i never thought this would be such a hard topic to find into on...

we are using Symbol PPT8800's in the field, and the end users will have a sheet with special keys

"ENTER"
"TAB"
"BACKSPACE"

as well as numbers and a few letters...

the numbers and letters areent the issue, its making the command keys actually work when a barcode is scanned

i can not just auto set an enter key to be added to the end of every scan, because some times multiple numbers/letters will need to be scanned in a single text box...

ive tried enabledling full ascii for 3of9, but when scanned all im getting are either $M or CR, or $I or HT... yes the barcode actually says *xx*, but the ascii doesnt seem to be converting?

any help would be most appreciated...

 

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

--"WOW-- What a Ride!"
 

When a barcode is scanned the data typically arrives into the computer as ASCII characters in the same manner as would come into the computer from a keyboard being typed.

The first question is since we are using Symbol PPT8800's in the field, and the end users will have a sheet with special keys - was all of this fully tested BEFORE the units when "into the field" ?

If so then things must have worked at one point in time and now, for some reason, things are not working.

If that is true - WHAT CHANGED?
If that is not true - WHY WASN'T IT TESTED?

Finally - Have you confirmed that your barcode Printer and Reader both support Full ASCII Code 39 mode ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_39 )

If you believe that the ASCII is not being decoded correctly from the barcode reader correctly I would suggest the following:
1. Test reading the same barcode on another reader to see if one specific reader is the problem.
2. IF you have a separate decoder box - Test reading the same barcode using a different decoder.
3. If none of that corrected the problem, try printing the barcode again to see if what is written to the barcode itself is in error.
4. Finally, assuming that none of the above worked, you should contact the barcode reader & printer vendors and ask them about your problem.

Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr
 

johng75,

I think you and I are trying to do similar things.
Did you find a resolution to your question?

My post is
http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1679394
The last entry boils down my question to its simplest form.

Doug

 

"ENTER" is 'seen' by a recipient application as an ASCII 13
"TAB" is 'seen' as an ASCII 9
"BACKSPACE" is 'seen' as an ASCII 8 or sometimes 127

Those are not the same as the character strings '13' or '9', etc.

(see http://www.cdrummond.qc.ca/cegep/informat/Professeurs/Alain/files/ascii.htm)

If you want a barcode to be 'seen' by a recipient application as one of those characters your barcode reader will first need to be configured to support FULL ASCII Mode and you will need to write 'special' barcodes to the page

You might want to look at:
  http://www.carolinabarcode.com/barcode-font-code-39-full-ascii-description-a-74.html
   or
 Look at the Google Search results for:
      symbol barcode reader FULL ASCII

Doug - you might want to contact these folks regarding your LS2208
   http://www.idautomation.com/laser/symbol.html

ALSO NOTE - The regular ('standard') Code 3of9 barcode symbology (font) supports only 43 characters. That will not include the FULL ASCII set.

You will need to look at a different code set (font) which is Extended to support FULL ASCII.  
A Google search for:    FULL ASCII Code 39  will turn up some finds for you.

Good Luck,
JRB-Bldr