The barcode scanner app has several pages of settings.  Although they may not all apply to you, you'll need to make sure the scanner is set up properly for your use.  Below is a thorough guide on each setting so you can quickly get up and running with your mobile barcode scanner.

 

Jump to:

Settings 1-8
Settings 9-16
Settings 17-24
Settings 25-32
Settings 33-40
Settings 41-48
Settings 49-56
Settings 57-63

 

Overview

The barcode scanner app has settings to allow you to customize the user interface to suit your company's needs. To customize your settings go to #14 on the barcode scanner's main menu.

 

Settings 1-8 (Page 1)

1. RCV default unit: Each/Case

When receiving a purchase order this determines whether the scanner defaults to units or case quantity. 

 

2. RCV type quantity: Yes/No

When doing a receive operation, do you scan each box or do you scan one box and type in a quantity? The scanner can do both, but you can set the default to one mode or the other. If you set this setting to No, you can still toggle on and off the quantity box on the scanner just prior to scanning the item. If you know you are going to be typing the quantity for received items set this setting to Yes.

 

3. RCV learn mode: Yes/No

Learn mode on the scanner applies when you are receiving units with barcodes that haven't been configured in Finale yet.  NO is the most common configuration.

 

Setting is YES: If you have not set up your barcodes in Finale yet, setting this to "Yes" will allow you to quickly associate the barcode to the product while you're receiving a shipment.  With this setting turned on, The scanner will prompt you to enter the Product ID that you are receiving.  Once you enter this, you will then be prompted to scan the barcode associated with that item (optionally, you can also add the packing and Lot ID associated with it at this step too).  

*Use this setting if you do not have barcodes set up yet and want to quickly "teach" Finale what Product ID each barcode is associated to.

 

Setting is NO:  This setting is used when most, if not all, barcodes are already configured in Finale.  When receiving a purchase order, the scanner will prompt you to either scan or enter the product ID (or barcode for that product) and then the quantity, sublocation, etc.  If, however, you scan a barcode that is not yet configured, you can still teach Finale what it corresponds to.  Scanning an unknown barcode will prompt the scanner to say "Barcode lookup not found!", and there will be an option to "create".  If you click "Create", you can teach Finale the lookup and continue receiving your shipment.

*This is the typical setting to use once your account is set up properly since it assumes the barcode is already known, but still will give you the option to teach Finale a barcode that might have been missed during your initial set up (or more commonly, a barcode that may have been changed from the manufacturer, but not updated in Finale yet).

 

4. RCV serial number mode: Off/Auto/Semi/Manual

Finale records all per-unit information, including serial numbers, lots, batch codes, references, and combinations of such information in the Lot ID field. If you just use serial numbers, then you can think of the Lot ID field as the serial number field. 

When you receive a unit with a serial number in 3. RCV learn mode = YES, you typically need to scan two or three pieces of information: the Product ID, the serial number, and a unique scankey by which to identify the unit after receiving it. Thus, receiving a unit with a serial number takes multiple scans to record the information, but subsequent operations on that unit require only a single scan of the unit's scankey to identify it.

• Manual: During receiving the app will cycle through scanning the three pieces of information: Product ID, serial number, and scankey. If the serial number is unique across all your products, then the serial number itself can serve as the scankey.
• Semi: The app will cycle between scanning two pieces of information: Product ID and serial number. The scankey and Lot ID will both be set to the serial number.
• Auto: This is the same as Semi except that after the user interface instructs you to scan the Product ID, it lets you cycle through scanning multiple serial numbers for that same product, which is optimally efficient if you are receiving many serial numbers of the same product at a time.

 

When you receive a unit with a serial number in RCV learn mode = NO, this setting has no effect unless you encounter an unknown scankey (serial number) and create a new scankey lookup, in which case if this setting is Auto or Semi then the scankey lookup's Lot ID and the received unit's Lot ID will be set to the scankey itself; otherwise the Lot ID field will be set to the current default Lot ID, as set from the Receive menu.

 

5. XFR default unit: Each/Case

This setting sets the scanner to default to "case mode" or "each mode" when doing a transfer operation. You can still toggle between modes on the scanner just prior to scanning the item.

 

6. XFR type quantity: Yes/No

This setting controls whether, by default, the user interface includes a quantity box in transfer operations for you to type the quantity instead of scanning each item.

 

7. PCK default unit: Each/Case

This setting sets the scanner to default to "case mode" or "each mode" when doing a pick operation for a committed sales order. You can still toggle between modes on the scanner just prior to scanning the item.

 

8. PCK type quantity: Yes/No

This setting controls whether, by default, the user interface includes a quantity box in pick operations for you to type the quantity instead of scanning each item.

