Smart Bar¶

A command palette for the Milestone XProtect Smart Client. Press the invoke key (default Space) to open a searchable launcher for cameras, views, commands, and programs - with keyboard navigation, multi-select, multi-window targeting, recent items, and full undo history.

Quick Start¶

Press Space anywhere in the Smart Client to open Smart Bar
Start typing to filter cameras, views, commands, or programs
Use Arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select

Features¶

Command Palette¶

Recent - Recently used cameras and views appear at the top for quick re-access. Configurable limit (5–20 items).
Cameras - Browse all cameras with folder breadcrumb paths. Select one to place it in the current view slot.
Views - Browse all views organized by folder hierarchy. Select one to navigate to that view.
Outputs - Activate or deactivate hardware outputs (gates, sirens, door locks, etc.) directly from Smart Bar. Each output appears twice: Output: Name Activate and Output: Name Deactivate. Requires Corporate/Expert edition. Can be disabled in Settings.
Events - Trigger user-defined events configured in XProtect Management Client. Each event appears as Event: Name. Can be disabled in Settings.
Commands - Built-in application controls including fullscreen toggle, workspace state switching (Normal/Setup), workspace switching (Live, Playback, custom workspaces), side panel, window management, configuration reload, and undo.
Programs - Launch external applications directly from Smart Bar. Configured in Settings.

Type in the search box to filter across all categories. Matches against both item names and folder/group paths. Hover over any item to see its full name in a tooltip - useful for long camera or output names that get truncated.

Multi-Camera Selection¶

Navigate to a camera and press Tab to add it to the selection
Repeat for additional cameras
Press Enter to create a grid view containing all selected cameras (best-fit from 1x1, 1x2, 1x3, 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 3x3, 3x4, 4x4, 4x5)
Press Esc to clear the selection

Smart Bar automatically creates grid layout views (1x1 through 4x5) in a "SmartBar" folder under Private Views. The smallest layout that fits the selected cameras is chosen automatically.

Multi-Window Support¶

When multiple Smart Client windows are open, window chips appear in the footer bar. Use Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 to target a specific window. All view navigations and camera placements are sent to the targeted window.

Undo / Go Back¶

Smart Bar tracks view changes and camera swaps across all windows. Use the "Undo / Go Back" command or select a specific step from the Undo History list to jump back multiple steps at once.

Camera undo - Restores the previous camera in the same slot when a camera is swapped.
View undo - Restores the previous view on the same window, including any cameras that were placed in the destroyed view (view snapshot restore).

The history depth is configurable (5–30 entries) in Settings. History entries are labeled with their target window (e.g. [W1], [W2]).

Recent Items¶

The top section of Smart Bar shows recently used cameras and views, ordered by most recent first. This provides quick one-keystroke access to items you use frequently without needing to search.

The number of recent items shown is configurable (5–20) in Settings.

Keyboard Shortcuts¶

Key	Action
Space (default, configurable)	Open Smart Bar
↑ / ↓	Navigate results
Enter	Execute selected item
Tab	Toggle multi-select (cameras only)
Ctrl+1–9	Switch target window
Esc	Clear selection or close Smart Bar

Settings¶

Open Smart Client Settings and select Smart Bar to configure. Changes are saved automatically by the Smart Client when you click the global Save button in the Settings dialog.

General¶

Invoke key - The keyboard shortcut to open Smart Bar. Click the key recorder, then press the desired key or key combination (e.g. Space, F2, Ctrl+F). Supports modifier combinations with Ctrl, Alt, and Shift.

Reserved keys that cannot be used as the invoke key (without a modifier): letters, digits, Escape, Enter, arrows, Tab, Backspace, and Delete - these are used by the Smart Bar window itself for search and navigation. Adding a modifier (e.g. Ctrl+F) makes any key valid.

History¶

Max undo history entries (5–30) - Number of view and camera changes to remember for undo.
Max recent items (5–20) - Number of recently used cameras and views shown at the top of Smart Bar.

Layout¶

Column layout - When enabled, categories are arranged in separate columns. The categories section becomes visible with column assignment and ordering controls.
Smart Bar width (%) - Width of the Smart Bar popup as a percentage of the active monitor's width (10–100%). Default: 50%.
Smart Bar max height (%) - Maximum height of the Smart Bar popup as a percentage of the active monitor's height (10–100%). Default: 60%.

Categories¶

Categories are always visible in the settings panel. Each category can be:

Enabled/disabled via checkbox
Reordered using the up/down arrow buttons

When Column layout is enabled, additional controls appear:

Column assignment (1-based) - type a column number to move the category to that column; the list regroups immediately
Categories are grouped visually by column with "Column N" headers

Available categories: Recent, Camera, View, Command, Output, Event, Program, Undo.

Programs¶

Manage external programs that appear in the Smart Bar launcher:

Click Add program to create a new entry
Enter a display Name and the executable path, or use the folder icon to browse
Click the terminal icon to add command line arguments
Click the red x to remove an entry
Paths are validated - must be a valid file path (e.g. C:\Program Files\app.exe) or a bare executable name (e.g. notepad.exe)
Default: Notepad

Programs appear in Smart Bar prefixed with "Program:" and can be searched like any other item.

Restore Defaults¶

Click Restore defaults at the bottom of the settings panel to reset all settings to their defaults (invoke key, history limits, layout, categories, and programs).

Configuration File¶

Settings are stored in XML at:

C:\ProgramData\Milestone\SmartBar\config.xml