Socket 2DSC 5 series User manual

2D Scan Card™ Series 5
2D Scan Card Series 5 with
Built-in Bar Code CMOS Technology for:
•Pocket PC 2000/2002/2003/2003SE
•HPC 2000s and Pen Tablets based on Windows Mobile
•Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP Notebooks
User’s Guide

8/2005 Document # 6410-00202 D
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2005 Socket Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Socket Communications, Socket, the Socket Communications logo, 2D
Scan Card, SocketScan, and Mobility Friendly are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Socket Communications, Inc. All other brand and product
names are trademarks of their respective holders.
Reproduction of the contents of this manual without the permission of
Socket Communications is expressly prohibited. Please be aware that the
products described in this manual may change without notice.
Feel free to contact SOCKET COMMUNICATIONS at:
Socket Communications
37400 Central Court
Newark, CA 94560
Other than the above, Socket Communications can assume no responsibility
for anything resulting from the application of information contained in this
manual.
Socket Communications requests that you refrain from any applications of
the 2D Scan Card that are not described in this manual. Socket
Communications also requests that you refrain from disassembling the
CompactFlash Card. Disassembly of this device will void the product
warranty.
You can track new product releases, software updates and technical
bulletins by visiting Socket’s web page at www.socketcom.com
2

Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT NOTICE 2
1 | INTRODUCTION 5
About the Software 5
System Requirements 6
Package Contents 6
Product Registration 6
About This User’s Guide 6
2 | SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 7
STEP 1: Uninstall Other Scanning Software 8
STEP 2: Install the Software 9
STEP 3: Insert the Card 11
STEP 4: Assign a Trigger Button 12
STEP 5: Scan Data into a Windows Program 13
OPTIONAL: Configure Prefix/Suffixes 15
OPTIONAL: Run Scan Demo 16
OPTIONAL: Configure Sounds 17
OPTIONAL: Use SocketScan Trigger 18
3 | SETUP FOR WINDOWS 98SE/ME/2000/XP 20
STEP 1: Uninstall Old Scanning Software 21
STEP 2: Insert the Installation CD 21
STEP 3: Insert the Card 21
STEP 4: Complete the New Hardware Wizard 22
STEP 5: Assign a Trigger Button 24
STEP 6: Scan Data into a Windows Program 25
OPTIONAL: Configure Prefix/Suffixes 26
OPTIONAL: Configure Sounds 27
APPENDICES
A | 2DSC SPECIFICATIONS 28
B | BAR CODE LABEL SPECIFICATIONS 29
C | ENABLING OR DISABLING SYMBOLOGIES 30
D | DEPTH OF FOCUS 32
E | TROUBLESHOOTING 33
F | TECHNICAL SUPPORT 34
3

LIMITED WARRANTY 35
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 37
4

1 | Introduction
The Socket 2D Scan Car (2DSC) gives you the freedom
to scan linear, stacked, 2D/matrix or postal bar codes
anytime anywhere using a variety of Windows-based
mobile computers. You can also use the Socket 2DSC to
capture VGA grayscale images.
The world’s only bar code image scanner built into a
CompactFlash card, the 2DSC is sleekly designed with no
cables or batteries. Simply pop in the scanner when you
need it, and remove it when you’re done. The card’s
compact design lets you scan with only one hand when
used with a PDA.
The 2DSC is available in two decode configurations: The “2DSC 5B (Basic)”
configuration adds all linear 1D, 2D/Matrix and postal symbologies, as well as
OCR-A & B. The “2DSC 5X (Xtreme Performance)” configuration reads
high density or small front linear 1D, all 2D/Matrix and postal symbologies as
well as OCR-A & B. Refer to the product specifications in Appendix A for a
more detailed explanation of the two decode configurations. In order to switch
configurations, you must contact customer support and send the 2DSC back to
Socket.
About the Software
SocketScan™ software functions as a “keyboard wedge,” sending
scanned bar code data directly into any active Windows program.
Your application will accept the data as if it were manually typed.
The SocketScan Trigger™ launches an on-screen trigger icon
that you can tap on to trigger the 2DSC. This serves as an
alternative to using a hardware button on your device. Windows
Mobile only. Must be installed separately from the CD.
The Socket 2DSC Demo™ lets you perform basic bar code
scanning and image capture with the 2DSC. You can also
configure the decoder and image capture settings, and perform
image transfers. Refer to the separate User’s Guide for the
2DSC Demo for instructions. Windows Mobile only.
Software updates: www.socketcom.com/support/support_bar.asp
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 5

System Requirements
Your mobile computer should meet these minimum requirements:
•Any of the following operating systems:
-Windows Mobile 2003, 2003SE
-Windows CE 3.0 or greater
-Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP
•Available CompactFlash or PC Card slot
(Operation in a PC Card slot requires a Type II PC Card adapter.)
The PC Card adapter is available separately under Accessories at:
www.socketcom.com/shop
Package Contents
The 2D Scan Car (2DSC) package includes:
•2D Scan Card
•SocketScan Installation CD
•Booklet with, copyright and warranty information
Product Registration
Socket highly recommends that all customers register their Socket products.
Register online at www.socketcom.com/prodreg
About This User’s Guide
This User’s Guide shows how to install and use the 2D Scan Card
in conjunction with SocketScan keyboard emulation software.
IMPORTANT! This User’s Guide DOES NOT include
instructions for using the Socket 2DSC Demo application.
Please refer to the separate User’s Guide for that application.
6

