Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Hi Steve, Thanks, that's great info and plenty to get us going. I can see it's going to be a fun learning experience! Cheers, Gary Sustainable Solutions On 20/09/2018 13:50, Stephen J. Orth wrote: Guy, Good Morning... I'm not sure where you got the concept USB readers are unreliablein what way? What brand have you used to cause this impression? Most all scanners on the market today are interfaced to the PC via USB because more and more PC vendor's are eliminating the DB9 connector used for RS-232. I would say "unreliable" describes the RS232 -> USB adapters, as we have never been able to make these work. I've not used an RS232 -> Ethernet adapter so I cannot comment on this. We only use Symbol or Zebra hardware for any of our projects. I don't know what "low resource" environment means but there are good options from these guys for wireless handheld scanners that use a USB or Blue Tooth base station for communication to the PC. We are always working in a shop floor environment, so if we cheap out on the hardware it will simply break and then have to be replaced. As far as RS-232 settings, this will depend upon how the scanner can be configured. This is rather straight forward as long as you can determine what configuration (i.e. baud rate, stop bits, speed, and so on) the scanner is configured for (or you set). We typically use a COM utility to test with first, before attempting with 4D. These types of programs make it easier to change settings and determine if you have successful communication to the device. Once we know we have communication, then we move to 4D next. We have just found this process less frustrating... You will definitely need at least two separate processes running on the computer, which are completely separate from any interface you may go in/out of. I say two as this is the only way to ensure you never miss a scan: 1. Listener - This method is specifically designed to only listen for incoming data and push it to another method for processing. We never try to listen and process the data in the same method, bad things happen. Basically, this method is creating a "data stack" to ensure requests are received and processed in order. 2. Processor - This method is utilized as the primary vehicle for processing all incoming scans. One piece of advice, if you have control over the bar codes being scanned, make sure they have embedded codes to identify them as valid transactions. Users wills can almost anything so you need to be able to separate valid/invalid scans. Best, Steve * Stephen J. Orth The Aquila Group, Inc. Office: (608) 834-9213 P.O. Box 690 Mobile: (608) 347-6447 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 E-Mail: s.o...@the-aquila-group.com * -Original Message- From: Gary Willetts [mailto:g...@sussol.net] Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2018 2:53 AM To: s.o...@the-aquila-group.com; '4D iNug Technical' <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> Subject: Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers? Hi Steve, Sorry to be unclear - what I meant is that we're not wanting to read data from barcode scanners into a specific field in the GUI, we just want to be able to read it and process it as it's scanned. How we do it will probably be dependant on the type of scanner we use: we understand USB is relatively unreliable (correct me if I'm wrong) and IP readers are pricey. We're working in a low resource setting so we need to look at lower priced readers. That seems to leave us with RS232/serial readers. But something I discovered yesterday is that you can get RS232 to Ethernet adapters which might help - or not! Any wisdom you have here would be appreciated. Either way, I'm guessing we'll need a separate process that listens to the reader, whether it be on a serial port or over TCP/IP. I'd be interested in any advice you can give in identifying the port or other things we should be aware of, given we're in a Windows environment. Cheers, Gary Sustainable Solutions ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
RE: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
> Anyone got any pointers on how to identify the correct port to use > with SET CHANNEL (I assume this is the way we have to > go) and general advice with getting this working? Did you check out the documentation... http://doc.4d.com/4Dv16/4D/16.4/SET-CHANNEL.301-3979404.en.html If you are writing files use 10, 12, or 13 to open/create a file 10 to close it. I'm assuming you are not using a modem. Neil Privacy Disclaimer: This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the named addressee. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this email. Please delete this email from your system and notify the sender immediately by replying to this email. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. The Alternative Investments division of UMB Fund Services provides a full range of services to hedge funds, funds of funds and private equity funds. Any tax advice in this communication is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, by a client or any other person or entity for the purpose of (a) avoiding penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer or (b) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any matter addressed herein. ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Port 101/201/301 etc is COM1, 102/202/302 is COM2, etc. No real need for GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING on Windows. > On Sep 19, 2018, at 8:20 AM, Gary Willetts via 4D_Tech <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> > wrote: > > Anyone got any pointers on how to identify the > correct port to use with SET CHANNEL (I assume this is the way we have to > go) and general advice with getting this working? ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
