded Video on page 71 for more information.

When you have access to shared views, creating further views in your Smart Client will not be necessary unless you want to supplement the shared views with private views of your own.

If you want to create views yourself, for example if no shared views are available in your organization, the Smart Client’s Setup tab lets you create groups and views, and specify which cameras should be included in each view. See Setup of Views on page 22 for more information.

Note: The way shared views work varies slightly depending upon which type of Milestone surveillance system you connect to; see Surveillance System Differences on page 100 for details.

Tip: You can use your views, private as well as shared, on any computer that has a Smart Client installed. This is because information about your views is stored centrally on the surveillance system server, as part of your user login information.

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Milestone XProtect Smart Client 3.6; User’s Manual

How to Check if Views Are Already Available

Typically, your surveillance system administrator will have told you if you have access to shared views. Alternatively, to quickly determine whether any shared views are available, do the following:

Note: This method requires that your user rights permit you to access the Smart Client’s Live tab and/or Browse tab. Most users will have access to at least one of these tabs.

1. Go to the Smart Client’s Live or Browse tab.

2. On the Live or Browse tab, look at the Views section:

Example only; arrow indicates location of Views section

3. The Views section will always contain a top-level folder called Private. The Private top-level

folder is for accessing private views; its content depends entirely upon which views—if any—you have created for yourself.

Any other top-level folders in the Views section are for accessing shared views. The names of such other top-level folders depend entirely upon what has been configured on the surveillance system server.

The fact that the Views section contains one or more top-level folders for accessing shared views does not in itself guarantee that shared views are actually available. To verify if any shared views are available under the top-level folders, expand the folders like in the example to the right.

In the example there is a Private top-level folder as well as two top-level folders (called Building A and Building B) for accessing shared views. One of these, the Building A folder, has been expanded to reveal that six shared views are available. Note that the six shared views have been grouped into three logical groups.

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Setup of Views

You create and manage views on the Smart Client’s Setup tab. Depending on your user rights, you may be able to create and edit the following types of views:

• Private and shared

• Private, but not shared

• Shared, but not private

• Neither private, nor shared (in which case you simply rely on shared views created by

others) Typically only a few people in an organization are able to create and edit shared views. For example, the surveillance system administrator may create and maintain a number of shared

views: When relevant Smart Client users log in, the shared views will automatically be available to them, and they will basically not need to create further views unless they want their own private views.

Checking which Views You Are Able to Create and Edit

To quickly determine which types of views your user rights permit you to create and edit, do the following:

1. Select any of the Smart Client’s tabs.

2. Look at the Views section: You are abl e to create and edit views under the top-level folders

(Shared and Private) if the top-level folders are not marked by a padlock icon.

If a top-level folder is marked by a padlock icon, it is protected: You can still use any views

under the top-level folder, but you cannot create new views or edit existing views under it.

Example only; folders may have different names in

your version.

Consult your surveillance system administrator if in doubt about your user rights.

Creating Private Views

Note: Views are created on the Smart Client’s Setup tab. Particular user rights may be required in order to access the Setup tab.

To create your first private view, you first create a group under the Setup tab’s Private top-level folder, then create the required view within the group.

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If you have created private views before, you may create the new view in an existing group, or you may create a new group for the view.

Creating a Group

To create a group under the Private top-level folder, do the following on the Setup tab:

1. In the Setup tab’s Views section, select the Private top-level folder.

2. Click the Create New Group button:

3. A new group is created. The new group is simply named New Group.

4. Overwrite the default name New Group with a group name of your choice.

You are now able to create a view within the group.

Creating a View within the Group

To create a view in a group, do the following:

1. In the Setup tab’s Views section, make sure the group in which you want to create the view is selected.

2. Click the Create New View button:

3. Select the required layout for your new view. You are able to select layouts for displaying up to 64 (8×8) cameras in a

single view.

Tip: Some of the selectable view layouts are marked Wide. These view

layouts are especially suitable for widescreen monitors.

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4. A new view is created under the group you selected. The new view carries the default name New View plus an indication of the selected layout:

5. Overwrite the default name with a view name of your choice.

You are now able to add cameras to the view.

Tip: For information about adding content (cameras, etc.) to views, see How to Add

Content to Views on page 27.

Tip: A group can contain an unlimited number of views. You may also create any

number of subgroups if required.

Creating Shared Views

Note: Views are created on the Smart Client’s setup tab. Particular user rights may be required in order to access the Setup tab and in order to be able to create shared views. When creating a shared view, bear in mind that depending on their user rights not all users may have access to all cameras on the surveillance system.

