Scanner Keyboard FAQ

OCR Scanner Won’t Start – Error: 'Failure, try again in a few minutes'

Launching the OCR scanner results in the following error message 'Failure, try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists contact support@tec-it.com'.

The error message 'Failure, try again in a few minutes' means that the OCR library is trying to download the text detection module from the Web. Ways to fix it:

  • Make sure your internet connection is active.
  • Wait for some time to check if the module can be loaded. Please don’t stop the app while waiting.
  • Clear the data of the Google Play Services App. Here you can find the “How-To” steps (taken from the Google Play Help page):

    • 1. Open the Settings of your Android device.
    • 2. Tap Apps & notifications.
    • 3. Open Google Play Services. If you don't see it in the list, tap See all apps first and then select Google Play Services.
    • 4. Tap Storage 🡒 Clear cache.
    • 5. Open the Google Play Store app.
    • 6. Wait for 5 minutes, then try your download again.
Scanner Keyboard - Enable Xiaomi Permissions

Barcode / OCR Scanner Does Not Work on My Xiaomi Smartphone

Barcode and OCR scanners won't open on my Xiaomi device after MIUI Update 11.0.1+.

Solution:

The problem is caused by a missing Xiaomi specific permission, which must be granted. Please try the following steps to fix it:

  • Open the Settings of your device (gear icon Icon Settings top right on screen).
  • Go to Apps 🡒 Manage Apps 🡒 App: Scanner Keyboard 🡒 Other permissions.
  • Enable 'Display pop-up windows while running in the background'.

How to Append an ENTER Key After the Scanned Barcode Data

Simulation of an ENTER Key (Carriage Return) as well as other keys can be set up in the app in the so-called Simulation rules by selecting appropriate placeholders.

How to Set up a Simulation Rule:

  1. Open the Scanner Keyboard app.
  2. Tap on Scanner Keyboard preferences.
  3. Scroll down to Keyboard behaviour and tap on it.
  4. Select the required simulation rule (for specific target applications or predefined as standard rule) or create a new simulation rule by tapping on ADD SIMULATION RULE.
  5. Select Prefix and suffix setting, place the cursor after the placeholder ${INPUT} (stands for the scanned bar code data), tap the button PLACEHOLDER and select Enter (or another required placeholder). The prefix and suffix setting should now show the following line: 
    ${INPUT}${ENTER}
  6. Tap OK and Save Rule.

For a complete list of available placeholders, please refer to the Scanner Keyboard User Manual.

Scanner Keyboard - Optional Number Row

How to Set up Keyboard Layout with Numeric Row?

I need a keyboard layout with letter and number keys, like a PC keyboard.

The latest version of Scanner Keyboard provides the possibility to add a numeric row to your keyboard. To enable this additional row, please follow these steps:

  1. Open Keyboard preferences.
  2. Select Appearance & Layouts.
  3. Activate Enable number row.
  4. If required, you can also adjust the Keyboard height here.

How to Activate a Bulk License

Requirements

Download and install Scanner Keyboard from the Scanner Keyboard download page, or use the app version from Managed Google Play (the organization ID must be sent to TEC-IT). The public Google Play version will not accept activation keys.

Instructions

Please, follow the instructions on the Licensing FAQ page.

Auto-Import License and/or Settings File

For auto-import (on multiple Android devices) place the TEC-IT activation/license file in one of the supported folders on the device. The app validates the license during startup (or when you open the License view).

  • Scanner Keyboard 3.4.1 or later:
    Use the external app folder /sdcard/Android/data/com.tecit.android.barcodekbd.full/files
    (or /sdcard/Android/data/com.tecit.android.barcodekbd.moas.full/files for the Private / Managed Google Play version).
    Please note that this folder is not available before the first app start. For license distribution via Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, it may be necessary to automatically create this folder.
  • Scanner Keyboard prior to 3.4.1:
    Use the download folder /sdcard/Download

Settings can be imported in the same way: Rename the exported settings file to BarcodeKeyboard.xml and place it in that folder. It will be automatically loaded during startup.

Please note:
Alternatively, you have the possibility to distribute activation keys and app settings via managed app configuration (MDM). In this case no files are needed. The settings are directly provided via the Device Management Software. Requires Scanner Keyboard version 3.5.0+.

Barcode Scanner Does Not Insert Data

The App inserts data according to so called "Simulation Rules" (see cog wheel ⇒ Scanner Keyboard Preferences ⇒ Keyboard Behavior). Simulation rules allow you to customize the simulation/keyboard behavior for a specific target application. The "Default" rule is applied if no specific rule is available.

The app scans a code, makes the sound, but doesn’t put any text in the textbox? Some target apps require a different method to accept simulated keystrokes. Scanner keyboard offers two methods for this purpose. To insert data into some apps (especially web-based apps or browsers), enabling the option “Key by Key” in the corresponding simulation rule might be required.

If there is a problem, please try the following steps:

  1. Open the Scanner Keyboard preferences.
  2. Scroll down to Keyboard behaviour.
  3. Select the required simulation rule (e.g. Chrome) / or create a new simulation rule for your target app / or open the Default simulation rule at the end of the list.
  4. Enable the feature Key by keyin the Key simulation section.
  5. Save the rule and test whether the data is inserted as expected.

If it doesn’t help, the problem might be time-related. You could try adding a Wait command before data insertion with the following steps:

  1. Open the corresponding simulation rule (see 1.-3. above).
  2. In the section Key simulation tap on Prefix and suffix settings.
  3. Place the cursor in front of the string and tap the button PLACEHOLDER.
  4. Find and add the placeholder ${WAIT###}, use 900 instead of ###.
  5. Confirm with OK, your key simulation string may look like this now:
    6. ${WAIT900}${INPUT}
  6. Save the rule.

Bulk License Invalid after Galaxy Tab Android Update (Android 7 to 8).

After the update Barcode Scanner shows an error like MOAS invalid.

On some Galaxy Tabs the internal serial number (“Device ID”) changes after an update (between Android 7 to 8). This makes your license invalid. For bulk licenses we can trouble shoot this problem by reenabling your activation key for the affected devices. Please contact our sales@tec-it.com with the details.