XML – Exacq

In large organizations, such as multi-site enterprises, K-12 school districts, or university campuses, some admins will desire the ability to remotely manage the server connections their users have added within their ExacqVision Client application. This can result in faster deployments as well as less user support from their IT/Desktop Support teams, avoiding emailing, printing, or reciting information over the phone on how to enter each server’s IP address and that user’s login credentials.

This guide is written for ExacqVision Client version 9.4 and higher. Versions 9.2 and earlier used alternative file types.

This guide is broken into sections for readability but it is recommended to review each section.

Client Configuration File

The ExacqVision Desktop Client application saves settings information for each user account on the system, allowing users who share the same workstation to login with different operating system accounts and retain different server lists and client settings from each other. These settings are stored in an XML file titled, ‘edvrclient.xml‘, located in the following location:

Windows
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\edvrclient\edvrclient.xml

Linux (Ubuntu)
/home/%username%/.edvrclient.dir/edvrclient.xml

macOS
/Users/%username%/Library/Application Support/edvrclient/edvrclient.xml

Each time the ExacqVision Client is opened, it refers to this file for its configuration, unless told otherwise.

Importing Via Client

There are four methods for populating a system list for client users. Within the client, these can be found on the ‘Add Systems‘ page by selecting the ‘Import/Export‘ tab.

Manual Import
Automatic Import – File on startup
Automatic Import – URL on startup
Automatic Import – Synchronize with Enterprise Manager

The first option is ‘Manual Import‘, using an XDV file. XDV is the file format ExacqVision exports, allowing you to configure one client as you’d like it, then export your System List in this XDV file for others to import. This method does little to help those deploying to many systems since it requires manually importing on each client instance.

XDV files are written in standard XML format, but are encrypted and associated to a MIME type which tells the workstation to open it with the ExacqVision Client application. XDVs contain a large amount of information about each connected server as well as client instance settings. XML tags and attributes not included in manually created files are filled in by the software with default information, meaning you only need to include the specific attributes relevant to your case. In this article we focus on providing a list of systems for users to connect to.

Beneath this is the ‘Automatic Import‘ section, which provides a few options. ‘File on startup‘ tells the client software to import client settings from the specified XDV file. This may reside on the local client workstation or on a network file share, but the share must be reachable when the client application is opened.

‘URL on startup‘ works in much the same way as ‘File on startup’, but allows the XDV file to reside at a web URL rather than a local directory or file share.

Finally, ‘Synchronize with ExacqVision Enterprise Manager‘, authenticates to an EM server for a list of ExacqVision Servers the authenticated account has access to and populates the System List based on the systems and user roles EM provides to that account. This method requires an Enterprise Manager instance as well as Enterprise licensed servers.

A benefit of using the ‘Automatic Import’ options is that administrators have control over which systems users have added to their client software and since the software checks this each time it opens, it changes any client settings the user may have tried to make since it was last used. This last part is important since users that you choose to prompt for credentials with each use may try to check the ‘Save credentials’ option, but forcing the client to use this file each time it opens causes them to be prompted for credentials anyway. It also adds or removes systems from their System List as you make changes to your systems and network.

Creating a Populated System List

The following steps will detail how to populate a user’s System List, which may be a common administrative task in environments where workstations are often reimaged or new users need to add several systems to their client instances.

Using a text edit, you will edit your own files following the examples below.

Ex. 1 – Always prompt for credentials
<exacqVisionInit>
    <Systems>
        <System Address="192.168.0.200" Port="22609"/>
        <System Address="192.168.0.201" Port="22609"/>
        <System Address="exacq.mysite.com" Port="22609"/>
    </Systems>
</exacqVisionInit>

Within the System tag, in the Address attribute, you will enter the IP address or hostname of your systems. The template provides examples. The default listening port for ExacqVision Server software is 22609. If you have changed this, enter your port number in the corresponding Port attribute for each system.

In this, the most basic configuration, the System rows above end there and the client software will prompt the user to enter their credentials each time the client is opened. Repeat the System rows as many times as needed.

