I've been using a scanner for years, and it's some of the best money we spent!
Ours is a Symbol Technologies LS-1908 (which I suspect is no longer
available, but there must be an equivalent).
The scanner recognizes a good range of symbologies, and looks to the PC like
a USB keyboard; just scan the barcode and the data shows up in the Excel cell
or db field where the cursor is. Simple, simple.
It's also programmable so that it can spit out a string of keystrokes,
constant characters, etc., and -- if I recall correctly -- transform the
scanned string in a formulaic fashion. So, for instance, you could have it
"type" the equivalent of "Ctrl-F, scanned string, Enter" and do a lookup with
no typing required.
I have been very happy with the durability and reliability.
---
Bob Koskovich
Director of Information Technology Services
Concord Academy - Concord, Mass.
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