Creating a Reset Counter Soft Trigger

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Affected Roles: Administrator, Power Users

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum

Software Version: 6.0

Last Edit: May 29, 2025

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Analytic Counter Rule

A Counter Rule will track the number of times that a detection line or ROI zone rule has been triggered, increasing or decreasing the tally depending on the settings. This rule can prove useful for keeping track of building capacity, monitoring foot traffic, and gathering general statistics about an area.

Users may periodically want to reset the counter tally and can do so from the analytic camera’s web interface or DW Blackjack Ai Server Configuration Tool, depending on the setup. However, it is possible to link a Soft Trigger in DW Spectrum to the analytic engine so that users can reset the counter through their desktop client.

This article will outline how to set up a DW MEGApix Ai or IVA-enabled IP camera to reset its analytic counter using a Soft Trigger rule in DW Spectrum.

**NOTE: This method is not intended to be used with DW Blackjack Ai Servers and is applicable to DW MEGApix Ai and IVA-enabled cameras only.

Configuring the Reset Soft Trigger

To Reset the camera’s Counter value using a Soft Trigger:

Part 1: Gathering Information from the Camera

Use a web browser or the Camera Settings > Web Page tab in the DW Spectrum Client to access the camera’s web client.
Confirm that there is a Counter activated in the camera in the MEGAPIX AI > COUNTERS menu.

Using a web browser, navigate to the following URL.
Replace “” with the camera’s address.

http:///cgi-bin/admin/vca-api/api.json

A JSON response window will be displayed. Enable the Pretty-print option to format the lines of text if needed.
1. Locate the “Observables” item that has the “Counter” value in the name field.
2. Take note of the number that appears below the “Observables” line.

Part 2: Configuring a Soft Trigger Event Rule

In the DW Spectrum Client, open the Event Rules menu and create a new Event Rule.
In the Event section, configure the following:
- When – select “Soft Trigger”
- At – select the camera that is associated with the Counter
- Available to – select the user group(s) or individual user(s) that will have access to the Soft Trigger.
- Name – create a name for the Event Rule. For example, “Counter Reset”.
- Icon – select an icon that will appear on the Soft Trigger.
In the Action section, configure the following:
- Do – select “Do HTTP(S) request”
- Interval of Action – disable this setting so that the response is instantaneous.
- HTTP(S) URL – enter the following URL, replacing the camera’s IP address and the “XX” with the Observables number that was retrieved from the camera’s JSON response window.

http://<ip_address>/cgi-bin/admin/vca-api/api/observables/XX/count

- HTTP(S) Content – enter “0”
- Content Type – select “application/json”
- Login/Password – enter the camera’s administrator credentials
- Authentication Type – select “Auto”
- Request Method – select “PUT”
Click the Apply button to save the rule.