Ex. 2 – Use credentials entered below
<exacqVisionInit>    &nbsp<Systems>         <System Address="192.168.0.200" Port="22609" Username="myusername" Password="mypassword" PasswordType="0"/>         <System Address="192.168.0.201" Port="22609" Username="myusername" Password="mypassword" PasswordType="0"/>         <System Address="exacq.mysite.com" Port="22609" Username="myusername" Password="mypassword" PasswordType="0"/>    &nbsp</Systems> </exacqVisionInit>

Adding Username and Password attributes provide additional customization. If you choose to add these attributes you will need to enter the user account credentials you’ve previously created on the system for this user. You must also set the PasswordType attribute to a value of 0. After the client imports the settings, it encrypts the plaintext password entered into the edvrclient.xml files mentioned above and the PasswordType value is changed to 3.

Ex. 3 – Synchronize with Enterprise Manager
<exacqVisionInit>    &nbsp<Systems>         <System Address="192.168.0.200" Port="22609" UseSystemLogin="1"/>         <System Address="192.168.0.201" Port="22609" UseSystemLogin="1"/>         <System Address="exacq.mysite.com" Port="22609" UseSystemLogin="1"/>    &nbsp</Systems> </exacqVisionInit>

The above example will add the listed systems for the client, but rather than including login credentials or prompting the user for credentials, will tell the client to login with Single Sign-On. Note that this requires the servers to have Active Directory/LDAP configured and the client workstation must be a member of the domain. See other guides for help configuring Active Directory/LDAP.

You may mix and match the examples of System authentication from the previous examples. For instance, you may add one system that logs the user in with credentials provided, but prompt for credentials for another system.

Enabling Your Configuration on Client Workstations

With the file created, you may now save it in a couple of ways.

If you save the file as an XML file, named ‘edvrclient.xml’, and replace the existing ‘edvrclient.xml’ file in the client directory mentioned earlier, the client will use this the next time it opens.

You may also save the file with a descriptive name of your choice and ensure that the file extension is not XML, but is XDV instead. This XDV file will not be encrypted yet. If you wish to encrypt it, you must first open it with the ExacqVision Client then export a new XDV file from the ‘Import/Export‘ tab on the ‘Add Systems‘ page. Exporting automatically encrypts the contents but you will be unable to edit it again after this process. As mentioned previously XDV files are associated with a MIME type, allowing a user to double-click on the file to open the ExacqVision Client with its configuration. For this reason an XDV file placed on a user’s Desktop provides an easy way for them to open the client with your desired configuration.

With this in mind, you may create one or more XMLs or XDVs to help specific users populate and login to a list of systems, or control a list of systems for a group of users. You will then need to find a method to deploy this to your user’s client workstations. You may choose to use third-party software deployment tools or you may opt to create a script that copies the file(s) to the desired workstations. Note, Exacq Support does not provide such scripts or provide help creating such scripts for your organization. We review some deployment options below.

Copy an XDV file to the user’s Desktop. When the user clicks to run it, the ExacqVision Client opens with the included configuration parameters.
Copy the XML file to the client settings directory to replace the existing ‘edvrclient.xml’ file.

The client automatically uses this configuration when it is launched again. Don’t forget that each user account on a workstation with multiple users will have their own ‘edvrclient.xml’ file in the directories listed near the top of this guide.
Save the XDV file to a network location or directory on the client workstation. Copy an ‘edvrclient.xml’ file to the client settings directory on the workstation to instruct the client, when launched, to automatically import the XDV file configuration.

This method makes the most sense using a networked location because you only need to deploy one file to the workstation (‘edvrclient.xml’), rather than two, but we will cover how to perform both options below.

Instruct edvrclient.xml to Auto Import XDV

Using a text editor, you will edit your own files using the examples below.

Ex. 4 – Auto Import File on Startup
<exacqVisionInit ClientIniAutoUpdateEna="1" ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl="C:\Users\RSmith\Documents\Demo.xdv">     <Systems>     </Systems> </exacqVisionInit>

In this example we add the attribute ClientInitAutoUpdate=”1″ to the exacqVisionInit tag, which enables the ‘Auto Import’ option. The ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl attribute sets the value to the location of the XDV file you want to import, with a list of servers we want the user to have. In this example, the location is a local directory on a Windows workstation for a user named ‘RSmith’, within his Documents directory. If you want to maintain your XDV files on a network share, be sure the share is always available, or the client will be unable to import the file.

