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Barcodes
Table of Contents
Overview
Barcodes connect physical items and locations to their records in Factorial. Operators can scan a label to identify an entity, open its available actions, or complete an action within the workflow already on screen.
Barcode Labels
Every barcode label printed by Factorial contains a QR code on the left. The QR code contains the data needed to identify the Factorial record when scanned.
A label may also include human-readable information to the right of the QR code. This allows operators to identify the labeled item without scanning it while keeping the encoded record available for automated input.
Barcode Templates
Barcode templates define the human-readable information printed beside the QR code. Templates are configured for a specific entity type, such as inventory, tools, or locations.
Each entity type provides a schema of the fields available to its templates. A template selects from those fields to produce the label content. This prevents a template from referencing information that is not available for the entity being printed.
Scanning in a Workflow
Factorial uses the current screen to determine what a scan should do. Select Quick scan from a supported workflow to begin scanning in that context.
For example:
- On a work order task, scanning inventory can fulfill an installation requirement.
- During kitting, scanning inventory can apply it to the active kit workflow.
Contextual scanning reduces the number of actions an operator must select after identifying an item. See Fulfilling Part Requirements and Fulfilling a Kit for the related workflows.
Scanning Outside a Workflow
When a scan does not occur within a contextual workflow, Factorial opens a general modal for the scanned entity. The modal identifies the record and presents the actions available for that entity type.
This behavior applies to supported entities such as inventory, tools, and locations. It allows the same scanner to identify and act on different kinds of records without requiring the operator to navigate to each record first.
Planned Picker Scanning
Selection controls, also called pickers, are planned to support barcode input. Scanning will select a matching option directly instead of requiring the operator to search for it manually.