Adding cameras to your maps

2026-03-25Last updated

You can add cameras to your maps to help Security Center SaaS operators monitor live video and camera events, manage alarms, and control PTZ cameras and recordings directly from the map.

Before you begin

  • Create the map where you want to add the cameras.
  • Make sure the cameras are available in your Security Center SaaS system.

What you should know

To create a more realistic effect when the map is displayed in the Maps task or Monitoring task in Operation desktop, you can block the field of view of cameras by drawing walls and other obstacles on the map.

Procedure

  1. From the Configuration desktop homepage, open the Map designer task.
  2. Select a recent map or click Browse all maps to open an existing map.
    The selected map fills the Map designer workspace.
  3. In the toolbar, click Area view (), select the camera ( or ) you want to add, and drag it to the desired location on the map.
    The widgets for configuring the map object are displayed in the right panel. The map object always inherits the identity of the entity it represents.
  4. Click Preview video to show a live video preview in a tile bubble.
  5. If the camera can share its field-of-view (FOV) information, select Show field of view, and set the FOV properties.
    Tip:
    You can also adjust the camera’s direction and the length of its FOV with the mouse.
    Note:
    If the map you are adding the camera to is an imported image file, you must set the map scale to give meaning to the distances used in the field‑of‑view properties. You can do this by georeferencing the map or by manually setting the map scale.
    Distance
    Length of the FOV as it appears on the map.
    Direction
    Direction the camera is pointing. Useful for fixed cameras.
    Width
    Width of the FOV as it appears on the map.
    Max. distance
    Maximum distance the camera can see. Used primarily for PTZ calculations.
    Elevation
    Height of the camera above the ground.
    Color
    Color of the FOV indicator.
    Tip:
    Click Start test field of view to display blind spots created by other objects on the map.
  6. Select the camera events that you wish to monitor on the map.
    Show motion
    Shows the camera icon with a green ripple effect () on Motion on event.
    Show recording
    Shows the camera icon with a red button () when recording is on.
  7. In the Map designer toolbar, click Save ().