Barcode Utility User’s Guide User’s Guide © 2020 Brother Industries, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Definitions of Notes We use the following symbol throughout this User's Guide: Tips icons indicate helpful hints and supplementary information. Copyright Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The software described in this document is furnished under license agreements. The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of those agreements.
Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 System Requirements ...................................................................................................................................... 2 1.
1. Introduction 1.1 Overview The Brother Barcode Utility lets you streamline your workflow processes around scanned documents containing barcodes. Using the barcodes included on scanned pages, the Barcode Utility allows you to: 1. Group individual pages into separate documents 2. Rename split files 3. Redirect split files to the relevant folder Compared to typical manual data entry, barcodes offer more accurate and efficient data input.
1.2 System Requirements Operating Systems Operating System Components Client OS Windows 7 (64bit), Windows 8.1 (64bit), Windows 10 (64bit), Windows 11 (64bit) Server OS Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022 .Net Framework 4.5 1.
For best scanning results and barcode recognition, we recommend using the 24bit color scan setting. For more information, see Appendix A: Barcode Recognition Requirements.
2. Monitor Folders and Process Files The Barcode Utility runs as a background service and can continuously monitor specific folders (hot folders) for newly scanned files and then process them according to the barcode recognition and document separation rules. 1. Scan documents containing barcodes. 2. Save documents in a hot folder. 3. The Barcode Utility continuously polls the hot folder. 4. Data is routed to a specific output folder.
2.1 Requirements - The Barcode Utility solution must be activated on the target machine. For more information, visit your local Brother website or contact your local Brother office. The Barcode Utility application must be installed on your computer. To download the application, go to your model’s Downloads page at support.brother.com. The documents must be scanned either directly from the machine or using the Brother iPrint&Scan for Desktop application. 2.
2.3 Create a File Processing Rule 1. Click the File processing rules tab, and then click Add a rule. 2. When the Create/Edit a rule dialog box appears, type a name for your new rule in the Rule name field. 3. Specify the Target file type so you can process scanned documents based on your requirements. Target File Type Description All files All scanned files are processed according to rules assigned to this specific hot folder.
2.4 Assign Barcodes to File Processing Rules 1. Click the edit button [ ] next to the newly created rule. 2. Click General Settings, and then click [ + ]. 3. When the Barcode Configuration dialog box appears, type the Barcode Name. To correctly recognize and read a barcode, the utility’s barcode recognition settings must be set correctly.
4. Select the applicable Barcode Type check boxes. 5. Type additional barcode information in the Specify exact text information in the barcode field, if applicable. Regular expressions (Regex) are also supported. For example, if there is a barcode with a timestamp at the beginning of a character string (01012022a1234567890), you can search for the timestamp (01012022) by entering “^[0-9]{8}.*” in this field. 6.
9. The Define Barcode Search Area dialog box appears. Click Browse…, select the scanned file that contains the barcode you want to use, and then click Open. 10. The scanned file’s name and a preview appears. Do one of the following: If the document has only one page Move and resize the selection rectangle in the preview field to select the barcode you want. When the barcode is highlighted in red, click OK to save the selection.
・ If you cannot load the scanned file, scan the master barcode again using a Brother machine compatible with the Barcode Utility. ・ Make sure you place the red recognition area over a minimum of 80% of the target barcode to ensure accurate recognition. Correct Incorrect 11. To save the barcode image for later use, select the Save the image in this app check box. Barcode images are stored in the application folder’s \img_bkup folder. 12. Click OK. 13. Confirm your settings, and then click OK.
2.5 Configure File Split Settings The Barcode Utility can split multiple-page scanned documents into shorter documents. 1. Click the edit button [ ] next to the newly created rule. 2. Click File split rule in the left navigation bar. 3. Select the Split files check box.
4. Choose one of the following ‘Split file’ rules: To split files by page count a. Select the Separate files by page count radio button. b. Type the number of pages you want in each final, shorter document (max. 99). To split files based on specific barcodes a. Select the Separate files according to the specified barcode radio button. b. Click Add a setting. c. In the Barcode to use drop-down list, select the barcode to use or specify a new barcode by selecting the Add a new barcode setting… option.
5. Confirm your settings, and then click OK. If any warning icons [ ] appear, fix the settings as indicated. To delete a file split rule, click the [ ] button to the right of the rule name. Detect or delete separator pages Example 1 Detect file separation using a barcode. Example 2 Delete the separator page containing the barcode information from the output file. Example 3 Delete the separator page containing the barcode used for file separation.
