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Configuration

Calibration Guard is configured via guard-config.json. When installed with VIA Onboard, this file lives at:

C:\Program Files\ViaOnboard\resources\guard-config.json

When running standalone, it lives in the same directory as guard.js (or guard.exe).

Full configuration reference

{
  "registryPath": "HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\ViciCalibGuard",
  "registryValue": "LicenseKey",
  "watchPaths": [
    "C:\\ViciVision\\mtl.ini"
  ],
  "protectedSections": ["LOOKUP", "LOOKUP_VERT"],
  "checkIntervalMinutes": 5,
  "backupDir": "C:\\ProgramData\\ViciCalibGuard\\backups",
  "logFile": "C:\\ProgramData\\ViciCalibGuard\\guard.log",
  "expiryWarningDays": 7
}

Field reference

registryPath

Type: string
Default: "HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\ViciCalibGuard"

The Windows Registry key path where the license key is stored. Do not change this unless you have a specific reason — the License Key Server and the install-key.js tool both use this path by default.

registryValue

Type: string
Default: "LicenseKey"

The Registry value name under registryPath that holds the key string.

watchPaths

Type: array of strings
Required

Full absolute paths to the .ini files to protect. Use double backslashes.

"watchPaths": [
  "C:\\ViciVision\\mtl.ini",
  "C:\\ViciVision\\machine2.ini"
]

File must exist before the guard starts

The guard logs a warning if a file in watchPaths doesn't exist at startup, but it will not crash — it will continue watching the other paths and retry the missing one on each interval tick.

protectedSections

Type: array of strings
Default: ["LOOKUP", "LOOKUP_VERT"]

Section names to protect (case-insensitive). Only values inside these sections are monitored and restored on revert. All other INI content is left untouched.

To add temperature sensor protection: 

"protectedSections": ["LOOKUP", "LOOKUP_VERT", "GAUGE"]

See How It Works — Protected Sections for the full list of protectable sections and what each contains.

checkIntervalMinutes

Type: number
Default: 5

How often the interval poller runs (in minutes) as a secondary check alongside the event-based file watcher. Setting this lower increases CPU usage slightly; setting it higher means more time before an unauthorized change is caught if the watcher misses an event.

For production use, 5 is a good balance. For highly sensitive installations, 1 is acceptable.

backupDir

Type: string
Default: "C:\\ProgramData\\ViciCalibGuard\\backups"

Directory where backup JSON files are stored. The guard creates this directory if it doesn't exist. You generally don't need to change this.

logFile

Type: string
Default: "C:\\ProgramData\\ViciCalibGuard\\guard.log"

Full path to the log file. The guard appends to this file — it does not rotate or truncate it automatically. If the file gets large, you can delete or truncate it; the guard will create a new one.

expiryWarningDays

Type: number
Default: 7

Number of days before license expiration at which to start showing the expiry warning dialog. Set to 0 to disable warnings. The warning is shown at most once per day.

Protecting multiple machines on one PC

If a single PC controls multiple ViciVision machines (each with its own .ini file), add all file paths to watchPaths:

"watchPaths": [
  "C:\\ViciVision\\machine_a\\mtl.ini",
  "C:\\ViciVision\\machine_b\\mtl.ini"
]

Each file gets its own independent backup in backupDir. A single license key covers all watched files.

Applying config changes

Calibration Guard reads guard-config.json once at startup. To apply changes:

  1. Edit guard-config.json.
  2. Open Task Scheduler, find ViciCalibGuard, and click End Task.
  3. Right-click ViciCalibGuard and click Run — or simply log out and back in (the Scheduled Task runs on logon).

Alternatively, from an elevated command prompt: 

schtasks /End /TN ViciCalibGuard
schtasks /Run /TN ViciCalibGuard