RE: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Gary, Hello... You statement that the scanner needs to be independent of where the user is in the GUI does not make sense to me, so can you explain what you are trying to achieve? We have done quite a bit of scanner work using USB/Wedge readers, RS-232 readers, and IP based readers via web services. Each is unique in how it works, and has specific implications on how you develop your software. Maybe you can elaborate a bit more on what you are trying to achieve by using bar code readers? Best, Steve * Stephen J. Orth The Aquila Group, Inc. Office: (608) 834-9213 P.O. Box 690 Mobile: (608) 347-6447 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 E-Mail: s.o...@the-aquila-group.com * -Original Message- From: 4D_Tech [mailto:4d_tech-boun...@lists.4d.com] On Behalf Of Gary Willetts via 4D_Tech Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 7:21 AM To: 4d_tech@lists.4d.com Cc: Gary Willetts Subject: Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers? Hi Tony and others, Interesting that this subject should come up now, we're also looking at adding barcode reading to our software. Our application needs to be independent of where the user is in the GUI and we're looking at low resource settings so we need to stay away from IP scanners if we can. Which I guess leaves us with RS232 or serial emulation via USB with appropriate driver. We're in a Windows environment so GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING isn't so useful for us I think. Anyone got any pointers on how to identify the correct port to use with SET CHANNEL (I assume this is the way we have to go) and general advice with getting this working? Thanks, Gary ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Hi Tony and others, Interesting that this subject should come up now, we're also looking at adding barcode reading to our software. Our application needs to be independent of where the user is in the GUI and we're looking at low resource settings so we need to stay away from IP scanners if we can. Which I guess leaves us with RS232 or serial emulation via USB with appropriate driver. We're in a Windows environment so GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING isn't so useful for us I think. Anyone got any pointers on how to identify the correct port to use with SET CHANNEL (I assume this is the way we have to go) and general advice with getting this working? Thanks, Gary -- Sent from: http://4d.1045681.n5.nabble.com/4D-Tech-f1376241.html ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Thanks Steve! Pricy for some of my clients, but sounds good for others. Having a mini-HTML display (that presumably could display an image) is especially useful for some applications. Cheers! Tony Pollard Another Dimension Ltd > On 30 Aug 2018, at 3:27 pm, Stephen J. Orth > wrote: > > Tony, <> > > Howdy! > > Recently we have been using the Zebra/Symbol MC9200 handheld scanner. This > is fully configurable in almost every way possible, including an imaging > engine. It also has an amazing scan range, up to 70 feet. Additionally, you > can chose your OS (Windows/Android) which we have used both but prefer > Android for working with the browser. Understand, it is not a cheap > solution, a bit over $2,000: > > > https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/mobile-computers/handheld/mc9200.html > <https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/mobile-computers/handheld/mc9200.html> > > Here is the actual product we ordered for our last project: > > ZEBRA MC92N0-G PREMIUM, WLAN 802.11 A/B/G/N, EXTENDED RANGE > 1D/2D > IMAGER (SE4850), COLOR VGA SCREEN, 1GB/2GB, 28 KEY, ANDROID KITKAT 4.4, > BLUETOOTH, IST; PART#MC92N0-GP0SYAAA6WR > > We have also been using the Zebra/Symbol hand held tablets, which we are > mounting on fork lifts: > > > https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-verticals/product/Tablets/et50-55-enterprise-tablet/spec-sheets/et50-et55-tablet-spec-sheet-en-us.pdf > > <https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-verticals/product/Tablets/et50-55-enterprise-tablet/spec-sheets/et50-et55-tablet-spec-sheet-en-us.pdf> > > > https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-verticals/product/Tablets/et50-55-enterprise-tablet/guide/et50-et55-configuration-accessories-guide-en-us.pdf > > <https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-verticals/product/Tablets/et50-55-enterprise-tablet/guide/et50-et55-configuration-accessories-guide-en-us.pdf> > > Here is the actual product we ordered: > > Zebra ET50 Android; WLAN 802.11 A/B/G/N, 10.1" DISPLAY, ANDROID 5.X LOLLIPOP, > NO GMS FRONT AND REAR CAMERA, BLUETOOTH, 5900 MAH BATTERY, USA > ONLY; PART#ET50PT-L15E-00US > > We paired this tablet with the following cordless scanner: > > > https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-verticals/product/barcode-scanners/ultra-rugged-scanners/3600-series-ultra-rugged-industrial-scanners/ds36x8-er-ultra-rugged-long-range/spec-sheet/ds36x8-er-specification-sheet-en-us.pdf > > <https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/solutions-verticals/product/barcode-scanners/ultra-rugged-scanners/3600-series-ultra-rugged-industrial-scanners/ds36x8-er-ultra-rugged-long-range/spec-sheet/ds36x8-er-specification-sheet-en-us.pdf> > > All of these may be over-kill for your application, but we are implementing > in very nasty environments (manufacturing facilities) and we wanted systems > that don’t rely on communicating back to a base station at the PC. These are > complete, standalone PC’s for all practical purposes which use a specialized > browser for communicating both visually to the user, and via REST calls back > to our OEM system. > > Best, > > > Steve > > NOTE: The information contained in this message may be privileged and > confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is > not the intended recipient or an employee or agent responsible for delivering > this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any > dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly > prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify > us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. > > From: Tony Pollard [mailto:to...@neutral.co.uk] > Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 6:11 AM > To: 4D iNug Technical <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> > Cc: s.o...@the-aquila-group.com > Subject: Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers? > > Hi Kirk and Steve, > > Kirk: You can usually programme prefix codes to the readers so that you can > identify the reader (if there are several connected). If there is a > “context” needed for the bar code scanning then we either use a card of > custom bar codes, or there are “location" codes. You can also get the > scanner to provide info on what kind of code it is, which can help in 4D in > decoding the context. In the case of a warehouse there are custom barcodes > for the shelves and boxes (to keep track of where things are). I don’t use > wedge input. > > Steve