 

 

 

Settings 9-16 (Page 2)

9. PCK directed picking: Yes/No

The mobile scanner app supports three picking methods: Basic, Wave, and Pick and Pack. By default, all of these methods involve the scanner telling you what to pick and where to go, based on the sales order or set of sales orders being picked. The Basic method does have a random access picking option, though, that doesn't tell you what to pick and that simply records whatever you do pick.

 

If you are following a pick list you've printed out to paper or if you are making a lot of substitutions, you may prefer the random access picking option of Basic picking. If so, turn directed picking off. Directed picking on is the default.

 

10. PCK verification: Click ok / Scan slot / None

After picking an item, the scanner has several verification options before sending you to the next item.

• Click ok: This shows you the item just picked and asks you to click okay before advancing to the next. This option applies to all directed pick methods.
• Scan slot: This applies only to Wave picking. This setting asks you to scan the box on the cart into which you are putting the item (the slot), which ensures you are putting the item into the correct box.
• None: This advances you to the next item without any extra clicks required.

 

11. PCK sort by: List/Std bin/Product ID/Sublocation

If you are picking in directed picking mode (see setting #9), then this setting controls the order of items in the pick list.

• List: This is the default setting. This means the order of items picked is the same as the order of items in the sale order.
• Std bin or Product ID: The picking order will be sorted by the Std bin property of the items or the Product ID of the items.
• Sublocation: This changes the sort order to be based on the actual sublocations holding stock of the items. For each item in the list, a list is constructed of sublocations holding non-zero stock of that item, testing for matching case/units if required (see setting below). This list of sublocations is then sorted alphabetically. The sorted list of sublocations becomes the sort key by which the item itself is sorted against other items in the pick list. Items with no stock sort last in the list.

 

The sorting for all settings is case-sensitive alphabetical, which means that a bin named "M9" will be sorted after a bin named "M432" because the character "9" sorts after the character "4". To make bins or sublocations that have numbers in their names sort intuitively, you can pad the numbers with zeros on the left to make them all the same number of digits. In the example above, you could use the name "M009" instead of "M9", and then it will sort after "M432" correctly.

 

12. PCK require units match: No/Yes

Directed picking advances through a pick list in sorted order, telling you which item to pick next. Your progress through the list advances when you have picked the satisfactory quantity of the current item. If the item in the pick list indicates cases, and you pick units, or vice versa, there's a question of whether that's satisfactory. For example, if a customer orders a six-pack of beer, is it satisfactory to pick six individual bottles or must you pick a six-pack itself? This setting controls whether the case/units are required to match in order to satisfy an item in the pick list and advance to the next.

This setting also controls, both in directed picking mode and in random access picking mode, whether the scanner displays a warning message when you pick mis-matching case/units for an item in the pick list. The warning is disabled if this setting is No. Along with this, the setting controls whether the total quantity in the information bar at the bottom of the screen while picking takes into consideration the case/units distinction.

If you are picking in directed picking mode, sorted by sublocation (see above), then this setting controls the determination of whether a sublocation contains stock of an item. If Yes then the determination depends on the distinction between cases and units, though not the specific packing of the cases; if No then the determination is based on the presence of any stock of the item independent of whether the stock is in cases or units.

 

13. RTN default unit: Each/Case

See "RCV default unit: Each/Case", above. This setting sets the scanner to default to "case mode" or "each mode" when doing a return operation. Set it to whichever is more convenient. You can still toggle between modes on the scanner just prior to scanning the item.

 

14. RTN type quantity: Yes/No

See "RCV type quantity: Yes/No". This setting controls whether, by default, the user interface includes a quantity box in return operations for you to type the quantity instead of scanning each item.

 

15. RTN learn mode: Yes/No

See "RCV learn mode: Yes/No", above. This setting controls whether the user interface asks you to scan the product ID first, followed by unique, unknown barcodes to be associated with the barcode (i.e., "learned"), or asks you to scan the barcode first, which is more efficient if most of your barcodes are already in the lookup table. No is the standard setting.

 

16. RTN serial number mode: Off/Auto/Semi/Manual

See "RCV serial number mode: Off/Auto/Semi/Manual", above. This setting controls whether the scankey itself fills in as the Lot ID for the scanned item, which is useful in circumstances where the Lot ID field is used to hold the serial number of the item. Off is the standard setting.

 

 

 

Settings 17-24 (Page 3)

17. TAK default unit: Each/Case

See "RCV default unit: Each/Case", above. This setting sets the scanner to default to "case mode" or "each mode" when doing a stock take. Set it to whichever is more convenient. You can still toggle between modes on the scanner just prior to scanning the item.

 

18. TAK type quantity: Yes/No

See "RCV type quantity: Yes/No". This setting controls whether, by default, the user interface includes a quantity box in stock take operations for you to type the quantity instead of scanning each item.

 

19. TAK write zeros: Yes/No

When you perform a stock take and don't scan a particular product, does that mean the product has zero quantity at the sublocation or does it merely mean that you aren't updating the stock value for that particular product? If the meaning of your stock take is that any products you don't scan are not present, then set this setting to YES so the scanner writes zero quantities for any products that you have not explicitly included. If the meaning of the stock take is that products that you don't scan should retain their existing quantity values, then leave this setting as NO.

