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Viso - Configuration and Administration

Last updated: Jul 25, 2026

Select the Time Period to Display in the Calendar

Click the Day, Week, Work Week or Month button on the toolbar. By default the current day is displayed. The work week is the week from Monday till Friday. Your colleague who manages the Viso set-up can change the default work week and working hours.

Change the Date and Time Format

Change the date time format of the scheduler in the computer's regional settings.

  1. Type Date in the Apps window and choose Date & time settings.
  2. Click Additional data, time & regional settings in the upper-right corner of the window.
  3. Under Region, choose Change data, time, or number formats.
  4. Select a region from the Format list and click OK.
  5. Restart Viso.

NOTE: The time format is also used in the calendar of the Dashboard.

Scheduled and Recorded Sessions in the Scheduler

The scheduler can be viewed by anyone in the Viso network with the proper rights. However the details shown depend on the user role.

Administrators and Technicians

Administrators and Technicians are able to view all the details of each session.

Trainers

Trainers can open, edit and see all the details of their own sessions. They cannot open or edit a scheduled session they are invited to. For the sessions they are invited to, they can see the session name and the person who created it by hovering over the schedule.

For the sessions they are not invited to, only the name of the person who created it is shown. The title of the session is hidden, only the status is indicated (Scheduled Session, Recording Session, etc.).

Trainees

Trainees do not have a Scheduler tab. The sessions they are invited to are listed, with the session name and the person that created the session, in their Dashboard.

Scheduled and Recorded Sessions in the Dashboard

When you have the Scheduler Module, the Dashboard contains a calendar and a Session list. Days on which sessions are scheduled or have been recorded are shown in bold in the calendar.

The Session list displays the following for the day you select in the calendar:

  • Sessions you scheduled yourself.
  • Sessions that you are currently recording, with a link to open them.
  • Sessions that you have recorded, with a link to open them.
  • Sessions that you received ownership of or annotator rights for, with a link to open them and the name of the person who owns the sessions.
  • Scheduled sessions that you are invited to.
  • Sessions that are currently recorded and you are invited to, with a link to open them.
  • Sessions that have been recorded and you are invited to, with a link to open them.

TIP: Click the month in the upper-left corner of the calendar to zoom out in time. Click several times to zoom out more. Then click the time slot in the calendar to zoom in. This way you can quickly access sessions that were, for example, recorded a few months or even years ago.

Priority of Scheduled and Manual Sessions

A scheduled session always has priority over a session that you start manually by opening a location and pressing the Start recording button. This means that you cannot open a location when it is in use in a scheduled session recording. Also, a manual session recording will be terminated when a scheduled session with the same location is about to start. You will receive a warning about this. Likewise, if a location is open for viewing, it will be closed when a scheduled session is about to start. You will receive a warning about this.

Using a programmable button or The Observer XT to start recording in Viso is similar to starting a recording by hand. A scheduled recording has priority.

Scheduled Sessions and Manual Recordings in Multiple Locations

If a scheduled session is about to start with a location that is in use in a multiple location recording, the following happens:

  • Single session recording - Recording stops in the locations that are selected in the scheduled session. Recording continues in the locations that are not selected in the scheduled session. The scheduled session starts.
  • Composite session recording - Recording in all locations stops and the scheduled session starts.
  • Separate session recording - Recording is stopped only in those locations which are used for the scheduled session.

See also the following topics:

  • Select multiple locations to record separate sessions for each location
  • Select multiple locations to record a composite session

Making an Audit Report

Export a log file with all the activities regarding video creation, deletion and access of the users of your choice.

Prerequisites

  • Making an audit trail has been enabled in the settings.
  • Your user role allows audit reporting (Technician).

Procedure

  1. Click the Menu button and choose Audit Report.
  2. Choose for what period, what user and what location you want to make a report. If, for instance, you do not select a user in the user field, the report will be made for all the users.
  3. Select a destination folder to store the report and click Export.

TIP: The log file is a *.csv file. Open it in Excel. The filename is automatically generated based on the date/time.

Viso with The Observer XT

Start and Stop Recording in Viso from The Observer XT

Combining your Viso recordings with other data may give you a more complete picture of the phenomena that you are studying. For instance, when testing your newly developed website, it may be interesting to record the test participant's screen and annotate his/her verbal reactions but it may be even more intriguing to know what facial expressions your website evokes or what physiological responses. For the integration of all these data you can use The Observer XT.

