There are separate documents that go into which barcodes to use, how to print, what hardware works best. If you use barcodes, at least one person in your company should also read through this document carefully.
This document is for 'how to use it'.
We have had software barcode reading since 2014, with 8.0 we bring the feature to almost every text field you could possibly want to use a barcode to type in some/all the text.
If there is a barcode button on a field, clicking it will instantiate our software barcode reader.
After you click on that button the camera app will come up, from there, there are basically two ways it works:
- You point your camera at a barcode and when we find one in the video, we give you the results. You get a view port to see what we are looking at and what we are 'seeing' so you can help us find it.
- You point your camera to take a picture, then you tell us to check the picture for a barcode.
How does this compare to using a hardware barcode reader? On the plus – it is more convenient (no need to find where you put your barcode reader) On the negative – it is not as fast as a laser barcode reader, though with a bit of practice you can get to the point on a good cell phone that you won't notice much difference.
Note: You can also use your camera app or other stand a lone barcode software and if you have a properly formed URL in a QR code (or other codes that your barcode software can read) it will take you into the app to that object, be it asset, person (id badge), part (part id on bin), the same barcode can be used above, we parse out the ID from the barcode. See Barcode Printing, what content - Sample Asset report
False positive reduction
With the 1st, video method:
If we get back, over a fraction of a second, only one value, then by default we enter that in as your value and you are done.
But sometimes we get 2 or more values back. The extra values are what are known in barcode reading as 'false positives.' (False positives are the worst outcome when reading barcodes.)
Most hardware barcode readers will reject them and require you try again OR they will simply select the 1st and use that. MC Express uses this second method, the first it finds is the one you get.
There are some very sophisticated optimizations we have put into MCe to help you (if you got one bad read while focusing for example), but in simple terms: when this happens we know for a fact that one has to be wrong, and rather than 'guess' based on any rules, such as 'first we find'. Our software instead shows you the values we got and generally you can quickly look at them and see which is correct and click it which selects it. If you are unsure (the lengths are similar and you can't read the human part of the barcode) you can always try again.
Barcode Formats
If you already have barcodes, read this.
If you don't have barcodes yet - seriously consider using QR codes, and look at our instructions on printing them Barcode Printing, what content - Sample Asset report to get the best value out of them.
MCe can read an extremely wide range of popular barcodes, but in general, your company will really only use one or two. So making sure only those ones (and all of those) are selected will give you the best results – we can't get any 'false positives' from the other barcode formats if we are ignoring them!
QR codes can be recognized by the squares in 3 of the 4 corners
Note that most barcodes go by several names, so it is only important that you know one of the names for it so you are having us look for the correct barcodes.
Getting good reads, equipment plus operator experience.
Every notice how experienced store clerks get faster reads typically compared to you doing your own self checkout? A combination of equipment and experience help speed things up for them and with us.
You will want to learn how to get in focus readings with your device. In general, most cameras focus most easily if you start further away and move closer. (Note this is the opposite of how most cashiers use hardware barcode readers – they start close and move out until they get a read.)
Just like the retail stores, we beep when we get a barcode. Some devices beep very quietly.
With the Samsung S7, we were able to get great readings in a fairly dark room (a theatre where something was being presented on the screen), and while we can't read in the dark if your camera doesn't turn a light on, we were fairly successful getting excellent reads in rooms that were considerably darker than a normal work environment.
Note: Currently the browsers do not give us access to turn the 'flash' on in dark environments. When they do, we will give you access to that feature as well.
The most common problem with bad reads is you are using a barcode that doesn't have error checking and/or can get bad reads by reading at the wrong angle. Unfortunately, the less sophisticated barcodes will always have this with hardware and software readers. Codes like QR, Azteck, PDF 417, Data Matrix and EAN-13 are generally the best for getting good reads.