Copyright: © 2000 Beau Software


Getting Started

Webcam Watcher comes with a small number of webcams already configured. To watch these webcams :

•	make sure you are connected to the Internet

•	click the Start All button

•	click the AutoUpdate button to show new pictures as they arrive.

After a short delay you will see live pictures relayed from the sample webcams.

The first time you run a webcam, Webcam Watcher will need to fetch the current picture. After that, Webcam Watcher  only fetches the picture if it changes.

You can fetch a larger list of webcams from Beausoft.


Main Screen

The main display is split vertically.  You can change the size of the two parts by dragging the bar that separates the two halves.

The left-hand side is used to show webcam pictures, and to browse pictures you have saved on the disk.

The right-hand side normally shows thumbnails of each webcam, but can also show a disk browser and a status panel.

The controls at the bottom of the screen relate to the current webcam, allowing you to start and stop it, enable and disable it, and scan though the saved pictures.


Webcam Thumbnails

The left-hand panel shows thumbnails of all your webcams.

You can select a webcam by clicking on the thumbnail. This becomes the current webcam. The controls at the bottom of the screen relate to the current webcam, allowing you to start and stop it, enable and disable it, and scan though the saved pictures.

You can use the Up and Down arrow keys to scan through webcams. Up arrow selects the previous webcam. Down arrow selects the next webcam.

If there has been a new picture on a webcam since you last selected it, the webcam name is shown in red (e.g. CAM011)

If a webcam is disabled , the outline is shown in dark gray.


Thumbnail display
Disk Thumbnail display

Clicking the Thumbnails tab on the right-hand of the screen opens the disk thumbnail browser.

This shows thumbnails of the pictures saved for the current webcam. Normally you have to click Load Thumbnails to see the thumbnails (unless Autoload Thumbs is checked).

Using this display you can:

•	display a picture by double-clicking on it

•	select one or more pictures using the normal windows control-click and shift-click conventions

•	Delete, Copy or Move selected pictures. (Use the File menu)


Downloading webcam list

You can download Beausoft’s latest webcam list by clicking Tools >> Download Webcam List from the main menu.

The unregistered version only downloads a small sample of the available webcams. The registered version will fetch the whole list of more than a thousand webcams.

Note: the full list contains some adult-oriented webcams. If you do not want access to the adult webcams, please specify this on your order, (or email us) and the software will remove any adult cameras from the list.

The unregistered list does not contain any adult webcams.


Creating webcams from a webcam list

Once you have downloaded the webcam list you can create webcams from the list. Select Tools >> Create webcams from webcam list

To add all of the webcams in the list, click Add All Webcams

To add one or more webcams, select the webcams you want from the list (use control-click and shift-click to select multiple cameras), and click Add Selected Webcams

You can specify the refresh interval for the webcams – this is the interval that Webcam Watcher will check the webcam for new pictures.

You can use the Show Webcams in category drop-down box to show only webcams from a certain category (e.g. Traffic or Indoor)


Starting and Stopping webcams

You can start all of the webcams by clicking the Start All button at the top of the screen. This will start all of the currently enabled webcams.

Clicking the Stop button will stop all webcams.

You can also control the current webcam by using the VCR-type controls at the bottom of the screen. These let you start, stop enable and disable the webcam.


Browsing webcams

The best way to browse webcams is to use the keyboard arrow keys.

Up and Down arrow take you to the next and previous webcam.

You can scan back and forward in time on the current webcam by using the Left and Right arrow keys.

You can use the Control key in conjunction with the arrow keys to take you to the start or end. Thus :

•	control-Up Arrow takes you to the first webcam

•	control-Down Arrow takes you to the last webcam

•	control-Left arrow takes you to the oldest picture for the current webcam

•	control-Right arrow takes you to the latest picture for the current webcam


Adding new webcams

You need to get the URL of the webcam. It must return content in the form of a jpeg image.

The URL will look something like this:

http://www.mysite.com/webcam.jpg

http://www.mysite.jpg/webcam.cgi?current

Click the New Cam button to create a new webcam from a known URL ..

The only required field is Image URL

Camera Name  is assigned by Webcam Watcher  and cannot be changed.

