Reading labels
Sometimes a barcode doesn't carry everything the app needs. The scanner can read the printed label with the camera and fill in the REF, lot or expiry for you. The reading happens on your device, so label photos aren't uploaded.
Who can: Owner, Admin, Member, Inventory manager Choosing the setting needs a role that manages site settings.
When a label is read
A label is read automatically right after a camera scan, in two cases:
- An unknown barcode, in any mode. The sheet opens and the label is read for the REF. In stock in it also reads the lot and expiry.
- A stock-in scan of a known product that goes to the Expiry needed sheet or to the cart (see How scans are saved), and has no expiry or no lot.
A scan that is saved straight away has nowhere to put a result, so it isn't read. Known-product scans in stock out, case, visit and audit modes don't read labels.
The read happens after the scan and never holds it up. If it fails or finds nothing, the sheet works as before.
Take photo and Read label
A frame from the live video can be soft, and a read from it is less reliable. If it missed something:
- Tap Take photo on the sheet. It opens your phone's own camera at full resolution and reads that photo.
- On a cart row that is missing a lot or expiry, or still holds a value read from the label, tap Read label.
If every field the photo found is already filled, the message says "Nothing new on the label". In the cart, up to 5 scans are read automatically at a time. While 5 are waiting, a new row isn't read, but it keeps its Read label button.
What it can fill
- The REF, on an unknown barcode, for people who can create products. If Health Canada hasn't matched yet, the REF lookup then runs on it.
- Lot and Expiry date. On the unknown-barcode sheet these two fields appear only in stock in, only when label reading is on, and only for what the barcode didn't already give. What you enter is used for the unit you scanned.
Label reading only fills an empty field, or one that still holds an earlier label value you haven't checked or edited. It never overwrites something you typed, scanned or looked up. A number read from the label that looks like a GTIN is ignored.
Hints and Looks right
Each value the label filled has a hint underneath:
- From label · check for a value read from the label.
- Guessed from label · check for an expiry the reader worked out from the dates it saw.
Other readings of the same field show as small chips. Tap one to swap it in. Editing the value clears the hint.
Depending on the setting, a Looks right button also shows. Until you tap it, or edit the value:
- Add on the Expiry needed sheet is disabled.
- Create & link, and the product buttons on Link existing, are disabled on the unknown-barcode sheet. On Link existing only the lot and expiry count, because the REF isn't used there.
- A cart row says "Check the expiry read from the label." or "Check the lot read from the label." and counts under "N items need attention". Save takes you to the first row to check instead of saving.
The four settings
Where: Settings › Scanning › Label reading
See also Scanning settings.
| Setting | What it does | Looks right |
|---|---|---|
| Fill in and flag (the default) | Fills in and shows the hint | Never needed. Saving works as usual |
| Ask to check uncertain values | Fills in and shows the hint | Not needed for values read from the barcode text printed on the label, such as (17)260630. Needed for anything else |
| Ask to check every value | Fills in and shows the hint | Needed for every value |
| Off | No reading and no buttons | Not applicable. Type lot and expiry by hand |
Offline and the first read
The first read on a device downloads the reader. The message shows Getting label reader ready… with a percentage, then Reading label…. You can keep scanning and typing meanwhile.
After it has been used once online, reading works offline on that device. See Install and work offline. If the very first read happens offline, the message says "Couldn't read the label" and you enter values by hand. Creating a product still needs a connection.
Tips for a good photo
- Fill the frame with the printed label and hold steady until it is sharp.
- Avoid glare. Tilt glossy packaging or move under a lamp.
- Most phones can't focus closer than about 8 cm, so back off a little.
- Always check the value against the box. The hint is there because a read can be wrong.