Program Settings

General program settings are mainly done via the command Home > Settings. The corresponding dialogue box is providing all options therefore needed and grouped into separate categories. Some important options are already activated per default:

Open

The following chapters are going to explain the categories with all their options in detail.

Presets

This menu sets the default settings for new projects.

Open

1. The country setting can be set in this line. It is recommended to mirror the personal computer settings.

2. The language in which the projects are recorded, can be set in this line. It is recommended to mirror the personal computer settings.

3. The preferred recording standard can be set in this line. This is automatically applied when a new project is created, but can be changed in the project at any time.

4. A preferred template can be set in this line. It is applied automatically when a new project is created, but can be changed in the project at any time.

5. This line sets the preferred database type.

6. In this line the default project save path is set for new projects.

7. This option makes new projects accessible to anyone who has access to it.

8. This option controls whether the project participants interface is launched immediately after creating a new project. Keep it unchecked if you prefer to start directly with the survey instead of entering the participants addresses.

General

Click on the tab General Settings within the categtory General to see all options which must enabled or disabled respectively prior to datay entry or survey start. Optiones required by the bulk of the customers are enabled per default and additional information about each check box can be found by hovering the mouse pointer over the text:

Click on the tab Colors to set the background colors for specific fields in the data entry areas and also the background colors of the column headings:

The tab AutoNaming (Section/Lateral) allows to select a predefined method for the renaming of sections or laterals. This AutoNaming procedure affects the field, where the section name usually is entered (i.e. OBJ_Key) and can be switched off by the user whenever needed:

The tab DataExchange is providing options to modify the settings for data output (i.e. for printing as well as for country specific exports):

Speech

In these settings, spoken observations can be switched on:

If the option Activate Speech is enabled, the observations are read out loud in the user's selected computer voice.

Keyboard Entry

In this section, keyboard combinations can be defined, to enable common commands during the recording of the project using keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts which are not supported by Microsoft Windows cannot be used. It is recommended to use no more than 2 buttons to assign a single function (i.e. Shift + S).
The entries can be deleted with the BACKSPACE key.

Live Video

In this area, the video source can be selected and activated. The option AutoStart Live Video is going to show the camera image in the video panel of WinCan automatically after a project has been opened. If the camera is turned off the video panel will remains black as there isn't any signal to be transmitted.

1.) Here, any detected video digitizing sources attached to the PC can be selected, and the video feed used for creating survey reports. These devices are most likely to be; a built-in Vitec card, a WinCan MobileCap or a WDM device (e.g. DAZZLE, DFG/USB2 pro etc.):

2.) With this Configure Device option, the video signal source can be configured. The button opens another settings window (Video Setup), which allows settings for the video signal device selected (1).

1.) The video digitizing device can be selected here. On the one hand it is plugged to the computer, on the other hand it must be connected to the signal source (TV camera) via a corresponding cable connection. The device used for digitization is always provided together with a specific driver which has to be preinstalled.

2.) In the selection box Inputline, the channel can be selected. This selection is dependent on the video source.

3.) Audio Device selection box is used to select any devices used for audio recording during survey work.

4.) In the selection box Videonorm, the relevant video standard (PAL, NTSC) can be selected. The selection is also dependent on the video source.

5.) In the Videoformat selection box, the resolution of the video image can be selected, depending on the video signal source.

6.) This option sets the Framerate for the video recordings, depending on the video source.

7.) The Codec dropdown lists the formats that the video recordings can be saved in. Also, this depends on the video digitizing source. If the signal is passing via a Vitec-board or a MobileCap the user will be able to record clips in the video formats MPEG1, 2 or MPEG4. WDM-devices usually get two entries (eg. USB-WebCam and _e_USB-WebCam{_}): when enabling the the first entry the device is going to produce clips in the format AVI which will use much more disk space than clip recording with the second entry. The latter one allows video storing as MPEG1 files and thus helps require much less disk space.

