Setting up Barcode Scanners

Setup your scanner on your computer if you are using a barcode scanner

The computer basically thinks that the scanner is a keyboard that types in a number or characters (the barcode) into the barcode field.

1. Plug the scanner into your tablet/PC - the tablet will recognise it and it will appear in the devices area (where you see printers, keyboards etc) as a keyboard
   1. Note that the scanner must be configured to send an ENTER character after doing a scan - so you do not have to press enter on the keyboard.
2. Then in our System go to System > Settings > Devices and click on the one that has VID in the number (Virtual Device ID)
   
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3. Your keyboard scanner should now work ok

Has the scanner already be configured to send a suffix of TAB or carriage return ?

1. Add a suffix - (of TAB).  Basically this puts a carriage return at the end of the number scanned so the screen then actions the information
   1. From the manual for your scanner (Search the web for the model number + Carriage Return (simulate enter key) = will find a barcode to scan that sets up your scanner
      1. Scan options
      2. Data Suffix
      3. Enter

To test the scanner

• Open Notepad
  • Scan a Barcode - see if it finds the numbers and puts them into wordpad
  • Scan the barcode again - see if it creates a new line for the next scan.
• The scanner is working and ready for use

Troubleshooting your Scanner

What can go wrong with a barcode scanner?  A barcode scanner works the same way as a keyboard - simply typing into a field on the screen.

Is our system aware of it?

1. Our system simply sees it as a keyboard - NAV > System > Settings > Devices... in our system to your settings and look for the keyboard with "VID" in the key - ensure this is selected.  (we select this by default but check this anyway).

What complicates a scanner?

Scanners range from the simple to complicated.  Basically they look at a set of lines and convert it to a set of numbers - then pass the numbers to the screen with added characters.  

1. What Symbology is it looking at?
   1. When a scanner sees a set of lines they need to decide if they recognise the code - this is like a person looking at letters on a page and deciding if they know the language.  It could be greek, english, latin, spanish etc.  For a scanner it could be lots of different languages see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode#Types_of_barcodes
   2. To make the scanner faster - it is best if it is only looking for a small number of languages
2. Have you programmed it to append the return (and nothing else) - normally this involves the scanner manual and some software
   1. We get a carriage return appended to the end of the number so our system takes action once the number is entered
3. Is it beeping or flashing at you in unusual ways?  Check the manual to find out what it is trying to tell you.
4. Is it wireless - does it need batteries - are they charged?  A Battery failure may not be obvious.