How to Organize Your View Groups Like a Pro in Milestone Smart Client

Learn how to set up and organize view groups in Milestone Smart Client like a pro so you can always find your video when you need it.
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If you’re tired of getting lost in the chaos of your Milestone VMS trying to find video, you’re not alone. Many of us security admins struggle with keeping a complex application organized.

But creating an easy-to-navigate system is crucial to keep operations running smoothly.

Though Marie Kondo-ing your VMS seems daunting, it’s not as difficult as it sounds.

The key to masterful XProtect organization? View groups, baby.

In this blog, we’re covering how to set up and organize view groups in Milestone Smart Client like a genius, so your video is always there when you need it.

The Logic Behind Setting Up View Groups in Smart Client

As we know, video is displayed in XProtect Smart Client through views. Able to hold up to 100 cameras, images, Smart Maps, alarms, and text, views contain a lot of valuable information. Information that you probably (definitely) don’t want to lose.

So how do you stay organized?

Tip: create a folder hierarchy that actually makes sense.

Revolutionary, we know. It’s a pretty straightforward strategy for organizing your views, but taking the time to create a naming logic that makes sense [to more than just you] can go a long way.

For example, let’s say you have several cameras on 15 different floors of a parking garage. 

Here’s how you’d organize groups for that facility:

> Parking Garage Name

> Floor

> Views by camera usage or by what each camera is looking at (ie. elevators, entry/exit etc.)

Kind of like…

LAX Parking Lot 1 > Floor 1 > 1st Floor Elevator Cameras

PS. If you want tips on how to name your views and cameras effectively, we have a blog on that too!  ➜  How to Update Your Camera Names So They Actually Make Sense

More Things to Keep In Mind When Setting Up & Using View Groups

Outside of just organizing view groups strategically, here are some relevant tips to keep in mind:

When you create a new role in Management Client, it automatically also creates a view group. That view group, based on a role, also carries the role’s name.

For example, if you create a role with the name Building A Security Staff, it appears in XProtect Smart Client as a view group called Building A Security Staff.

However, that new role doesn’t automatically get rights to that group. You can assign that role permissions to that group, delete that group if it’s not necessary, or give a different role permissions to that group.

In addition to the view groups you get when adding roles, you may create as many other view groups as you like. Yay personalization!

Learn more about configuring views in Smart Client here.

We’ve gone over some of the easiest and most intuitive ways to set up view groups within Smart Client. By following these tips, you’ll be able to find video easier, respond faster, and keep your system running smoothly.

Team Boring

Your go-to XProtect eXPerts. We learn the technical stuff that will save you time and make it less boring.

Team Boring

Your go-to XProtect eXPerts. We learn the technical stuff that will save you time and make it less boring.

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