If this setting is YES then whenever you exit a stock take, the scanner automatically shows you the variances from the previous quantities. With either value of this setting, you can view the stock quantities as they were before or after the stock take, or view the variances, from the menu of the stock take operation.

 

20. CHG default unit: Each/Case

See "RCV default unit: Each/Case", above. This setting sets the scanner to default to "case mode" or "each mode" when doing a stock change operation. Set it to whichever is more convenient. You can still toggle between modes on the scanner just prior to scanning the item.

 

21. CHG type quantity: Yes/No

See "RCV type quantity: Yes/No". This setting controls whether, by default, the user interface includes a quantity box in stock change operations for you to type the quantity instead of scanning each item.

 

22. LRN lotId is barcode: Yes/No

See "RCV lotId is barcode: Yes/No", above. This setting controls whether the barcode itself fills in as the Lot ID for a scanned item, which is useful in circumstances where the Lot ID field is used to hold the serial number of the item. No is the standard setting.

 

23. LRN default unit: Each/Case

This setting sets the scanner to default to "case mode" or "each mode" when learning barcodes. Set it to whichever is more convenient. When learning barcodes, if the scanner is in "each mode", then the learned record in the barcode lookup table will have a blank field for the suggested packing field even if you've set the packing quantity from the menu option.

 

24. Automatic barcodes: Yes/No

The barcode you use to identify a unit is called the scankey. When you scan in a unit's barcode during a stock take, or transfer, or other inventory operation, the scanner will lookup the barcode in the product lookup table (PLU) to see what Product ID and optionally Lot ID or packing it implies. Automatic barcodes are barcodes you can use as scankeys even if they are not in the product lookup table (PLU).

The standard setting is YES because there is no harm in turning on automatic barcodes even if you don't use them. The basic example of automatic barcodes is Product IDs themselves: if the barcodes you use to identify units are the Product IDs themselves, then you can turn this setting on and you never need to worry about importing a product lookup table or learning barcodes on the fly. They just work automatically.

To understand precisely what automatic barcodes are and whether they are appropriate for your company, we can define them in terms of the product lookup table. Finale keeps a lookup table that associates the barcode you use to identify a unit (i.e., the scankey) with a Product ID, Lot ID, and suggested packing. You can think of the lookup table as an Excel spreadsheet with the scankey in column A, and the Product ID, Lot ID, and suggested packing in columns B, C, and D. Whenever you scan a barcode used to identify a unit, the scanner will lookup the barcode in column A and then fill in the information from column B, C, and D into your receive operation.

There are two kinds of automatic barcodes: Product ID, and CSV. Automatic barcodes of the Product ID kind are implicit rows in the lookup table with the Product ID listed in both column A and column B, leaving column C and D blank.

The second kind of automatic barcodes are CSV barcodes. These barcodes are capable of representing Lot ID and suggested packing (columns C and D) in addition to the Product ID. The syntax of CSV barcodes is a comma separated list of Product ID, Lot ID, and suggested packing. The Lot ID and suggested packing are both optional fields. If any of the fields contains double quotes in the value, the value is wrapped in double quotes and the internal double quotes are doubled up, such as "1-1/2"" Nails" for one and one half inch nails (including the outer double quotes). If any of the fields contains a comma in the value, the value is wrapped in double quotes. These are the standard escapement rules for CSV files as defined for Microsoft Excel.

Finale will recognize any CSV barcode that begins with a recognized Product ID as the first field. The other two fields are optional. Like Product ID barcodes, the CSV barcodes are useful because you don't have to learn them or import them into a lookup table. They work straight away. Unlike Product ID barcodes, the CSV barcodes are capable of representing Lot ID and suggested packing, so if you need those fields, the CSV barcodes are your only option for automatic barcodes. The drawback to CSV barcodes is that they can be long if they combine a lot of information into the barcode string. In general, barcode scanners are slower and less reliable for long barcode strings since they make the barcode image more dense, making it harder to distinguish the bars in the image from each other.

This 'Automatic barcodes' setting must be YES if you want to choose items by clicking on them from a list instead of scanning them (click-to-pick).

 

 

 

 

Settings 25-32 (Page 4)

 

25. Distinct barcodes: Yes/No

The distinct barcodes setting turns on error checking that applies if you know that all of your barcodes are unique, meaning that every barcode label is different, even the barcode labels on the same type of product. The standard setting is No because most businesses don't use distinct barcodes, but if your company does use distinct barcodes, this setting is great.

If you are wondering what distinct barcodes are like, here is an example. If you are using pre-printed sequential barcodes from a roll of barcodes that you apply to items and "learn" as you receive, that is an example of distinct barcodes because every sticker from the roll is unique. You can also print distinct barcode labels in advance for items you receive, though that also requires learning them on the fly as you receive or importing them into the lookup table.