Note: Due to the large amount of new features in recent Smart Client versions, views created in Smart Client version 3.0 or later will not work in previous versions of the Smart Client. If creating shared views, it is thus important that the users with whom you wish to share the views also use Smart Client version 3.0 or later.

To create your first shared view, you first create a group under the required shared top-level folder, then create the required view within the group. If you have created shared views before, you may create the new view in an existing group, or you may create a new group for the view.

Creating a Group

To create a group under a shared top-level folder, do the following on the Setup tab:

1. In the Setup tab’s Views section, select the Shared top-level folder (in this example, the required folder is simply called Shared).

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2. Click the Create New Group button:

3. A new group is created. The new group is simply named New Group.

4. Overwrite the default name New Group with a group name of your choice.

You are now able to create a view within the group.

Creating a View within the Group

To create a view in a group, do the following:

1. In the Setup tab’s Views section, make sure the group in which you want to create the view is selected.

2. Click the Create New View button:

3. Select the required layout for your new view. You are able to select layouts for displaying up to 64 (8×8) cameras in a

single view.

Tip: Some of the selectable view layouts are marked Wide. These view

layouts are especially suitable for widescreen monitors.

4. A new view is created under the group you selected. The new view carries the default name New View plus an indication of the

selected layout:

5. Overwrite the default name with a view name of your choice. You are now able to add cameras to the view.

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Tip: For information about adding content (cameras, etc.) to views, see How to Add

Content to Views on page 27.

Tip: A group can contain an unlimited number of views. You may also create any

number of subgroups if required.

Assigning Shortcut Numbers to Views

On the Setup tab, you are able to assign shortcut numbers to views. Shortcut numbers allow users to select views using the Smart Client’s standard keyboard shortcuts (see page 97). To assign a shortcut number to a view, do the following:

Note: Illustrations used in the following are examples only; top-level folders may have different names in your version.

1. In the Setup tab’s Views section, select the required view:

2. Specify the required shortcut number in the

Shortcut field, and press ENTER on your keyboard:

3. The speci f ied shortcut number will now appear in

brackets in front of the view’s name:

This will also be the case on the Live and Browse tabs, allowing users to quickly find a view’s shortcut number.

4. Repe at as necessary for other views.

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Renaming Views or Groups

To rename a view or group, do the following on the Setup tab:

1. Select the required view or group in the Views section.

2. Click the Rename button:

3. Overwri te the existing group name with a new name of your choice.

Deleting Views or Groups

IMPORTANT: Deleting a group will delete all views and any subgroups within the group as well. To delete a view or group, do the following on the Setup tab:

1. Select the required view or group in the Views section.

2. Click the Delete button:

You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the selected view or group.

How to Add Content to Views

Once you have created views (see page 22), you are able to add content to the views. Content can be video from individual cameras, carousels for viewing images from alternating cameras in a single view position, a hotspot for viewing selected camera images in high quality, static images (such as .gif, .jpeg, etc.), HTML pages, or Milestone XProtect Matrix-triggered video.

Adding Individual Cameras

To add a camera to a view, do the following:

1. In the Setup tab’s Views section, select the required view. When you select a view, the

layout of the selected view is outlined in the main section of the Smart Client window.

Layout of selected view is outlined in main section (indicated in red frame in this example)

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2. In the Setup tab’s System Overview secti on,

click the plus sign plus sign next to the required server to view a list of available cameras.

next to Cameras, then the

3. Select the required camera from the list, and

drag the camera to the required position in the view.

When you have dragged a camera to a position in the view, an image from the camera will—provided a connection can be established—appear in the selected position. If a connection cannot be established, for example if the surveillance system’s recording server is not running, the name of the camera will be displayed in the selected position.

When the camera position is selected, you are able to specify its properties in the Setup tab’s Properties section; see Adjusting Camera Properties on page 36 for detailed information.

4. Repe at for each camera required in the view.

Tip: If you want to use all of the cameras under a server, you may simply drag the required server link to the view; this will automatically place all of the server’s cameras in the view from the selected position onwards. Make sure a sufficient number of positions are available in the view.

Tip: You can easily change which cameras are included in your view: Either clear an individual camera position by clicking the clear button , then drag another camera to the cleared position, or simply overwrite a position by dragging a different camera to the position.

Adding Carousels

A carousel is used for displaying images from several cameras, one after the other, in a single view position. You are able to specify which cameras to include in the carousel as well as the interval between camera changes.

Note: Fisheye cameras (special 360° view cameras) cannot be included in a carousel. To add a carousel to a view, do the following on the Setup tab:

1. Drag the System Overview section’s Carousel l ink to the required position in the view.

When you release the mouse button over the required position, the Carousel Setup window opens.

