CCTV & Security
Place the full security stack, tune ray-traced coverage cones, link to walls, and export a compliant plan.
The CCTV & Security engine places cameras and detectors and ray-traces each one’s coverage through your walls, doors and windows. See the feature overview; this is the how-to.
Add the engine
Add the CCTV & Security engine and set the region (UK, US, EU or AU) — it drives the symbol set, the legend and the compliance statement.
Device catalogue
Pick a category from the rail and tap to place; the tool stays armed so you can place a run of the same type. The catalogue is grouped into five colour-coded categories:
| Category | Colour | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| Cameras | Blue | Dome · Bullet · PTZ · Fisheye 360° · Thermal · Doorbell |
| Detection | Green | PIR motion · Dual-tech · Ceiling 360° · Curtain PIR · Glass-break · Vibration/shock · Door contact · Overhead-door contact · Driveway/beam · Beam pair |
| Annunciators | Amber | Siren · Strobe · Siren + strobe · Intercom |
| Access | Red | Magnetic lock · Electric strike · Keypad · Card reader · REX button |
| Head-end | Purple | Monitor · DVR · NVR · Control panel |
Cameras and the view-type detectors (PIR, dual-tech, curtain, beam, ceiling/fisheye 360°) render a coverage cone; sirens, locks and head-end devices don’t.
Coverage cones
Turn on Visualise (the eye chip) to ray-trace cones in the editor. Each cone:
- Stops at walls and at closed doors.
- Passes through open doors and windows (cameras see through glass).
- Dies at the device’s range.
- 360° devices (fisheye, ceiling 360°) render a full disc.
Cones are computed when you toggle Visualise and re-computed only when devices or the room change — not on every pan/zoom — so the editor stays smooth. (The exported PDF always draws the cones, since a security plan without coverage isn’t useful.)
Tuning a device
Select a device to adjust:
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Field of view | Cone width in degrees (ignored for 360° devices). |
| Range | How far the cone reaches, in metres (sensible defaults per type — e.g. ~12 m PIR, ~30 m dome). |
| Rotation | The azimuth the device aims. |
| Mount height | Stored for documentation (the 2-D cone doesn’t use it yet). |
| Label | An optional caption. |
Linking to the building
Link a device to a wall, door or window so it follows when that element moves. A wall link remembers the position along the wall. If you delete the host, the device floats free at its last position rather than disappearing. Dragging a wall-linked device more than ~30 cm off the wall drops the link.
Compliance & export
The region sets the standard referenced in the footer:
| Region | Standard |
|---|---|
| UK | BS EN 62676-4 + BS 8418 |
| US | NFPA 731 + UL 2050 |
| EU | EN 62676 / national code |
| AU | AS 4806 |
Completeness warnings flag the obvious gaps (no devices, no cameras, missing site or installer details). Export a single-page A4/Letter landscape PDF with the cones, a regional legend, device counts by category, a north point and a scale bar.
Tips
- Raise mount height for a longer throw over furniture.
- Put a fisheye in a corner for whole-room cover.
- Overlap cones at doorways to avoid blind spots.