Trigger_CSharp¶
Trigger_CSharp.cs shows how to trigger the camera. It relies on information provided in the Enumeration_CSharp, Acquisition_CSharp, and NodeMapInfo_CSharp examples.
//=============================================================================
// Copyright (c) 2026 FLIR Integrated Imaging Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
//
// This software is the confidential and proprietary information of FLIR
// Integrated Imaging Solutions, Inc. ("Confidential Information"). You
// shall not disclose such Confidential Information and shall use it only in
// accordance with the terms of the license agreement you entered into
// with FLIR Integrated Imaging Solutions, Inc. (FLIR).
//
// FLIR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THE
// SOFTWARE, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
// IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
// PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. FLIR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES
// SUFFERED BY LICENSEE AS A RESULT OF USING, MODIFYING OR DISTRIBUTING
// THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS DERIVATIVES.
//=============================================================================
/**
* @example Trigger_CSharp.cs
*
* @brief Trigger_CSharp.cs shows how to trigger the camera. It relies on
* information provided in the Enumeration_CSharp, Acquisition_CSharp, and
* NodeMapInfo_CSharp examples.
*
* It can also be helpful to familiarize yourself with the
* ImageFormatControl_CSharp and Exposure_CSharp examples. As they are somewhat
* shorter and simpler, either provides a strong introduction to camera
* customization.
*
* This example shows the process of configuring, using, and cleaning up a
* camera for use with both a software and a hardware trigger.
*
* Please leave us feedback at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TDYMVAPI
* More source code examples at: https://github.com/Teledyne-MV/Spinnaker-Examples
* Need help? Check out our forum at: https://teledynevisionsolutions.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/topics
*/
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using SpinnakerNET;
using SpinnakerNET.GenApi;
namespace Trigger_CSharp
{
class Program
{
// Use the following enum and global static variable to select whether
// a software or hardware trigger is used.
enum triggerType
{
Software,
Hardware
}
static triggerType chosenTrigger = triggerType.Software;
// This function configures the camera to use a trigger. First, trigger
// mode is set to off in order to select the trigger source. Once the
// trigger source has been selected, trigger mode is then enabled,
// which has the camera capture only a single image upon the execution
// of the chosen trigger.
int ConfigureTrigger(INodeMap nodeMap)
{
int result = 0;
try
{
Console.WriteLine("\n\n*** CONFIGURING TRIGGER ***\n\n");
Console.WriteLine(
"Note that if the application / user software triggers faster than frame time, the trigger may be dropped / skipped by the camera.");
Console.WriteLine(
"If several frames are needed per trigger, a more reliable alternative for such case, is to use the multi-frame mode.\n");
if (chosenTrigger == triggerType.Software)
{
Console.WriteLine("Software trigger chosen...\n");
}
else if (chosenTrigger == triggerType.Hardware)
{
Console.WriteLine("Hardware trigger chosen...\n");
}
//
// Ensure trigger mode off
//
// *** NOTES ***
// The trigger must be disabled in order to configure whether
// the source is software or hardware.
//
IEnum iTriggerMode = nodeMap.GetNode<IEnum>("TriggerMode");
if (iTriggerMode == null || !iTriggerMode.IsWritable || !iTriggerMode.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to disable trigger mode (enum retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
IEnumEntry iTriggerModeOff = iTriggerMode.GetEntryByName("Off");
if (iTriggerModeOff == null || !iTriggerModeOff.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to disable trigger mode (entry retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerMode.Value = iTriggerModeOff.Value;
Console.WriteLine("Trigger mode disabled...");
//
// Set TriggerSelector to FrameStart
//
// *** NOTES ***
// For this example, the trigger selector should be set to frame start.
// This is the default for most cameras.
