Czech keyboard and barcode reader
Why do some barcode scanners have "Czech keyboard layout" in the configurable parameters and others do not have such an option? Few people investigate this feature when buying a barcode scanner.
It is a simple thing. It means that when you scan the barcode "A123456" with the attached reader, you will actually see this text appear on the screen. The barcode reader, which is not set up for a Czech keyboard, will tell you that the code says "A+escr".
Many of you will argue that this is no problem. I switch my keyboard to English and it's solved. At the supermarket checkout, where they just enter the codes anyway, that's true.
But what if you're working with an application where you're filling in various data, like names and addresses, or typing in otheror notes, and sometimes you have to use a scanner to read a barcode or two-dimensional QR code? Hand on heart, how long will it really not bother you to press Alt-Shift before each use of the barcode reader and Alt-Shift again after it has been loaded?
The best option is to get a scanner where the Czech keyboard can be set directly. This is not as common functionality as you might expect! Even barcode scanners of such major brands as Zebra (Motorola) or Datalogic do not offer it! However, you will find. For example, Opticon and Honeywell barcode scanners have it as standard. You set up the reader and you're good to go once and for all. The bonus is that these barcode scanners will work just as well if your computer is running Linux, iOS or Android.
The only slightly worse way is to turn on the barcode reader's alternate input mode, called Alt-Mode. For the vast majority of products on the market, you'll find this option in the configurable parameters. The scanner then behaves the same as if it had the option to choose the Czech keyboard layout. The solution by enabling Alt-Mode has only one condition: Your computer must be running WindowsTM. It will not work on other systems.
If you do not find either the option to turn on the Czech keyboard or the Alt-Mode option on the reader you purchased, switching to numeric keypad mode works quite well.
- Advantage: a barcode reader set up this way will also work on iOS, Linux and Android operating systems.
- Disadvantage: you have to accept that if the barcode contains any of the characters ./-(),:?+=% and similar, you will get something different than you expect on the output of the reader. However, the letters and numbers will be fine.
- And a necessary condition: your keyboard should have a separate block of numeric keys. In any case, NumLock must be on.
The cheapest barcode scanners available on the market unfortunately do not allow any of the above options. For those, you have no choice but to switch your computer to an English keyboard.