The advantage of distinct barcodes and turning this setting on is that if the scanner knows that every barcode is unique, then it knows to report an error if you scan the same barcode twice in a receive operation or other inventory operation, because scanning the same barcode twice means you scanned the same item twice, as opposed to two items of the same type. You can rely on the fact that the scanner will report the error, which allows you to check if you've already scanned an item by scanning it again! With distinct barcodes and this setting on, you don't have to worry about losing track of what you've scanned versus what you haven't yet scanned.

 

26. List lotIds separately: Smart/Yes/No

This setting controls whether scanned items that have the same Product ID but different Lot IDs are listed as separate rows or combined together into a single row. If your Lot IDs represent serial numbers or box or pallet numbers, then you probably want to use the Smart or Yes setting in order to keep the items separate when you do the "Menu > Review items" command from within an operation. If your Lot IDs are batch codes, then you may find it more convenient to use the Smart or No settings to combine rows of the same Product ID to show the total quantities instead of broken out by batches.

The Smart setting, which is the default, works for most companies. It works as follows: if a scanned item matches a row in the receive list or pick list, then it is combined onto that row along with any other items that match that row; otherwise the scanned item will combine only with other items that have the same Lot ID as well as Product ID and Packing.

An example illustrates the somewhat complex logic. Say you are receiving 200 apple pies. The receive list has one row: apple pie, quantity 200. When you scan in the apple pies, let's imagine you have the scanner configured to read in the expiration dates or batch codes of the pies as the Lot IDs. You scan 100 pies with Lot ID 10/21/2014 and 100 pies with Lot ID 10/23/2014.

Since all 200 scanned pies match the row on the receive list (which doesn't specify the Lot ID), they are all combined on that single row when you do "Review items" to show you that you have received 200 of 200 pies. Now let's imagine you additionally scan 200 muffins, also split across two batches of 100 each. Since the two batches of muffins are not on the receive list, they will neither combine with single pie row on the receive list, nor with each other. The result of "Review items" will be three rows, one row of 200 pies, and two rows of 100 muffins of each batch.

This scanner setting also affects the scanned item message at the bottom of the screen, which shows the sum of the items you've scanned that would be combined onto a single row following the logic above.

 

27. Barcode sets cs/ea: Yes/No

When you scan a barcode, you are selecting a product and optionally some specific information about that product, like its Lot ID or whether the scanned item is a case or each. This setting pertains to the optional information. More specifically, it controls whether the barcode overrides the case/each mode on the scanner (the little case/each link over the scan box).

Recall that the lookup table for barcodes is like an Excel spreadsheet with the barcode in column A, and the Product ID, Lot ID, and suggested packing in columns B, C, and D. Whenever you scan a barcode, the scanner will lookup the barcode in column A and then fill in the information from column B, C, and D.

If this setting is No, then no matter what information is in column D in the lookup table (the suggested packing), the scanner's case/each mode that you toggle with the link above the scan box will prevail. In other words, if you are in case mode, then the item you scanned will be recorded as a case; if you scan it four times or type a quantity of four, that means four cases. If you are in each mode, then the item you scanned will be recorded as an each, even if the barcode has an associated suggested packing in column D.

However, even when this setting is No the barcode's packing information from column D applies in a specific circumstance: If (a) the scanner is in case mode, and (b) the barcode's packing is not blank, then the barcode's packing will be applied to the record of the item scanned. This facility allows you to manage inventory with cases of different sizes having different barcodes, but still allows you to put the scanner in each mode and scan the same barcodes to mean eaches when picking individual items.

If this setting is Yes, then the scanner will automatically switch into case mode or each mode based on the suggested packing of the scanned barcode (column D), and that suggested packing will apply to the scanned item. If the suggested packing is blank, then the scanned item is an each. If the suggested packing is "cs" or something more specific like "12/1" then the scanned item is a case with that packing. If the suggested packing is just "cs" then it gets converted to the standard packing for that product when you synch the scanner with your account.

Use the Yes setting if you have different barcodes for cases and eaches. Then you don't have to click the case/each button on the scanner because the barcodes themselves specify the mode.

Table showing when barcode's suggested packing (Column D) applies to the scanned item

* only if barcode packing not blank

 

28. Upper case typing: Yes/No

If set to Yes, the scanner software converts all typed characters to upper case. Since scanner keyboards are often inconvenient, this setting can make typing easier for those circumstances in which you are typing on the scanner. If you need lower case, though, you are out of luck.

 

29. Convert to eaches: Yes/No

It is not uncommon for a company to receive in cases but keep track of its stock in eaches. This setting makes that conversion happen automatically when you synch the scanner with your account.

