From an OA perspective, the system is typically sitting and waiting for the input of a bar code at a “normal” prompt like any other text prompt, without any filtering. OA only does “something” once it receives an “end character”. The end-character is typically a suffix setting on the bar code reader. Usually a “tab” or “carriage return” is set as the trailing character on a bar code device.
When you have a problem, first step is to determine what is being received from the reader. Bar code reading issues are typically (in order of likelihood):
- An issue with the bar code being read (poor quality print/fading/dirty/torn/uneven etc.)
- No matching data in OA e.g. bar code has not been recorded against a product/size/colour
- An issue with the bar code reader interpreting the type (symbology) of a particular bar code
- An issue with the bar code reader itself
To isolate the problem further, keep an eye out for a pattern i.e. is it a particular type of product/bar code/supplier that is always an issue.
It is also worth checking that a “suspected” problem bar code can be scanned into another application i.e. Notepad, WordPad, or even a new email. Bar codes are sent as text as if they are typed on a keyboard so you can use any ‘text’ style application to record what’s being sent from the unit so you can see the details on screen unfiltered.