How to Upload Barcode Scans for Mfg
- Details
- Category: Blog
- Published: Wednesday, 15 February 2017 15:00
- Written by Ray White
I’m gonna show you how to upload barcode scans from a barcode scanner that is not connected to a computer. I’m using the Opticon OPN 2001 scanner, works real nice, but you can use any barcode scanner that collects a time stamp with every scan. And produces a CSV file that can be uploaded to a computer.
I’ll give you one little word of warning on this; when operators are out on the shop floor using an off-line device like this they can make mistakes. They can forget to scan certain things or scan out of order, they may forget to start the timer or try to start the timer multiple times. But with that warning lets go ahead and take a look at how Standard Time® can upload barcode scans from a barcode scanner.
Over on the computer you see a little companion application for the Opticon OPN 2001 scanner. This little application will upload barcode scans from the device and then produce a CSV file that we can import into Standard Time.
You don’t have to use the OPN 2001, you can use any device you like. Each one of those devices will probably have a different kind of application or a way in which you can get those barcode scans into a CSV file format. Make sure you have a device that collects both the time and the date for every scan. Because that’s important to know so that we can start and stop a timer at the precise time when the actual scans occur.
I’m going to click the get barcodes button. That has read in or uploaded all of those scans from the device and produced a CSV file that I can now import into Standard Time. I’m going to switch back to Standard Time, you’re looking at the time log tag. I’ll press the F4 key to go into the barcode window. Down in the lower right corner there is an import scans button. I’ll click that, up pops a window that is preparing us to import that barcode CSV file. The first thing you’ll need to specify is which columns are used inside the CSV file for the scan value, the scanned time and the scanned date.
Let’s open up that barcode CSV file in a spreadsheet and identify which column belongs to the scan, the time and the date. Now the date and time may be integrated into the same column depending on which device you’re using. In this one they’re separated into two separate columns but we can clearly see that one, two and three are the columns that we’re going to use to upload. If you had the same column for the date and time you can specify that same number here.
Next thing you’ll want to do is check whether the first line of CSV file contains labels. Because we’ll want to skip over those, you won’t use those. Then click browse to upload and get the path to the file and then specify whether you want to rename the file after importing so that you don’t accidently import the same file. Once you’ve done that you click import now.
Now that I’ve done that it’s imported all of those records from the CSV file that came from that companion application that you saw earlier. And here they are. Go into the F4 barcode window, click import scans and set it up so you can read your CSV files that came from the device. Pretty simple!
See more at: http://www.stdtime.com