2.6 Configure File Rename Settings The Barcode Utility can rename newly separated document files based on the barcodes each file contains. 1. Click the edit button [ ] next to the newly created rule.
2. Click File rename rule in the left navigation bar. 3. Select the Rename file check box. 4. Click Add a setting. 5. Specify the file name rules: To rename files based on specific barcodes a. Select the Rename files according to the specified barcode check box.
b. In the drop-down list, select the barcode to use or specify a new barcode by clicking the Add a new barcode setting… option. c. Select the output format from the Output Format drop-down list. To rename files based on a combination of static and dynamic information a. Select the Change filename check box. b. Type the file name you want to use. c. Select any additional information you want from the Input info. drop-down list, and then click Input.
1. Click the edit button [ ] next to the newly created rule. 2. Click File save rule in the left navigation bar. 3. Select the Save destination check box. 4. Click Add a setting.
5. Select the Move files according to a specific barcode check box. 6. In the drop-down list, select the barcode to use or specify a new barcode by clicking the Add a new barcode setting option. 7. To change the default destination, click Browse…, select the folder you want, and then click Select Folder. 8. Type the folder path you want to use. 9. To customize the path, or add subfolders, select the additional information you want from the Input info. drop-down list, and then click Input.
11. Select the Add new scanned pages to an existing document if they share the same file name check box to add newly scanned pages to an existing document with the same filename, and then select the Add at the start of the document or Add at the end of the document option from the drop-down menu. If the total number of pages in a document exceeds 100 pages, the original file name is changed to a new one and pages from 101 onwards are saved under the original file name.
3. In the Error processing section, do the following: a. Select output formats for saving incorrectly processed files using the File format drop-down list. Setting Description Same as input filename Do not change file names for incorrectly processed files. Change filename Automatically rename any incorrectly processed files. Type the new default file name you want in the Change filename: field, and then specify any additional information if necessary.
3. At the top right of the screen, select the Target Folder Monitoring check box, and then click Apply. The Barcode Utility starts monitoring the hot folder you selected, applying the rules you just enabled. To stop monitoring incoming scan jobs, clear the Target Folder Monitoring check box, and then click Apply. ・ To monitor multiple hot folders simultaneously, make sure each folder has Target Folder Monitoring enabled.
3. Additional Features 3.1 Change the [COUNTER] Naming Rules When you use the custom naming rule, or [COUNTER], a counter is added to file names in a three-digit number format (000 – 999) with additional digits being added incrementally from 1000 onwards. 1. Click Application settings in the main screen. 2. Click Process setting in the left navigation bar. 3. Do one of the following: To start counting with the lowest available number Select the Start with the lowest available number check box.
3.2 Export and Import Configuration To save specific barcode and rule settings, export the current settings as an XML file. You can import and reapply them if necessary. 3.2.1 Export Configuration 1. Click Application settings in the main screen. 2. Click Import/Export in the left navigation bar. 3. Click Export backup file. 4. When the confirmation message appears, click OK. 5. Type a name for the exported file, and then click Save. 3.2.2 Import Configuration 1.
5. When the confirmation message appears, click OK. 6. Click OK. 7. Click Apply in the application’s main screen. 3.3 Check the Barcode Utility version 1. Click Application settings in the main screen. 2. Click Information in the left navigation bar. 3. Click Version and License.
3.4 Update the Barcode Utility 1. Click Application settings in the main screen. 2. Click Information. 3. Click Check for software updates.
4. Check the Application Log 4.1 Check the Application Log Check the Application Log if you encounter any problems when using the Barcode Utility. The log contains errors and notifications about: - Barcode settings - Input PDF and barcode quality - File processing progress Log Item (Status) Description Error The file cannot be processed. For more information, see section 5.2 File Processing Errors. Warning The file has been processed only partially. For more information, see section 5.
4.3 Change the Application Log Folder 1. Click Application settings in the main screen. 2. Click Information in the left navigation bar. 3. Click Change log destination… (The default log file storage location is: \BarcodeUtility install folder\userlog.) 4. Browse to the folder you want, and then click Select Folder. 4.4 Change the Application Log Settings 1. Edit the userlogsetting.txt file in the Application Log folder. Setting Description path The log file’s path on the computer (Default: \Barcode Ut
5. Troubleshooting 5.1 General Troubleshooting Use this section to resolve typical problems you may encounter. You can correct most problems yourself. Problem Solution A large PDF (over 100 pages) cannot be processed. The Barcode Utility supports PDF files containing no more than 100 pages. Barcodes scanned using the Auto Color scan setting are not recognized correctly. Documents cannot be scanned using the Auto Color scan setting.
