workspace sdk components

About components

Components are the extension points of the Workspace SDK. They allow modules to add functionality to Security Center client applications such as Security Desk and Config Tool. Each component type serves a specific purpose: rendering content in tiles, adding widgets to dashboards, extending maps, encoding credentials, and more.

Not all component types are available in both applications. Dashboard widgets require Security Desk. Standard map components such as providers, view builders, layers, searchers, importers, and panels are available in both applications. Map designer components are specific to Config Tool. Credential components and image extractors are also available in both applications.

Use this page when you need to choose the Workspace component type that matches a scenario, compare where component families run, or find the detailed page for a specific extension point.

How workspace components fit in a module

1. A workspace module creates a component instance during Load().
2. The module calls Initialize(Workspace) on that component.
3. The module registers it with Workspace.Components.
4. Security Center discovers and uses the component when the corresponding UI or workflow needs it.
5. When the module unloads, it unregisters the component.

Shared components are a separate mechanism from Workspace.Components. Use Workspace.SharedComponents and Monitor.SharedComponents to consume built-in shared UI components. For details, see About shared components.

Component

All components inherit from a specialized abstract class such as ContentBuilder, TileWidgetBuilder, or DashboardWidgetBuilder. These classes inherit from the Component base class, which provides the shared registration and initialization infrastructure.

Do not inherit from Component directly. Each specialized component class seals the Type property to return a predefined identifier that the system uses to route the component to the correct consumer. Inheriting from Component directly produces a component that the system does not know how to use.

Component members

Member	Type	Description
Name	Property (abstract)	Display name for the component.
UniqueId	Property (abstract)	Unique identifier for this component instance. Each component must return a distinct GUID.
Type	Property (abstract)	Component type identifier. Sealed by each specialized class. Do not override this yourself.
IsAvailable	Property	Whether the component is currently available. Defaults to false. Set to true after initialization.
Workspace	Property	The workspace instance. Available after Initialize(Workspace) is called.
Initialize(Workspace)	Method	Initializes the component with the workspace. Call this before registering the component.
Initialize()	Method (protected virtual)	Override to perform setup after Workspace is available. Called by Initialize(Workspace).

Registering workspace components

Register and unregister components through Workspace.Components:

public class SampleModule : Module
{
    private MyContentBuilder m_component;

    public override void Load()
    {
        m_component = new MyContentBuilder();
        m_component.Initialize(Workspace);
        Workspace.Components.Register(m_component);
    }

    public override void Unload()
    {
        Workspace.Components.Unregister(m_component);
    }
}

ComponentCollection members

Member	Description
Register(Component)	Register a component with the workspace.
Unregister(Component)	Remove a component from the workspace.
this[Guid type]	Get all registered components of the specified type as a ReadOnlyCollection<Component>.
this[Guid type, Guid id]	Get a specific component by type and unique identifier.
Count	The number of registered components.

Component type identifiers

Genetec.Sdk.Workspace.Components.Components is the static catalog of component type GUIDs used by the specialized Workspace component base classes. In normal extension code you rarely read these fields directly because each specialized component class seals Type for you, but the identifiers are useful when you inspect Workspace.Components, compare component families, or read API tables.

Common identifiers include:

Identifier	Used by
Components.ContentBuilder	ContentBuilder
Components.TileWidgetBuilder	TileWidgetBuilder
Components.TileViewBuilder	TileViewBuilder
Components.ImageExtractor	ImageExtractor
Components.BadgePrinter	BadgePrinter
Components.CredentialEncoder	CredentialEncoder
Components.CredentialReader	CredentialReader
Components.CardholderFieldsExtractor	CardholderFieldsExtractor
Components.CustomActionBuilder	CustomActionBuilder
Components.MapObjectProvider	MapObjectProvider
Components.MapObjectViewBuilder	MapObjectViewBuilder
Components.MapLayerBuilder	MapLayerBuilder
Components.MapSearcher	MapSearcher
Components.MapPanelBuilder	MapPanelBuilder
Components.MapImporter	MapImporter

The SDK also exposes identifiers for other specialized families such as logon providers, incidents, pinnable content builders, and timeline providers. The detailed guides for those families call out the exact Type value that each abstract base class returns.

