Scanner Keyboard User Manual

License State

Shows the current license state of the App. The full version is available on Google Play. Bulk-licenses are available directly from TEC-IT.

Common

Here you will find common Scanner Keyboard preferences:

• Clipboard
  If enabled, scanned data will also be made available in the clipboard.
• Advanced Settings
  The following advanced settings can be enabled/disabled:
  - Show scan key
  - Long-tap on scan key
  - Show settings key
  - Suggestion bar
  - Bottom scan key
  - Custom scan keys
  - Show Quicktext key
  - Quicktexts
• Batch Scanning
  Enables/disables the batch scanning mode.This setting is only available if the active scanner supports batch operation.

Depending on the barcode scanner type, the following settings can be adjusted:

• Enabled
  Here you can enable/disable the barcode scanner.
• Scanner
  Users can switch between the Advanced Barcode Scanner, which supports selective barcode scanning on modern devices, and the Traditional Barcode Scanner, which is recommended for barcode scanning on older/slower devices.
• Settings
  
  Advanced Barcode Scanner

  • Barcodes
    - 1D / linear barcodes
    - 2D barcodes
  • Behavior
    - Keyboard Orientation Automatic, Portrait, Landscape - Scan Mode First recognized barcode, Tap on desired barcode, Automatic - Scanner Accuracy (higher/slower)
    - Flashlight (enable/disable)
    - Silent Scan (enable/disable)
  Traditional Barcode Scanner

  • Barcodes
    - 1D / linear barcodes
    - 2D barcodes
    - Barcode character set
    - Symbology identifier
  • Behavior
    - Flashlight, Silent scan, Invert scan, Orientation
    
  • Autofocus
    - Mode (Normal, Legacy mode, Compatibility mode)
    - Autofocus
    - Autofocus delay
    
  • Device Dependent Settings
    - Continuous focus
    - Exposure
    - Metering
    - Barcode scene mode
    

Adjust text scanner relevant options:

• Enabled
  Text scanning function can be enabled/disabled.
• Scanner
  No settings available.
• Settings
  Adjust behavior like orientation, flashlight or newline character replacement.

Adjust NFC reader relevant options:

• Enabled
  Tag reading function can be enabled/disabled.
• Reader
  No settings available.
• Settings
  Enable/disable settings like supported NFC technologies - ISO 15693 (NfcV), NfcA, NfcB, NfcF, IsoDep, NDEF.

The Scanner Keyboard also supports the use of external barcode scanner apps. If installed, compatible scanner apps can be selected for barcode scanning. The following options can be adjusted:

• Enabled
  External barcode scanner can be enabled/disabled.
• App
  Tap to select the required external barcode scanner app.
• Settings
  Adjust external scanner relevant options.

The following behaviors can be defined:

• Keyboard Behavior
  Define behavior (prefix, suffix, cursor movements, ...) for target-apps. By the means of Simulation Rules the user is able to configure the keystroke simulation mode and cursor movements for a specific target app.
• Automatic Scans
  If disabled, the autoscan feature is turned off for all Simulation Rules (see below for further instructions). This setting is only available for the internal camera-scanner.
• Advanced Settings
  The following advanced settings can be enabled/disabled:
  - Show soft keyboard
  - Swipe keyboard layout
  - Swipe to scan
  - Swipe to clear all

This section provides functions for importing or exporting the App configuration from/to XML files. Auto-configuration: Whenever a configuration file is found in the Download folder, Scanner Keyboard reads it, applies the settings and renames it thereafter.

• Import
  Imports a configuration file (from Google Drive, a local storage location, etc.).
• Export
  Exports the configuration into an XML-file BarcodeKeyboard.xml.
• Password Protection
  Here you can set a password to avoid unintended configuration changes. Clear the password to remove the protection.

This section provides commands for displaying the user manual, the software version and the copyright information. In addition you can display your license information or enter a manual license.

• App Permissions
  Provides the possibility to selectively grant or deny app permissions.
• Online Manual
  This command shows this user manual in your browser. Please contact us in case of questions, suggestions or if you want to report a bug.
• YouTube
  This command opens TEC-IT’s YouTube channel with relevant data acquisition videos.
• Privacy Policy
  This command shows the privacy policy for this app.
• Device ID
  Displays the serial number of the device. Tap on the serial number to copy it to the clipboard.
• About
  Displays the current software version, a copyright notice and 3rd party credits.

• Languages
  Adjust input language. The language automatically matches the system language of your Android device.
• Preferences
  Auto-capitalization, vibrate or sound on key-press, pop-up on key-press or voice input key can be enabled/disabled.
• Appearance and Layout
  Adjust appearance and keyboard layout. The keyboard layout automatically matches the system layout of your Android device.
• Text Correction
  Enable/disable add-on dictionaries or a personal dictionary, auto-correction, correction suggestions, etc.
• Advanced
  Enable/disable advanced settings like Emoji palette, app icon in the launcher, key long-press delay, etc.

The following predefined simulation rules are available and can be enabled/disabled or edited/deleted if needed:

• Rules for Chrome (com.​android.​chrome)
• Rules for Google (com.​google.​android.​google​quick​search​box)
• Rules for Microsoft Excel (com.​microsoft.​office.​excel)
• Rules for Opera Mini (com.​opera.​mini.​native)
• Rules for Firefox (org.​mozilla.​firefox)
• Rules for Firefox Beta (org.​mozilla.​firefox_beta)
• Default rules

A new rule can be added with the button Add Simulation Rule. While it is possible to add multiple rules, only one rule can be enabled for a single app or for the default section.

