Format Output

The purpose of Format Output is to modify decoded barcode data by inserting or extracting portions decoded strings. You can access Format Output in the left panel of the Setup view.

 

 

There are several ways to modify decoded barcode data using Format Output:

 

Preamble/Postamble: Applies defined text to the beginning or end of a barcode if the checkbox is selected. Preambles and Postambles are not overridden by other rules, such as Character Replace.

 

Parse Symbol: Symbology Type, Data, Length, and Database Index can be accessed by clicking on the Selection Rule images. You can define a match just as you would in the Match String editor using wildcard and placeholder rules.

 

Symbol Parsing: Extract characters from symbol data or insert your own text. Click the + icon after checking the Parse Symbol checkbox to access symbol parsing functionality. Up to 30 parsing rules can be applied, and the results will display in the Parsing Result box.

 

 

In the image above, under Output String, you can see that “filters” are present between the Preamble and Postamble. Click on each filter to define it. The most important field here is Data. The rules for entering characters in the Data field are similar to those for entering characters in the Match String Database. You simply use a combination of text, wildcards, and placeholders to attempt to match a barcode.

 

You can define multiple filters, and the Symbol Parsing actions shown in the example above (Extract characters from symbol data and Insert your own text) will apply if the filter definition matches a decode, just as in the Match String Editor. The filter is simply a way to apply Symbol Parsing rules to specific barcodes. If the filter matches the barcode, then the extract and insert rules will apply.

 

If multiple filters are defined, only a single filter that matches the barcode data is needed for the rules to be applied. Multiple defined filters do not mean that all filters must match to activate parsing rules.

 

 

Click on the + button to define a new filter.

 

 

Click on the filter to open the popup, giving you access to Symbology Type, Data, Length, and Database Index.

 

Try changing the Data field to search for a section of a barcode using wildcard / placeholder rules.

 

In this example, the filter will match any barcode that contains a J.

 

 

Select the Parse Symbol checkbox to activate the rules for this filter. In the Symbol Parsing section, try defining some rules.

 

In the example above, any barcode that contains a J will have the 3 Symbol Parsing rules above applied to it.

 

You can also tell the system to search for "Any Symbol" or for only specific symbologies.

 

 

In the example above, the “any J" rule now only applies to Interleaved 2 of 5 symbols. You could potentially define a custom rule set for several different symbologies.

 

Replace Character

Format Output also has a Replace Character feature. You can access the Replace Character feature by clicking on the Replacements link in the Format Output editor.

 

 

Before clicking on the Replacements link, note the two other boxes below the link: Remove Control Characters and Remove Extended Characters. These are used to remove all ASCII control characters and ASCII extended characters from decoded barcode data. A complete ASCII table is available for reference here. Control characters are defined as 1-31, and extended characters are defined as 127-255.

Click on the Replacements link to open the replacements dialog shown below.

 

 

Character: The character that you want to replace.

 

Replace Count: How many characters you want the character to be replaced with. Valid options are 0, 1, and 2.

 

Replacement: The character(s) that you want to replace the character with.

 

When you replace a character with one or more different characters, the results will be displayed in the Output Data window in the lower right panel of the WebLink user interface. Up to 25 character replacements can be defined. If duplicates are defined, an error message will appear, and only the first definition will be applied.

 

You can enter ASCII control characters by selecting the link below the input box. You can also enter extended ASCII characters by entering \xHexadecimal – for example: \xFF.

 

The number of replacements that you’ve defined are counted in the Replacements link in the Format Output editor.