New tag?

[akasonny]

I use several of my ip cam shots on a page on my website. It would be great to have a web tag which identifies the date/time of one or all images. Is it possible to incorporate (maybe in version 2) such a tag for images. Though I used to write websites manually using HTML 1.0-2.0 I haven't kept up with whats available with these latest versions and the HTML-generating software.

Perhaps that requires a script instead...not sure. Ideas?

[steve]

Sorry, you've lost me. How can Cumulus know the dates and times of your camera images? I suspect you're probably right about it needing a bit of script instead.

[akasonny]

I was hoping, in some way, it would be possible to read the date/time the filename was created...and the more I think about it, the more I believe a script would be required. I think the benefits would be obvious but its the method that escapes me. Even if a script could identify the date/time, and even if a webtag could be generated, Cumulus would have to support the webtag.

I'm sure there's a way to accomplish this...but its beyond my pay-grade.

[steve]

Do the image files exist on the PC somewhere, or does the camera upload them itself?

[akasonny]

They're FTP'd to the Cumulus Images folder of the website by the IP cam software. I suppose I could keep them on the PC, probably run a js to rename them (it looks like that anyway), and then FTP them but what a hassle when they're already on the website with the correct filenames.

Eeeeek! (I need a glass of ale)

[beteljuice]

There are two sources of picture information available:

The file creation date, and EXIF (if available) - normally that would be interrogated by some kind of server-side script (eg. php, perl). Even then some servers do not allow (or have been told) the created / modified timestamp to be broadcast.

I don't see the need for a <#webtag> as your cam software will be dealing with the capture / upload - it should be hardcoded into your page either as Javascript (to do a unique loop call) or <IFRAME> with refresh.

Unless someone has a better solution ?

[steve]

If the image isn't on the PC, then for there to be a tag, Cumulus would need the URL of the image on the web, and would have to download the image each time it did a web update in order to work out its timestamp. Assuming the timestamp was intact after uploading and downloading. Doesn't sound like the right solution to me!

[akasonny]

Yes, ok. You have both put me back on the right track (well....the ale helped too). I think a js on the website can handle most of the work. I'll persue that. Thanks for the help.

[gwheelo]

Take a look at http://www.wheelocknet.net/cam - Beteljuice provided the code inspiration and hints to help with the implementation.

This both refreshes the webcam image when each new image becomes available on the server and posts the local time. See the source by going to View --> Source in your browser. The time stamp displays differently in Firefox than it does in IE8. Firefox reports the time zone for Western Europe as "Romance Daylight Time" - now that's a bonus!

George Wheelock

[akasonny]

Wow...yes, thats almost exactly what I want to do...but having peeked at the source, I got shivers down my spine. As said earlier, I'm no website author...used to be back in "the day"...but too much has changed and its hard for this 60-year-old to try to catch up now. About the best I can do is on my website now http://myweather.thruhere.net. There's HTML code on your site I've never even seen before. Scary!

I've bookmarked your website (nice job, by the way!) and when I find the courage to dig into that I'll see what I can come up with.

[GTB]

http://www.gtbastrowise.com.au/weather/ ... 1/main.htm

the program is called "homewatcher"
security camera program
lets you put time stamp on images

geoff

[gwheelo]

Your just a mere youngster - I turned 69 last week. I am out of the country at the moment but I will separate and explain the code you need as soon as possible - and no, I am not a programmer - just ask Beteljuice, Steve, and all the rest on this forum just how naive and stupid some of my questions have been.
This need for this approach came about because I am using an IP webcam with its own server and the firmware does not provide a time stamp.
In any case I will be in touch,

gw

[beteljuice]

The beteljuice is not exactly in the first flush of youth (although I do seem to be the youth in this thread )

The picture change code at its lowest level:

Code: Select all

<img src="images/picturecam.jpg" height="490" width="640" id="pic" />

......

<script language="javascript"> 
var refreshrate=10; //SECONDS BETWEEN REFRESH 
var image="images/picturecam.jpg";       //IMAGE NAME

function refresh(){
    var getdate = new Date();
    document.images["pic"].src=image+"?"+ getdate;
 
    setTimeout('refresh()', refreshrate*1000);
}
 
if(document.images)window.onload=refresh;
 
</script>

[akasonny]

To Geoff...thanks! I'll check out homewatcher.

To Gw...I feel so young all of a sudden !

To Beteljuice...double thanks....I'll try that too... strap yourself in cuz age has a tendency to speed-up as you go..something to do with the space/time riff and another dimension, I'm sure of it.

I was able to "reverse engineer" some code and get a live camera feed operational last night using Java...so I'm miles ahead of the train-wreck I had earlier yesterday.

Now to time-stamp my still images...

Steve