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Hi Kirk and Steve, Kirk: You can usually programme prefix codes to the readers so that you can identify the reader (if there are several connected). If there is a “context” needed for the bar code scanning then we either use a card of custom bar codes, or there are “location" codes. You can also get the scanner to provide info on what kind of code it is, which can help in 4D in decoding the context. In the case of a warehouse there are custom barcodes for the shelves and boxes (to keep track of where things are). I don’t use wedge input. Steve: The IP-based wireless scanners sound good! Which ones are you using? Cheers! Tony Tony Pollard Another Dimension Ltd > On 29 Aug 2018, at 2:09 am, Stephen J. Orth via 4D_Tech > <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > > Kirk & Tony, > > We do lots of bar coding systems every year using wedge-readers (keyboard > input), RS-232 wireless, and IP-based wireless. Going forward we are no > longer doing RS-232 scanners as it is simply too much work for both us and > our clients. > > If a wedge-reader is the right tool, we use this first, otherwise all our > projects are now IP-based scanners which are basically browsers. Our > communication is via web services, which are very, very fast to develop and > provide very fast network communication. The scanner displays on these units > are small so generating HTML pages for this is really quite trivial. We have > also done a number of IP-based tablets and all of what I said is also true > here. > > Best, > > > Steve > > * > Stephen J. Orth > The Aquila Group, Inc. Office: (608) 834-9213 > P.O. Box 690 Mobile: (608) 347-6447 > Sun Prairie, WI 53590 > > E-Mail: s.o...@the-aquila-group.com > * > -Original Message- > From: 4D_Tech [mailto:4d_tech-boun...@lists.4d.com] On Behalf Of Kirk Brooks > via 4D_Tech > Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2018 6:56 PM > To: 4D iNug Technical <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> > Cc: Kirk Brooks > Subject: Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers? > > Tony, > How are you handling programming the barcode reader to include information > about what the barcode belongs to? Or are you using it as an extended > keyboard input? > > On Tue, Aug 28, 2018 at 4:19 PM Tony Pollard via 4D_Tech < > 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > >> If you want the bar code scanning to be independent of where the user is >> on the UI, then there is usually a serial port emulation available on USB. >> GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING is useful for this on Mac. You can then run >> serial comms in a separate process, which is handy if (for instance) the >> bar code readers are RF and being used at a distance from the computer >> (which also lets you run multiple scanners per computer). Or I’d guess >> that there must be some IP wifi based bar code scanners out there by now, >> so you could (presumably) simply do a TCP_Open. >> > -- > Kirk Brooks > San Francisco, CA > === > > *We go vote - they go home* > ** > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) > Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html > Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech > Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com > ** > > ** > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) > Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html > Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech > Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com > ** ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
RE: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Kirk & Tony, We do lots of bar coding systems every year using wedge-readers (keyboard input), RS-232 wireless, and IP-based wireless. Going forward we are no longer doing RS-232 scanners as it is simply too much work for both us and our clients. If a wedge-reader is the right tool, we use this first, otherwise all our projects are now IP-based scanners which are basically browsers. Our communication is via web services, which are very, very fast to develop and provide very fast network communication. The scanner displays on these units are small so generating HTML pages for this is really quite trivial. We have also done a number of IP-based tablets and all of what I said is also true here. Best, Steve * Stephen J. Orth The Aquila Group, Inc. Office: (608) 834-9213 P.O. Box 690 Mobile: (608) 347-6447 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 E-Mail: s.o...@the-aquila-group.com * -Original Message- From: 4D_Tech [mailto:4d_tech-boun...