You can save the camera setting in an *.ini file or in the non-volatile user memory of the camera.

Configuration instead of programming

Each camera application starts with the camera setup. The IDS Software Suite programming interface (API) gives you full control over the camera image and acquisition in your own application. Each new software update offers more setting possibilities. But extensive settings has one drawback: You have to program each setting you want to use with static parameters or provide a graphical user interface for parameterising. The more you diverge from the standard settings or the more setting possibilities you offer in your application, the greater will be the effort for programming.

About 2/3 of all functions of the IDS Software Suite API addresses the settings of the camera image and the image acquisition. Only 1/3 of all functions are necessary in the cameras operating state. The optimum setting is an important requirement for each application running effectively. Spending time and effort establishing these settings is quite justified. But is this a recurring effort for each application or could this initial setting be separated for reusing respectively?

Background

Generally a camera is running with its current settings until you close it in your application. All your adjustments will be lost. After restarting the camera will work with its default settings.

One particular case is an undesired connection termination of a running camera. In this special situation, the camera driver remains working. So after the reconnection, the previous state of the camera setting will be restored. This special "Reconnect" functionality of the IDS Software Suite runs automatically without you having to do something for it.

Wouldn’t it be ingenious to reuse the camera settings also in regular operating mode? That works! The IDS software suite programming API provides the capability to save the actual settings of a running camera and recover it on a later point of time.

Saving camera settings

You can save the camera setting in an *.ini file or in the non-volatile user memory of the camera.

As ini file

  • Save different settings in multiple ini files.
  • ini files have to be loaded explicitly after opening a camera.
  • You can read and edit ini files in a text editor. So you have the possibility to copy and change the settings.

In the camera

  • The camera’s non-volatile memory can only store one parameter set.
  • Auto-load: Unlike a parameter file, the camera’s internal parameter set could be loaded automatically when opening the camera. The behavior when opening a camera could be controlled by the IDS Camera Manager. Read chapter “Camera configuration – IDS Camera Manager”.

Load camera settings

Once stored, a parameter set could be loaded into the camera by each application. Only camera-specific ini files can be loaded.

So your application must not necessarily include the setting options for the camera. You can do the initial launch and pre-configuration comfortably via the uEye Cockpit and save the camera settings in one or multiple parameter sets.

Camera configuration

uEye Cockpit

With the uEye Cockpit, you can control all important camera functionalities, which are provided by the programming API. Without programming effort you can try everything and simply adjust the camera for your application. With many dialogs and automatics, it is the perfect configuration tool for IDS cameras. In addition to the camera configuration possibilities, also saving and loading of settings is implemented.

So open your camera in the uEye Cockpit and adjust the desired options. To save a suitable camera setting, open the menu “File > Save parameters” and choose a file or the camera’s internal memory as the setting’s location.

Attention: When saving a setting in the camera’s internal memory, an already present setting will be overwritten without notification.

If you want to apply a previously stored parameter set into the camera, choose the location of the parameter set you want to use via the menu “File > Load parameter”.

IDS Camera Manager

The IDS Software Suite provides another simplification applying a previously saved parameter set in the camera‘s memory. With the IDS Camera Manager you can choose whether to apply the parameters stored on the camera automatically when opening the camera instead of the default values.

This is a global setting which is applied to all connected cameras. If no parameters are stored on the camera, the standard parameters for this camera model are applied.