Ex. 5 – Auto Import URL on Startup
<exacqVisionInit ClientIniAutoUpdateEna="1" ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl="https://demo.exacq.com/Demo.xdv">     <Systems>     </Systems> </exacqVisionInit>

To import from a URL instead, simply change the ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl value to the URL, as shown in the above example.

Changing the file to force client synchronization with your ExacqVision Enterprise Manager server requires a few more edits.

Ex. 6 – Auto Import Synchronize with Enterprise Manager with credentials
<exacqVisionInit ClientIniAutoUpdateEna="1" ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl="https://192.168.0.4">     <Sync Enabled="1" Username="myusername" Password="mypassword" PasswordType="0"/> </exacqVisionInit>

The value of the ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl attribute changes to the address/hostname of your Enterprise Manager server.

A new Sync tag replaces the Systems tag in this example, and our Enabled attribute for it has a value of 1. The Username and Password values will be for the user credentials for the Enterprise Manager user. Once again, if opting to enter the Username and Password, you must add the PasswordType attribute and set the value to 0.

Ex. 7 – Auto Import Synchronize with Enterprise Manager prompt for credentials
<exacqVisionInit ClientIniAutoUpdateEna="1" ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl="https://192.168.0.4">     <Sync Enabled="1" CredsPrompt="1"/> </exacqVisionInit>

To prompt the user to enter their Enterprise Manager credentials each time the client is opened, remove the Username and Password attributes and add the CredsPrompt attribute with a value of 1, as shown above.

Ex. 8 – Auto Import Synchronize with Enterprise Manager single sign-on
<exacqVisionInit ClientIniAutoUpdateEna="1" ClientIniAutoUpdateUrl="https://192.168.0.4">     <Sync Enabled="1" CredsSingleSignOn="1"/> </exacqVisionInit>

If your Enterprise Manager instance is configured for Active Directory/LDAP and the client workstations are members of your domain, you may also set the option to connect using Single Sign-On.

This example removes the CredsPrompt attribute and uses the CredsSingleSignOn attribute instead, setting the value to 1.

Beginning with version 9.4, the exacqVision Desktop Client offers the ability for administrators to prevent users from deactivating an Event Monitoring profile.

In previous versions, when an Event Monitoring profile was active a user could accidentally deactivate the profile by navigating away from it or by closing the client window.

With Client 9.4 or higher, an administrator can keep an Event Monitoring profile active even if the user tries to close the client window. In this scenario, if the user tries to close the client window it remains active in the system tray. When an event occurs, the window will reappear and come to the foreground in front of any other client instances that may be running.

A user that wants to view other cameras, perform video searches or perform other actions can still do so by opening another client instance, but they won’t miss an event from their Event Monitoring profile.

To configure this, perform the following steps:

Upgrade the exacqVision Desktop Client to 9.4 or greater.
Open a file editor, such as Notepad for Windows, or gedit on Ubuntu Linux.
Use the sample code, below, as your template.
- Replace MYPROFILE with the name of the Event Monitoring profile you’ve created and wish to remain active.
- Replace MYEVSERVER with either the system name or IP address of the exacqVision Server.

&lt?xml ?&gt<br>
&ltexacqVisionInit ShowTrayIcon="1" ShowToolbars="0" ShowNavPanel="0" Caption="Event Monitor System Tray" Delete="0"<br>RestoreOnAttnReq="1" Maximize="1" AllowAccelerators="0"&gt<br>
        &ltLive EventMonitor="MYPROFILE"&gt<br>
                &ltSystem Name="MYEVSERVER"/&gt<br>
        &lt/Live&gt<br>
&lt/exacqVisionInit&gt

Save the newly created file to the Desktop, or other desired location, with a descriptive name and the .XDV file extension.

In editors such as Notepad, you will need to use the ‘Save as type’ drop-down menu to select ‘All Files (*.*)’, then enter the desired file name with the .XDV extension included at the end.

You may place this .XDV file on any client machine that will connect to the server to run. When run, the client will open to the chosen Event Monitoring profile and cannot be deactivated.

Client Configuration File

Importing Via Client

Creating a Populated System List

Enabling Your Configuration on Client Workstations

Instruct edvrclient.xml to Auto Import XDV

Description

Product

Steps to Reproduce

Expected Results

Actual Results

Solution