Need Help with a (self inflicted) Scanning Solution...

[David Galetar]

Hello. I am so very very new to this... I'm almost embarrassed to be speaking to all of you professionals out there. But, here it goes...

I have developed a solution to a HUGE problem that apparently only exists in my head. (Aren't they the best kind though!?!) The solution consists of four basic steps/processes:

1. A person goes online, fills out and submits a registration form to say, a writing contest.
2. The registration data is downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet that creates a unique ID for that registrant.
3. A separate person then reviews their submission and scores it accordingly. (Lets say for argument sake that the article for judging is mailed to them, and only has the barcode as an identifier.)
4. The scores, when completed, are downloaded to the same Excel spreadsheet for totaling & awarding prizes.

Where I am stuck is in two places:

1. I have created a way for the Excel spreadsheet to create a unique ID from their registration form, but I am trying to turn that in to a barcode. While I found many free barcode generators online, and have even downloaded a program called "Zint Barcode Studio.Ink" (which looks AWESOME by the way...), it would take me hours to input the unique ID's for each applicant. Therefore, I am looking for a way to create many barcodes at once. (FYI - Once the barcodes are generated they are printed on a coversheet and attached to the submission. I haven't figured out how to generate all of those cover pages yet either. :-( )

2. I have an online form designed for the judges. Step one of the form is to enter the barcode. This is where I am not sure what to do. Initially I was going to create an app for the judging, and I may still do that someday. But for now I designed a web form that has a "mobile" view for use on phones. It also has a "Third Party Interface (API)" if that helps. The question is, how can I get that barcode scanned into that form??? I know that this might sound like a basic beginner problem to you guys, but it is definitely above my pay grade (which is free, since I'm the only one looking for a solution like this to a non-problem problem).

Thank you in advance for your time. Any and all solutions/ideas would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thx,

DG

[Sean Owen]

Maybe I don't quite understand it, but why do you need a barcode here to encode the ID? Is it because judges have to receive a printed form but then scan it to record judgment in an app? can the paper be cut out?

You can use the java code here to write an app to do what you want to encode barcodes but I assume that's not feasible. You can encode online like so:

http://zxing.org/w/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&chl=This+is+a+test.

A script that downloads a bunch of images by grabbing URLs like this would be simple to write.

For scanning from web pages on a mobile device:

https://code.google.com/p/zxing/wiki/ScanningFromWebPages

[David Galetar]

Sean, THANK YOU for your quick response. I hope that I do not frustrate you with my lack of programming knowledge. I will try my best not to ask stupid or redundant questions.

Q: "Maybe I don't quite understand it, but why do you need a barcode here to encode the ID? Is it because judges have to receive a printed form but then scan it to record judgment in an app?"

A: Yes, you are exactly correct. Here is an example of the "mobile version" of the judges form that they will be using: https://ww03.elbowspace.com/mobile/20131213084424892123.htm

 Q: "Can the paper be cut out?"

A: Yes, it can. But the "best case scenario" here would be to be able to print out one 8 1/2" x 11" page with other information on it, like the contests name, beginning and ending dates, etc., along with the barcode.

 
Q: "You can use the java code here to write an app to do what you want to encode barcodes but I assume that's not feasible. You can encode online like so:

http://zxing.org/w/chart?cht=qr&chs=300x300&chl=This+is+a+test."

A: I'm less concerned with the look of the barcode, whether it is a "QR Code" or an actual "Barcode", than I am with having the ability to use the unique ID's that I am creating in Excel (example: LCTCS2014-1E1N31A1A1D28) and create a barcode in quantity.

Q: "A script that downloads a bunch of images by grabbing URLs like this would be simple to write."

A: Ah, yes my friend... simple for you maybe... but for me... aneurism time!

Q: "For scanning from web pages on a mobile device:

https://code.google.com/p/zxing/wiki/ScanningFromWebPages"

A:  believe it or not, I actually read this article (along with a hundred others) just yesterday. My concern was this:

"you can invoke Barcode Scanner from a web page..." So far so good!!!  "and have the result returned to your site via a callback URL." and this is where it gets advanced beyond what I need. You see, the judges form will submit the scores and the barcode for that specific submission on one row in the database. Then, when it is downloaded in to the Excel spreadsheet, that barcode information (the numbers and letters, and not the actual image) will be used for placing the awards.

Does any of this make sense????

[David Galetar]

Hey Sean... did I lose you???

[Sean Owen]

You're writing to the whole list here. I think the rest of your concerns are specific to your use case -- you'd have to figure out and build the rest.

[Stefan Krüger]

hm - if you can do something like the form - is it also possible to dont use the paper? so you just displays the text also in an webpage?
so you could do all the id thinks just in one 'real' database -i think that is much simpler than to have excel as 'database'

i know there is a macro for excel that creates barcodes - i have played around with this - and it worked in some ways.. but i dont remember how it was called..
you can install a font that displays as barcode (code 128 or something like this) - so you only have to write a value in your excel cell and change the font for this cell...

i have used a jquery qr-code plugin and created a offline web-app to generate some 'labels' (with text fields and qr-codes on theme..)

i hope this are some ideas that are bringing you forward..

sunny greetings
stefan

[David Galetar]

Thanks, Stefan. I always appreciate the feedback!!!

"hm - if you can do something like the form - is it also possible to dont use the paper? so you just displays the text also in an webpage?

so you could do all the id thinks just in one 'real' database -i think that is much simpler than to have excel as 'database'"

I think that I am begiing to agree with you. The problem is that I am using a website called "ElbowSpace.com" for the forms. It is a really cool website for someone like me... with little knowledge of coding. So I am probably going to have to look into getting someone to help me do this on a real website!

"i know there is a macro for excel that creates barcodes - i have played around with this - and it worked in some ways.. but i dont remember how it was called..
you can install a font that displays as barcode (code 128 or something like this) - so you only have to write a value in your excel cell and change the font for this cell..."

It is code 128, and there is a Macro for it. But you have to buy the font from somebody. It doesn't come with Excel. At least that is what I have figured out this far.

"i have used a jquery qr-code plugin and created a offline web-app to generate some 'labels' (with text fields and qr-codes on theme..)"

Again, this is definitely over my head. But thanks for pointing me in the right direction!!!

Have a GREAT day!!!

DG

[David Galetar]

Hey Sean, sorry 'bout that. I know that I am writing to the whole list, but you jumped right on it, and really seemed to know where I was trying to go with it.

Thanks anyway!

DG

[David Galetar]

OK, & I'm back! As I'm stumbling through this process, I came up with what I thought to be a good question...

Using the article that Sean so kindly pointed me to earlier, I find myself in a quandary. As stated before, "On Android, you can invoke Barcode Scanner from a web page..." got that. Have got it working now.

"...and have the result returned to your site via a callback URL."

...and this is where I am stuck now. Here is what I know:
1. The [FORM METHOD=POST]
2. The [ACTION='https://ww03.elbowspace.com/servlets/frhclientformupd']
3. The [onsubmit='return validateForm(this)']
4. and the  [id=form1 NAME=form1]

So now that I can open the scanner from the webpage, and read the barcode with the barcode reader, how do I get the form to enter the barcode reading in to the cell, and ultimately in to the database???

DG