The other fields can be entered if you like, or can be edited later:

•	Description - add a meaningful description, e.g. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

•	Site URL - you can add the URL of the website associated with this webcam, so that you can browse to the homepage by clicking the Browse Site button.

•	Refresh Interval - in seconds. This is the delay between checking the webcam for new pictures. Note that Webcam Watcher  can only go as fast as your Internet connection, so if you have a lot of webcams it is possible that Webcam Watcher  will check the webcam less often than this.

•	Enabled - you can only start and stop enabled webcams.

•	Use Authentication - this is used to enable basic http authentication. Typically, private or member webcams use this form of authorization. Check this field and put your username and password in the boxes provided.


Editing webcams

Click the Edit Cam button to edit an existing webcam.

The fields that you can edit are:

•	Image URL - the URL of the webcam picture. This must return content of type “image/jpeg” .

•	Description - add a meaningful description, e.g. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

•	Site URL - you can add the URL of the website associated with this webcam, so that you can browse to the homepage by clicking the Browse Site button.

•	Refresh Interval - in seconds. This is the delay between checking the webcam for new pictures. Note that Webcam Watcher can only go as fast as your Internet connection, so if you have a lot of webcams it is possible that Webcam Watcher will check the webcam less often than this.

•	Enabled - you can only start and stop enabled webcams.

•	Use Authentication - this is used to enable basic http authentication. Typically, private or member webcams use this form of authorization. Check this field and put your username and password in the boxes provided.


Delete Webcam
Deleting Webcams

To delete a webcam, select the webcam and click Edit >> Delete Current Webcam.

Webcam Watcher asks you if you would like to remove all of the pictures associated with the webcam.


Webcam Categories

To make managing webcams easier, Webcam Watcher uses webcam categories. Example categories are:

•	Indoor

•	Outdoor

•	Beach

•	Office

•	River

A webcam can have more than one category, for example a webcam could be Outdoor and Beach. Or it could be Indoor or Office.

You can edit the categories associated with a webcam by :

•	clicking Edit Categories on the Edit Cam dialog

•	selecting a webcam and pressing F5


Enabling and Disabling webcams

If you disable a webcam then it does not run (i.e. collect pictures). The Start and Stop commands only apply to enabled webcams.

You can enable or disable all of your webcams using the Control menu – (Enable all webcams and Disable all webcams.)

Or you can enable/disable webcams individually by selecting the webcam and clicking

•	F11 - Enable this webcam (also Control >> Enable current webcam)

•	F12 - Disable this webcam (also Control >> Disable current webcam)


AutoUpdate

The AutoUpdate button controls whether Webcam Watcher shows new camera pictures when they arrive. You can also use the Ins key as a keyboard shortcut .

If AutoUpdate is ON (button is down) then when a new picture is captured it is displayed, and the webcam is made the current webcam.

If AutoUpdate is OFF (button is up) then only new pictures from the current webcam are shown.

Note : If you want to simply watch the webcams, switch on AutoUpdate. If you want to browse webcams, turn AutoUpdate off (or the current webcam may suddenly change).


Saving webcams in a webcam list

Webcam Watcher lets you save some or all of your webcams in a webcam list – the same format webcam list that the BeauSoft webcam list uses.

Click Tools >> Save webcams as webcam list. This opens a dialog which lets you choose which webcam(s) you want to save:

•	all webcams

•	only the enabled webcams

•	only the disabled webcams

•	just the current webcam

You also have the option to create a new webcam list file, or to add the webcam(s) onto the end of and existing webcam list.


Selecting a webcam from a list

You can select a webcam from a textual list of webcams (rather than choosing a webcam from the webcam thumbnails panel).

Select View >> Find Webcam (or press ctrl-F) This opens a dialog which lets you choose a webcam. The webcam descriptions are shown in a list. You can select a webcam category to limit the number of webcams shown in the list.


Status Display
Status panel

The Status panel on the right of the screen is displayed by clicking the Status tab. This shows a series of LEDs, one for each webcam. The current status of each webcam is shown thus:

•	Stopped - the webcam is not running.

•	Wait net - the webcam is waiting for a read thread to check the webcam status

•	Header -  Webcam Watcher is fetching the picture header to determine if the picture has changed

•	Fetch Pic - Webcam Watcheris fetching a new picture

•	Waiting - Webcam Watcheris waiting for the interval to expire before checking the webcam.