Problem Solution I want to specify more than one barcode in a multipage document. The Barcode Utility allows you specify up to 20 barcodes per page. I want to delete pages with barcodes from the output destination file. Use the Delete Separator function when configuring file split settings. For more information, see 2.5 Configure File Split Settings. My barcode was not read correctly. ・ Check for specific errors in the Application Log. For solutions, see 5.2 File Processing Errors.
5.2 File Processing Errors Check the Application Log. For more information, see section 4.1 Check the Application Log. Error Solution Barcode for file rename not found. Check the barcode type setting in the File rename rule settings. For more information, see section 2.6 Configure File Rename Settings. Barcode for file split not found. Cannot find the backup folder for the input file. Cannot find the barcode for file save. Check the barcode type setting in the File split rule settings.
Error Solution This file splitting rule is not registered. Register a new file splitting rule. For more information, see section 2.5 Configure File Split Settings. Unregistered file renaming rule. Unregistered file save rule. Non-supported PDF type detected. Register a new file renaming rule. For more information, see section 2.6 Configure File Rename Settings. Register a new file save rule. For more information, see section 2.7 Configure File Save Settings.
Appendix A: Barcode Recognition Requirements The requirements listed in this section are for 24bit color scanning. We recommend using the 24bit color scan setting for best scan results and barcode recognition. For more information, see section 1.4 Supported Scan Color Settings. Item Specification Angle General Barcode rotation angle Tolerance angle Maximum number of barcodes recognized per page 0° 90° 180° 270° Details 0° 90° 180° 270° ± 5° 20 ...
Item Specification PDF417 Recommended scan resolution Minimum size of each line when using the recommended scan resolution (black line/white line) Minimum margin around barcode QR Code 0.5 mm More than 5 mm Black Background color White Minimum size of each line when using the recommended scan resolution (black line/white line) 200 DPI or more 200 DPI 0.7 mm 300 DPI or more 0.
Appendix B: Custom Naming Rules If a file name is defined using a custom naming rule, and there is no barcode information or the barcode information contains only unsupported characters, the custom naming rule is ignored. The year, month, day, hour, minute, and second settings are not based on the time the input file is created or the time the input file is saved in the hot folder. Input Info.
Naming Rules for [BARCODE L(A,B)] and [BARCODE R(A,B)] To select a specific number of consecutive barcode characters, use the [BARCODE] naming rule, which offers additional options: Extended Naming Rule Description [BARCODE L(A,B)] Reads the barcode information from left to right. [BARCODE R(A,B)] Reads the barcode information from right to left. Barcode information can be determined by the character located on the right side of A through to B.
# Name Description 3 Left-Count with One Specific Character Naming Rule: [BARCODE L("/",5)] Count Method: Starting from the left and reading the next five characters after the first instance of the / character. Text information in the barcode: The Barcode ID would be: $+346 4a Right-Count with One Specific Character Naming Rule: [BARCODE R("/",5)] Count Method: Starting from the right, reading the next five characters after the first instance of the / character.
Appendix C: Supported Barcode Types and Options The Barcode Utility supports the following 1D and 2D barcodes: 2D Barcode 1D Barcode Barcode Name Code Example Check Digit CODE39 / CODE3of9 Optional ITF / ITF-14 Optional CODABAR / Code2of7 / NW-7 Optional CODE93 Mandatory CODE128 Mandatory GS1-128 / UCC128 / EAN128 Mandatory UPC-A Mandatory UPC-E Mandatory JAN-8 / EAN-8 Mandatory JAN-13 / EAN-13 Mandatory QR N/A Datamatrix / GS1 Datamatrix N/A PDF417 N/A Not Supported - Micro
Appendix D: XML Specification for Barcodes Definition of an XML File Elements and Tree Structure Tag Name Mandatory/ Optional Document name DocumentName Mandatory Document name that contains barcode information Total number of page TotalPageNum Mandatory Total number of pages in the document Total number of barcode TotalBarcodeNum Mandatory Total number of barcodes in the document Barcode information BarcodeInfo Mandatory Tag for barcode information Type of barcode Type Mandatory Barco
Standard Name Supported Barcode Type CODE39 CODE39/CODE3of9 ITF ITF / ITF-14 CODABAR CODABAR / Code2of7 /NW-7 CODE93 CODE93 CODE128 CODE128 GS1-128 GS1-128 / UCC128 / EAN128 UPC-A UPC-A UPC-E UPC-E EAN-8 JAN-8 / EAN-8 EAN-13 JAN-13 / EAN-13 QR QR DATAMATRIX Datamatrix / GS1 Datamatrix Example of XML Description
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