ScreenAgent for Windows

ScreenAgentClosed NICE ScreenAgent is a service that runs on agent desktops that require screen recording. is available if you have CXone Recording Advanced and a screen recording license.

Install ScreenAgent on computers to record or monitor activity on an agent's screen during an interaction. ScreenAgent runs in the background and automatically records according to the recording policies (see CXone Recording). Supervisors and evaluators can also monitor an agent’s activity during an interaction (see Manage Agents).

You can install ScreenAgent on agents' computers, or in a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment:

  • Supported VDIs include VMware Horizon and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp and XenDesktop). VMware Horizon doesn’t require any special configuration. For Citrix instructions, see Install ScreenAgent for Windows.

  • Screen recording does not work with terminal-server type VDI environments and/or non-persistent VDI environments. These environments do not support screen recording.

Any ScreenAgent version lower than 2.1.40 no longer works and does not enable screen recording.

You must upgrade all users to ScreenAgent version 2.1.40 or higher, and then contact your CXone Account Representative to enable the new screen recording functionality. You can find the latest version of ScreenAgent in the downloads page.

Note that version 2.1.4 is an earlier unsupported version. It is not the same as version 2.1.40.

You can watch a video that gives an overview of the installation of ScreenAgent on an agent's computer. The video includes the prerequisites and installation steps.

For more information, see FAQs for ScreenAgent.

For a list of features added to previous ScreenAgent releases, see ScreenAgent: Cumulative Release Notes.

Prerequisites

Before installing ScreenAgent, make sure to:

  1. Check the Port, Domain, Voice, and IP Address Requirements. Keep in mind, ScreenAgent doesn't record if your firewall generates self-signed certificates or strips request headers from HTTPS packets.

  2. If your site uses VDIs, make sure:

    • You're using ScreenAgent V2.1 and up.

    • For Citrix virtual apps mode:

      • Enable a Virtual IP Loopback policy. Add ScreenAgent.exe and Chrome.exe to the Virtual IP virtual loopback programs list. Keep in mind that each program must be listed on a separate line.

      • Install ScreenAgent on the Citrix Virtual Apps server.

    • VMware Horizon and Citrix virtual desktop mode don't require any special configuration.

  3. Check the agent's computer configuration.

    • Microsoft .NET 4 or higher installed on the agent's computer.

    • One of the softphone solutions for agents:

      • Agent for Salesforce softphone installed on the same computer as ScreenAgent.

      • MAX softphone.

    • Relevant computer specifications in Platform Requirements.

      Keep in mind, if the computer configuration is set to full HD or 4K and the CPU usage is high, then a more powerful CPU (such as i5) may be required.

    • Port 31322 open. This port is only used for internal communication between ScreenAgent and MAX/Agent for Salesforce softphone on the agent's computer.

  4. Make sure the user who is installing ScreenAgent (for example, the admin) has Admin privileges on the agent's computer.

  5. Make sure the user who is installing ScreenAgent (for example, the admin) has these CXone permissions:

    • Can access support downloads: On, this allows you to access the Supports - Downloads page.

    • Access Key: Create, this is to manage access keys for your organization.

  6. Follow the below steps in given order to generate an access key for ScreenAgent. You can use the same access key for installing ScreenAgent on all agents' computers in your tenant.

    The access key receives all of the permissions of the CXone user who generates it. If this user is an administrator, then anyone with the access key would have administrator privileges. So for security reasons, first create a CXone user and role for ScreenAgent, and then generate the key with the ScreenAgent user.

    1. Create a role for the ScreenAgent service:

      1. Click the app selector and select Admin.

      2. Go to Security > Roles and Permissions.

      3. Click New Role.

      4. Give a name for the role, such as ScreenAgent access key.

      5. Remove all permissions for the role.

      6. Save & Activate the profile.

    2. Create an employee for the ScreenAgent service:

      1. Click the app selector and select Admin.

      2. Click Employees.

      3. Click New Employee.

      4. Give a name for the employee, such as ScreenAgent.

      5. From the Primary Role drop-down list, select the ScreenAgent access key role you just created.

      6. On the General tab, clear all the attributes.

      7. Create the ScreenAgent employee (the Access Keys tab only shows after you create the account).

    3. Open the ScreenAgent employee again, then go to the Access Keys tab and generate an access key.

    4. Copy both the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key and save them somewhere safe. If you don't copy the Secret Access Key or if you lose it, you'll need to create a new one. Use this access key ID and secret access key when installing ScreenAgent on all agents' computers.