When you receive an order or do another inventory operation like a pick or transfer, you can scan the items in cases or eaches, whichever is more convenient. If this setting is Yes then the cases are converted to eaches when you synch, using the standard packing for that product as the conversion factor if the packing for the scanned item doesn't include the conversion factor itself.

 

30. Default quantity per scan: 1/StdPk/All

When you scan an item without explicitly entering a quantity then your scan will be interpreted to mean "1" unless you change it with this setting. Although the default quantity of "1" is the most commonly used, the other two possibilities are powerful features:

The StdPk setting changes the default quantity when you scan eaches to be the standard packing for the scanned item. This allows you to scan a whole case of items with a single swipe of the scanner. As an example, imagine your were keeping track of your inventory in eaches, but you are doing a transfer operation in which you are moving cases of items packed 72/1. If you have the StdPk setting on, then every time you scan an item's barcode, it counts as 72 (assuming 72 is the standard packing for the item). This is faster than scanning the barcode 72 times or scanning it once and explicitly typing the quantity 72 on the tiny little keyboard.

The StdPk setting only applies when you are scanning in "each" mode. If you are scanning in case mode, the default quantity remains "1".

The All setting changes the default quantity for an item to all of it, i.e., the quantity on hand at that sublocation. This setting is useful in a variety of contexts. If your quantity for a stock unit represents a weight rather than a count of eaches, then more often than not you probably transfer or ship the stock unit as a whole, not just some fraction of its weight. The "all" setting allows you to do this. Assuming your different stock units have unique Lot IDs to identify them as distinct, then if you scan the barcode representing one of your stock units in "all" mode, that scan will mean you are transferring the entire quantity (weight) of that stock unit.

The "all" setting can also be used for pallet tracking in warehouses. Each pallet has a unique Lot ID to differentiate it from other palettes. When you move the pallet around, you just scan the barcode on the pallet in "all" mode and that means that you are transferring everything on the pallet.

The "all" setting can also be used if you want to transfer everything you have in one storage sublocation to another. Turn on "all" mode and scan everything in the "from" location. It doesn't even matter if you accidentally scan something twice. Since "all" means all of that item at the sublocation, there's no difference between scanning the item once or multiple times in the same transfer -- all is all.

 

31. Disable neg. qty error: No/Yes

In directed picking, if you type a quantity of an item that would result in the recorded stock level going negative, the Data Collector software will display a warning message if this setting is No. The purpose of the warning message is help detect errors like making typos in the quantity or incorrectly designating whether you are picking a case or an individual unit, both common mistakes that result in discrepancies in recorded inventory.

If you are using the barcode scanner but are treating the recorded inventory stock levels as estimates or ignoring them altogether, then you may want to turn this warning message off so it doesn't get in your way.

 

32. On-list sound: Beep/Boop/Chirp/Buzz/Bells/None

This setting indicates the "happy sound" that plays when you scan an item that is on the list of items you are expecting to scan.

 

 

 

Settings 33-40 (Page 5)

 

33. Off-list sound: Beep/Boop/Chirp/Buzz/None

This setting indicates the "warning sound" that plays when you scan an item that is not on the list of items you are expecting to scan. Sometimes the warning indicates an error; other times it might be alerting something you are intending to do anyway, like making a substitution.

 

34. Done sound: Beep/Boop/Chirp/Buzz/Bells/None

This setting indicates the "minor celebration sound" that plays when you scan the last item of a particular type. The sounds are all different to allow you to scan quickly without looking at the screen, and to know when you are done.

 

35. Error sound: Beep/Boop/Chirp/Buzz/Bells/None

This setting indicates the "celebration sound" that plays when you scan the last item in a list. The sounds are all different to allow you to scan quickly without looking at the screen, and to know when you are done.

 

36. All done sound: Beep/Boop/Chirp/Buzz/Bells/None

This setting indicates the "major celebration sound" that plays when you finish a pick list.

 

37. Tab key alias

In directed pick operations, the tab key is a shortcut key to skip the current item. Some scanners don't have a tab key on their keyboard, so this setting allows you to assign another shortcut key to skip.

 

38. Stock details key

When scanning items in any scanner operation, if you select "Item stock details" from the menu you will see a comprehensive stock account of the last item scanned, or in the case of directed pick, of the item you are being directed to pick. This setting allows you to assign a shortcut key to this operation, which is by default the space key. The item stock details screen also allows you to press this shortcut key to return to the operation, so you can pop in and out quickly to check the stock of an item you scanned or are about to pick.

 

39. Hide case button

The case/each button that is present for all inventory operations on the scanner in the upper right corner of the "scan item" screen is useful for changing whether the scanned unit is to be interpreted as a single unit or whether it is a case that contains a number units defined by the packing.

But if you aren't using cases in your inventory management scheme, the case/each button can get in the way and create the possibility of human error. So by all means, if you don't use cases, turn off the button with this setting!

