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Setting Up a Keywedge Scanner

xAssets Keywedge Barcode Scanner Guide
Setting Up a Keywedge Scanner

Setting Up a Keywedge Scanner

This page walks you through configuring your keyboard wedge scanner hardware, enabling barcoding in xAssets, and testing that everything works together.

Prerequisites

  • A keyboard wedge (USB or PS/2) barcode scanner and its instruction manual (for setup barcodes)
  • A computer with xAssets accessible in a web browser
  • Configuration-level user access in xAssets (to enable the Barcoding module)

Scanner Hardware Configuration

Most scanners are configured by scanning special setup barcodes printed in the scanner's instruction manual. You enter configuration mode by scanning one barcode, adjust settings by scanning others, and exit by scanning a final barcode. Refer to your scanner's documentation for the specific barcodes.

Common Configuration Options

Option Description xAssets Requirement
Barcode symbologies Which barcode types (Code 128, Code 39, QR, etc.) the scanner will read Enable the types used on your asset labels
Prefix character A character sent before each barcode's data No prefix
Suffix character A character sent after each barcode's data Carriage Return (Enter)

Required Scanner Settings

xAssets requires two specific scanner settings:

Setting Required Value Why
Prefix character None (no prefix) The scanner must not send any characters before the barcode data
Suffix character Carriage Return (Enter) Tells xAssets that the barcode is complete and triggers the search or field entry

These are the factory default settings for most keyboard wedge scanners, so your scanner may already be correctly configured.

Enabling Barcoding in xAssets

A keyboard wedge scanner will work for basic text entry (such as the search box) without any xAssets configuration. However, to access the full barcoding features -- including the barcode search dialog, barcode field on asset forms, and barcode audits -- you need to enable the Barcoding module.

Note: Enabling this module may require a barcoding-enabled xAssets license. Contact your xAssets sales or support representative if the option is not available.

Turning on xAssets Barcode Functionality

This requires a Configuration-level user account.

  1. Go to Settings > Site Settings > Enable/Disable Features.
  2. Ensure the Barcoding module is enabled.
  3. Click OK.
  4. Refresh your browser so that the barcoding menus appear.

Enable/Disable Features dialog showing the Barcoding module

Testing the Scanner

Before using the scanner with xAssets, verify that it is sending barcode data correctly.

  1. Connect the scanner to the computer or mobile device you will use with xAssets.
  2. Open a plain text editor (such as Notepad on Windows).
  3. Click in the text editor so it has focus.
  4. Scan two or more barcodes of the type you will use for your assets.

Notepad showing two scanned barcodes, each on its own line

Expected result: Each barcode appears on its own line in the text editor.

If barcodes appear on the same line (without line breaks between them), the scanner's suffix character is not set to Carriage Return. Reconfigure the scanner using the setup barcodes in your scanner's documentation, setting the suffix to Carriage Return (Enter).