Is it is possible to use the Catalog Manufacturer Part Number to obtain the Catalog?

It is possible to use the Catalog Manufacturer Part number to obtain the catalog.  However, some modifications to the Transaction User Defined Fields (UDF) and the Handheld Configuration are required.  Here are the steps.

STEP 1. Below are the steps to create a placeholder UDF text field in the Transaction Table.  It is important that when prompted as you save the field, DO NOT allow BarScan to create the same field in the Asset table by selecting NO.  So lets begin.

a. Verify the length of the Manufacturer’s Part Number field in your Catalog table.  By default, it is 20 characters wide.
i. Open the Catalog table screen.
ii. Select the Edit then the Catalog tabs.
iii. Right click on the “Manufacturer Part No.”  field.  A context menu will appear.  Select “Field Information”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iv. The field type and its length will be in entry “Type”.   In the example above, this is C(20), meaning it is a character field 20 wide.

b. Create a Transaction screen UDF of the same type (character) and field length of 20.  Here are the steps.
i. Open the Transaction Table.
ii. Select main menu item ‘Panel’, then select ‘Design Mode-User Defined Fields’.  BarScan will change to the UDF tab and it will have a red outline indicating that you are in edit mode.
iii. Right click on the screen approximately where you want the placeholder field to be.  A context menu will appear.  Select “Add”, then “Text Field”.
iv. Fill in the UDF properties for the new field as shown in the example below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v. Select the “Ok” button when done.
vi. The new UDF will appear in red.  Using your mouse, move it to the position that you want it to be on the screen and adjust its width as desired.
vii. Right click on the screen background.  A menu will appear.  Select “Save All”.
viii. You will be prompted to create one or more UDF’s in the Asset screen.   Say “NO” to all of them as shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ix. Close all screens.
x. Perform a Table Integrity to create the new UDF in the Transaction table.   You will need to make sure that no one is logged in to BarScan while this is done.
xi. Once the Table Integrity has been done, the new field will now be available within the Handheld Configuration screen.

STEP 2. Modify the Handheld Configuration screen to include references to the new Transaction UDF and so that the Catalog field can be populated based on the Manufacturer Part Number on the new barcode labels.
a. Open the Handheld Computer Configuration of your choice.  Select the “Edit” tab.
b. Add the new UDF field to the list of TAG fields.
i. Select the “Tag (New Asset)” tab.
ii. Select the ‘”Add” button within this tab.
iii. In the list of fields presented select the new UDF field.  In this case it is “Mfr Part No-For Cat Lookup”.  If the field is not in the list, you may have forgotten to do the Table Integrity operation.
iv. Move the field ABOVE the currently existing CATALOG field.  This is done so that if the item does not yet have a catalog, the blank catalog can be immediately filled in by the operator in the field.
c. It is not required so the new field is not added to the TAKE list.
d. Add the new UDF field to the list of Custom Popups.
i. Select the “Custom Popups” tab.
ii. In the left list (Popup Fields), select the corresponding “Add” button.
iii. Select the new UDF field (“Mfr Part No-For Cat Lookup”) then select “Add”, then “Close”.
iv. Select the new UDF field just newly added (click on it) so that it is highlighted.
v. In the popup columns list on the right add two fields.
1. Select the “Add” button.
2. A context menu will appear.
3. At the top of the menu is a table select dropdown.  Select “Catalog”.  The list of available Catalog fields will appear.
4. Select the “Manufacturer Part No.” field then select “Add”.
5. Select the “Catalog (XX9999)” field then select “Add”.
6. Select “Close”.
7. You will now have two (2) fields entered for the Popup Columns.  The screen should look like this:
vi. Modify the properties of the “Catalog (XX9999)” field.
1. Select the “Catalog (XX9999)” field.
2. Select (click) the “Properties” button.
3. A dialog will appear.  Put a check mark next to TAG and TAKE on the ‘Fill In “Catalog (XX9999)”‘ line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Select “Ok” to save.
e. Save all of you changes by select the screen ‘Save’ button.

You are done updating you configuration.

When using the handheld, the user will scan the “Manufacturer Part No.” value found on the new label.  It will automatically fill in the Catalog if it is already in the existing list of catalogs.  If it is not found, the catalog will not be changed (i.e. it will stay blank) and the user will have to fill in a catalog depending upon company policy.

After the handheld data is synchronized with the desktop, the Transaction table will have a value in the new UDF field (in this case “Mfr Part No-For Cat Lookup”) and in the Catalog field.  The value in the new UDF will be discarded once the Transaction is moved to the Asset table.  It is not necessary to retain this value since its sole purpose is to populate the Catalog field.