2 | Setup for Windows Mobile
This chapter shows how to install, configure, and use the
2D Scan Car (2DSC) with a Pocket PC 2000/2002/
2003/2003SE.
This chapter shows Pocket PC 2002 screens. Other
Windows Mobile-based devices will have functionally
equivalent screens except where otherwise noted.
For instructions on using the 2D Scan Car Demo, please
refer to the User’s Guide for that specific application.
Setup Summary
STEP 1: Uninstall other scanning software.
STEP 2: Install the software.
STEP 3: Insert the 2DSC into Your Device.
STEP 4: Assign a trigger button.
STEP 5: Scan data into a Windows program.
OPTIONAL: Select symbologies.
OPTIONAL: Configure prefix/suffixes.
OPTIONAL: Run Scan Demo to scan unknown bar codes.
OPTIONAL: Configure sounds.
OPTIONAL: Manually configure specific symbologies or extensions.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 7

STEP 1: Uninstall Other Scanning Software
Delete any bar code scanning software you may already have installed on
your Pocket PC. You can uninstall either directly from your Pocket PC, or
indirectly via ActiveSync.
OPTION 1: Uninstall Directly from the Pocket PC
1. Make sure the bar code scanning software is closed.
2. Tap Start | Settings. Tap on the System tab or Control Panel.
3. Tap on the Remove Programs icon.
4. Select the bar code scanning software, then tap Remove.
5. Tap Yes to confirm removal of the program.
OPTION 2: Uninstall via ActiveSync
1. Make sure the bar code scanning software is closed.
2. Use ActiveSync and a serial/Ethernet/USB cable or cradle to make an
active connection between your Pocket PC and a host PC.
3. On the host PC, open Microsoft ActiveSync.
4. Click Tools | Add/Remove Programs.
5. Select the bar code scanning software and click Remove.
6. In the confirmation screen, click OK.
7. A screen will ask if you also want to remove the software from the host PC.
If desired, click NO to keep a copy of the software on the host PC that
can later be re-installed onto a Pocket PC.
8

STEP 2: Install the Software
1. Use ActiveSync and a serial/Ethernet/USB cable or cradle to make an
active connection between the mobile computer and a host PC.
2. Insert the installation CD into your host PC.
3. Use My Computer or Windows Explorer to access your CD-ROM drive.
In the CD, click on SETUP.EXE.
4. Follow the instructions on your screen to install the software for
Windows CE (also compatible with Windows Mobile).
•Read the information in the Welcome screen, then click next.
•In the Main Page, click Software Installation.
•In the Installation screen, click Windows CE.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 9

5. In the File Download screen, click Run.
6. If a Security Warning screen appears, click Run.
7. The installation wizard will begin. Follow the wizard to install the
software.
8. When software installation is complete, disconnect the Pocket PC from
the host PC. Soft reset the Pocket PC by pressing the reset button.
10

STEP 3: Insert the Card
IMPORTANT! Damage may occur!
Make sure the card is positioned correctly in the slot. Do NOT
insert the card upside down or shove the card in too hard.
Plug directly into a CompactFlash slot.
To use in a PC Card slot, insert into a CompactFlash-to-PC Card adapter,
then plug the combined unit into a PC Card slot.
CompactFlash-to-PC Card adapters are available separately,
SKU# AC4001-979.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 11

STEP 4: Assign a Trigger Button
These are generic instructions for assigning a hardware button to trigger the
2DSC. Your device may differ, please refer to your device documentation if
necessary.
Note: If you do not want to use a hardware button, you can install
SocketScan Trigger to place a “floating trigger” on your screen that you
can tap to trigger the 2DSC.. Refer to OPTONAL section at the end of this
chapter for instructions.
Note: If SocketScan is not running yet, you can press the
assigned trigger button to launch SocketScan. After
SocketScan is open, pressing the trigger button will
activate the 2DSC.
1. Go to Start | Settings | Personal | Buttons.
2. From the Button list, select a button to trigger the 2D Scan Card.
In the Button assignment field, select SocketScan. When done, tap ok.
Note: For maximum
ergonomic placement,
choose a button located
directly beneath your thumb
or forefinger when you hold
the Pocket PC. The Voice
Record button is a good
choice for most Pocket PCs.
12

STEP 5: Scan Data into a Windows Program
1. Start SocketScan. Go to Start | Programs | SocketScan. Alternatively,
you can press the trigger button to start the program.
2. Make sure the “Scan Card detected” icon appears in the task tray, visible
from the Today screen.
Icon Meaning.
2D Scan Card detected.
SocketScan detects the scanner
and is ready to scan.
No scanner detected. The
scanner is either missing or
improperly inserted.
3. Start the Windows application that you want to receive the data (e.g.,
Excel, Notepad, etc.). Make sure a document or spreadsheet is open.
4. Press the trigger button and scan the code. Use the
green aiming beam to focus.
For example, try this Code 39 bar code:
When data is read, a beep should sound, and the 2DSC should turn off,
indicating a good read. If the 2DSC fails to read data within a few
seconds, the 2DSC will turn off, and you must try again.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 13