 

40. Multi-part Lot ID: 2 part dash, 3 part dash, 4 part dash, 2 part _, 3 part _, 4 part _

The Lot ID field is used in Finale to hold information that applies to a unit individually, as opposed to information that is associated with all units of the same Product ID. Examples of this per-unit information include serial numbers, lots, batch codes, references, and combinations of such information.

If you need to record multiple pieces of per-unit information in the Lot ID, such as a serial number and a batch code, then this Multi-part Lot ID will help configure the user interface for your needs. While it remains the case that all per-unit information is stored in the Lot ID field, the Multi-part Lot ID setting allows you to scan in two, three, or four pieces of information, and combines the information you've scanned into a single string.

Normally, when you scan an item, the scanner hardware reads in the characters of the barcode and then issues a carriage return character that causes the user interface to skip to the next screen. The Multi-part Lot ID function causes the user interface to handle Lot ID scanning specially, by converting the first one or two or three carriage return characters to a character like underscore or dash that separates the parts of the Lot ID instead of skipping to the next screen.

For example, if you want to use two-part Lot IDs that incorporate a serial number like 1234 along with a batch date code like 2012-10-14, then you could set the Multi-part Lot ID setting to 2 part, _ (underscore), choosing underscore instead of dash since your date fields already use a dash.

With that setting, whenever you need to enter a Lot ID, first scan the serial number, 1234. You will notice the scan box shows "1234_" and the user interface does not advance to the next screen. Then scan the date part, 2012-10-14. That causes the scanner to advance to the next screen, having set the Lot ID to "1234_2012-10-14".

 

 

 

Settings 41-48 (Page 6)

41. Distinct Lot IDs: Off, On

This setting applies if you use the Lot ID field to hold serial numbers. Since serial numbers are unique, that would mean the Lot IDs would be unique. If every Lot ID is unique, then any situation in which stock exists at two different sublocations with the same Lot ID would be an error: the same unit cannot be two places at once.

If this setting is ON, then if you ever do a stock take of a unit with a Lot ID at sublocation "A" whilst stock of that unit already exists with the same Lot ID at a different sublocation "B", then you will get an error message if you are setting the quantity to anything other than zero. Doing so would create a split unit that exists partially at two different sublocations.

This setting has no effect other than enabling that warning message. The warning message does not apply to units that have blank Lot IDs. The warning message obviously is not required, but it can help to reduce data entry mistakes by flagging them for you at the moment they are caught.

 

42. GS1 Parsing: Off, All parts, GTIN only, GTIN + date, GTIN + lot, GTIN + SN, All text, Parts as text

NOTE: See additional GS1 setting 62 below for more GS1 parsing options for your receiving workflow.  GS1 is an international standard for representing structured information in barcodes, including dates, serial numbers, dimensions, batch numbers, etc., in addition to item numbers. This setting turns on support for parsing GS1 barcodes, to extract structured information contained in the GS1 barcode to fill the Product ID field and optionally the Lot ID field and packing field of a scanned item. The GS1 specification can be found at www.gs1.org here: specification.

The item number in the GS1 barcode, called the GTIN, can be the Product ID itself or a scankey from which to lookup the Product ID from the PLU. The lookup ignores the Lot ID field and suggesting packing field in the PLU, since this information is expected to be contained in the GS1.

If set to GTIN only, Finale will determine the Product ID from the GTIN item number in the GS1 barcode as the Product ID and ignore everything else.

If set to GTIN + date, Finale additionally extracts any date field, such as the best before date (GS1 application identifier, or AI, 15), production date (AI 11), due date (AI 12), packaging date (AI 13), or sell by date (AI 16). Finale represents the date as all or part of the Lot ID field, using the prefix "Mfg:" for AI 11 or 13 or "Exp:" for AI 12, 15, and 16. If the GS1 barcode contains multiple dates, the last one applies.

If set to GTIN + lot or GTIN + SN, Finale extracts the batch or lot number (AI 10) or serial number (AI 21) respectively, and applies them to the Lot ID field on their own.

If set to All text, Finale determines the Product ID from the GTIN, and includes all the rest of the GS1 characters as a plain text Lot ID, substituting a dash for the field separator but otherwise representing the characters present in the barcode verbatim, including application identifiers.

If set to All parts, Finale determines the Product ID from the GTIN, and extracts any date field and batch or lot number (AI 10) or serial number (AI 21), if present, combining them with the date first, as in Exp: 05/23/2016 ABC if the lot or serial number is ABC and a date is present, or just Lot: ABC otherwise. The prefix for Lot IDs that have dates is "Mfg:" for application identifier 11 or 13, or "Exp:" for application identifiers 12, 15, and 16. The prefix is just "Lot:" if the Lot ID doesn't have a date.