    5. Activate the ScreenAgent employee account by clicking the Activate Account button in the activation email.

  7. Download the ScreenAgent MSI:

    1. Go to CXone, and log in as a user with the Can access support downloads permission.

    2. Click your Username and select Support and Downloads.

    3. Download the ScreenAgent MSI. Note where you download the MSI to, you'll need the file location later.

  8. ScreenAgent supports five proxy authentication methods for screen recording—Basic, Digest, Kerberos, NTLM, and Negotiate. When using the proxy authentication method:

    • Make sure to set the proxy at the operating system level in the Proxy settings.

    • For Basic and Digest authentication method, you must set credentials in Windows Credential Manager.

    • There's no change in installation. However, if you want to use proxy for the ScreenAgent without changing proxy at the operating system, you can use the direct proxy in the ScreenAgent installation.

    • Keep in mind, these authentication methods are only for screen recording and not for screen monitoring.

Install ScreenAgent for Windows

You can install ScreenAgent using a deployment tool or install manually on each agent's computer.

If you're using a deployment tool, configure the installation to either:

  • Run with user's rights (user mode/user context)—You don't have to restart the agent's computer.

  • Run with administrative rights—You must restart all agents' computers.

To update installation parameters, reinstall the ScreenAgent client.

To upgrade ScreenAgent to a later version, install the ScreenAgent client. You do not need to uninstall the previous version.

In both cases, you should update when agents aren't being recorded. If an agent is on a call during the update, screen recording will stop for that call. After the update, calls will record according to the recording policies/Studio scripts.

To install ScreenAgent:

  1. Make sure all prerequisites are in place.

  2. Open the command prompt as Administrator. In the command line, navigate to where you downloaded the MSI and enter the installation command with the relevant parameters:

    1. Go to the folder where you downloaded the MSI, and copy the path to the folder. This is typically the %UserProfile%\downloads folder.

    2. Run the command prompt as Administrator:

      1. In Windows, click the Windows button and type cmd.

      2. Right-click the Command Prompt tile and click Run as administrator.

    3. Type cd/ and press Enter.

    4. Type cd and paste your file location, then press Enter.

      For example, cd %UserProfile%\downloads.

    5. Copy and paste the command into the Command Prompt, and edit the parameters listed in the table.

      • If you don't have a web proxy, use this command. This command can also be used when proxy is defined at the OS level.

        msiexec /i ScreenAgent-<32|64>bit-<MSI version>.msi ACCESS_KEY_ID=<access key ID> ACCESS_KEY_SECRET=<secret access key> REGION_TYPE=<subdomain (first 3 characters) of the CXone URL> FRAME_PER_SECOND=<optional: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5> RESOLUTION_LEVEL=<optional: null, low, medium, or high> LOAD_CERTIFICATES=<optional: true|false> /log install.log /quiet

      • When you are using proxy authentication, and the proxy is not defined at OS level, use this command:

        msiexec /i ScreenAgent-<32|64>bit-<MSI version>.msi ACCESS_KEY_ID=<access key ID> ACCESS_KEY_SECRET=<the secret access key> REGION_TYPE=<subdomain (first 3 characters) of the CXone URL> WEB_PROXY=<only if using a proxy server to connect to the internet> FRAME_PER_SECOND=<optional: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5> RESOLUTION_LEVEL=<optional: null, low, medium, or high> LOAD_CERTIFICATES=<optional: true|false> /log install.log /quiet

    Parameter

    Description

    Example

    msiexec /i ScreenAgent-32bit-<MSI version>.msi

    32bit or 64bit

    If you’re installing on a computer with:

    • 32-bit Windows installed, enter 32bit

    • 64-bit Windows installed, enter 64bit

    MSI version

    Enter the MSI version of the installation file you downloaded from the Support and Downloads page. For example, 2.0.15.

    msiexec /i ScreenAgent-64bit-2.0.15.msi

     

    msiexec /i ScreenAgent-32bit-2.0.15.msi

    ACCESS_KEY_ID

    Paste the access key ID created in the Employee account

    ACCESS_KEY_ID=ABCDEF12345====

    ACCESS_KEY_SECRET

    Paste the secret access key created in the Employee account

    ACCESS_KEY_SECRET=12345ABCDEF

    REGION_TYPE

    Enter the subdomain (first 3 characters) of your CXone URL (for example: na1, na2, au1, eu1)

    REGION_TYPE=na1

    WEB_PROXY

    Only include this parameter if you’re using a proxy server to connect to the internet.

    Keep in mind:

    • Host can be hostname or IP

    • Use http or https according to your proxy settings

    • Use username and password of the server if it’s set in your proxy settings

    For example:

    • http://server_username:server_password@host:port

    • https://server_username:server_password@host:port

    • https://host:port

    WEB_PROXY=http://admin:pwd@168.63.76.32:3128

     

     

    WEB_PROXY=https://proxyserver:8088

     
    FRAME_PER_SECOND

    (Optional) You can set the number of recorded frames per second for the output MP4 file.