//
IEnum iTriggerSelector = nodeMap.GetNode<IEnum>("TriggerSelector");
if (iTriggerSelector == null || !iTriggerSelector.IsWritable || !iTriggerSelector.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to set trigger selector (enum retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
// Set trigger mode to software
IEnumEntry iTriggerSelectorFrameStarts = iTriggerSelector.GetEntryByName("FrameStart");
if (iTriggerSelectorFrameStarts == null || !iTriggerSelectorFrameStarts.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to set software trigger selector (entry retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerSelector.Value = iTriggerSelectorFrameStarts.Value;
Console.WriteLine("Trigger selector set to frame start...");
//
// Select trigger source
//
// *** NOTES ***
// The trigger source must be set to hardware or software while
// trigger mode is off.
//
IEnum iTriggerSource = nodeMap.GetNode<IEnum>("TriggerSource");
if (iTriggerSource == null || !iTriggerSource.IsWritable || !iTriggerSource.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to set trigger mode (enum retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
if (chosenTrigger == triggerType.Software)
{
// Set trigger mode to software
IEnumEntry iTriggerSourceSoftware = iTriggerSource.GetEntryByName("Software");
if (iTriggerSourceSoftware == null || !iTriggerSourceSoftware.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to set software trigger mode (entry retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerSource.Value = iTriggerSourceSoftware.Value;
Console.WriteLine("Trigger source set to software...");
}
else if (chosenTrigger == triggerType.Hardware)
{
// Set trigger mode to hardware ('Line0')
IEnumEntry iTriggerSourceHardware = iTriggerSource.GetEntryByName("Line0");
if (iTriggerSourceHardware == null || !iTriggerSourceHardware.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to set hardware trigger mode (entry retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerSource.Value = iTriggerSourceHardware.Value;
Console.WriteLine("Trigger source set to hardware...");
}
//
// Turn trigger mode on
//
// *** LATER ***
// Once the appropriate trigger source has been set, turn
// trigger mode on in order to retrieve images using the
// trigger.
//
IEnumEntry iTriggerModeOn = iTriggerMode.GetEntryByName("On");
if (iTriggerModeOn == null || !iTriggerModeOn.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to enable trigger mode (entry retrieval). Aborting...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerMode.Value = iTriggerModeOn.Value;
// NOTE: Blackfly and Flea3 GEV cameras need 1 second delay after trigger mode is turned on
Console.WriteLine("Trigger mode enabled...");
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
return result;
}
// This function retrieves a single image using the trigger. In this
// example, only a single image is captured and made available for
// acquisition - as such, attempting to acquire two images for a single
// trigger execution would cause the example to hang. This is different
// from other examples, whereby a constant stream of images are being
// captured and made available for image acquisition.
int GrabNextImageByTrigger(INodeMap nodeMap, IManagedCamera cam)
{
int result = 0;
try
{
//
// Use trigger to capture image
//
// *** NOTES ***
// The software trigger only feigns being executed by the Enter
// key; what might not be immediately apparent is that there is
// not a continuous stream of images being captured; in other
// examples that acquire images, the camera captures a
// continuous stream of images. When an image is retrieved, it
// is plucked from the stream.
//
if (chosenTrigger == triggerType.Software)
{
// Get user input
Console.WriteLine("Press the Enter key to initiate software trigger.");
Console.ReadLine();
// Execute software trigger
ICommand iTriggerSoftware = nodeMap.GetNode<ICommand>("TriggerSoftware");
if (iTriggerSoftware == null || !iTriggerSoftware.IsWritable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to execute trigger. Aborting...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerSoftware.Execute();
// NOTE: Blackfly and Flea3 GEV cameras need 2 second delay after software trigger
}
else if (chosenTrigger == triggerType.Hardware)
{
// Execute hardware trigger
Console.WriteLine("Use the hardware to trigger image acquisition.");
}
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
return result;
}
// This function returns the camera to a normal state by turning off
// trigger mode.
int ResetTrigger(INodeMap nodeMap)
{
int result = 0;
try
{
//
// Turn trigger mode back off
//
// *** NOTES ***
// Once all images have been captured, turn trigger mode back
// off to restore the camera to a clean state.
