Barcode Readers

Although explicit support for barcode scanners in Digital-Clay is minimal, they can be used on a Digital-Clay system with minimal effort. Here are some guidelines and tips:

• The barcode scanner must be setup so that it sends what it scans as keyboard input. This is usually done by hooking up the scanner via a keyboard cable splitter. As soon as this is done, the input from the scanner will be processed just as if the user entered the number via the keyboard.

• Most barcode scanners are programmable in that they can be configured to send a custom prefix and suffix before and after each scan. The prefix should be left blank, and in some cases, you may want the scanner to send an <Enter> after each scan so that the value is processed automatically by the program.

• A barcode is simply a number that is displayed using a pattern of lines. This means that a barcode value can be stored and entered as a normal text/numeric field, and it is only when it needs to be displayed or printed graphically for barcode scanning that it requires special attention.

Keeping this in mind, you can use bar-codes in Digital-Clay as follows:

• Add the barcode value to Digital-Clay as a simple text or numeric field.

• Enter barcode values by positioning the cursor in the Digital-Clay barcode field in the form, then simply scan the barcode on the product/card. For this to work smoothly, you should configure blank prefixes/suffixes on the barcode scanner.

• Search for records containing the barcode values by adding a filter on the barcode field. Clicking on it will popup the input box and you can then simply scan the barcode as the filter value.

• For cases when the barcode scanner is not configurable and has a built-in prefix/suffix, you can go to Tools/Options/Advanced and use the Barcode tool to automatically detect the prefix and suffix. These will then be ignored when searching in a filter value using the scanner.

To display or print bar-codes from Digital-Clay:

1. Get a 'barcode font' from the internet and install it in your Windows Fonts folder. Some of these are available for free.
2. Add the barcode field to a Document Template
3. Edit the template in an HTML editor and change the style around the field so that it uses this barcode font instead of the default one. The barcode number will appear as a graphical barcode instead of as numbers.