Skip to content

FAQ: SWEAR Plugin Tab Missing in Milestone Export

Overview

This FAQ addresses a known issue where the SWEAR Plugin tab does not appear when opening a Milestone XProtect Smart Client export package on Windows, preventing evidentiary video validation. Note that validating SWEAR video within the Smart Client (not from an export) should continue to work normally and is not affected by this issue.

General Questions

What is the SWEAR Plugin tab in a Milestone export?

When a Milestone XProtect video export is created with SWEAR validation embedded, the exported standalone player should display a SWEAR Plugin tab. This tab allows recipients to verify the authenticity and integrity of the exported camera footage without needing a full Milestone installation.

Does this affect validation inside the Smart Client?

No. Validation of SWEAR video inside the Smart Client is unaffected. This issue only applies to the standalone export player (SmartClient-Player.exe) included in the export package.

Who is affected?

This issue has been observed on Windows machines when the export package is accessed or copied in certain ways. It does not affect all environments. The root cause may differ in your environment.

Common Issues

Why is the SWEAR Plugin tab missing from my export?

There are three primary known causes:

  1. Windows is blocking the plugin DLL — Windows marks files copied from another computer (or extracted from a ZIP) as untrusted and blocks them from executing.
  2. Running the export from a network or remote location — Executing SmartClient-Player.exe over a tunnel, VPN, or mapped network drive causes .NET to treat the assembly as untrusted.
  3. .NET Framework compatibility — This has been investigated and is generally not the primary cause, though it may affect a small subset of environments.

How do I tell if Windows is blocking the plugin?

Navigate to the following file within your export package:

<Export Parent Folder> → Client Files → Client → MIPPlugins → SWEAR → SwearPlugin.dll

Right-click SwearPlugin.dll and select Properties. If you see a security warning message at the bottom of the Properties dialog (similar to: "This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer"), Windows is blocking the file.

Important: Unblocking only SwearPlugin.dll is not sufficient. The entire set of files in the export package must be unblocked. See Microsoft's guidance on unblocking multiple files.

If logging is enabled, security-related plugin load failures are recorded in:

C:\ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Smart Client\MIPLog.txt

Look for errors containing FileLoadException with HRESULT: 0x80131515, or messages about loading an assembly from a network location. If you see these errors, Windows file blocking is confirmed as the cause. Please send this log file to support for analysis.

Troubleshooting

Step 1 — Copy the export to a local drive

If you are accessing the export from a network share, NAS drive, or over a remote connection, copy the entire export package to a local hard drive on the machine where you intend to run the player. Do not run SmartClient-Player.exe directly from a network location.

Step 2 — Unblock files before extracting from ZIP

If the export was delivered as a ZIP file:

  1. Before extracting, right-click the ZIP file and select Properties.
  2. At the bottom of the Properties dialog, check the Unblock checkbox if present, then click OK.
  3. Extract the ZIP after unblocking.

If you have already extracted without unblocking, you will need to unblock the files individually or use the PowerShell method described in Microsoft's unblocking guide.

Step 3 — Unblock files in the extracted export

If the export was already extracted without unblocking first:

  1. Navigate to the export's root folder.
  2. Use PowerShell to unblock all files recursively:
Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Path\To\Export" -Recurse | Unblock-File

Replace C:\Path\To\Export with the actual path to your export folder.

  1. After unblocking, reopen the export player by double-clicking SmartClient-Player.exe.

Note: Even built-in Smart Client plugins (such as the search tab) will not load when files are blocked. A player with blocked files is in a semi-functional state — unblocking is required for full functionality.

Step 4 — Apply the workaround if unblocking does not resolve the issue

If files are confirmed as blocked but unblocking them does not restore the SWEAR Plugin tab, a configuration workaround is available. Add the following to Client Files/Client/Client.exe.Config:

<configuration>
  ...
  <runtime>
    <loadFromRemoteSources enabled="true"/>
    ...
  </runtime>
</configuration>

Important: This workaround only applies when opening the player by double-clicking SmartClient-Player.exe. Double-clicking an .scp file opens a locally installed Smart Client instead. Contact support before applying this workaround.

"SWEAR Plugin tab isn't working" — Quick checklist

Use this checklist to confirm common causes have been ruled out:

# Check Status
1 Export is on a local drive, not a network/NAS share ☐
2 ZIP was unblocked before extracting ☐
3 All export files have been unblocked (check SwearPlugin.dll Properties) ☐
4 Player opened via SmartClient-Player.exe, not by double-clicking .scp ☐
5 MIPLog.txt reviewed for FileLoadException or security errors ☐

Additional Resources

Still Need Help?

If you have worked through these steps and the SWEAR Plugin tab is still missing, please collect the following before contacting support:

  • C:\ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Smart Client\MIPLog.txt
  • C:\ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Smart Client\ClientLog.txt
  • Screenshot of the SwearPlugin.dll Properties dialog (showing whether the Unblock option was present)
  • Description of how the export was delivered (ZIP, network share, USB, etc.)

Contact support or submit a ticket and reference this article.

Last updated: 2026-05-14