    Allowed values are 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. A higher number creates a higher quality recording but uses more CPU and memory (RAM).

    If you do not add this parameter, ScreenAgent installs with the default frame per second value, 5.

    You can change this configuration after installation.

    		 FRAME_PER_SECOND=3
    RESOLUTION_LEVEL

    (Optional) You can reduce the resolution of the recorded MP4 file to optimize RAM and CPU consumption.

    Allowed values are null, low, medium, or high (case insensitive).

    • Null is the current monitor resolution.

    • Low reduces the recorded resolution the most, by a factor of 4. This setting is recommended only for 4K monitors.

    • Medium reduces the recorded resolution by a factor of 2.

    • High reduces the recorded resolution the least, by a factor of 1.5.

    For example, if the current screen resolution is 1920 x 1080:

    • Null keeps the recorded resolution at 1920 x 1080.

    • Low reduces the recorded resolution to 480 x 270.

    • Medium reduces the recorded resolution to 960 x 540.

    • High reduces the recorded resolution to 1280 x 720.

    If you do not add this parameter, ScreenAgent installs with the default resolution setting, null.

    You can change this configuration after installation.

    		 RESOLUTION_LEVEL=low

    LOAD_CERTIFICATES

    (Optional) Set this parameter to false if ScreenAgent should not access and load self-signed certificates from the Windows certificates store.

    Allowed values are true or false.

    If you do not add this parameter, ScreenAgent accesses self-signed certificates from the Windows certificates store.

    You can change this configuration after installation.

    		 LOAD_CERTIFICATES=false

    /log install.log

    Prints the installation results in the log file.

    /log install.log

    /quiet

    (Optional) Include if you want to suppress popups during installation. You’ll be able to view the installation results in the log file.

    /quiet

  3. Verify installation success from the log file. The install.log file is in the folder you installed the MSI from, this is typically the %UserProfile%\downloads folder.

    • Verify that the installer has admin privileges.

    • If the agent's computer doesn't have Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 or higher, then install it.

  4. Make sure the agent has the attribute Can be Recorded (Screen) (in CXone, go to Admin > Employees, and then click on the agent).

  5. Record a call and check the ScreenAgent log file. The ScreenAgent.log file is in the %appdata%\Roaming\ScreenAgent folder.

    Your ScreenAgent logs are also automatically uploaded to the cloud where the NICE CXone support team can access them, if needed.

    If there are any errors, see Troubleshoot Recordings.

You can watch a video that gives an overview of how to improve agent interactions with real-time screen monitoring using ScreenAgent.

Set up Screen Recording in Agent Application Administration

After installation, if required, you can set up screen recording in the CXone agent application on the following platforms:

Change ScreenAgent Configuration

After installation, you can change some ScreenAgent configurations:

    1. Open the framePerSecond file in the ScreenAgent install folder, typically under C:\Program Files\NICE-InContact\ScreenAgent.

    2. In the framePerSecond file, change the FRAME_PER_SECOND value. By default, this value is 5.

      Allowed values are 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. A higher number creates a higher quality recording but uses more CPU and memory (RAM).

    3. Save the framePerSecond file.

    4. Restart the ScreenAgent application.

    1. Open the resolutionLevel file in the ScreenAgent install folder, typically under C:\Program Files\NICE-InContact\ScreenAgent.

    2. In the resolutionLevel file, change the RESOLUTION_LEVEL value. By default this value is null.

      Allowed values are null, low, medium, or high (case insensitive).

      • Null is the current monitor resolution.

      • Low reduces the recorded resolution the most, by a factor of 4. This setting is recommended only for 4K monitors.

      • Medium reduces the recorded resolution by a factor of 2.

      • High reduces the recorded resolution the least, by a factor of 1.5.

      For example, if the current screen resolution is 1920 x 1080:

      • Null keeps the recorded resolution at 1920 x 1080.

      • Low reduces the recorded resolution to 480 x 270.

      • Medium reduces the recorded resolution to 960 x 540.

      • High reduces the recorded resolution to 1280 x 720.

    3. To reset to the monitor's resolution, change the RESOLUTION_LEVEL value to null.

    4. Save the resolutionLevel file.

    5. Restart the ScreenAgent application.

    1. Open the loadCertificates file in the ScreenAgent install folder, typically under C:\Program Files\NICE-InContact\ScreenAgent.

    2. In the loadCertificates file, change the LOAD_CERTIFICATES value. By default, this value is true.

      Allowed values are true or false.

    3. Save the loadCertificates file.

    4. Restart the ScreenAgent application.

  4. To apply changes, restart the ScreenAgent application:

    1. In the Windows Task Manager, end the current ScreenAgentWatchDog.exe task and then end the ScreenAgent.exe processes.

    2. From the ScreenAgent install folder, run ScreenAgentWatchdog.exe.