If set to Parts as text, Finale determines the Product ID from the GTIN, and includes all the rest of the GS1 information as a plain text Lot ID, similar to the All text option except formatting the application identifiers (AIs) in parentheses to make the data in the GS1 more readable and easier to parse. For example, a Lot ID with application identifiers 15, 21, and 10 might look like, "Lot: (15)160210(21)ABC(10)XYZ". This option in Finale supports all application identifiers defined in the GS1 specification.

 

43. GS1 GTIN format: GTIN-12, GTIN-13, GTIN-14, GTIN-8, Guess

If GS1 parsing is on (see above), this setting defines the format of the item number, and hence the Product ID, extracted from the GS1 data. The GS1 data contains 14 characters, but item numbers represented within those characters may have fewer digits, padded out with leading zeros. Please adjust this setting to select the correct number of digits in your item numbers, including check digit.  The best option is Guess, which tries all four formats to find the one that works.  The advantage of "Guess" is that you can have different format GS1 barcodes in your inventory and the scanner supports them all. 

 

 

44. GS1 date format: YYMMDD, DDMMYY, MMDDYY

If GS1 parsing is on (see above), this setting defines the manner in which Finale interprets the date field. In the GS1 standard, all dates are represented in the YYMMDD format. However, some companies do not follow the standard exactly, so Finale presents three options.

 

45. Sync purchase as: Received/Editable

This setting specifies the status of purchase shipments received on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

46. Sync transfer as: Received/Shipped/Editable

This setting specifies the status of transfer shipments received on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

47. Sync sale as: Shipped/Packed/Editable

This setting specifies the status of sale shipments received on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

48. Sync return as: Received/Editable

This setting specifies the status of return shipments received on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

 

 

Settings 49-56 (Page 7)

 

49. Sync stock take as: Committed/Editable

This setting specifies the status of stock takes on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

50. Sync stock add as: Committed/Editable

This setting specifies the status of stock change add operations on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

51. Sync stock subtract as: Committed/Editable

This setting specifies the status of stock change subtract operations on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

52. Sync break cases as: Committed/Editable

This setting specifies the status of stock change break apart case operations on the scanner when you sync them to the account.

 

53. Login expires after: 24 hours/1 hour/15 min/5 min

This setting determines how long a user log in is saved in the scanner before having to reenter their log-in. 

 

54. Show password typing: yes/no

This setting determines if the password is visible when typed in or hidden. 

 

55. PCK scan order verify: Visual/None

More to come here!

 

56. PCK scan order lot IDS: Smart/Always

More to come here!

 

 

 

Settings 57-63 (Page 8)

 

57. RCV auto-fill: None/Qty/Subloc/Qty+Subloc

The user interface for receiving with typed-in quantity has three or four user input boxes, depending on whether the Lot ID box is hidden.  After scanning the barcode or Product ID into the top field, the sublocation and quantity fields will auto-fill with blue text defaults depending on this setting.  The quantity auto-fills with the remaining quantity of not-yet-received items for the order, automatically making the conversions between cases and eaches to suggest the correct quantity in the case/each unit of measure being received, even if is different from the case/each unit of measure in the order.  The sublocation automatically auto-fills with the sublocation currently containing stock of the item being received with matching case/each unit of measure, if there's one such sublocation.  Otherwise if there are multiple sublocations with stock of the item, or no stock of the item, the sublocation field is not auto-filled.  Auto-filling only applies to the sublocation box if its padlock is UNLOCKED.

 

58. RCV case/each warnings: Yes/No

Depending on whether you regularly receive in a different case/each unit of measure than specified in the purchase order, you may choose to turn these warnings on or off.  If on, then you'll get a beep and a yellow box around the case/each toggle link in the upper right (if not hidden) if the item you just received has a different case/each unit of measure than specified in the order.  If off, then no beep and no yellow box will be displayed.  The warning helps prevent you accidentally receiving items in the wrong case/each unit of measure, which is most helpful if you are keeping track of cases and eaches separately and you might have both units of measure in your inventory at the same time.  The warning gets in the way if, say, you always order in eaches but your supplier always sends you cases, or the other way around, in which case you aren't expecting the units of measure to match.  Since the 'RCV auto-fill' function automatically converts between case/each units of measure, receiving scenarios requiring conversion are very smooth, as long as you have the warning turned off.

This setting also affects the colors of the rows in the 'Review/edit items' summary page of the review operation.  If the warnings are turned off, then rows in the summary page that add up to right number of items are green even if their case/each units of measure differ.  If warnings are on, the same rows will be red, as an alert that you expected one unit of measure and got the other.

 

59. RCV qty if not auto-fill: Blank/1/StdPack

This setting only applies if the 'RCV auto-fill' is set to NOT auto-fill quantity.  In the user interface for receiving with typed-in quantity, after you scan or select the product in the top box, the quantity box can be set to show the value '1' or the standard packing count, so that you can simply press enter to receive '1' item (or the number of items specified in the standard packing).  This is quicker than typing the number '1' on the device keyboard or on-screen keyboard, and it still allows you to change the number to not 1 whenever you need to by typing another number or by pressing the up or down arrow to increment it.  So if you scan each item as you are receiving or if you usually receive only one of each item, this setting is particularly convenient if you are not using auto-fill.

