Associating Video Cameras with Objects from Graphics

Scenario: You want a graphic that displays a video or monitoring device, as well as its coverage area; that is, the area that is monitored by that device.

There are two methods for doing this:

  • If you are a system engineer or have the job of creating this graphic in a project, you may already have an existing video camera symbol. In this case, you must create the coverage area that graphically represents the area and the objects it monitors and is linked to.
  • You are a project librarian, or you simply do not have an existing video camera symbol, and must create a new symbol for your camera or monitoring device. After importing your device image, the workflow below explains drawing the coverage area for the device and then associating it with the object model definition.

 

Reference:

For background information about this feature, see Coverage Area.

For symbol substitutions and property evaluations information, see:

 

Workflow diagram:

 

 

Prerequisites:

  • System Manager is in Operating mode.
  • You have a project graphic open in the Graphics Editor.
  • You have an understanding of how substitutions work with symbols and Property Evaluations.

 

Steps:

1 – Add and Configuring a Device Symbol to a Graphic

You want to drag an existing monitoring device associated with a coverage area onto your graphic.

  • System Manager is in Operating mode.
  • You have a project graphic open in the Graphics Editor.
  • In System Browser, select the appropriate view that contains the monitoring device you are adding to the graphic.
  1. From that view, navigate to a camera or monitoring device, and then drag the device on the graphic.
  • The camera or monitoring device displays on the graphic.
  1. To select and adjust the coverage area shape, press SHIFT and click the coverage area handles (for example, the Path shape). You can now modify the element size, shape, color, and so on.
  1. To add color to the coverage area, go to the Home tab, select the Brush Editor group, and then select a color.
    NOTE: To revert back to the default state of the symbol instance, right-click and select Revert to Default. All changes to the symbol instance are cleared. Additionally, if you move your cursor over the arrow, it lists the changes made to the elements within the symbol instance.
  1. To associate other objects or devices, such as sensors to the coverage area, do one of the following or do both if needed:
    a. Drag a detector or sensor from the Management View onto the graphic. Repeat as needed until you have all the devices you want monitored in the coverage area.
    b. For existing detectors, sensors or any elements already associated with a data point on the graphic, drag the detector or sensor objects into the coverage area.
  1. To edit elements within the symbol instance, see Modifying Elements in a Symbol Instance .
  1. Once you have added and modified the coverage area by adding objects and adjusting the coverage area size, click Save .
  • All the objects that are within a coverage area on any layer are now associated to the main object or device. When you select the device in System Browser, Related Items displays the main object.

 

2 – Draw a Coverage Area Symbol
  • You want to create and save a symbol that consists of an image (for example, a camera or motion sensor) and a pre-defined coverage area associated with the image. Or, you have an existing device symbol in your Library and want to add a coverage area to the device symbol.
    After this procedure, a user can drag the updated device symbol onto a graphic and the coverage area is available to graphically associate other objects, to, for example, represent the objects the camera or motion sensor is monitoring.
  • You should have an understanding of how substitutions work with symbols and Property Evaluations.
  • You have reviewed or completed the Preparing to Create Controls to Command Objects workflow.
  • System Manager is in Engineering mode.
  • You have a new or existing symbol open in the Graphics Editor.
  1. If this is a new symbol, drag an image onto the canvas for the device that is going to monitor objects and data points on the graphic. Otherwise, if this is an existing device symbol and already contains a device image, proceed to Step 2.
  1. On the Home tab, from the Elements group, click one of the following elements to draw the coverage area on the symbol: Path, Ellipsis, Polygon, and Rectangle.
    NOTE: The type of shape cannot be changed in the symbol instance. However, the Path element has segments that can be adjusted individually in the symbol instance, and is the recommended choice for drawing a coverage area.
  1. Click the canvas, and draw the coverage area.
  1. Select the coverage area and navigate to the Properties view and expand the Advanced properties so that the Coverage Area Reference field is visible.
  1. To reference a specific device or create an object model, do one of the following:
  • Device specific: In System Browser, from the Management View, navigate to the hardware device, camera or motion sensor object, and drag it over the Graphics Editor's Properties view > Coverage Area Reference field.
  • Object model: In the Evaluation Editor, from the Property drop-down menu, select Coverage Area Reference. In the Expression field, enter the coverage area reference or a substitution enclosed with double quotes. For example: "{*objectref}". This allows you to bind the element to an object model.
  1. In the Properties view, from the General section, do the following:
    a. (Optional) In the Tooltip field, type a label for the coverage area. The text displays in the Graphics Viewer when you move your mouse over the coverage area.
    b. Click Next to assign the next available ID value in the ID field.
    c. (Optional) In the Description field, enter a description for the coverage area.
  • When you click away from the element, the Element Tree view lists the element with the ID number and description in parentheses.
Information

NOTE:
When the symbol is a symbol instance in a graphic, you can change the dimensions of the coverage area element only if the element has an ID associated with it. If you leave the ID field blank, the element cannot be edited.

  1. To save the symbol, click Save As from the File menu. Expand the Libraries directory and navigate to the appropriate library and Symbol folder you want to save the symbol to, and then click Save.
  1. If you create an object model, do one of the following:
  • If the device symbol is not yet associated to an object model or a function, to complete the process of creating a coverage area symbol, proceed to the next procedure, Associating a Coverage Area Symbol with an Object Model.
  • If the symbol is already associated with an object model or function, the coverage area or device symbol is ready to use in a project graphic to graphically represent a monitoring device. Linked data points and objects can be added to the coverage area. For more information, see Using Coverage Area Symbols in Project Graphics.

 

3 - Associate a Coverage Area Symbol with an Object Model

You have a coverage area symbol that you want to associate to an object model.

  1. In System Browser, select Management View.
  1. Select Project > Field Networks > [device].
  1. In the Object Configuration tab, double-click the text Object Model.
  • The Models and Functions tab displays.
  1. Click the Models and Function tab, and then scroll down to the Symbols section, so that it is visible on the screen.
  1. In System Browser, select the Manual Navigation check box.
  1. Navigate to the symbol library folder where the symbol you want to associate to the object model is saved.
  1. Right-click the Symbol folder, and from the menu that displays select Send to Secondary Pane.
  • The Symbol Browser displays in the Secondary pane, and displays the symbols from the folder you selected in System Browser.
  1. Drag the symbol you want to associate to the object model and drop it into the Symbol section of the Models and Functions tab.
  • The symbol is now associated with the object model.
  1. To make the symbol the default symbol of the object model, right-click the symbol in the Symbols pane, and from the menu available on right-click, select Set as Default.
  1. Click Save .
  • You have now associated the symbol with the object model and made it its default symbol.