Use iPad Internal Camera to Scan Barcodes into another iOS App

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Use iPad Internal Camera to Scan Barcodes into another iOS App

Does anybody know of an app which can run in the background on an iPad, which can use the iPad's internal camera to scan barcodes, and then stream the scanned data in text format into a field of another iOS app? Ideally, I need to be able to place the cursor on a field in another app, and then scan the barcode (by pressing a button or touching on-screen or similar). I don't know if two iOS app's can communicate with each other in this way, or whether it's possible to have one app running in the background and acting as a keyboard wedge. Any information you could provide would be much appreciated

Thanks

iPad 2

Posted on Jun 19, 2013 7:14 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 19, 2013 7:29 AM in response to workaholicme

There are quite a few barcode reading apps in the App Store. I'd start by looking at them. Keep in mind that the ability of apps to commuicate with each other in iOS is rather limited due to the built in security features.

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Answer 2

Jun 19, 2013 7:36 AM in response to workaholicme

No, this is not possible unless the app you are entering data in has barcode reading functionality. It might help to know what app you are talking about.

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Answer 3

workaholicme Author

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Jun 19, 2013 8:11 AM in response to Alfred DeRose

Thanks for the replies. I'm talking about a highly specialised aircraft engineering application purchased from a third party. It's actually a Java app and so we are thinking about running it from a Citrix server. I guess this would't be able to use the internal camera to scan barcodes without significant additional development.

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Answer 4

varjak paw

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Jun 19, 2013 8:21 AM in response to workaholicme

Most likely the only way to do this would be to scan the barcode into an app that would present the data in a text field and then copy and paste that data into the application in the Citrix environment (if it will allow that). There would almost certainly be no way for a generic barcode app to be able to pass data directly to an application running on a Citrix server.

Regards.

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Answer 5

Jun 19, 2013 8:22 AM in response to workaholicme

Java apps cannot run on the iPad, so if you were expecting to run your app in Safari and use a separate iOS app to scan barcodes and enter it into a field there, this wouldn't work anyway.

I don't know how significant the development would be. If the app has exposed APIs, it would not be too difficult to create an iPad app to enter all the data - including barcode scanning - and sync that back to your application back-end.

We've built an SDK that allows other developers to include barcode reading into their applications. The rest is then connectivity with your application and a usable interface to enter the data.

If this is important to you, talk to a developer.

The alternative is to use a wired or wireless barcode scanner attached to your PC. This of course limits you a bit if you need to be truly mobile.

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Answer 6

workaholicme Author

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Jun 19, 2013 8:21 AM in response to Alfred DeRose

Thanks Alfred, much appreciated

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Answer 7

Jun 19, 2013 8:21 AM in response to varjak paw

The cut/paste option is possible but obviously not ideal. It might still be easier to manually enter the code.

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Answer 8

Jun 19, 2013 8:22 AM in response to workaholicme

You're welcome.

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Answer 9

varjak paw

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Jun 19, 2013 8:23 AM in response to Alfred DeRose

It would depend on what that code is, I would guess. Manual entry would most likely be possible but much more prone to entry errors.

Regards.

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Answer 10

Jun 19, 2013 8:27 AM in response to varjak paw

True, the error rate on manul entry is likely much higher. Manual entry is also impossible with data matrix codes like QR. But I suspect this is not the case. Most bar codes are just graphical representations of alphanumeric strings.

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