8.) The video quality can be determined in the Quality selection box, depending on the video signal source. You can choose between low, medium, high or numbers between 1 and 4. The higher the image quality, the larger the video files will be.

9.) The OSD Settings button opens a text layer to adjust text display controlled by the WinCan-Software. The width of the borders can be set in the video OSD Setup menu. Other settings are also available depending on the video signal source. A preview of the selected options in the video image frame can be displayed by clicking the Test button. Click the Green OK button last to save all settings:

10.) The Codec Settings button is either active or inactive depending on the video signal source and codec selection. When typical codecs MPEG1, 2 or 4 format are saved, the codec settings cannot be changed, and the button is inactive.

11.) The button Adjust Color and Sound is used for tuning picture and sound:

All settings are finally saved with the green tick button. Now the user is back to LiveVideo settings panel which provides three additional buttons:

• Restore the basic configuration of the device in case of malfunction

• Open a separate panel to toggle the video player (Elecard <-> DirectShow) in case of video playback errors.

• Configure Optical Character Recognition in order to read the current distance value directly from the photo and copy it into the distance field.

Textgenerator

WinCan VX gives you direct control of the text display of any industry-standard On Screen Display (OSD device, text generator), which in turn must be connected via a RS232 interface with a PC/laptop. Data entered in WinCan as well as device specific parameteres (i.e. OSD objects like distance, date, time, inclination, temperature etc.) can thus be displayed in a separate text layer and be recordeded together with the vidoe clip.
The connection between PC and text generator is usually via the RS232 communications cable supplied by the manufacturer of the device.

If a computer-side RS232 connection port is unavailable, you must connect the text generator via a USB-serial adapter and an available USB port on the computer. Such adapters are available together with the corresponding drivers via the PC trade.
The basic settings for the control of various OSD devices from the software WinCan VX are located in the general program settings as described in the previous section. Hit the command Home > Settings and jump to the category OSD:

1. Push the button Select Device to open the list of all supported by WinCan VX text generators (data single panel unit). Up to 5 devices can be operated at the same time. Always assign the correct ComPort to each device.

2. Clicking on the test button checks the connection between the text generator and your computer.

3. Successful communication between the devices will light the corresponding number up red or green.

4. Device-specific functions can accessed be by clicking on the gear button.

The Settings button (5) allows you to custom configure the text display.

The register of OSD Objects in the following dialog window allows the insertion of values provided by device-side built-in parameters (OSD-Objects) and positioning them on the video screen with the help of a virtual XY-matrix (X = horizontal alignment, Y = vertical alignment).

To the right of the list of all OSD objects is the text line on/off as well as the number of characters (e.g. X_max = 50) and rows (e.g. Y_max = 17), so the parameter on the video image can be moved.

You may also use negative values in the column Y (e.g. Y = -1) to make sure the corresponding object parameter is always shown at the lowermost line regardless of the number of lines supported by the OSD device.

At the bottom of the default OSD settings, the user can create himself manual (user-defined) OSD objects.

The Common tab allows you to configure the pop-up behavior of project bar, section data and observation text during surveys. Here the number is entered simply as lines, which positions the text from the upper edge of the video window.

In the above example, the observation text duration during surveying is 5 seconds, 8 lines below the upper edge of the video.

The tab Function and Value Assignments regulates the communication between multiple text generators:

Should you have to connect multiple text generators, individual pop-up profiles can be set for each device. Each profile contains all information about displaying OSD-Objects which – in certain cases - can only be obtained by one or another specific device. WinCan VX supports simultaneous communication with up to 5 devices.

The specification of the content of project bar and section data is done via the corresponding tabs. WinCan VX has a default configuration of text to be displayed in the photo/video window, under the name Standard_ENGLISH (1).

2.) A blank New configuration can be stored under a new name of the user's choice. Note that during a rebuild of the configuration you must make sure to select the correct corresponding database field!

