Barcoding is a key feature of Warehouse Insight with two primary focuses:

• Symbology
• Data Encoding

Symbology

This refers to the type of barcode (e.g., Data Matrix, Code 39, UPC, GS128, and QR).

Warehouse Insight does not interact with the symbology directly. The handheld devices/scanners are configured to read these symbologies and send the data to the application as text.

Data Encoding

This refers to the data encoded inside the barcode. The data (barcode formats) that Warehouse Insight supports are contained within the following table.

For more Barcode examples, contact Support.

Bin Barcodes

Bin barcodes are a requirement for Warehouse Insight (if Bins are enabled for your location). Bin barcodes are the Bin Code or can be prefixed with the %B% as shown in the Barcode Formats table.

If you do not already have your warehouse labeled with Bin barcodes, print them with the %B% format and to set the Force Bin Prefix option to Yes on the Device Configuration Card to cut down the communication from the handhelds to Business Central.

If your Bins are already labelled (with the Bin Code), then you do not need to re-label.

Item Barcodes

Item barcodes come in a variety of formats. They can be vendor or customer supplied (e.g., UPC Codes, GS1 formatted) or client supplied and can include numerous pieces of information not limited to the item number (e.g., quantities, variants, units of measure, expiration dates, and more).

When designing your Item Barcode labels, Warehouse Insight provides several samples in the Warehouse Insight department menu you can use as a reference. The sample labels provided come in two types of symbologies:

• Data Matrix: 2D barcode
• Code 39: 1D barcode

You may copy, renumber, and modify the reports as needed. When choosing a barcode symbology, it is best to use a 2D barcode (e.g., Data Matrix) if the data you wish to encode is long or contains special characters.

Item Barcode Rules

Depending on your environment, you may have a mix of barcodes and data formats. To handle this requirement, the application uses the Barcode Rules page. Barcode Rules allow you to configure the logic used to decode each barcode data to correctly return the various pieces of information.

By default, the installation process preloads common rules. Review the rules provided and disable any that do not pertain to your organizational needs.

Configuring the Item Barcode Rules to correctly interpret/parse a barcode requires a knowledge of Regular Expression syntax. For more information on Regular Expression syntax, see Microsoft’s Regular Expression Language – Quick Reference page or find an online Regular Expression tutorial for additional help.

Barcode Rules break out into the following pieces:

• Run Order: Use this to indicate the order rules are processed in. If a successful match is made, no further rules are processed. Your common rules should come first to avoid unnecessary processing.
• Find Text: This is the regular expression string used to parse the barcode data (e.g., 01(.*)17([0-9]{6})10(.*) ).
• Expression Groups: For each group matched by the regular expression, use $1, $2, and $3 in the Expressions to set the appropriate value.

Barcode rules can be used to capture/interpret the following information:

• Item No.
• Item No. 2: Used to find the Item No. if not already part of the barcode.
• Variant Code
• Serial No.: Used to find the Item No. if not already part of the barcode.
• Lot No.: Used to find the Item No. if not already part of the barcode.
• Expiry Date
• Cross Reference No.: Used to find the Item No. if not already part of the barcode.
• Item Identifier: Used to find the Item No. if not already part of the barcode.
• Item Reference No.: Used to find the Item No. if not already part of the barcode.
• Unit of Measure
• Quantity

If the regular expressions are not sufficient (e.g., referencing additional tables), AL code can be written by subscribing to the appropriate events.

The data parsed by the rule is sent back to the devices and is used (if possible) to help minimize data entry or to take additional action.

For example, a barcode in the format [Item Number] [LotNumber] with a physical scan of 80216-T LOT123. Scanning the item during shipping selects the correct line and causes the quantity dialog to appear with the lot number entry prefilled with LOT123.

The same scenario with a barcode format of [Item Number] with a physical scan of 80216-T selects the correct line, but when the quantity dialog is displayed, has the lot number entry blank requiring the user to type in the correct value manually.

For assistance interpreting or creating Item Barcode Rules, contact Support.

Example: Creating a Barcode Rule

Creating a Barcode Rule shows you how to define and configure a sample barcode rule. The goal is to create a rule that can parse a barcode that has Item, Variant Code, and Quantity in the barcode data.

1. Open the Barcode Rules page in Business Central.
2. Create a new line.
3. Set the following fields:
   1. Run Order: “70” (The order the rule is processed with lower numbers first, and if a match is found, no other rules are looked at.)
   2. Find Text: “(.*)/(.*)/(.*)” (The regular expression we use to parse our barcode data with. In this example, we have three groups separated by a “/”.)
   3. Description: “Item + Variant + Quantity” (Can be anything and is used to quickly inform others what the rule is looking for.)
   4. Enabled: “Checked” (If the rule is disabled, it is not processed by the system.)
   5. Item No. Expression: “$1” (The first group result is put into the “Item No. Result” when the barcode is processed.)
   6. Variant Expression: “$2” (The second group result is put into the “Variant Result” when the barcode is processed.)
   7. Quantity Expression: “$3” (The third group result is put into the “Quantity Result”.)
4. Type “1896-S/blue/10” and press Test All Rules.