•	Error - an error occurred. This will automatically clear after a few seconds.

You can use the Status display to gauge how well the Internet link is coping with the demands of Webcam Watcher.

If the LEDs are mainly blue (Wait Net) then the network is the bottleneck. If the LEDs are mainly magenta (waiting) then the network is keeping up OK.


How to register

Price : US$ 15.95

What you get : We provide instructions and a code which unlocks the software. You download the software yourself from our web site.

The registered version has no limit on the number of webcams, and lets you download Beausoft's webcam list, which contains more than 1000 webcams.

Note:  the list contains some adult-oriented webcams. If you do not want access to the adult webcams, please specify this on your order, (or email us) and the software will remove any adult cameras from the list.

You can buy Webcam Watcher online via our website :

             http://www.webcam-watcher.com

 You can also order via phone, fax, mail or e-mail.

 For your convenience we have contracted another company, NorthStar

 Solutions to process your order. Please be sure to mention the product code

 #4351 when  placing your order.

 Do not contact NorthStar for technical support.  They will not be able to help you.

 Online Ordering :

You may purchase using your credit card via our secure server.

http://www.webcam-watcher.com or

http://www.beausoft.com   or

http://www.beau.co.nz

 Order by Phone :

 Calls are taken 9am-7pm, CST, Monday-Friday

    800 699-6395 (U.S. only.)

    785 539-3731

 Order by FAX :

 Available 24 hours.

      785 539-3743

Order by  E-mail :

 CompuServe:      starmail

 America Online:  starmail

 Internet:        starmail@nstarsolutions.com

Order by Post :

 You may register with a check or money order.

 Make them payable to "NorthStar  Solutions" and send them to:

   NorthStar Solutions

   1228 Westloop Pl,

   Suite 204,

   Manhattan,

   KS  66502,

   USA

 Please provide (or be prepared to provide) the following information:

 * The item you are buying - Webcam Watcher, item code #4351

 * Your mailing address.

 * Your Visa, MasterCard, or Discover # and its expiration date (if using credit

    card).

 * Your E-Mail address (so NorthStar Solutions can send  you an E-Mail confirming

   your order and so we can  contact you easily with any important follow-up

   information, upgrade announcements, etc.)


Technical Support

For technical support or comments about Webcam Watcher, you should contact

Beau  Software at: support@beau.co.nz

Please do not contact NorthStar Solutions with technical questions. They will not be able to help you.


Adding a webcam to the Beausoft list

Beausoft is willing to add your webcam to our webcam list. To add a webcam, send an email message to addwebcam@beau.co.nz

Please include :

•	the Image URL

•	a description or title for the webcam

•	homepage URL if available

•	suggested categories

We will check out and add your webcam in a few days.


Directories and files used

Webcam Watcher uses the file webcam.def to define the current webcams. This file is located in the current webcam folder .

The pictures for each webcam are saved in subdirectories under the current webcam folder. The name of the subdirectory is the same as the webcam name (e.g. CAM001)

You can have several webcam folders, each containing  separate webcams.

The  pictures are stored in files which have names which encode the date and time the picture was captured :

yyyymmddhhmmss.jpg

For example, the picture 20000117235111.jpg was captured on Jan 17, 2000 at 23:51:11


Selecting a webcam folder

The webcam folder is the directory on your disk where the webcams are contained. Pictures are saved in folders underneath the webcam folder (one for each webcam).

You can have several webcam folders, each containing different webcams.

If you want to change webcam folders, use File >> Select Webcam Folder from the menu.

If you want to create a new webcam folder you can specify a directory name that doesn’t (yet) exist and Webcam Watcher will create it for you.


Copying pictures and filenames to the clipboard

You can copy the current picture to the clipboard by pressing control-C or by selecting File >> Copy picture to clipboard. The picture is copied as a bitmap.

It is sometimes useful to copy the picture filename. For example, you might want to attach it to an e-mail message.

To copy the picture filename to the clipboard, press control-D or select File >> Copy Picture filename to clipboard.


About Beausoft

Beau Software was formed in 1997 by Bob Prangnell to produce software for Casio digital cameras.