3.) The Copy button copies the existing configuration into a new setup and takes over the existing settings. The name of the new configuration can be assigned by the user.

4.) Using the Import button allows the user to bring in an * .xml file (configuration file) from another system.

5.) Click on the Delete button to delete the current configuration.

The project bar usually allows up to 3 comprehensive lines of custom header text, which should be displayed during the entire video recording at the top of the video image, as soon as the operator has pressed the corresponding command button within the OSD panel:

Click into each cell of the table (1) to select the database fields whose contents should be displayed in the project bar. Up to 8 variables in width and 15 lines are provided by the software.
The tick box (2) below the table allows the user to have the Start and End nodes displayed either according to the flow or to the inspection direction.

The section data including all the basic information about the current section of the pipe is called using the corresponding button in the OSD panel at the beginning of the inspection. WinCan VX provides 18 rows for section data output:

Click into the third column of the table (1) to select the database fields whose contents should be displayed in the section data.
All settings and adjustments to the data display will be finally confirmed via the green OK-button:

WinCan Web

WinCan Web is a separate software interface that allows end users (e.g. engineer offices, water authorities etc.) to access WinCanVX projects via internet.
You can setup and administer a WinCan Web account from here. You can also do everything included in this section via your web browser at https://web.wincan.com/
The Sign In tab allows you to sign into your WinCan Web account with your username and password, and also offers options to automatically sign in when you launch WinCan VX, and for the computer to remember your password.

Once you have logged into your account, there are 5 tabs containing settings that you can use to manage your online account and project delivery:

It is worth noting that WinCan Web is a wholly interactive service with your clients, and that it regularly sends out automated e-mails to your users whenever there are changes made to projects that have been assigned to them. These e-mails can be configured and branded to your own requirements by using the User and Company Profile tabs above, so a little time spent here getting this correct is time well spent.

Hit the tab Register company to setup a new WinCan Web account:

This tab allows you to submit your account username (your e-mail address) if you have forgotten your password and the system will respond with reset options:

Thematic Maps

The settings used within this category are linking WinCan VX queries defined in the module Statistics and Analysis with the module Map-VX. The topic related representation in Map-VX thus is going to be adapted to the WinCan VX query (i.e. different pipe diameters, pipe materials, water protection zones, damage grades etc.).

Plug-Ins

Within this category, related plugins can be enabled or disabled at the disposal. These Plug-Ins imply custom or country specific program implementations, which are not part of any of the standard software packages.

Citi

In this menu, projects can be made to connect to the Citi software. The server name must be localhost.  Choose the Root directory for Citi projects. It should be noted that projects can only be imported!

File Lock

When enabling the file lock for the server drive the projects are located on, WinCan is going to create a temporary copy of the project database on your local hard drive.

This will speed up the access to the data to be edited and prevent other users to access the project you are actually working on: a corresponding warning message will then pop up on their screen.

As soon as you close the project other users within the network environment can open it again and edit the data on their work station.

Proxy

Set the IP-address, username and password for the proxy server to run an automated data transfer from vehicles to the file server located in the office. The proxy settings can be activated or deactivated at any time:

Renaming media files

This category shows all official and country specific templates for setting of video and photo file names that WinCanVX currently provides.

Pick a predefined template (1) from the list box or select the entry Custom (2) and hit the corresponding gear icon (3) to create your own media renaming template for photos and video clips that are linked to sections, laterals or manholes:

The customization dialogue then opens and allows you to freely combine the contents of the selected database fields:

Double-click on the desired field (4) whose content should become a part of the media file name. The field is then moved to the list box at the left side (5). Hit the arrow buttons (6) to change the field order and add FreeText fields (7) to the renaming pattern in order to improve the readability of the future file name.

Once the settings are done you can just apply the new field combination (8) to the existing or future photos/video clips linked the corresponding objects (i.e. section, lateral or manhole) hitting the command Tools > MiscTools > Project media file renaming.