//
IEnum iTriggerMode = nodeMap.GetNode<IEnum>("TriggerMode");
if (iTriggerMode == null || !iTriggerMode.IsWritable || !iTriggerMode.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to disable trigger mode (enum retrieval). Non-fatal error...");
return -1;
}
IEnumEntry iTriggerModeOff = iTriggerMode.GetEntryByName("Off");
if (iTriggerModeOff == null || !iTriggerModeOff.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to disable trigger mode (entry retrieval). Non-fatal error...");
return -1;
}
iTriggerMode.Value = iTriggerModeOff.Value;
Console.WriteLine("Trigger mode disabled...\n");
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
return result;
}
// This function prints the device information of the camera from the
// transport layer; please see NodeMapInfo_CSharp example for more
// in-depth comments on printing device information from the nodemap.
static int PrintDeviceInfo(INodeMap nodeMap)
{
int result = 0;
try
{
Console.WriteLine("\n*** DEVICE INFORMATION ***\n");
ICategory category = nodeMap.GetNode<ICategory>("DeviceInformation");
if (category != null && category.IsReadable)
{
for (int i = 0; i < category.Children.Length; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine(
"{0}: {1}",
category.Children[i].Name,
(category.Children[i].IsReadable ? category.Children[i].ToString()
: "Node not available"));
}
Console.WriteLine();
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Device control information not available.");
}
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
return result;
}
// This function acquires and saves 10 images from a device; please see
// Acquisition_CSharp example for more in-depth comments on the
// acquisition of images.
int AcquireImages(IManagedCamera cam, INodeMap nodeMap, INodeMap nodeMapTLDevice)
{
int result = 0;
Console.WriteLine("\n*** IMAGE ACQUISITION ***\n");
try
{
// Set acquisition mode to continuous
IEnum iAcquisitionMode = nodeMap.GetNode<IEnum>("AcquisitionMode");
if (iAcquisitionMode == null || !iAcquisitionMode.IsWritable || !iAcquisitionMode.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine("Unable to set acquisition mode to continuous (node retrieval). Aborting...\n");
return -1;
}
IEnumEntry iAcquisitionModeContinuous = iAcquisitionMode.GetEntryByName("Continuous");
if (iAcquisitionModeContinuous == null || !iAcquisitionModeContinuous.IsReadable)
{
Console.WriteLine(
"Unable to set acquisition mode to continuous (enum entry retrieval). Aborting...\n");
return -1;
}
iAcquisitionMode.Value = iAcquisitionModeContinuous.Symbolic;
Console.WriteLine("Acquisition mode set to continuous...");
// Begin acquiring images
cam.BeginAcquisition();
Console.WriteLine("Acquiring images...");
// Retrieve device serial number for filename
String deviceSerialNumber = "";
IString iDeviceSerialNumber = nodeMapTLDevice.GetNode<IString>("DeviceSerialNumber");
if (iDeviceSerialNumber != null && iDeviceSerialNumber.IsReadable)
{
deviceSerialNumber = iDeviceSerialNumber.Value;
Console.WriteLine("Device serial number retrieved as {0}...", deviceSerialNumber);
}
Console.WriteLine();
// Retrieve, convert, and save images
const int NumImages = 10;
//
// Create ImageProcessor instance for post processing images
//
IManagedImageProcessor processor = new ManagedImageProcessor();
//
// Set default image processor color processing method
//
// *** NOTES ***
// By default, if no specific color processing algorithm is set, the image
// processor will default to NEAREST_NEIGHBOR method.