Web :	http://www.webcam-watcher.com or

http://www.beausoft.com  or

http://www.beau.co.nz

Email :	wcw@beau.co.nz

Smail :   	Beau Software

Smeaton Road

RD1 Waiuku

New Zealand


Keyboard Shortcuts

Up Arrow	Previous webcam

Down Arrow	Next Webcam

Left Arrow	Previous picture for current webcam

Right Arrow	Next picture for current webcam

Ctrl + Up Arrow	First webcam

Ctrl + Down Arrow	Last Webcam

Ctrl + Left Arrow	First picture for current webcam

Ctrl + Right Arrow	Last picture for current webcam

F1 	Help

F3 	Start all webcams

F4 	Stop all webcams

F5 	Edit Categories for current webcam

F9 	Start current webcam

F10	Stop current webcam

F11	Enable current webcam

F12	Disable current webcam

Del	Delete selected picture

Shift-Del	Delete all pictures for current webcam

Ins	Toggle AutoUpdate

Ctrl-F	Find Webcam

Ctrl-O	Select webcam folder

Ctrl-C	Copy current picture to clipboard

Ctrl-P	Open webcam picture in browser

Ctrl-B	Open webcam site in browser

Ctrl-W	Webcam thumbnails

Ctrl-X	Disk browser

Ctrl-L	Status panel


Using your browser to visit a webcam site

You can open your web browser and go to a webcam’s home page by clicking the Browse Site button.

You can also press control-B

This will open your default browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape) and go to the Site URL for the webcam.


http Headers

You can view the last header fetched from a particular webcam by clicking Tools >> Show last header. This is normally only required for debugging and troubleshooting.


Number of threads

Webcam Watcher uses a number of separate threads to access the network. This allows you to browse your pictures while Webcam Watcher carries on monitoring webcams.

By default the number of threads is 16. You can change this using File >> Preferences.

This value is normally OK for a modem link. If you have a faster link you may find that it is worth increasing this figure.

If your link is slow, or you want to limit the amount of bandwidth that Webcam Watcher uses, decrease this number.


Using http authentication for private webcams

Webcam Watcher allows you to access private or member webcams that use basic http authentication.

This is the kind of authorization where your browser would ask you for a username and password.

To enable http authentication for a webcam :

•	edit the webcam by clicking the Edit Cam button

•	enable Use Authentication

•	enter your Username and Password in the fields below


Thumbnails

Small "thumb" sized previews of a picture


How to select multiple items

If you hold the control key down, you can select multiple items by clicking on them.

If you hold the shift key down, you can select multiple items by clicking on the first and last item


Uniform Resouce Locator (URL)

These are the familiar www addresses that start with "http://"


Webcam

A camera that is connected to the internet and relays live pictures from somewhere in the world (or sometimes in space)


Multi-threaded

Used by the Windows scheduler. Each thread can perform a different task, giving a more responsive application.


Welcome to Webcam Watcher

Webcam Watcher watches webcams for you, downloading and saving pictures when they change. You can jump between cameras and scan back and forward in time, literally putting the world at your fingertips.

With Webcam Watcher you can monitor hundreds of webcams at the same time even with a slow modem link. How? Webcam Watcher only downloads pictures when they change, making the best use of your Internet bandwidth.

Main Features :

•	Support for private or member's cams, using http authentication.

•	Fully multi-threaded design allows you to browse pictures while monitoring webcams.

•	Easily scan through cameras (up and down arrow keys) or back and forward in time (left and right arrow keys).

•	Auto-Update mode shows new pictures as they arrive.

•	Open browser and go to camera's website with a single click.

•	Registered version allows you to download our latest webcam list with more than a thousand webcams. New cameras are added regularly.

Webcam Watcher is fascinating, informative and a whole lot of fun.


Find webcam

You can search for a webcam in by selecting View > Find Webcam… (or press ctrl-F). This opens a dialog.

Enter the text you want to find in the box and click Find.

Webcam Watcher will search your webcams for a match on either the Description or the Picture URL. The matches are displayed in the listbox, and you can choose one.

Example : To find webcams located in a particular country, you can enter the domain name extension for the country. To find all webcams in New Zealand, enter the search string “.nz”