Bluetooth Data Acquisition with Android

UPDATE: Bluetooth/TCP Reader GetBlue for Android™ 

TEC-IT (http://www.tec-it.com) published version 0.5 of GetBlue!

GetBlue is a smart application which communicates with Bluetooth and TCP/IP devices. The new version supports bi-directional device communication. 

In addition to its simple TELNET like functionality, GetBlue captures serial Bluetooth (SPP/RFCOMM) or TCP data, displays it in a log window and forwards the collected data to an arbitrary server application. Data forwarding works even in the background or when changing screen orientation. Manually entered user data or server responses are sent then back to the device. 

All important communication parameters are adjustable: GetBlue can easily be configured to capture Bluetooth barcode data and forward it to a web-application via

• HTTP GET requests
• HTTP Post requests
• Plain TCP sockets 

In addition it can be adjusted whether server responses should be sent back to the device. Using these features GetBlue can be configured for automated data acquisition or working as TCP/Bluetooth proxy. Bi-directional communication scenarios like the following are covered with the free demo version:

1. The Android device captures barcodes with a Bluetooth barcode scanner 
2. GetBlue forwards the scanned barcodes to your server application
3. The server responds - for example - with a status code (like data accepted or data not accepted)
4. GetBlue sends the server-respone back to the barcode scanner

Give it a try - Android Market Link.

Note: The free demo version replaces forwarded data sometimes with a demo text. All other features are completely unrestricted.

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NEW PRODUCT: Barcode Add-In for Word 2007/2010

Good News for Microsoft Word Users!

TEC-IT (http://www.tec-it.com) announces its brand new bar-code add-in for Microsoft Word. Using bar-codes in Word documents, serial letters and mail merges was never easier!

After TBarCode Office was installed, a new task pane is available in Microsoft Word. In this task-pane you simply select the required barcode symbology (all barcodes are supported by this add-in: linear barcodes, 2D codes, GS1 DataBar codes, postal codes), enter the data to be encoded (or assign the mail merge fields) and click "Insert Barcode". That's all!

The basic barcode  options can be adjusted in the barcode pane directly. More advanced options like bar width reduction, font colors, human readable text, international code page setting, etc. are also adjustable. Just check out  the tutorial video to get an impression.

TBarCode Office is very simple to use AND provides all bar-code tuning options for advanced applications. This combination makes TBarCode Office the most advanced barcode add-in available on the market!

Try it yourself: Download Barcode Office Add-In TBarCode Office

Works with Microsoft Wird 2007 and Microsoft Word 2010 on Windows XP (SP2) or higher!

Awaiting your feedback!

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Create Barcodes in Microsoft Excel using IDAutomation 2D Fonts

by Nate Schubert

While the process of creating linear barcodes in Microsoft Excel has been made very simple with the release of our new Barcode Add-in for Microsoft Word and Excel, 2D barcode types such as Data Matrix, PDF417, QR Code and Aztec still require encoding to be done with the Native VB Module for Visual Basic, Excel and Access.

If you have purchased a 2D Barcode Font and find the step-by-step tutorial difficult to follow, then check out the video below to see how easy it can be to create 2D barcodes in Excel.

Create Barcodes in Microsoft Excel using IDAutomation 2D fonts @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube.

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Create Barcodes in Microsoft Access with Native Barcode Generator

by Nate Schubert

The IDAutomation Microsoft Access Barcode Generator is a VBA Module that can be easily inserted into an Access Report to generate both linear and 2D barcodes. Compatible with Access 2000 to 2007, this product adds dynamic barcode capability without any external dependencies. This means that once you install the barcode object inside your report, it will stay in your report.

Watch the video tutorial below to see how to install the VBA Module and add barcode capability to Access Reports or visit the Access Barcode Tutorial for a written, step-by-step layout.

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Great Discounts on S4M, ZM400 and ZM600 Printers

Zebra's S4M, ZM400 and ZM600 mid range printers are now available at BARCODE TECHNOLOGIES with great discounts.

This promotion applies to all configurations so whatever the need, there's business out there.

Promotion runs from 12th April until 25th June 2010.

List Price Reductions on S4M, ZM400 and ZM600 Print Servers

ScanSource and Zebra announce permanent list price reductions for all S4M, ZM400 and ZM600 printer configurations with internal 10/100 print servers.