Tip: Note that the position gets a thin green border. The green border indicates that the position is used for a carousel; the green border will also be evident when using the view on the Browse and Live tabs.

2. In the Carousel Setup window, specify which cameras

to include in the carousel by selecting required cameras in the left part of the window, then clicking the Add button to add the selected cameras to the list in the right part of the window.

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3. If required, move cameras up and down in the list to determine the sequence in which

cameras will appear in the carousel.

4. Define the amount of time for which each camera should be displayed in the carousel;

either with a common default, or individually for each camera.

5. Click OK to close the Carousel Setup window.

6. Make sure that the required position in the view is selected, then go to the Properties

section in the left part of the Setup tab.

In the Properties section, specify the following settings for the carousel:

• Image Quality: The setting—which will apply for all cameras included in the

carousel—determines the quality of the images when viewed, but also affects bandwidth usage. If your Smart Client is used over the internet, over a slow network connection, or if for other reasons you need to limit bandwidth use, image quality can be reduced on the server side by selecting e.g. Low or Medium.

When selecting a reduced image quality, images are re-encoded on the server to a JPEG format along the following lines:

o Full: The default setting, providing the full quality of the original image. o SuperHigh (for megapixel): Re-encoding to an image output wi dth of 640

pixels (VGA) and a JPEG quality level of 25%.

o High: Re-encoding to an image output wi dth of 320 pixels (QVGA) and a

JPEG quality level of 25%.

o Medium: Re-encoding to an image output width of 200 pixels and a JPEG

quality level of 25%.

o Low: Re-encoding to an image output width of 160 pixels and a JPEG

quality level of 20%.

Image height will scale according to the width and the aspect ratio of the original image.

Your image quality selection will apply for JPEG as well as MPEG. For MPEG, however, only keyframes will be re-encoded.

Note: When viewing live video, you can double-click a carousel (or any other camera position in a view) to enlarge it (see page 58 or 72). When you do this, video from cameras included in the carousel is by default displayed in full quality, regardless of your image quality selection. This default cannot be overridden for carousels.

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Note: While using a reduced image quality helps limit bandwidth use, it will—due to the need for re-encoding images—use additional resources on the surveillance system server.

• Frame Rate: Lets you select a frame rate for the carousel. Select between

Unlimited (default), Medium, or Low. The setting will apply for all cameras included in the carousel. The effect of your selection can be illustrated by the following table:

Effect Unlimited Medium Low

JPEG Send all frames Send every 4th

MPEG (I-frame) Send all frames Send all frames Send all frames MPEG (P-frame) Send all frames Do not send any

Example: If you set the Frame Rate option to Low in your Smart Client, and your surveillance system administrator has configured a camera to feed JPEG images at a frame rate of 20 frames per second, you will experience an average of 1 frame per second when viewing video from the camera in the carousel. If your administrator had configured a camera with a feed as low as 4 frames per second, you would, with Frame Rate set to Low in your Smart Client, experience an average of 0,2 frames per second when viewing video from the camera in the carousel.

• Maintain Image Aspect Ratio: If check box is selected, the cameras’ original

image aspect ratio will be maintained; this will provide you with non-distorted images, but may lead to black bars appearing above/below images.

If check box is cleared, images will be stretched to fit the carousel; this may lead to slightly distorted images, but you will avoid any black bars appearing around the images. The setting will apply for all cameras included in the carousel.

Tip: If you later want to edit settings in the Carousel Setup window, select the required carousel position in the view, then click the Properties section's Carousel Setup button.

Tip: You are able to use several carousels in a single view.

frame

frames

Send every 20th frame

Do not send any frames

Adding Hotspots

With a hotspot, users will be able to select a camera in the view, and view enlarged and/or higher quality images from the selected camera in the view’s hotspot.

For the hotspot you would usually select a one of the view’s larger positions, for example the large position in a 1+7 view:

The fact that you can view enlarged images in the hotspot is not in itself what makes the hotspot useful; you can enlarge any image in a view by double-clicking the image. What makes the hotspot useful is that with a hot spot you can use a low image quality and/or frame rate for cameras in the view’s regular positions and a high image quality and/or frame rate for the hot spot.

Then, only when users select a camera for viewing in the hotspot will it be displayed in high quality and/or high frame rate. This can really help you save bandwidth on the remote connection.

To add a hotspot to a view, do the following on the Setup tab:

1. Drag the System Overview section’s Hotspot link to the required position in the view.

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