BarcodeSleuth Getting Started

Start Scanning Now

BarcodeSleuth starts in a mode that is ready to scan anything in front of it.

It reads multiple barcode types and once decoded, the information in the barcode is shown in the text field for editing. You should feel a "tap" when a barcode is scanned successfully. 4 different barcode type images for the scanned information will be generated and shown at the top of the screen. The type just scanned will be shown in the top centre of the screen.

Immediately after a barcode is scanned, a spinner will appear in the top left of the screen next to the scanned barcode. Change this to set a count for this scanned item, or scan again to increment the counter.

If you have trouble scanning a barcode:

• Ensure the device is parallel to the barcode.
• Move it in an out a little.
• Tap the camera preview image then tap again to restart the scanning function.
• Clean the camera lens.
• Some barcodes may be unreadable because:
  • The barcode type is not handled by the version iOS installed on your device.
  • The image is blurred or damaged.
  • There is insufficient space around the barcode image to get a good scan.

Create Your Own Barcodes

Generating your own custom barcode can be useful for restaurants or tradesmen. They make it simple for customers to find your on-line menu, phone or email. It can also be useful for individuals to generate your own email signature block sign. Web and Email buttons make it easy for you to generate these type of barcodes.

The text at the bottom of the screen is used to generate the barcode image. You can hit the left/right buttons to show the text rendered as different barcode formats.

A long press on the Share ... message at the bottom presents a context menu to change the default sharing mode to:

• A single barcode.
• A stock check CSV file containing barcode text, scan counts and GPS coordinates.
• A list of barcode images for printing.

Generate Bulk Barcodes

This app can open CSV files which loads the data as if it had been scanned. This data can then be shared to generate barcodes for printing.

Follow these simple steps to generate bulk barcodes.

• Create a CSV file using your favourite text editor with the following columns (no header row)
  • Text (i.e. 912345678123)
  • Barcode Type (i.e. EAN13)
• Email the CSV as an attachment to yourself.
• BarcodeSleuth is configured to open CSV files, so just choose it when you open the attachement on your device.
• Check that the Share ... text at the bottom of the screen is set to Share for Printing. If not, long press to change the default share method. This setting will be remembered until you change it.
• Hit the Share button and email the generated barcodes to yourself for printing on labels.

Stock Checking

Whether you have generated bulk barcodes using BarcodeSleuth or already have barcoded stock items, you can perform stock checks simply using BarcodeSleuth.

Follow these steps to perform a stock check:

• Check that the Share ... text at the bottom of the screen is set to Share CSV. If not, long press to change the default share method. This setting will be remembered until you change it.
• Start scanning barcodes. The barcode text (not the image), the barcode type, the current date/time and the GPS coordinates will be stored in the device automatically. Scanning the same barcode multiple times at the same location simply increments a counter.
• Hit the Share button to set the scan information using email or other means from the choices provided. The attached CSV file will contain the scan information, and because the GPS coordinates are included, you will know where the stock was located at the time of the scan.