The internal factory fitted ZebraNet 10/100 print server option on S4M, ZM400 and ZM600 printers is reduced to €95 or £79.17. For example, popular configurations such as the 203dpi S4M with print server now have a 6% lower list price.

List price changes are effective from Monday 12th April 2010.

4 reasons BARCODE TECHNOLOGIES can help you with your Zebra projects

• We have the Zebra printers you need for your projects in stock.
• If you order is processed before cut-off, we can ship your Zebra printers to you the same day.
• Our technical support engineers are fully trained.
• Our Account Managers are always available to advise you on which Zebra printer is best for your projects.

Terms and conditions apply

Discount Promotion – Additional Terms and Conditions

• This discount offer cannot be used in conjunction with any existing price concessions.
• Stock rotation is not available on this promotion.
• All orders must be placed by 25th June and must ship by 2nd July 2010, orders placed outside of these limits will have original Mid Range discount levels applied.
• This offer is subject to stock being available, so please order early.
• Zebra Technologies Europe Limited reserves the right to end this promotional offer at any time.

List Price Reduction – Additional Terms and Conditions

• This new list price cannot be used in conjunction with any existing price concessions.
• Stock rotation will not be available.

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Datalogic Elf professional PDA

Datalogic Elf professional PDA is ideal for use in field force automation and retails applications, the Elf offers a range of innovative features designed to improve your customer's business technology

Feel & form, compute and capture!

Capitalizing on Datalogic Mobile's legendary ergonomics, the new Elf PDA packs unprecedented features into a compact form factor built for single handed use. Use of an accelerometer eliminates awkward presentation of on screen data and a unique guitar pick stylus provides for intuitive touch screen navigation.

Getting a job done quickly has never been easier with a 624 MHz processor and 256 MB RAM. A Micro SD card slot supporting SDHC storage cards provides for virtually unlimited storage space for photos taken with the onboard 3MP camera.

Both a 1D laser scanner and 2D bar code imager enable a wide array of bar codes seen across diverse enterprises. Both have Datalogic's patented Green Spot good read technology to improve user efficiency and accuracy. HF RFID readers available in combination with barcode readers complete the package.



Communicate, develop and deploy!

The new PDA provides four wireless technologies in the same form factor: Bluetooth EDR for fast data transfer, 802.11 a/b/g with Cisco Certified security, UMTS HSDPA for real-time communication outside the enterprise and GPS for location based applications and directions.

Elf offers the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 platform, with the Datalogic SDK and tools for integrating voice, pictures, and video to create or enhance existing mobility software solutions. Wavelink® device management tools make Elf a simple device to both deploy and maintain.

Finally, the Elf's rugged construction survives unintentional drops to concrete and exposure to water and dust.

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Direct 2D barcode printing for SAP® ERP

The new version of TBarCode/Direct V2.2 supports now UPS® MaxiCode™.

TBarCode/Direct is a smart, platform independent barcode printing solution for SAP® ERP, SAP® R/3® and mySAP® ERP. This bar code software works completely without any middleware and can be used with all PostScript® enabled printers!

The main advantage - TBarCode/Direct is installed within the SAP system only: No additional software, no system level installation and no additional hardware is required.

Read more about our SAP 2D Barcode Printing Solution.

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Create Serial Number and Constant Label Fields with the Barcode Label Software

by Nate Schubert

One of the most impressive features of the 2010 IDAutomation Barcode Label Software is the ability to create constant and incrementing label fields, which can be used for a variety of things including address labels, serial numbers and UPC codes to name just a few.

While the idea of doing this may seem like a complicated process, the video below shows and explains how this can be done in very little time. We also have a written tutorial available if you prefer to follow step-by-step text instructions. Why not try both?

Create Serial Number and Constant Label Fields with the Barcode Label Software @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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What is a Human Readable Barcode?

by Nate Schubert

Another great question from the IDAutomation Knowledgebase, and one we get on a pretty regular basis is What is a Human-Readable barcode? In short, it's a barcode that allows for text underneath. Most often, the text under the barcode is the same as the data encoded in the barcode.

All IDAutomation Linear Barcode products are capable of having human-readable text underneath the barcode with the exception of the Native Barcode Generator products. Take a moment to check out the video below for a more detailed explanation as well as examples.

