Serial tab

Use this tab to configure serial numbers for an item, set up parsing for multiple serial barcodes, and define serial increment rules.

  1. Click the Serial tab.
  2. Specify this information:
    The fields on this screen are informational only.
    Owner
    Name of the owner associated with the new item. Required.
    Item
    Unique code identifying the item. Required.
    Note: Different owners can use the same item code.
    Description
    Description of the item.
    End to End Serial Capture
    Shows the setting from the Weight/Data tab for end to end serial capture.
    Serial Number Configuration
    This section is used to define which portion of the barcode contains the Serial Number if the entire barcode string includes more information than just the serial.
    Parsing – Fixed
    Use this section if the portion of the barcode that contains the serial number always has the serial beginning in the same position.
    Note: If the Fixed method is used, the Delimited Parsing (described below) must be set to zero.
    Starts at Position:
    The position of the barcode string where the serial number begins.

    Example: If the serial number always starts at the 11th character of the data, this will be set to 11.

    Parsing – Delimited
    Use this section if the portion of the barcode that contains the serial number can vary and is indicated by a delimiter existing somewhere in the string.
    Note: If the Delimited method is used, the Parsing - Fixed must not be defined.
    Starts after
    This is a number between 1 and 9 to indicate the count of the delimiter indicator defined below in the Occurrences of setting. If using the delimited
    Note: If the delimited method is used, both Starts After and Occurrences of settings must be used.
    Occurrences of
    This is the number, letter, other characters used to indicate the serial number portion of the barcode is immediately following.
    Note: If the delimited method, both Starts After and Occurrences of settings must be used.

    Example: If the serial number starts after the 2nd asterisk * in the data, the setup for these data elements would be:

    Starts after 2 occurrences of * .

    Length (characters)
    The number of characters that make up the actual serial number. The system barcode may include more characters, but the serial number is only a portion of the string being scanned. The length applies to either of the parsing rules, fixed or delimited, defined above.
    Masking Format:
    A masking syntax can be defined to ensure the correct format is being followed for the string being scanned as the serial number.

    Regardless of when the serial is scanned, the masking format will be checked to ensure the number being scanned is consistent with a syntax identified for the item. If it is not, the user will not be allowed to complete the transaction.

    Possible Masking configuration values:

    • N = Numeric
    • A = Alpha
    • C = Alpha or Numeric
    • D = Character (-.#,*)
    • B = Blank

    Examples:

    • If the item serial is AABBCC1234, the masking format would be AAAAAANNNN.
    • If the item serial is SER-90800Z-10001, the masking would be AAADNNNNNADNNNNN.
    Parsing for Multiple Serial Barcodes:
    These parameters are used to separate a long barcode that includes multiple serial numbers into individual serials. These can be separated by either using a number of fixed length characters or by a delimiter to break up the serials. These allow the system to break the barcode into a series of ‘Serial Number Long’ values.
    Fixed Length
    Identifies the length of the full string that contains one serial number.

    Example: Fixed length = 10

    Barcode scanned = T709Z87124Y324A80909G767R09821

    This barcode contains 3 separate serial numbers, each 10 characters as defined by the Fixed Length = 10:

    • T709Z87124
    • Y324A80909
    • G767R09821

    This character string could contain only the serial number, or possibly more data in addition to the serial number. If it contains more than the serial number, the parameters defined in the Serial Number Configuration section can also be defined to extract out the serial number from a longer string.

    Delimited by
    Identifies the delimiter that indicates how a full data barcode string is broken down into individual serial numbers.

    Example: Delimiter = Z

    Barcode scanned = ZT709987Z24Y324AZ090944G76ZR09821

    This barcode contains 4 separate serial numbers, indicated by each occurrence of Z:

    • T709987
    • 24Y324A
    • 090944G76
    • R09821

    This character string could contain only the serial number, or possibly more data in addition to the serial number. If it contains more than the serial number, the parameters defined in the Serial Number Configuration section can also be defined to extract out the serial number from a longer string.

    Serial Increment Rules:
    These parameters are used by the system when the serial number for the item is structured in a way that the serial numbers are sequential. This setting can be used in two scenarios.

    The product being handled always has sequential serial numbers and every time a barcode is scanned they system will automatically create or use the next defined number of serials in a sequence.

    The user is scanning a range of serial numbers and the product being handled has all sequential serial numbers. By scanning the first and last number of a range, the system can determine all the serial numbers within that range.

    Increment Start Position
    If the number of serial numbers represented by a barcode is greater than one, the system must be told which portion of the serial number needs to be increased to generate the other serial numbers. This is determined by defining the Increment Start Position for which numbers are to be increased as well as the Increment Length to indicate how long the portion of the serial is that is to be incremented.

    This configuration also applies if a range is able to be used to capture multiple serials that are in a sequence.

    Increment Length
    When used with the Increment Start Position, it represents the number of characters that are included in the portion that is increasing.

    Example:

    If the serial number in the barcode data is "AABB123CC" and the barcode represents 10 serial numbers ("AABB123CC", "AABB124CC", "AABB125CC", … "AABB132CC"), the system must add one to the number found in the 5th, 6th, and 7th characters of the serial number.

    In this case, the Start Position would be 5, and the Length would be set to 3.

    If only one serial number is represented by a barcode, these settings are ignored.

    Automatically Increment Serials
    As previously noted, the system can also automatically record the scanning of multiple serial numbers by performing a single scan. An example of how this may be used is when the user scans the barcode on a case label and the system automatically records the serialized contents because they are always in sequence.

    When this flag is checked, the system will take the first serial number found from the barcode string and automatically create or utilize the next sequential serial numbers as configured.

    Note: An item configured like this will never have the individual serial numbers handled separately. The scan of one serial will always imply the use of the next sequential serial numbers as defined in this configuration.

    If using this feature, the Serials per Barcode described below must also be defined.

    Serials per Barcode
    This is the number of serials added by the system with each scan if the Automatically Increment Serials flag is active.

    Example, if the barcode represents 10 serial numbers, C should be set to 10. The default value for this is 1.