You can automatically start and stop recording in Viso from The Observer XT and at the same time start facial expression analysis in, for instance, FaceReader, and start the acquisition of physiological data. The data streams and Viso recordings can be imported into The Observer XT. You can then view the test participants' actions, his/her facial expressions and physiological responses and calculate statistics.

NOTE: To start and stop recording in Viso from The Observer XT, the two programs can be on the same computer or on separate computers that are part of a local network.

Prerequisite

  • If Viso and The Observer XT run on separate PCs - Security certificates need to be set up and trusted on both PCs. See Appendix G 'Security certificates' in the Viso Setup Manual for more information.

Overview of Steps

  1. Set up Viso to allow remote control from The Observer XT
  2. Edit the batch file
  3. Set up The Observer XT for live observation
  4. Run a test

Set up Viso to Allow Remote Control from The Observer XT

Prepare Viso to receive commands from The Observer XT.

Prerequisites

  • Your user role allows editing locations (Technician).

Procedure

  1. Open the Locations tab and click the pencil button of the location of your choice.
  2. Select Remote controlled by and click the Settings button. A window will open with a remote token. You need this token when editing the batch file (see step 3 in Edit the batch file). Click OK. Save the token in a text file in, for instance, Notepad, and press the Copy button to copy the token for use in The Observer XT PC.
  3. Select who can control the location. The drop-down list shows all users and groups of all departments and also the users that have not been assigned to a department. Select the user who will carry out the test with the test participants and click OK.
  4. Repeat steps 1-3 to control more than one location.
  5. Log out of Viso and ask the user who is going to run the test to log in.

NOTE: You can also control Viso with a programmable button.

Edit the Batch File

To start and stop recording in Viso from The Observer XT you need two scripts which you can download using your MyNoldus account. You can find the scripts in the Drivers and Tools > Scripts folder, both under Viso and The Observer XT:

  • RunPostCommand.bat
  • startstoprecording.ps1

Browse to my.noldus.com if you do not have a MyNoldus account yet.

Procedure - 1-PC Set-up

Follow the steps below if Viso and The Observer XT run on the same PC.

  1. Copy the scripts to the Viso/Observer XT PC.
  2. Open the batch file (RunPostCommand.bat) in Notepad or a similar text editor.
  3. Specify the location of the ps script.
  4. Save the batch file.

Procedure - 2-PC Set-up

Follow the steps below if Viso and The Observer XT run on separate PCs.

  1. Copy the scripts to the Observer XT PC.
  2. Open the batch file (RunPostCommand.bat) in Notepad or a similar text editor.
  3. In the first Set line of the batch file:
    • Change 'http' into 'https'.
    • Replace 'localhost' with the computer name of the Viso PC.
    • Replace port number '5000' in the third line of the batch file with '5001'.

    To find the Viso Services computer name: Click the Windows icon and type system. Click System Information. You will find the name under System Name.

  4. In the last line of the batch file, specify the location of the ps script.
  5. Save the batch file.

Set up The Observer XT for Live Observation

  1. Open The Observer XT and create a new project.
  2. Choose Setup > Project Setup and select Live Observation. The Devices window opens. If not, click the Devices button.
  3. Click Add external program. The Add External Program window opens.
  4. In the Name field, enter 'Control Viso' or a similar name to indicate that these are the settings to control Viso.

    TIP: Add the Viso location name when controlling multiple locations from The Observer XT.

  5. Select the checkbox next to Start Observation.
  6. In the same row, click the ellipsis button next to the Program field and browse to the batch file (RunPostCommand.bat).
  7. Select the file and click Open.
  8. In the Command line options field enter 'start <token generated in Viso for the location>'. This instructs Viso to start recording when you start an observation.
  9. Select the checkbox next to Stop Observation.
  10. In the same row, click the ellipsis button next to the Program field and browse to the batch file (RunPostCommand.bat).
  11. Select the file and click Open.
  12. In the Command line options field enter 'stop <token generated in Viso for the location>'. This instructs Viso to stop recording when you stop an observation.
  13. Leave the ms. before fields of the lines Start Observation and Stop Observation empty.
  14. Click OK. The Devices list now shows a new device with the name you gave in step 4. Select the checkbox in front of it.
  15. Repeat steps 3-14 if you want to control more than one location.