Component types

The SDK provides the following component types. Each type has a dedicated abstract class to inherit from.

Tile components and content builders

These components extend Security Desk's tile-based monitoring interface.

Component	Base class	Description
Content builder	ContentBuilder	Controls what appears inside tiles. Handles entity drag-and-drop, events, and alarms by producing ContentGroup and Content objects. The system calls builders in priority order and uses the first non-null result.
Tile widget	TileWidgetBuilder	Adds collapsible panels to the right-side controls area when a tile is selected. Displays supplementary information or controls related to the tile content.
Tile view	TileViewBuilder	Renders overlays and custom visualizations directly inside the tile area. Supports placement over video, below the toolbar, or as full-tile content.
Tile properties	TilePropertiesBuilder	Adds configuration tabs to the bottom of the right-side controls panel alongside the built-in "General" tab.

See About content builders for content builder usage guidance.

See About tile extensions for tile widget, tile view, and tile properties usage guidance.

Dashboard widget components

Component	Base class	Description
Dashboard widget	DashboardWidgetBuilder	Adds widgets to Security Desk dashboards. The builder creates DashboardWidget instances that provide visual content and configuration options.

See About dashboard widgets for dashboard widget usage guidance.

Map extension components

These components extend Security Center's mapping capabilities. Map components are available in both Security Desk and Config Tool.

Component	Base class	Description
Map panel	MapPanelBuilder	Adds panels to the map interface.
Map searcher	MapSearcher	Implements map search. Override Search(MapSearcherContext) to return IList<MapSearcherResult> with matching locations.
Map importer	MapImporter	Imports external map data. Returns MapImporterResult.
Map object provider	MapObjectProvider	Supplies custom objects for display on maps.
Map object view	MapObjectViewBuilder	Builds visual representations of custom map objects.
Map layer	MapLayerBuilder	Adds custom overlay layers to maps.
Map designer tool	MapDesignerTool	Adds tools to the map designer in Config Tool.
Map designer widget	MapDesignerWidget	Adds widgets to the map designer in Config Tool.

See About map extensions for map component usage guidance.

Credential and cardholder components

These components extend cardholder and credential management. They are available in both Security Desk and Config Tool.

Component	Base class	Description
Badge printer	BadgePrinter	Implements badge printing through IBadgeService.
Credential encoder	CredentialEncoder	Encodes credential data to external hardware. Override Encode(CredentialEncoderData).
Credential reader	CredentialReader	Reads credential data from external hardware. CardholderCredentialReader provides a specialized variant for cardholder workflows.
Cardholder fields extractor	CardholderFieldsExtractor	Imports cardholder data from external sources such as HR systems, vCard files, or custom integrations. Extracts fields like name, email, photo, credentials, and group assignments.

See About badge printers for badge printer usage guidance.

See About credential encoders for credential encoder usage guidance.

See About credential readers for credential reader usage guidance.

See About cardholder fields extractors for cardholder fields extractor usage guidance.

Image extractors and timeline providers

Component	Base class	Description
Image extractor	ImageExtractor	Captures images from external sources for cardholder photos, custom fields, and entity thumbnails. Available in both Security Desk and Config Tool.
Timeline provider	TimelineProviderBuilder	Provides data for timeline visualizations. The TimelineProvider class inherits from DependencyObject, not Component. Register providers through TimelineProviderBuilder.

See About image extractors for image extractor usage guidance.

See About timeline providers for timeline provider usage guidance.

Specialized component types

Component	Base class	Description
Pinnable content builder	PinnableContentBuilder	Creates visual content for pinnable popups (floating panels) in monitor windows.
Logon provider	LogonProvider	Customizes sign-in behavior for Security Center client applications.
Custom action	CustomActionBuilder	Adds custom actions to the event-to-action system. The builder creates CustomActionView instances for configuring the action.
Incident	IncidentBuilder	Adds custom incident types to the incident management system. The builder creates IncidentView instances for editing incident data.

See About pinnable content builders for pinnable content builder usage guidance.

See About logon providers for logon provider usage guidance.

See About custom actions for custom action usage guidance.

See About incidents for incident usage guidance.

See also

• About the Workspace SDK
• About workspace modules
• About workspace services
• About Workspace SDK certificates