//
processor.SetColorProcessing(ColorProcessingAlgorithm.HQ_LINEAR);
for (int imageCnt = 0; imageCnt < NumImages; imageCnt++)
{
try
{
// Retrieve next received image and ensure image completion
result = result | GrabNextImageByTrigger(nodeMap, cam);
using(IManagedImage rawImage = cam.GetNextImage(1000))
{
if (rawImage.IsIncomplete)
{
Console.WriteLine("Image incomplete with image status {0}...", rawImage.ImageStatus);
}
else
{
// Print image information
Console.WriteLine(
"Grabbed image {0}, width = {1}, height = {2}",
imageCnt,
rawImage.Width,
rawImage.Height);
// Convert image to mono 8
using(
IManagedImage convertedImage = processor.Convert(rawImage, PixelFormatEnums.Mono8))
{
// Create unique file name
String filename = "Trigger-CSharp-";
if (deviceSerialNumber != "")
{
filename = filename + deviceSerialNumber + "-";
}
filename = filename + imageCnt + ".jpg";
// Save image
convertedImage.Save(filename);
Console.WriteLine("Image saved at {0}\n", filename);
}
}
}
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
}
// End acquisition
cam.EndAcquisition();
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
return result;
}
// This function acts as the body of the example; please see
// NodeMapInfo_CSharp example for more in-depth comments on setting up
// cameras.
int RunSingleCamera(IManagedCamera cam)
{
int result = 0;
int err = 0;
try
{
// Retrieve TL device nodemap and print device information
INodeMap nodeMapTLDevice = cam.GetTLDeviceNodeMap();
result = PrintDeviceInfo(nodeMapTLDevice);
// Initialize camera
cam.Init();
// Retrieve GenICam nodemap
INodeMap nodeMap = cam.GetNodeMap();
// Configure trigger
err = ConfigureTrigger(nodeMap);
if (err < 0)
{
return err;
}
// Acquire images
result = result | AcquireImages(cam, nodeMap, nodeMapTLDevice);
// Reset trigger
result = result | ResetTrigger(nodeMap);
// Deinitialize camera
cam.DeInit();
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
return result;
}
// Example entry point; please see Enumeration_CSharp example for more
// in-depth comments on preparing and cleaning up the system.
static int Main(string[] args)
{
int result = 0;
Program program = new Program();
// Since this application saves images in the current folder
// we must ensure that we have permission to write to this folder.
// If we do not have permission, fail right away.
FileStream fileStream;
try
{
fileStream = new FileStream(@"test.txt", FileMode.Create);
fileStream.Close();
File.Delete("test.txt");
}
catch
{
Console.WriteLine("Failed to create file in current folder. Please check permissions.");
Console.WriteLine("Press enter to exit...");
Console.ReadLine();
return -1;
}
// Retrieve singleton reference to system object
ManagedSystem system = new ManagedSystem();
// Print out current library version
LibraryVersion spinVersion = system.GetLibraryVersion();
Console.WriteLine(
"Spinnaker library version: {0}.{1}.{2}.{3}\n\n",
spinVersion.major,
spinVersion.minor,
spinVersion.type,
spinVersion.build);
// Retrieve list of cameras from the system
ManagedCameraList camList = system.GetCameras();
Console.WriteLine("Number of cameras detected: {0}\n\n", camList.Count);
// Finish if there are no cameras
if (camList.Count == 0)
{
// Clear camera list before releasing system
camList.Clear();
// Release system
system.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("Not enough cameras!");
Console.WriteLine("Done! Press Enter to exit...");
Console.ReadLine();
return -1;
}
// Run example on each camera
int index = 0;
foreach(IManagedCamera managedCamera in camList) using(managedCamera)
{
Console.WriteLine("Running example for camera {0}...", index);
try
{
// Run example
result = result | program.RunSingleCamera(managedCamera);
}
catch (SpinnakerException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", ex.Message);
result = -1;
}
Console.WriteLine("Camera {0} example complete...\n", index++);
}
// Clear camera list before releasing system
camList.Clear();
// Release system
system.Dispose();
Console.WriteLine("\nDone! Press Enter to exit...");
Console.ReadLine();
return result;
}
}
}