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Using the FTP Profiles dialog, you can create and manage profiles for automatically uploading images to FTP servers.

You need to create at least one profile that you can select in the Time Tasks or in the detail view of the Action Group Overview dialog for transferring images via FTP.

What is FTP?

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an Internet protocol used for exchanging files between computers. This protocol is used frequently for uploading modified HTML pages or images to the server of an Internet provider.

Using the MOBOTIX Camera for FTP Transfers

The MOBOTIX camera can transfer images via FTP to a server, so that your website always shows an up-to-date image, for example. In this setting, the camera functions as sender (FTP client) while the remote computer acts as the receiver (FTP server).

You may define one or multiple FTP profiles. Every FTP profile contains the entire set of FTP transfer information. The transfer can be triggered either by a task defined in the Time Tasks dialog or by an event defined in the detail view of the Action Group Overview dialog.

Global Options and Profile Options

This dialog contains global options that can be used in all profiles and profile options only valid for the respective profile.

It is recommended to use the global options for entering frequently used parameters (e.g. FTP Server, User Name, Password and Connection). In the profiles using the global FTP server, you can leave the respective fields empty.

Streaming FTP

Select one of the profiles defined in the Profiles & Options section to be used in Streaming FTP mode. While regular FTP transfers use the complete FTP transfer procedure with the FTP server (login, change to the directory, transfer the file, logoff), this transfer mode will connect only once to the FTP server. The camera then tries to keep open the connection until all file transfers have been completed and logs off only after that. If the update interval has been set to Fastest, the file transfers are started as quickly as possible, i.e. the next file transfer is started immediately after the previous transfer has been completed.

Note

If you have created a new FTP profile (Add new profile button at the bottom of the dialog), make sure that you click on the Set button before trying to select the new profile in the FTP Profile list.

Profiles & Options

Notes

Click on the More button at the bottom of the dialog to display all options for all profiles.
The first line below the profile name shows the Current Destination file. Once you have made the desired changes, click on the Set button in the lower part of the dialog to update the profile entry.

For each profile, set the following parameters in the FTP Profiles dialog:

Parameter

Description

FTP Profile n

Enter a unique profile name.

You can select the stored profiles in the Time Tasks and in the detail view of the Action Group Overview dialogs, in order to perform time or event-controlled file transfers.

Current Destination

Here, the camera displays the destination file that is created using the current values in the fields Directory Name, File Name and Event Directory.

Note

If you have modified any of these fields, you need to click on the Set button at the bottom of the dialog to update the current destination file.

Directory Name

Enter the FTP server directory name where you want the images to be stored.

You may use any name that is valid for your FTP server and that is accessible for you. If the specified directory does not yet exist, it will be created during the FTP transfer. If you are using Variables (this is the factory default), the directories are created using the corresponding names.

If you leave this field empty, the images are stored directly at the root level ("/") of the FTP server. Make sure that the user you entered has the necessary access rights for storing files and for creating directories.

Note

Do not enter a slash ("/") before the directory name!

File Name

Enter the file name (e.g. my_image.jpg) for the stored image.

You may use any name that is valid for your FTP server. If you are using Variables (this is the factory default), the files are created using the corresponding names.

File Type

Select the desired type of data you would like to transfer:

Image from image profile: Transfers an image according to a profile defined in the Image Profiles dialog.
Video Clip: Transfers image data as MxPEG clip with audio or JPEG files.
System Messages: Transfer all system messages collected by the camera during the specified period of time.
Web Server Log: Sends the log file of the web server.
Text Message: Sends the specified text message.

File Format: Image from image profile

For every FTP profile, you can use a specific image format that is independent of the image format currently displayed by the camera. These formats are saved in the camera as image profiles.

Select one of the image profiles defined in the Image Profiles dialog.

Note

If MxPEG has been activated in the camera, the frame rate will be reduced for ten seconds if an image is pulled from the camera using one of the image profiles.

File Format: MxPEG or JPEG clip

Select the file format of the image files that will be sent:

MxPEG Clip file: Transfers the image data as MxPEG clips with audio.
Single JPEG file(s): Transmits the image data as single JPEG files.

Set the desired Clip Frame Rate and the time to include before and after the event(Time Before and Time After).

Note

The frame rate set in these boxes depends on a number of factors (e.g. the processor load at the time of the event) and may not reach the set frame rate.

In particular, using the Playback has Priority setting in the Setup Menu > General Image Settings dialog can reduce the pre-alarm frame rate to 2 fps.

Temporary Name

If this option is active, the image is stored in a temporary file during FTP transfer. Once it has been transferred completely, the image will be renamed.

Activate this option to prevent visitors from seeing incomplete images, empty frames or error messages if the image transfer has not been completed.