Note: If your mobile computer enters sleep mode when SocketScan is
running, press the ON button to restart SocketScan.
5. After a successful scan, data should appear in your document. For
example, after you scan the code above into Pocket Excel, data should
appear in the first cell:
Note: For information about bar code scanning applications, email
[email protected]
14

OPTIONAL: Configure Prefix/Suffixes
The SocketScan applet lets you specify prefix and/or suffix characters to be
added automatically to the data you scan. This helps to further eliminate
manual data entry.
1. Tap on the SocketScan icon. In the pop-up menu, tap Prefix/Suffix.
2. In the pop-up menu, select Prefix/Suffix...
Note: You can also
configure prefix/suffixes if
the “no scanning card
detected” icon appears.
3. In the screen that appears, enter the characters you want to be appended
to each scan (128 character maximum). Tap ok.
Note: Only printable
ASCII characters
can be used as
prefixes or suffixes.
Note: The default suffix is a carriage return.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 15

OPTIONAL: Run Scan Demo
Scan Demo makes it easy to determine the symbology, number of
characters, and decoded data (in either ASCII or Hex) of any bar code
supported by the scanner. This is especially useful if you encounter a bar
code that the scanner will not decode by default.
1. Tap on the SocketScan icon. In the pop-up menu, tap Scan Demo. This
will close SocketScan and open Scan Demo as a separate application.
2. The Scan Demo screen will appear. If desired, use the check boxes at
the bottom of the screen to modify the test.
Enable all symbologies: By default, this option is checked. Different
symbologies can sometimes interpret the same bar code differently, so
you may want to uncheck this option.
Display as hex data: Check this box to view scanned data in hexadecimal
format. Otherwise, data will appear as ASCII.
3. Scan the bar code.
4. Scan Demo will report properties of the bar code you scan.
Note: ScanDemo does not report
the Barcode type for the
2DSC2DSC. This feature will be
included in a future release.
To exit, tap File | Exit.
16

OPTIONAL: Configure Sounds
The SocketScan applet lets you choose any WAV sound file to be played to
indicate a successful scan.
1. Tap on the 2DSC icon in the task tray (visible in the Today screen for
Pocket PCs). In the pop-up menu, tap on Sounds...
2. In the screen that appears, select the sound you want to indicate
successful scans. Tap ok.
Browse box
To you want to play a .WAV file,after selecting Play .wav file, you can
search through files by tapping the browse box. In the Open screen, tap
on the file you want:
Note: For Pocket PCs,
you can only select a
WAV file from the My
Documents folder. If
needed, copy the file
you need to this folder.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 17

OPTIONAL: Use SocketScan Trigger
If you find it inconvenient or impossible to assign or use a hardware button
to trigger the scanner, you can install this virtual trigger button that “floats”
on top of the active application.
1. Make sure to do all of the following before using SocketScan Trigger:
•Install SocketScan Trigger from the installation CD. The software
must be installed separately from SocketScan.
•Start SocketScan. Tap Start | Programs | SocketScan.
•Insert the 2D Scan Car into your Pocket PC.
•Open the application that you want to scan data into.
2. Start SocketScan Trigger. Tap Start | Programs | SocketScan Trigger.
3. The floating trigger button will appear on your screen on top of the
active application.
Drag from the title bar to move the trigger button to a convenient place
on the screen.
Tap the trigger button to activate the scanner.
18

4. A SocketScan Trigger icon will also appear in the menu bar of
the Today screen. Tap this icon to open a pop-up menu with the
following options:
•Tap Scan Now to activate the scanner as if you had tapped the
trigger button.
•Tap Remove Floating Trigger to remove the trigger button
from the screen but keep the icon handy on the task bar. To
restore the trigger button, tap on the menu bar icon. In the
pop-up menu, tap Launch Floating Trigger.
•Tap About to view SocketScan Trigger version information.
•Tap Close SocketScan Trigger to close the application
completely. From this state, the SocketScan trigger can only
be launched from the Programs page.
CHAPTER 2: SETUP FOR WINDOWS MOBILE 19

3 | Setup for Windows
98SE/Me/2000/XP
This chapter explains how to install and use the 2D Scan
Car on a notebook computer running Windows
98SE/Me/2000/XP.
This chapter features screen images from Windows
98SE. Other Windows versions will have functionally
equivalent screens except where otherwise noted.
The 2DSC does not work with Windows NT at this time.
Setup Summary
STEP 1: Uninstall old bar code scanning software.
STEP 2: Install the software.
STEP 3: Insert the 2DSC.
STEP 4: Complete new hardware wizard.
STEP 5: Assign a trigger button.
STEP 6: Start scanning data into a Windows program!
OPTIONAL: Configure prefix/suffixes
OPTIONAL: Configure sounds.
OPTIONAL: Configure SocketScan for specific symbologies or extensions.
20