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Screenshot: Xeoma’s feature to save instant shots of camera image

Screenshot is a feature in Xeoma video security program that takes an instant snapshot of a camera image and saves it to a disk either on the server or the client side. Additionally, it offers to print the snap image or to send it via email. The email sending part doesn’t depend on whether or not there is an Email Sending module in the camera’s chain: the settings for email sending can be configured in this option’s dialog.

The Screenshot feature is a must-have for security operators monitoring cameras for threats. In just 1 click, a Xeoma operator can take a snapshot or a series of snapshots of the events that unfold live – for forensic, investigatory or other purposes.

This feature is available in Xeoma Standard and Xeoma Pro editions, as well as in the Trial versions of these two editions.

The feature is available in Xeoma versions for all supported desktop operating systems, as well as in Xeoma’s Android app.

This feature is not available in the Multi-server mode. Request its addition if it’s critical in your project.

This feature is only available for one camera at a time, therefore it is not available in the Multi-Camera Live View window (main window) or in the simultaneous view of archive recordings from several cameras.

This feature is not available in Xeoma’s iOS app. You can use the system’s screenshot tools instead.

The Screenshot feature is available in the Quick Settings window and in the Archive Viewer window.

The Screenshot feature takes a still image from a camera in the camera’s original resolution – even if a camera is stretched across several monitors.
See here if you need to have screenshots of several cameras at the same time | See here if you need to get videos, not images
 

 

When you’re in the Quick Settings window, viewing one selected camera in real time, Screenshot is offered as the far right button in the lower panel.

The button is ready for urgent action: it takes just a slight mouse movement to hover over it and one mouse click to engage the feature:

 

A screenshot will be taken immediately after you press the button, and saved to Xeoma’s storage space for screenshots in the background. This is handy if you need to make a series of screenshots and have no time to select the storage path and file name. At the same time, the Screenshot feature’s menu will be opened on the side with the following additional options:

 

*‘Choose location for storing screenshots’ to select which side – client or server – must store the screenshot (the option currently selected is in the green color):

 

*‘Open screenshots directory’ to open a system folder containing taken screenshots:

 

*‘Print’ to send the recently taken screenshot to a default printer in your system;
*‘Email to’ to send the taken screenshot via email. This option is set up right in this dialog, so it doesn’t depend on or require an Email Sending module in the camera chain:

 

If the Screenshot feature is not needed in your system, you can have it moved from the lower panel to the Main menu so that it doesn’t take space in the toolbar. To do that, select the ‘Move to the Main Menu’ option from the Screenshot’s menu options:

After that, you will still be able to use the Screenshot feature, but it will be accessible from the Main Menu instead. You can reinstate it as the lower panel button at any time:

 

When you’re viewing a camera’s archive recordings, you will have the Screenshot feature available in the Archive Viewer window too. However, it will be presented as a menu option, not a button. There’s a reason behind it: the level of urgency in the archive player is lower when compared to the live view: you can pause or rewind the episode you want to screenshot, so it’s not that critical to have the Screenshot feature directly at hand.

So when you want to screenshot what you see in the Archive Viewer, click on the menu button, find the ‘Screenshot’ option there and click it. A snapshot of camera image will be taken immediately after that – you will see a confirmation note at the top of the screen. The still image will have the same resolution as the resolution of the recording you’re viewing.

The menu of the Screenshot feature in the Archive Viewer will have almost same options that it has in the Quick Settings window:
*‘Choose location for storing screenshots’ to select which side – client or server – must store the screenshot (the option currently selected is in the green color);
*‘Open screenshots directory’ to open a system folder containing taken screenshots;
*‘Print’ to send the recently taken screenshot to a default printer in your system;
*‘Email to’ to send the taken screenshot via email. This option is set up right in this dialog, so it doesn’t depend on or require an Email Sending module in the camera chain.

See the ‘More about the Screenshot option in the Quick Settings’ section above to see more screenshots.

 

You can use the ‘Open screenshots directory’ option within the Screenshot menu to see what folder the screenshots taken from this camera are stored to. Click this option, and the folder will be opened in your system.

