Scan a bar code, go to a website?
Scan a bar code, go to a website?
I have a client who inherited a bar code scanner and wants to incorporate it into their point-of-sale. Except their point-of-sale is online, meaning the bar code would essentially have to be scanned and send that code to a specific website to continue with the sale/get the product information. Is this at all possible? Any programs, code that could do this that anyone knows of?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Best answer:
Depending on the barcode scanner… Some barcode scanner are connected to the COM ports of the computer and needs a special software to get the barcode…
Nowadays, barcode scanners are plugged through the keyboard which in turn simulate keystrokes…
These new devices, when scanning a barcode, will send the series numbers to the keyboard… Its as if someone is typing the barcode to the keyboard…
Whether the Point-of-Sale is installed locally or on the website, it doesn’t matter… The barcode will be entered nonetheless.
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2 Comments for Scan a bar code, go to a website?
1. plez | April 15th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
A barcode scanner is an input device, no different than a mouse or a keyboard. If I had a barcode scanner hooked up to my computer right now, and had a barcode for the letter “A” in front of me, scanning it would put the letter “A” in this box just like my keyboard does.
So if the point-of-sale website has a box for price and your friend scans a price barcode, it will enter 19.95 into the price box just as if it was typed in.
You don’t need a program or any code for the scanning part…it’s a function of the scanner.
The thing you will need to learn is types of barcodes. The one on your groceries is a UPC code. But there are many other common ones, like Code 128 which your scanner will have to read.
Here’s a simple test for you to get comfortable that your scanner works like it should. Hook up the scanner to your computer and open notepad. Scan any barcodes you can find and see what the result is in notepad.
hope that helps
2. Jeffrey F | April 15th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
the barcode reader is considered a keyboard wedge. So what ever it reads it sends as keystrokes. The question is whether the computer will recognize the device……..if it is recognized, then just scanning while the cursor is in an input field will place the scanned text into the field. you may even be able to specify a tab or enter being pressed on scan which will be necessary to speed up input.
since you are dealing with a webform, depending on the setup of the screen………..the tab or enter is up to you to customize as data entry for inventory may be different than data entry for a sale………….play with it, see what happens
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