In order to create a unique file name, this name is composed of the serial number of the camera (red) and the profile number (blue).

Example:

mx0108e702

Some FTP servers such as Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) do not allow renaming a file to an existing one. Make sure that you use the Enable, delete before rename option in this case.

Event Directory

Activate this option if you would like to create an individual subdirectory for every event and its pre- and post-alarm images.

FTP Server

Enter the IP address or the name of the FTP server (recipient). Examples:

IP Address:	`123,123,123,123`
Computer Name:	`ftp.myftpserver.com`

If you would like to use a symbolic name, make sure that at least one DNS server has been specified in the Ethernet Interface dialog so that the camera can obtain an IP address for this server.

User Name

Enter the user name for logging on to the FTP server.

You will be assigned a user name either by your Internet provider or by your system administrator.

Password

Enter the password for logging on to the FTP server.

You will be assigned a password either by your Internet provider or by your system administrator.

Connection

Should you not want to use the global default settings in a profile, you can select Active FTP (if a firewall or a router is located between the camera and the FTP server) or Passive FTP here.

If you are not sure which setting is supported by your FTP server, do not change this setting.

Testing Profiles

If you have created or modified one or more profiles, you should test the profiles (after you have closed the dialog using the Set and Close buttons and you have stored the configuration permanently). Open the Test Current Network Configuration dialog for testing. Click on the Transfer button behind the corresponding profile and monitor the output on the Network Test Log window. For additional information on this topic, see the Test Network Current Configuration help page.

Adding a Profile

Click on the Add new profile button at the bottom of the dialog to create a new profile. Overtype the proposed name with a name that describes the profile as good as possible; this name is used to identify the profile in other dialogs (e.g. the detail view of the action groups).

Deleting Profiles

In order to delete a profile, activate the Delete checkbox at the top of the profile. The profile will be deleted as soon as you click on Set at the bottom of the dialog.

Saving Created Profiles

Click on the Set button to check the created profiles. If a profile is faulty or entries are missing, you will be prompted to correct or complete your entries for this profile. If no errors have been detected, the profile is stored temporarily.

Click on the Close button to close the dialog. While closing the dialog, the system checks the entire configuration for changes. If changes are detected, you will be asked if you would like to store the entire configuration permanently.

Notes

Any newly created or modified profile is saved permanently only when the entire camera configuration is stored.
In order to activate the newly created or modified FTP profiles, you do not have to reboot the camera.

Variables and Placeholders for Directory and File Names

In order to create unique directory or file names, you can use variables or placeholders. Using variables and placeholders is helpful for creating e.g. a daily history.

The variables listed in the following are only shown as an example. Read the Variables and Placeholders help pages for more information on dynamic texts.

Variable

Description

$(TEXT.FTPDIR)

MOBOTIX pre-defined directory

The placeholder is replaced by a unique directory structure following the pattern below:

cameraname/YYYY/MM/DD/hh/

Camera Name	The computer name of the camera as defined in the Ethernet Interface dialog or assigned via DHCP.
YYYY	Year, four digits
MM	Month, two digits with leading zero
TT	Day, two digits with leading zero
hh	Hour, two digits with leading zero

$(TEXT.FTPFILE)

MOBOTIX pre-defined file name

The placeholder is replaced by a unique file name following the pattern below:

mYYMMDDhhmmssmmm

m	The letter "m"
YY	Year, two digits with leading zero
MM	Month, two digits with leading zero
TT	Day, two digits with leading zero
hh	Hour, two digits with leading zero
mm	Minute, two digits with leading zero
ss	Second, two digits with leading zero
mmm	Milliseconds, three digits with leading zeros

Remember to add the .jpg file name extension so that the camera generates a valid file name. $(TEXT.FTPFILE).jpg.

Notes

Make sure placeholders and variables are typed correctly.
Note that placeholders are case-sensitive, but variables are not.
Click on the Set button and compare the results after Current Destination of the FTP profile with the version you envisioned.

Additional Possibilities for Creating Dynamic Directory and File Names

Apart from the placeholders listed above, you can also use these variables.

Memorizzazione della configurazione

Fare clic sul pulsante Imposta per attivare le impostazioni e salvarle fino al prossimo riavvio della videocamera.

Fare clic sul pulsante Default per caricare i valori di default di questa finestra di dialogo (opzione non presente in tutte le finestre di dialogo).

Fare clic sul pulsante Ripristina per annullare le modifiche più recenti che non sono state memorizzate in modo permanente nella videocamera.

Fare clic sul pulsante Chiudi per chiudere la finestra di dialogo. Durante la chiusura della finestra di dialogo il sistema verifica eventuali modifiche nella configurazione. Se le rileva chiede di memorizzare in modo permanente l'intera configurazione.