Run a Test

  1. Invite the participants to enter the test room and check that the cameras are well positioned.
  2. Create a new observation in The Observer XT.
  3. Start the observation in The Observer XT. Depending on the settings, the Independent Variable List appears.
  4. Enter the values of the independent variables and click OK.
  5. Video recording in Viso starts. Please note that video recording does not start immediately; there is a delay.
  6. Optionally - Manually annotate events in The Observer XT or in Viso. To be able to annotate events in Viso you will need the Annotation module.
  7. Stop the observation in The Observer XT. Video recording in Viso stops.
  8. In Viso, enter a name for your session. If you specified a default session name, the session automatically gets a name.

Notes on Recording Delay and Import

  • Video recording in Viso does not start immediately when Viso gets the command from The Observer XT. There is a delay. If the delay is less than 10 seconds, The Observer XT takes it into account when you import the video and automatically gives the video an offset relative to the start of the event log. If the delay is more than 10 seconds, The Observer XT gives a warning informing you that the delay is, for instance, 10.66 seconds. You need to manually enter this offset in The Observer XT.
  • The videos that you record in Viso are not automatically imported in The Observer XT. Please see The Observer XT Help for the procedure (File Management > Import Media Files).
  • You can also import Viso sessions into The Observer XT.

Import Viso Sessions into The Observer XT

The videos created by Viso can be opened in the manual annotation program The Observer XT and, optionally, the annotations can be imported into an observation. All codes from the selected Codes list are imported into The Observer XT, independent of whether they were scored or not. Viso subjects are added to the coding scheme as subjects. Markers are added to the coding scheme as point events. Remarks are imported into The Observer XT as comments in the event log. You can create extra codes in The Observer XT and annotate sessions for further analysis.

There are two ways to import Viso sessions into The Observer XT:

  • Import sessions directly. This requires communication between The Observer XT computer and the Viso Services computer. This option is only available with The Observer XT 13 and higher. If you have an earlier version of The Observer XT, use the export method below.
  • Export sessions in Viso and import them in The Observer XT. Use this method if:
    • The computer with The Observer XT is not in the same network as the computers with Viso Services and Viso Recorder.
    • You have The Observer XT 12.5 or an older version.

Import Sessions Directly

Import Viso sessions in The Observer XT using the Noldus network communication protocol N-Linx.

Prerequisites

  • You have a license for The Observer XT 13 or a newer version.
  • The computers with Viso and The Observer XT are in the same network and set up for communication with N-Linx. The procedure to set this up is present in the Viso Setup Manual.
  • You recorded the sessions (Trainer), received session ownership or annotator rights or invitations to view the sessions, or your user role is Administrator or Technician.

Procedure

  1. In The Observer XT, choose File > Preferences.
  2. Open the tab Viso settings.
  3. Select Use Viso services to connect with Viso.
  4. In the Services address field, enter the computer name or IP address of the Viso Services computer. Ask your colleague who manages the Viso set-up for the details.
  5. In the Services port field, leave the default port number 5672.
  6. Click Test connection. If The Observer XT computer finds the Viso Services computer, the text Connected appears. Click OK.
  7. Create a new project or open an existing one (File > New/Open Project).
  8. Choose File > Import > Viso Sessions.
  9. Enter your Viso login details.

    NOTE: If you are logged in to Viso, log out first. You can only import the sessions that you are allowed to view.

  10. Select the sessions and click Import.

NOTE: Each session is imported as a separate observation. The videos are copied to the Video Files folder of The Observer XT. Markers are added to the coding scheme and remarks appear as comments in the Event log. The observation is named after the imported session, with the location name and the date and time the session was created added to the filename.

NOTE: If you have a license for The Observer XT 12.5 or earlier, you cannot import sessions directly into Viso. You must export sessions in Viso and import them in The Observer XT.

Export Sessions in Viso and Import Them in The Observer XT

Use this method to import Viso sessions in The Observer XT if the computers with Viso and The Observer XT are not in the same network, or you have an older version of The Observer XT.

Prerequisites

  • You have a license for The Observer XT.
  • You recorded the sessions (Trainer), received session ownership or invitations to view the sessions, or your user role is Administrator or Technician.

Procedure

In Viso:

  1. Open the Sessions tab.

Source: Viso 12 Reference Manual

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