@lists.4d.com] On Behalf Of Kirk Brooks via 4D_Tech Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2018 6:56 PM To: 4D iNug Technical <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> Cc: Kirk Brooks Subject: Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers? Tony, How are you handling programming the barcode reader to include information about what the barcode belongs to? Or are you using it as an extended keyboard input? On Tue, Aug 28, 2018 at 4:19 PM Tony Pollard via 4D_Tech < 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > If you want the bar code scanning to be independent of where the user is > on the UI, then there is usually a serial port emulation available on USB. > GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING is useful for this on Mac. You can then run > serial comms in a separate process, which is handy if (for instance) the > bar code readers are RF and being used at a distance from the computer > (which also lets you run multiple scanners per computer). Or I’d guess > that there must be some IP wifi based bar code scanners out there by now, > so you could (presumably) simply do a TCP_Open. > -- Kirk Brooks San Francisco, CA === *We go vote - they go home* ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com ** ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Tony, How are you handling programming the barcode reader to include information about what the barcode belongs to? Or are you using it as an extended keyboard input? On Tue, Aug 28, 2018 at 4:19 PM Tony Pollard via 4D_Tech < 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > If you want the bar code scanning to be independent of where the user is > on the UI, then there is usually a serial port emulation available on USB. > GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING is useful for this on Mac. You can then run > serial comms in a separate process, which is handy if (for instance) the > bar code readers are RF and being used at a distance from the computer > (which also lets you run multiple scanners per computer). Or I’d guess > that there must be some IP wifi based bar code scanners out there by now, > so you could (presumably) simply do a TCP_Open. > -- Kirk Brooks San Francisco, CA === *We go vote - they go home* ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
If you want the bar code scanning to be independent of where the user is on the UI, then there is usually a serial port emulation available on USB. GET SERIAL PORT MAPPING is useful for this on Mac. You can then run serial comms in a separate process, which is handy if (for instance) the bar code readers are RF and being used at a distance from the computer (which also lets you run multiple scanners per computer). Or I’d guess that there must be some IP wifi based bar code scanners out there by now, so you could (presumably) simply do a TCP_Open. Cheers! Tony Pollard Another Dimension Ltd > On 24 Aug 2018, at 2:52 pm, mferguson--- via 4D_Tech <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> > wrote: > > Hi, > > I am familiar with plugins to print barcodes, but don’t know what interface > is needed to get 4D to read barcodes from barcode wands, etc. Does anyone > have advice or recommendations? > > Thanks, > > Michael Ferguson > Objective Systems > > ** > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) > Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html > Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech > Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com > ** ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
If the barcode scanner is a USB-HID device then it just acts like a keyboard. If you have access to the summit content there was a session a while back: http://kb.4d.com/assetid=77624 -Tim Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone Original message From: mferguson--- via 4D_Tech <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> Date: 8/24/18 6:51 AM (GMT-08:00) To: 4D iNug Technical <4d_tech@lists.4D.com> Cc: mfergu...@myofficelink.com Subject: How to tie 4D to barcode readers? Hi, I am familiar with plugins to print barcodes, but don’t know what interface is needed to get 4D to read barcodes from barcode wands, etc. Does anyone have advice or recommendations? Thanks, Michael Ferguson Objective Systems ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com ** ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
Most barcode readers also let you add a character to the start and end of a barcode. If you need more control than just entering the data into the current field, you can trap for these characters to position the cursor into the field that needs to accept the scan. For example, the character STX maps to Cmd+B. Set your barcode reader's start character to be an STX, and the end character to be a tab. Put an invisible button on your form with a keyboard shortcut of Cmd+B. When the user scans a code of, say, "123", the stream of characters will be 1 2 3 . The will trigger the button where you could call GOTO OBJECT to position the cursor, the 1 2 3 will be "typed" into the field, and then the will move the cursor to the next field. You can also use ON EVENT CALL for even more precise programmatic control. > On Aug 24, 2018, at 9:52 AM, mferguson--- via 4D_Tech <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> > wrote: > > Hi, > > I am familiar with plugins to print barcodes, but don’t know what interface > is needed to get 4D to read barcodes from barcode wands, etc. Does anyone > have advice or recommendations? > > Thanks, > > Michael Ferguson > Objective Systems ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
Re: How to tie 4D to barcode readers?
I recall doing this for a client a few years ago. As I recall, the barcode reader is just another input device, so as long as it has a USB connection you can just plug it in and read data into a field. Pat On Fri, 24 Aug 2018 at 14:52, mferguson--- via 4D_Tech <4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > Hi, > > I am familiar with plugins to print barcodes, but don’t know what > interface is needed to get 4D to read barcodes from barcode wands, etc. > Does anyone have advice or recommendations? > > Thanks, > > Michael Ferguson > Objective Systems > > ** > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) > Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html > Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech > Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com > ** -- * CatBase - Top Dog in Data Publishing tel: +44 (0) 207 118 7889 w: http://www.catbase.com skype: pat.bensky * ** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **
