Text Lookup

Software

axicon

Linear software plugin - Text Lookup

Introduction

As well as measuring the quality of printed barcodes, Axicon’s verifier software can be used to check that the correct barcode is associated with the right product. Using a plugin called ‘TextLookup’ enables a user to consult a file to check the description of the product against the GTIN (global trade item number) shown in the barcode. ‘TextLookup’ is used with either .txt or .csv files and only permits read access, so users cannot change the data.

If you would prefer to access your database directly, another plugin called ‘Lookup’ may be used. ‘Lookup’ provides read/write access to the database, and can be used with ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) links with one or more databases.

Operation and configuration of the plugin

Establishing the text lookup file

A file for the verifier lookup can be established in several ways – small files can be created directly using a program like Windows Notepad or exported from an existing Excel spreadsheet file simply by using the “File/Save as” command and specifying the file type as .csv. A .csv file may be exported from an ERP system by using an “export” command.

Format of the text lookup file

The preferred format is a .csv (comma separated variables) file, so that each of the data fields is separated by a comma.

The file should include titles for each field of data. This will prevent any confusion about what the data means when accessing the database. A simple file would then look like this (right):

Please note that it is not necessary to enter the data in any particular sequence. If a file is constructed without double quotes (“) around the data fields, it is essential to check the data field entries for any embedded commas within them.

Configuring the TextLookup plugin

Start the Axicon Verifier program and then from the Command window menu select “Options” and then “Set up”. On this window, click on the tab “Plugins”. The following window will appear (right).

Highlight “TextLookup” and ensure that the box is ticked. Press the button marked “Configure”, and then the next window will appear (below ).

Barcode	Product description
5012345678900	Calibration sheet EAN-13
0012345678905	Calibration Sheet UPC-A
05012345678900	Calibration Sheet ITF-14

The csv file used in this example can be download here

Press the button “Load Text/CSV File” and then select the location of the text/CSV file (download the example CSV file here) In the ‘Field Names’ section of this window, select “From first record” if the first record in the database contains the column headings. The field numbers will then be replaced by the field names.

In the ‘Lookup field’ dropdown box, select the field in the file that contains the barcode number (the GTIN), as this is the index to the file. In the ‘Field Names’ section of this window, select which fields you want displayed by the verifier software.

You can also customise the message when the barcode being verified is not found in the file. In the ‘When not found’ section of this window, enter the text you would like to see instead of ‘Not Found’ in the edit box. If you choose to tick the box below alongside ‘Return error’ then the software will tell you that the plugin has failed.

In the ‘Custom Delimiter Char’ section of this window, select the separator character you have chosen (a comma in a .csv file). If double quotes (“) have been used around each field in the file, then they should be included in the Text Box below ‘Custom Quote Char’.

Click on “Save settings”. Then click on OK on the setup screen.

When the verifier scans a product, the fields that have been selected will be displayed under the “Text Lookup” tab in the Summary window, and in the plugins area of the pass/fail window

Advanced settings

When a barcode is scanned with the verifier the decoded data (as shown on the Summary window) is used as the key (the index) to read the file. There are some instances in which the decoded data will need to be modified in order to match the data held in the file. To do this, call up the “Text File Lookup” configuration window (below left).

On the tabs across the top select 'Parsing' (above middle). The user can select different settings for each of the barcode symbologies.

One example is when a GS1-128 barcode is scanned. The file records the GTIN, but the barcode encodes the Function 1 character, and the Application Identifier digits 0 and 1 before the GTIN. The barcode may also include a best-before date or some other extra data, and all of this must be removed.

To eliminate this unwanted data, select the “Code 128” tab (above right), then in the “Fixed Length” section choose “Leftmost”. In the “Truncation & Length fixing” section, choose ‘3’ under “Left” and ‘14’ under “Fixed”. Close the Axicon program and restart it for the setting to be saved.

Another example is when a consumer unit barcode for a variable weight product is scanned. These symbols encode a product code and a price for the product. As all the price options are not recorded in the file, the software needs to look up the first seven digits of the number.

Click on the “EAN/UPC” tab in the Parsing tab, and in the “Fixed length” section choose “Leftmost”. In the “Truncation & Length fixing” section choose ‘7’ as the ‘Fixed’ length.

Other “Parsing” entries can be made as appropriate to either select or de-select barcodes, to add prefix or suffix characters as well as adjusting lengths etc.