geutebruck-api/GeViScopeConfigReader/QUICK_START.md

Quick Start Guide - GeViScope Configuration Reader

What Was Created

A complete C# solution that reads GeViScope configuration from the server and exports it to JSON - no binary .set file parsing needed!

Files Created

C:\DEV\COPILOT\geutebruck-api\GeViScopeConfigReader\
├── GeViScopeConfigReader.csproj  - Project file
├── Program.cs                     - Main application code
├── README.md                      - Detailed documentation
└── QUICK_START.md                 - This file

How It Works

Instead of parsing the binary .set files, this tool:

1. Connects to the GeViScope server using the official SDK
2. Reads the configuration registry (like Windows Registry)
3. Converts the tree structure to JSON
4. Exports to a human-readable file

Building the Project

Prerequisites

Install one of these:

• Option A: Visual Studio 2019/2022 with .NET desktop development
• Option B: .NET SDK 6.0+ with .NET Framework 4.8 targeting pack

Build Steps

Using Visual Studio:

1. Install Visual Studio if not already installed
2. Open solution: C:\DEV\COPILOT\geutebruck-api\geutebruck-api.sln
3. Right-click GeViScopeConfigReader project → Build

Using Command Line:

# Install .NET SDK first if needed
cd C:\DEV\COPILOT\geutebruck-api\GeViScopeConfigReader
dotnet build

Or use MSBuild:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" GeViScopeConfigReader.csproj

Running the Tool

Step 1: Start GeViScope Server

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\GeViScopeSDK\BIN"
GSCServer.exe

Leave this running in the background.

Step 2: Run the Configuration Reader

cd C:\DEV\COPILOT\geutebruck-api\GeViScopeConfigReader\bin\Debug\net48
GeViScopeConfigReader.exe

Or with custom settings:

GeViScopeConfigReader.exe <server> <user> <password> <output.json>

Step 3: View the JSON Output

Open geviScope_config.json in any text editor. You'll see:

{
  "System": {
    "MediaChannels": {
      "0000": {
        "Name": "Camera 1",
        "Enabled": true,
        "GlobalNumber": 1
      }
    },
    "Users": {
      "SysAdmin": {
        "Name": "System Administrator",
        "Password": "abe6db4c9f5484fae8d79f2e868a673c",
        "Enabled": true
      },
      "aa": {
        "Name": "aa",
        "Password": "aabbccddeeffgghhaabbccddeeffgghh",
        "Enabled": true
      }
    }
  }
}

Why This Is Better Than Parsing .set Files

Aspect	.set File Parsing	SDK Approach
Complexity	Very high (binary format)	Low (documented API)
Reliability	Fragile	Robust
Documentation	None (proprietary)	Full SDK docs
Format	Binary blob	Structured tree
Output	Partial data	Complete config
Updates	Easy to break	Version stable

Example: Reading Specific Configuration

Once you have the JSON, you can easily extract what you need:

using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;

// Load the exported configuration
var config = JObject.Parse(File.ReadAllText("geviScope_config.json"));

// Get all users
var users = config["System"]["Users"];
foreach (var user in users)
{
    string username = user.Path.Split('.').Last();
    string name = (string)user["Name"];
    string password = (string)user["Password"];
    bool enabled = (bool)user["Enabled"];

    Console.WriteLine($"User: {username}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Name: {name}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Password Hash: {password}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Enabled: {enabled}");
    Console.WriteLine();
}

// Get all cameras
var cameras = config["System"]["MediaChannels"];
foreach (var camera in cameras)
{
    string cameraId = camera.Path.Split('.').Last();
    string name = (string)camera["Name"];
    int globalNum = (int)camera["GlobalNumber"];

    Console.WriteLine($"Camera [{globalNum}]: {name} (ID: {cameraId})");
}

Modifying Configuration

To write changes back to the server, use the SDK:

using Geutebruck.GeViScope.GscDBI;

// 1. Connect to server
GscServer server = new GscServer();
server.Connect("localhost", "sysadmin", "masterkey", null, null);

// 2. Create registry accessor
GscRegistry registry = server.CreateRegistry();

// 3. Read current config
GscRegistryReadRequest[] readReq = new GscRegistryReadRequest[1];
readReq[0] = new GscRegistryReadRequest("/System/Users/aa", 0);
registry.ReadNodes(readReq, null, null);

// 4. Modify a value
GscRegNode userNode = registry.FindNode("/System/Users/aa");
userNode.WriteBoolean("Enabled", false);  // Disable user

// 5. Save to server
GscRegistryWriteRequest[] writeReq = new GscRegistryWriteRequest[1];
writeReq[0] = new GscRegistryWriteRequest("/System/Users/aa", 0);
registry.WriteNodes(writeReq, true);  // true = permanent save

Console.WriteLine("User 'aa' has been disabled!");

// 6. Cleanup
registry.Destroy();
server.Destroy();

Real-World Use Cases

1. Backup All Configuration

GeViScopeConfigReader.exe localhost sysadmin masterkey backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).json

2. Compare Configurations

# Export from two servers
GeViScopeConfigReader.exe server1 admin pass server1_config.json
GeViScopeConfigReader.exe server2 admin pass server2_config.json

# Use any JSON diff tool
code --diff server1_config.json server2_config.json

3. Bulk User Management

// Read config
var config = ReadConfiguration();

// Disable all users except sysadmin
foreach (var userNode in GetUserNodes(registry))
{
    if (userNode.Name != "SysAdmin")
    {
        userNode.WriteBoolean("Enabled", false);
    }
}

// Save
SaveConfiguration();

4. Configuration as Code

// Define desired configuration in code
var desiredConfig = new {
    Users = new[] {
        new { Name = "operator1", Enabled = true },
        new { Name = "operator2", Enabled = true }
    },
    Cameras = new[] {
        new { GlobalNumber = 1, Name = "Entrance" },
        new { GlobalNumber = 2, Name = "Parking Lot" }
    }
};

// Apply to server
ApplyConfiguration(desiredConfig);

Next Steps

1. Build the project using Visual Studio or dotnet CLI
2. Run against your server to export configuration
3. Examine the JSON to understand the structure
4. Modify the code to add your specific features

GeViSoft Alternative

For GeViSoft configuration, you can:

Option A: Access the database directly (it's Microsoft Access format)

using System.Data.OleDb;

string connStr = @"Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=C:\GEVISOFT\DATABASE\GeViDB.mdb";
using (var conn = new OleDbConnection(connStr))
{
    conn.Open();

    var cmd = new OleDbCommand("SELECT * FROM [Users]", conn);
    using (var reader = cmd.ExecuteReader())
    {
        while (reader.Read())
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"User: {reader["Username"]}");
        }
    }
}

Option B: Use the GeViAPI (similar to GeViScope)

using GeViAPI_Namespace;

GeViAPIClient client = new GeViAPIClient(
    "MyServer", "127.0.0.1", "sysadmin", password, null, null);

client.Connect(progressCallback, this);
// Use SendQuery methods to read/write configuration

Support

For SDK documentation:

• Local: C:\Program Files (x86)\GeViScopeSDK\Documentation\
• Text: C:\DEV\COPILOT\SOURCES\GeViScope_SDK_text\
• Examples: C:\Program Files (x86)\GeViScopeSDK\Examples\

For issues with this tool:

• Check README.md for troubleshooting
• Review the SDK documentation
• Examine the example code in Program.cs

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Summary: Instead of struggling with binary .set files, use the official SDK to read configuration in a clean, documented way. The SDK provides everything you need! 🎉