What does it mean to have a Human Readable Barcode? @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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Create Barcodes in Excel for MAC 2004

by Nate Schubert

While IDAutomation Barcode Fonts are technically compatible with Macintosh, the Universal Barcode Font Advantage Package is specifically recommended for the easiest implementation of a variety of different barcode types. Universal Fonts can be used in Windows operating systems as well as languages that have double-byte character sets, such as Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

While understanding the actual practice of doing this can be a bit tricky, the video tutorial below is designed to show you, step-by-step, how to create barcodes of various types using the Universal Barcode Fonts Package in Excel 2004 for Mac. Check out the video below!

How to Create a Barcode In Mac for Excel 2004 @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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How to Identify a Barcode

by Nate Schubert

Contrary to popular belief, there is more than one kind of barcode. There are different barcode symbologies that have different strengths and weaknesses and industries throughout business utilize these varied symbologies to make their processes more efficient, more productive and easier to use.

A Code 128 Barcode may not appear to be different from a Code 39 barcode, but in reality they can serve very different purposes. For example, Code 128 has a higher density and can thus encode more information such as lowercase letters.

While many of you may not have a specific need to tell one barcode type from the next, the ability to identify different barcodes can be quite a benefit when you're shopping for a new way to increase efficiency in your business process.

Check out the video below, for step-by-step information on the differences between various barcode types, then dazzle your friends and co-workers with your genius-like knowledge of barcode differentiation!

How to Identify a Barcode Type @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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Printing Barcodes with SQL Reporting Services: TBarCode .NET

TEC-IT published a PDF document which outlines the usage of TBarCode SDK as barcode generator for SQL reporting services.


The .NET barcode class which is contained in the TBarCode SDK can be integrated seamlessly into MS SQL reporting services. Just a few lines of .NET code are needed to enhance a report with full bar code printing services for linear barcodes, 2D codes and GS1 DataBar symbologies.


Check out the document Printing Barcodes with MS SQL Reporting Services. A sample report including source code is available in the download section of TBarCode (Microsoft Visual Studio required).

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IDAutomation Around The Web

by Nate Schubert

Over the past year, IDAutomation has grown its' presence to many different corners of the Internet. While our main website is popular, ranks well in search engines for a variety of relevant terms and has a wealth of content relevant to all things barcode, it's never enough! Following are some of the areas of the Internet that IDAutomation has expanded to over the past year in an effort to better serve our loyal customer base.

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How to Create Barcodes in OpenOffice

by Nate Schubert

OpenOffice Calc is an excellent spreadsheet alternative to Microsoft Excel, but the process for creating barcodes in the open source application does vary. Since OpenOffice Calc is an open source product, it can also be difficult to get the support you need. This is precisely why IDAutomation strives to make the concept of barcode generation in Calc very easy to understand.

Our written Calc Barcode Generation Tutorial provides a step-by-step process, while the video tutorial below provides specific examples that not only explain how it's done, but shows the actual process of creating barcodes in OpenOffice Calc. Check out the video below.

How to Create Barcodes in OpenOffice Calc @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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Does the Crystal Native Generator Need To Be Installed On All PCs?

by Nate Schubert

The IDAutomation Native Barcode Generator for Crystal Reports is a patented barcode object that lives inside the report, making it easy to transfer from computer to computer without losing the valuable barcode data. Being that this is a simple object that resides inside the report, some customers misunderstand and think it needs to be installed on every computer that needs to view the barcode in the report. This is not the case.

For more information about the installation of this product into the Crystal Report itself, please take a look at the IDAutomation Knowledge base video below.

Native Barcode Generator for Crystal Reports Distribution @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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How To Create Barcodes in Crystal Reports using Fonts and Formulas

by Nate Schubert

There are a number of different methods used to create barcodes in Crystal Reports such as with the Native Barcode Generator for Crystal, but barcode fonts continue to be the most flexible and the best overall choice for Crystal Reports barcode generation. Of course, the steps required to generate a scannable barcode for Crystal can be a little confusing. Never fear, IDAutomation is here to help make the process easier by providing clear examples for creating Barcodes in Crystal Reports using Fonts and Formulas.

The font formulas or Barcode UFL used in this tutorial are provided with the purchase of IDAutomation barcode fonts and the method shown in the video below is compatible with Crystal Reports 8 and above.

Create Barcodes in Crystal Reports using Barcode Fonts @ Yahoo! Video

Also available on YouTube

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