Freedom scientific Scantalker 2.0 User manual

ScanTalker™

2.0

Bar Code Reading

Solution

Quick Start Guide

Freedom Scientific BLV Group, LLC

March 2006

Document Number 440315-001

Table of Contents

Congratulations!...........................................3

Features ....................................................3

Benefits......................................................4

What's in the Box?.....................................4

Using ScanTalker with PAC Mate..............5

Scanning for the First Time...................6

Adding a Product to the Database........9

Enabling Quick Scan Mode.................10

Quitting ScanTalker ............................11

Scanning Tips..........................................11

Troubleshooting.......................................13

Bar Code Scanner Calibration.................15

Connecting the Scanner to

a PAC Mate.........................................15

Scanning Bar Codes...........................16

For More Information...............................21

Contacting Freedom Scientific.................21

Corporate Offices................................21

Technical Support...............................22

Congratulations!

ScanTalker™ 2.0, designed specifically for the

PAC Mate™, is a bar code reading program

that identifies more than 1 million products,

such as grocery, entertainment, and drugstore

items. Now you can access important product

information such as directions, facts, and

ingredients or use the pre-printed bar code

labels to help identify your personal items.

ScanTalker works in tandem with the optional

Metrologic MS6720 hand-held bar code

scanner. It ships from Freedom Scientific pre-

configured and ready for operation. Simply plug

in the scanner, insert the supplied

CompactFlash® card, and begin scanning. The

scanner can be used freely in your hand or

placed into the convenient desktop stand.

Features

ScanTalker supports numerous databases that

recognize over 1 million products. The

following are a few examples.

•Product database of over 285,000 grocery

and over-the-counter pharmaceutical items

•Product database of over 90,000 health and

beauty aids

•Product database of over 320,000 audio and

video compact discs and DVDs

•Product database of over 500,000 general

merchandise items

•Expandable databases that allow you to

enter or edit product information

•Quick Scan Mode for fast item searches

Benefits

•Quick identification of products and items

•Access to additional product information

•Simplifies activities of daily living

What's in the Box?

The ScanTalker package includes the following

items. If you find that you are missing any of

these components, please call Customer

Service at (800) 444-4443.

•CompactFlash card (includes ScanTalker

application and databases)

•100 pre-printed bar code labels to use on

your personal items

•ScanTalker Quick Start Guide in print

•Documentation CD

•Metrologic MS6720 hand-held bar code

scanner (optional)

•Metrologic bar code scanner cable (optional)

•Desktop stand (optional)

•USB adapter with an A connector and a

mini-A connector (optional)

Using ScanTalker with PAC Mate

To use ScanTalker, first connect the bar code

scanner cable to the USB adapter, and then

plug the adapter into the PAC Mate's USB port.

Next, insert the ScanTalker CompactFlash card

into your PAC Mate, and, when prompted,

begin scanning.

The following scenarios are described for using

ScanTalker:

•Scanning for the First Time

•Adding a Product to the Database

•Enabling Quick Scan Mode

•Quitting ScanTalker

Scanning for the First Time

Use the following procedures to test and verify

that your scanner operates properly with

ScanTalker.

1. Turn on your PAC Mate.

2. Connect the supplied USB adapter to the

scanner's USB cable connector, and then

plug the adapter's mini-A USB connector in

to the PAC Mate's USB port.

The scanner emits a beep tone indicating

that it is connected to the PAC Mate and

turned on.

Caution: Do not point or look directly into the

scanner’s laser beam.

3. Insert the ScanTalker CompactFlash card

into an available CompactFlash slot on the

PAC Mate.

The PAC Mate speaks the contents of the

View License Agreement dialog, which gives

you the option of listening to the ScanTalker

license agreement.

•Choose Yes to hear the license

agreement.

Note: The FSEdit application opens so that

you can read the license agreement.

When it is finished, press ESC on the

PAC Mate QX (F1 on the PAC Mate

BX) to return to the View License

Agreement dialog. Next, select No to

start ScanTalker.

•Choose No if you do not wish to hear the

license agreement, and you want to start

ScanTalker.

Note: For future reference, if you do not want

to hear the license agreement

announcement the next time you use

ScanTalker, use the TAB key (DOTS 4-

5 CHORD on the BX) to navigate to the

“Don't Show Me This Again” check box,

and press the SPACEBAR to select this

check box.

4. After choosing No, ScanTalker automatically

starts and announces that it is in UPC Edit

mode.

UPC Edit mode means that ScanTalker is

ready to scan an item.

5. Scan the following bar code.

Verify that the PAC Mate’s response is,

“Ragu – Pasta Sauce. Chunky Garden Style

Tomato, Garlic, and Onion.”

6. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to place ScanTalker

in UPC Edit mode and scan the following

bar code.

Verify that the PAC Mate’s response is,

“Welch’s Frozen – Juice Cocktail. Concord

Grape Frozen Concentrate.”

If the two bar codes are correctly identified,

your scanner is ready for use. Press ENTER

(DOT 8) to place the scanner into UPC Edit

mode, and scan an item when you are

ready.

If a bar code was not correctly identified, go

to the Bar Code Scanner Calibration

procedures to calibrate your scanner for use

with ScanTalker.

Adding a Product to the Database

You can easily add a product to the database if

it is not recognized by ScanTalker. When this

occurs, the PAC Mate announces that the item

is not recognized and asks if you want to

create an entry for it. To create an entry, do the

following:

1. Choose Yes. The Edit Item Info dialog

opens.

2. Type the product name into the Product

Name Edit text box, for example, Joe's

Soda. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD).

3. Type a product description into the Product

Details text box, for example, Joe's orange

soda in a 12 ounce can. Press TAB (DOTS

4-5 CHORD) to move to the OK button.

