Products | Rules Manager

The Rules Manager is a configuration wizard for Comprehensive Event Trigger (conditions)/ Actions. It can be used to set up simple activities such as recording schedules.

Or complex cause and effect relationships with Boolean logic.

Triggers can be:
- DIO Input
- Motion Event
- Alert Button
- Scheduled
- Programmed - Remote triggers from the SDK
Resulting Actions include
- Create an action event for the Video Player
- Send a digital Output on a specific port
- Email custom message
- Email video to a specified user
- Flashback - Email a picture from a specific camera. The flashback function shows thumbnails of key motion movements for that recording. Instead of showing all motion, it analyzes the motion event and shows the most relevant image.
- Live Window – Pops up a window displaying the live feed of a camera.
- Move a PTZ camera to a specific preset
- Record - Set a recording type
- Create a video file with audio included
Example 1: When motion is detected or a door is opened during the time from 12 midnight to 8 AM, move the PTZ camera to a preset position and send an email.
Example 2: On Sundays, if motion is detected, send an email and attach an AVI clip of the motion.

Rules

Rules in the Rules Manager are specific combinations of triggers events and schedules (if required) and their resulting actions. Each rule must have a rule name. For instance, a rule called Off hour Motion in Boy’s Gym could be set up such that when motion is detected on a camera at in the Boy’s Gym during the time from 12 midnight to 6 AM, move the PTZ camera to a preset position, increase the recording frames per second and send an email to the security chief.

Steps for Rule Setup

Rule setup as shown below will follow the requirements of the following scenario:

When motion is detected in the Boy’s Gym during the time from 12 midnight to 7 AM, move the PTZ camera to a preset position and send an email.

Step 1 Create and Name a Rule

The first step using the Rules Manager is to create and name a Rule.

Select the Server and then name the task. Use the Advanced button to enable or disable the task. Task Enabled is the Default. Click the Next Button.

Step 2 – Schedules

Rules may or may not have schedules, i.e., the trigger events can be independent of any schedules or you may only be interested in triggers that occur during specific times.

To create a schedule, click the Add button.

Name the Schedule, in this case, Off Hours, and then set the schedule to run weekly or one time. Then select the schedule days and the schedule start and end time. Once OK has been clicked then the schedule has been setup.

Once the schedule has been set up, you can proceed to define trigger events. Note that a schedule is not required. If a rule has no schedule, then regardless of when a trigger event occurs, it will result in the defined actions. Conversely, rules do not require trigger events. For instance, you might want to execute an action such as record camera 2 always between midnight and 8 AM. In this situation you will have a schedule but no trigger events.

Step 3 – Define Events

Events can be Digital Input, Motion, Button, and Programmed (SDK input).

To create the condition of a back door open and setting off a digital input signal, select the Digital Input type and then the Add button. The following screen appears:

Name the Condition, and then tie it to the appropriate camera and port id.

You can add as many conditions as you want. Note that you can set the Boolean logic to be “And” (all conditions must occur in order to trigger the event) or “Or” (any of the conditions will trigger the event). To add another condition (in this case Motion Detected), select a New Event of “Motion Detected” and select “Add”. Then indicate the camera that is monitoring for motion.

You can also set up events that are the result of a user clicking on a button on the tool bar.

Lastly, SDK Events can be set up as event trigger.

Once all conditions have been set up, select the Next Button to proceed to the setup of Actions.

Step 4 – Define Actions

There are many available actions to define:

Create an action event for the Video Player
Send a digital Output on a specific port
Email custom message
Email video to a specified user
Flashback - Email a picture from a specific camera. The flashback function shows thumbnails of key motion movements for that recording. Instead of showing all motion, it analyzes the motion event and shows the most relevant image.
Live Window – Pops up a window displaying the live feed of a camera.
Move a PTZ camera to a specific preset
Record - Set a recording type
Create a video file with audio included

Continuing our example, we will set up three actions that will occur if the conditions have been met: Move a PTZ to a preset position, set the camera to record always, and send an email alert.

Move PTZ to a preset position.

Set camera record always

A new recorded file can be created on Action Starting, Action Ending, or Action Starting and Ending. You can stop recording after a specified length, or at the end of the schedule. (See Advanced tab)

Once all of the actions have been setup, click the Finish button. Note that the actions will be performed in the sequence that they are listed. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow to change the sequence of actions.