Here are the typical paths to the screenshots folder, depending on the operating system:
For Windows: C:\Users\Public\Pictures\Xeoma Screenshots\CameraName
For Linux: – /home/a/Pictures/Xeoma Screenshots/CameraName
For MacOSX: /Users/admin/Pictures/Xeoma Screenshots/CameraName
For Android: System Disk\Xeoma\Xeoma Screenshots\CameraName

where CameraName is the name of the camera set in the ‘Universal Camera’ settings.

The path cannot be changed. Only the name of the ‘CameraName’ subfolder changes when the actual name of the camera is changed.
 

You cannot change the folder in which screenshots taken with the Screenshot feature are stored. You can, however, select on which side – client or server – the screenshots will be saved. See ‘Choose location for storing screenshots’.
 

Modules:

* Save to File: this destination module is a great alternative to the regular way Xeoma makes recordings – the “Preview and Archive” module. One of the “Save to File” advantages is that it offers a choice of what to save: videos or images. It’s an automated way to get pictures at regular intervals (or, depending on the modules in the chain, upon detecting a target event). See more about the ‘Save to File’ module

In most cases this module is used separately for each camera you want to get images from. However, special modules like ‘Unitor’ or ‘Screen Capture’ can combine several cameras for your ‘Save to File’ module so that it saves a combined image.

* Screen Capture: this source module is used to capture everything that is going on on your display, from all monitors if there are several connected. So if you have Xeoma opened on your monitor, all cameras that it is showing will be captured as a single video stream and passed to other modules in a chain, where the destination modules control whether it will be saved as videos or images, the frequency of saving, etc. See more about the ‘Screen Capture’ module

* Email Sending: this destination module is used for an automated sending of messages to an e-mail or e-mails. A snap picture from a camera can be attached to a mail message, that’s what makes it related to a screenshot. It’s an automated way to get messages and pictures at regular intervals (or, depending on the modules in the chain, upon detecting a target event like intrusion). See more about the ‘Email Sending’ module

* ANPR Sender to FTP is a destination module that is used in combination with the ANPR (license plate recognizer) module in automated fining systems for traffic-related offences. When the ANPR module recognizes a license plate, the ANPR Sender to FTP module sends a report and a picture of the recognized license plate number and the whole camera image to the specified storage via FTP. So, in a way, this can be also considered a screenshot. This pair of modules can be combined with other modules or tools to detect a traffic rules violation of the needed type.

Features:

* The Export feature available in the Archive Viewer window’s menu is usually used to download a piece of the video footage, for example, to be presented to the police. Nevertheless, this option can also be used for extraction of a single frame, an image – which is closely related to using the Screenshot feature. While the export feature takes longer to engage, it allows to select the needed image with the embedded calendar by its date/time and choose a folder where to save the shot to. This is a purely manual feature.

* Save frames with recognized faces is an option in the Face Recognition module that, upon recognizing a person in sight, automatically saves shots that have visualization of the recognized face just like what you see in live view. The feature is self-sufficient and works independently of destination modules. The feature works automatically at irregular intervals (upon detecting an event). See more about the ‘Face Recognition’ module

In most cases this module is used separately for each camera you want to get images from. However, special modules like ‘Unitor’ or ‘Screen Capture’ can combine several cameras for your ‘Face Recognition’ module so that it works with a combined image.

* A {JPG} macro that you can find in the ANPR module can be used to send a still image from a camera that depicts a vehicle with the recognized license plate to an external tool. To use it, select the ‘Detect upon receiving signal from external third-party utility/URL’ option in the ANPR’s ‘Detection type’ dropdown field, and use the {JPG} macro in the “Path/URL to an external module” field. See more about the ‘ANPR’ module

In most cases this module is used separately for each camera you want to get images from. However, special modules like ‘Unitor’ or ‘Screen Capture’ can combine several cameras for your ‘ANPR’ module so that it works with a combined image.

 

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This article demonstrates that the Screenshot feature in Xeoma video security program is a valuable tool because it allows security operators to take a snap picture of a camera image with just a few clicks when the situation is urgent. Being available both in the live view of a camera and in the player of its recordings, this feature also allows to print the newly taken screenshot or to send it by email – all in the same menu.

December 10, 2024

Read also:
Xeoma module: Unitor
Xeoma screen recording software