Predefined simulation rules can be edited if required. By long-tapping on a rule, you have the following editing possibilities:

• Enable
  Enables/disables the rule.
• Name
  The user-defined name of the rule.
• Applies to...
  Specifies the app for which this rule should be applied. If you select All Apps this rule will be a default rule (the default rule is applied only if no other app-specific rule exists).
• Prefix and Suffix Settings
  Static text and placeholders can be placed as required. Scanner Keyboard supports the following placeholders (see Android Key Code List for a complete list of key codes):
• ${INPUT} or ${I}: This is the placeholder for the scanned barcode data / OCR data / NFC tag ID
• ${INPUT_UPPER}: Placeholder for the INPUT data in upper case
• ${INPUTn/search/replace/options}: Apply regular expression to INPUT data - see below
• Please note that upper case and regular expressions can also be applied to all DATA placeholders below.
• ${SCAN_DATA}: Scanned barcode/OCR/NFC data
• ${BARCODE_DATA}: Scanned barcode data
• ${OCR_DATA}: Scanned OCR data
• ${NFC_DATA}, ${USER_DATA}: Scanned tag data
• ${NFC_TAG_ID}: Scanned tag ID
• ${ENTER} or ${E}: Enter key
• ${TAB} or ${T}: Tab key
• ${BACK} or ${SB}: Back key
• ${BACKSPACE} or ${B}: Delete key
• ${COPY}: Copy key
• ${PASTE}: Paste key
• ${VOLUME_DOWN}: Volume down key
• ${VOLUME_MUTE}: Volume mute key
• ${VOLUME_UP}: Volume up key
• ${CONFIRM} or ${C}: Confirm key
• ${DOWN} or ${D}: Cursor down key
• ${UP} or ${U}: Cursor up key
• ${LEFT} or ${L}: Cursor left key
• ${RIGHT} or ${R}: Cursor right key
• ${SELECT} or ${S}: Select button key
• ${NOW}: Placeholder for timestamp (current date and time)
• ${WAIT###} or ${W###}: Placeholder for a delay in milliseconds
• ${KEY###}: Generic key code
• ${KEY5}: Phone call
• ${KEY112}: Delete forward key (Del)
• ${F1} ... ${F12}: Function keys F1 to F12
• ${HEX##}, ${x##} or ${X##}: Hexadecimal value
• Key by Key
  Scanned barcode data is forwarded keystroke by keystroke (key by key) to the target app. This method is recommended if the target app is a browser or an RDP (remote desktop) application.
• Show as Hex Codes
  Show hex codes for characters without an existing key code (non printable characters).
• Initial Keyboard Layout
  Specifies the initial keyboard layout for this rule. Choose from letters, numbers and symbols in shifted or unshifted state.
• Automatic Scan
  Enable or disable the autoscan feature for this rule. If enabled the keyboard checks if the content (or hint) of an input field matches a trigger pattern (see below). Whenever the cursor is placed into an input field and a match is detected the scanner is invoked automatically.
• Look for Trigger-Pattern in...
  The keyboard tests for matches of the trigger pattern with the Input hint (an input hint in a field provides the user with information on what he needs to fill in, the input hint is usually displayed in gray color), the Field content or both (Input hint or field content).
• Trigger-Pattern
  In order to start the scanner automatically when the cursor is placed into an input field, the input hint or the field content must match this trigger pattern. Enter a fixed text or a regular expression.

Two methods for simulating user input are available:

• Key by Key
  Scanned barcode data is inserted as a single string into the target app. This simulation mode does not support the simulation of special keys like backspace (${BACKSPACE}) or cursor movements (like ${DOWN}). If you have problems forwarding keystrokes to a specific target application you may have to add an application specific rule for the app in question. Most likely browser or remote desktop (RDP) applications require Key by key to forward the scanned data correctly.
• Show as Hex Codes
  If Key by key is active and this option is selected, characters which can't be mapped to key codes (non printable characters) are forwarded as hexadecimal character codes. This option is useful for debugging.

Placeholders like ${INPUT}, ${SCAN_DATA}, ${NFC_TAG_ID} etc. in the Prefix and Suffix Settings simulate the scanned data as keyboard input. For all that kinds of scan data it is possible to apply search and replace patterns with regular expressions.

Use the following syntax:

${INPUTn/search/replace/options}

• n: Optional length condition (apply the regex only if the input has exactly n characters)
• search: The regex search pattern
• replace: Replacement for regex matches
• options: Additional options for the regex matcher

Example

Remove the last digit (check digit) from 13-digit barcodes:

${BARCODE_DATA13/^(.*)./$1/}

Explanation:

${BARCODE_DATA} is the placeholder for barcode data.
13 is the length condition for applying the following regex.
The search pattern ^(.*). defines one capturing group that matches any character at the start of the line, followed by an additional character.
The replacement $1 returns that first capturing group (and skips the last character).
No additional options.

Additional Notes on / and }

• The characters / and } must be written as \/ and \}.
• When used for quantification inside the search expression, { and } must be written without the preceding backslash (such as .{5} for any 5 characters).

Supported Regex Options

• m: multi line (^ and $ match the start/end of the line)
• s: dotall (dot matches newline)
• i: case insensitive matching
• u: case insensitive matching for Unicode character codes (in combination with i)
• x: permit whitespace and comments in the pattern
• d: Unix lines

Example: For "case insensitive" and "multiline" specify the options: .../im}.