4. Choose OK to add the product to the

database. The PAC Mate announces that

the Freedom Scientific ScanTalker dialog is

open and states the product's name.

5. To scan another item, press ENTER (DOT

8) to open UPC Edit mode.

Note: Make sure that you exit ScanTalker by

pressing ESC (F1). If you simply

remove the ScanTalker CompactFlash

card, your changes will not be saved.

Enabling Quick Scan Mode

Quick Scan mode allows you to scan a number

of items without having to press ENTER (DOT

8) between product scans. When using this

mode, if an item is not recognized, you are not

prompted to add it to the product database.

To turn on Quick Scan mode, do the following:

1. Press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) until you

hear, "Quick Scan checkbox not checked,"

and then press SPACEBAR to select the

checkbox.

2. Press ENTER (DOT 8) to open UPC Edit

mode.

3. The scanner is now in Quick Scan mode.

You can scan several products without

having to press ENTER (DOT 8) on the PAC

Mate to reactivate UPC Edit mode. If you

want to access product details or add or edit

information go back and uncheck this box.

To turn off Quick Scan mode, do one of the

following:

•Uncheck the Quick Scan checkbox

•Close ScanTalker. When closed, the

application returns to the default setting,

which is to have Quick Scan mode disabled.

Quitting ScanTalker

To close ScanTalker, press ESC (F1).

Scanning Tips

Caution: Do not point or look directly into the

scanner’s laser beam.

To achieve the best scanning results with

ScanTalker and your bar code scanner, be

aware of the following tips:

•Place the product on a flat surface and, from

a distance of about 6 inches, sweep the

hand-held scanner across the product label

until you locate the bar code data.

The sweeping motion can be either upward,

downward, or side-to-side. A good sweeping

speed is about 2 inches per second.

•Keep your fingers out of the way of the

surface you are scanning.

Note: If the PAC Mate enters Power Save

mode, the scanner turns off. To

continue using ScanTalker, turn on the

PAC Mate; the scanner emits a beep,

and ScanTalker is again ready for use.

•Once you hear the tone, PAC Mate

announces the product name. You can then

press TAB (DOTS 4-5 CHORD) to move to

the product details edit field and read

additional information about the product, if

available.

•After the PAC Mate announces the product

name, you can edit existing product

information by moving to the Edit button and

pressing ENTER (DOT 8). In the multi-line

edit fields, type in the information you want

to save about this product.

•If a product is not recognized, a dialog

opens prompting you to add it, plus any

additional information about it, to the

database.

•Be sure to exit ScanTalker by pressing ESC

on the PAC Mate QX, and by pressing F1

on the PAC Mate BX. If you remove the

CompactFlash card while ScanTalker is still

running, your changes are not saved.

•Avoid bar code scanning in direct sunlight

as there is enough red spectrum light to

affect the scanner's decoding system.

•Generally on canned items, UPC bar codes

are near the label's seam. For video and

audio CD, the UPC bar codes are usually on

the back side of the CD case. With box

packages, the UPC is generally on the

bottom or back side of the package.

•Do not move the product too close to the

scanner or the beam may become too short

to intersect the whole bar code.

Troubleshooting

Use the following Issues and Solutions to

troubleshoot problems you may have while

using ScanTalker.

Issue: My changes are not being saved when I

edit or add an item.

Solution: Be sure to close the ScanTalker

program before removing the CompactFlash

card. Removing the CompactFlash card, while

the program is open, results in changes not

being saved.

Issue: ScanTalker does not start.

Solution: Select and press WINDOWS Key,

and then Pfor Programs. Press Suntil

ScanTalker is announced. Press ENTER

(DOT8).

Issue: My scanned item is not in the database.

Solution: See Adding a Product to the

Database.

Issue: I scan a product, the scanner beeps, but

the product's bar code is not read.

Solution: Press ENTER (DOT 8) to place

ScanTalker into UPC Edit mode, and scan the

bar code again.

Issue: My scanner has been sitting idle for a

while and does not scan.

Solution: Try one of the following:

•Move the scanner back and forth several

times, press ENTER (DOT 8), and rescan

the product.

•Unplug the scanner from the PAC Mate,

remove the CompactFlash card, reinsert the

CompactFlash card, and plug in the

scanner.

Bar Code Scanner Calibration

Note: It is only necessary to scan the following

bar codes if you need to recalibrate

your Metrologic scanner, or if you are

using your own user-provided scanner.

Connecting the Scanner to a PAC

Mate

1. Turn on the PAC Mate.

2. Connect the supplied USB adapter to the

scanner’s USB cable connector, and then

plug the adapter’s mini-A USB connector in

to the PAC Mate’s mini-B USB port.

If you are using the Metrologic scanner, the

scanner emits a beep tone and the scanner

light is red indicating that it is connected to

the PAC Mate and turned on.

Scanning Bar Codes

Use the following procedures to calibrate the

bar code scanner.

1. Scan the following bar code. Verify that you

hear a double-beep, and go to step 2.

2. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 3.

3. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 4.

4. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 5.

5. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 6.

6. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 7.

7. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 8.

8. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 9.

9. Scan the following bar code. After the beep,

go to step 10.

10. Scan the following bar code. After the

beep, go to step 11.

11. Scan the following bar code. After the

beep, go to step 12.

12. Scan the following bar code. After the

beep, go to step 13.

13. Scan the following bar code. After the

beep, go to step 14.

14. Scan the following bar code. After the

beep, go to step 15.

15. Scan the following bar code. Verify that

you hear a double beep, which indicates

that you have exited Programming mode

and saved the calibration.

This concludes scanner calibration.

Table of contents

Freedom Scientific ScanTalker 2.0 User manual

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