 

60. Hide lot ID box: Yes/No

The user interface for receiving with typed-in quantity has three or four user input boxes, depending on this setting.  If you never use lot IDs, hide the lot ID box to simplify the interface.

 

61. Backgnd qty update: OFF/5min/10min/30min/1hr/5s test

The Default value is OFF. This feature is an auto quantity refresh feature that pulls down the latest stock levels from your Finale Inventory cloud account to your scanner and updates in memory. This ensures that when you are performing operations on the scanner you will have the most up-to-date stock quantity and location data available.  When this feature is enabled, you may see a slight delay in the User Interface of the application while you are using it at the moment the scanner refreshes it's memory.  If this feature is OFF, the scanner will only get new stock levels and locations when you use the 1. SYNC scanner feature on the main menu.  This is normally fine for most operations.  If you have multiple teams of staff members performing Order picking and packing operations, this feature could improve their performance and experience. WAVE picking relies on accurate stock quantity and sublocation data to send the teams to the correct spots. Enabling this update feature with a 5min interval will improve the Wave picking function's ability to send the operator to the correct location. If you would like the scanner to automatically connect to Finale Inventory servers using your WiFi connection, enable this feature to refresh the scanner's quantities for you, without having to press the SYNC feature manually. Your time interval choices are every 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour.  There is a 5s test feature that you should never use unless instructed by a Finale Inventory service representative.

This is NOT an Auto-Sync feature. This feature never sends any transactions you have completed OFF of the scanner to the Finale Inventory servers. That is what SYNC will do.  

NOTE: This feature has feedback messages on the Main Menu top status bar:

It may say: Bgd update: off, on, or on*

If you see the Bgd update: off, simply Sync the scanner and it will be re-activated for you and it will change to Bgd update: on.

When the background refresh interval time you selected occurs, for example, every 5 minutes(5min setting),  you will see a message flash at the bottom of the scanner screen in GREEN that says "Receiving bgd update."  This notifies you that the scanner is in the process of receiving updates from the server over wifi.  While this happens, it is possible for the user interface of the scanner to pause or appear to freeze and not be responsive to your touch. This is normal. It will return to normal speed or not frozen when the update has been fully downloaded.

After the update has been downloaded it will be applied to the scanner's memory. This will not happen immediately or while you are in the middle of an operation on the scanner.  The update will be applied when you exit an operation or choose a menu option from the menu.  In between the time that  the scanner downloads the update and before it is applied, you will see the status on the menu bar say "Bgd update: on*". The * asterisk indicates the feature is on and it has downloaded updates that have not been applied.

The moment that you make a new menu item choice the update will be applied and the * asterisk will be removed and it will just say "Bgd update: on" until the next refresh interval time has occurred and a new update has been downloaded.

If you see the following message "Bgd update: off", it does not mean the feature is off, it simply means the scanner has stopped requesting updates from the server due to no activity on the scanner by the user.  If a user stops using the scanner and sets it down, it will eventually power down for power-saving. This will disconnect the scanner from the Wifi and it will not be able to update the scanner while it is asleep. The background update feature detects this and just turns off the background updating process.

All you need to do is to wake the scanner, then press SYNC, and it will automatically reconnect to your wifi, and begin the background refresh intervals for you.

 

62. GS1 if scanned as lot ID: Off/date/lot/SN/All text/Parts as text

The Default value is OFF.   This option supports the same GS1 parsing options as setting

#42 above except this is for the Lot ID field on the receiving feature.

The purpose of this feature is to support the capture of multiple barcodes and store their values in the Lot id field, especially when your product has a GS1 data bar and a separate barcode for say the Serial number.

63. Sync reminder: None/15min/30min/1hr/3hr/12hr/24hr

The Default value is None.   This option allows the user to select a reminder to sync the scanner if it has been more than the selected time period sync the last Sync with Finale Inventory servers.  Depending on how you run your operations it can be extremely important that the scanner remains up-to-date and that your stock transactions on the scanner be transmitted up to the Finale Inventory cloud.  This new Sync reminder feature will allow you to select a time period by which to remind the user to sync the scanner.  Once you select a time period, and the time since the last sync exceeds the selected reminder time period, the user will get a reminder to sync the scanner if they attempt any stock transaction from the main menu.  The user can choose to go back, click Ok, or Ignore.

If they choose Back, the scanner will return the user to the Main menu and the scanner will still warn them to sync if they have not.

If they choose Ok, the scanner will take them to the Sync process and sync the scanner.

If they choose Ignore, the scanner will take the user back to the Main menu and the scanner will no longer remind them to Sync until they manually sync the scanner again and the reminder time period has elapsed again.