Application for reading barcodes. The best applications for reading barcodes
In particular, for conducting inventories, creating barcodes, and so on. Also, most of these applications have the functions of sending reports by e-mail or notification of shortages of goods in warehouses. We've collected the best barcode scanning apps for iOS and Android.
TOP applications for scanning barcodes.
This is a simple application with uncomplicated functionality. But sometimes this is exactly what users need. The app recognizes barcodes and stores them in a central database, putting exactly what you're looking for into a spreadsheet.
OS: iOS, Android
Program features:
- date and time stamps;
- custom fields for data entry;
- supports one large database.
Price:
- Android - $0.99;
- iTunes - $2.99.
With QuickMark you can not only scan, but also create barcodes and QR codes. The cross-platform scanner reads multiple barcode formats, making it one of the most versatile barcode apps around. You can quickly and easily save URLs, item names, locations, and more. In general, users are satisfied with the work of the utility, although some note inaccurate scanning of codes.
OS: Android, iOS, Windows.
Program features:
- quickly scans multiple QR codes and barcodes;
- Fully compatible with multiple devices;
- attaching images to posts;
- accurate and simple.
Cost: free.
ScanLife, a barcode scanner app, allows you to scan QR codes and barcodes on any product and extract information such as manufacturer details and ingredients, prices and nearby places where you can purchase such products in real time. The ScanLife app is part of a larger platform for companies that want to reach more mobile device users by incorporating QR codes into their marketing strategy.
OS: iOS, Android.
Program features:
Cost: from $0 to $85 per month.
BarCloud
BarCloud is a remote asset or inventory management program accessible from any iOS or Android device, as well as from any Internet browser. With automatic backups and the ability to schedule custom backups, your data is always safe and accessible from any device. Simple inventory counting is supported for complex systems such as batch and serial inventory, so you'll never lose control of your shared data using the BarCloud inventory system.
OS: iOS, Android
Program features:
- enter data manually or scan an image;
- suppliers, customers, products, locations and other data;
- search and view files;
- filters;
- export data to PDF or Excel;
- visual analytics tools;
- expired goods, expiring dates, low stock.
There is a free version. Premium costs range from $25 to $125 per month.
NeoReader has received a lot of positive reviews from iTunes and Google Play users. The latest one is much better than the previous ones. Most users claim that the software scans almost any code, unlike conventional scanner applications, which may show an error when trying to scan.
OS: Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows, Ovi.
Program features:
Cost: free.
I-nigma is free to download, but the company uses advertising to offset some of the costs of development and ongoing fixes. Therefore, advertisements may be displayed on the control panel, although this does not affect the functionality of the utility in any way. The software decrypts vCards and MeCards, instantly saving contact information in your phone's contact list, opens cards using Geo-codes and adds events to the calendar. Of course, the utility scans standard QR, DataMatrix and UPC/EAN.
OS: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows.
Peculiarities:
Cost: free.
Lynkee is a barcode scanning application for Android, iPhone and Windows, aimed more at the consumer than inventory or asset management. It is capable of scanning a variety of 1D and 2D barcodes, including DataMatrix, vCards and MECARDs for storing contact information, price comparison, scan history search, etc. The utility is fast and accurate.
OS: Android, iOS, Windows.
Peculiarities:
Cost: free.
Product barcode verification application that supports 2D, Bidi and 1D barcodes (DataMatrix/QR/Ean 8 and 13). Users can create their own optical barcodes for free and scan any supported format to quickly access content such as music, images, videos, files, websites, etc. Built-in sharing features allow you to share scanned content. Available on Android and iPhone.
OS: iOS, Android, Lumia and Windows.
Peculiarities:
- quickly scans 2D, Bidi, 1D;
- supports DataMatrix, QR, Ean 8 and 13 1D;
- create your own optical barcodes;
- access music, videos, websites and other content.
Cost: free.
Bee Tagg's free barcode reader app is quite sophisticated in terms of its scanning functionality, but it doesn't offer any comprehensive built-in database capabilities. However, you can copy and paste the information and codes for later use.
OS: iOS, Blackberry, Android, Windows, Samsung, Ovi.
Program features:
- goes beyond simply opening a browser window;
- contextual actions;
- gets more information than most scanner apps;
- 2D codes, including QR codes, Bee Tagg and DataMatrix codes;
- 1D, including EAN-13 and UPC-A;
- create your own code to exchange information;
- supports various content types including vCard, MeCard, Text, SMS, eMail, Geo, Event.
Cost: free.
Kaywa
Kaywa claims to be the best barcode detection app, and users seem to agree for the most part. This app has received a lot of positive reviews on both iTunes and Google Play. In this case, the data is stored in the internal memory of your phone. This means that the software can affect the speed of the device. But this is compensated by ease of use and speed. The utility is available for Android and iPhone.
OS: Android, iOS.
Program features:
- free QR code generator;
- scanning all types of barcodes;
- automatically detects the code type;
- scanning history with text and geolocation data.
Cost: free.
Accusoft Barcode Scanner was created to demonstrate the functionality of Barcode Xpress for Mobile, Accusoft's barcode SDK for Android. It is designed for businesses and developers who want to create a barcode app for Android devices, integrating powerful decoding capabilities into a custom app designed specifically for your company's requirements. For instant decoding, position the barcode in the middle of the screen. Depending on the data stored in it, you can be redirected to a website, view product information, etc. Recognizes a variety of 1D and 2D codes.
Peculiarities:
Cost: free.
ixMAT uses Java-based software to turn your device into a barcode scanner. This free application is designed for Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Java ME devices, but is not available for iPhone or iPad. Supports a variety of 1D and 2D codes, automatic analysis, no need to enter the barcode type.
Program features:
- ability to scan inverted DataMatrix codes and barcodes;
- quick search;
- scan history;
- mass mode;
- send small text files by email
- Not compatible with iOS devices.
Cost: free.
Stock Control
The barcode scanning app developed by Kiwi Objects is designed to improve productivity by giving you control over your inventory. Scan objects, organize your database by category, type or function (any hierarchy is available).
Program features:
- advanced data management;
- organization by categories – you can create logical hierarchies;
- warnings about shortages of goods;
- import and export;
- PDF catalogs, printing and sending by e-mail.
Cost: free.
Scandit is an SDK that allows businesses to use barcode scanning in their mobile applications. The SDK is similar to a developer API in that it allows companies to create mobile apps for iOS or Android. Not quite a traditional ready-made mobile application, Scandit is a shell for integrating the functionality of barcode scanners into mobile gadgets. Suitable for enterprises introducing their own mobile applications. Available for both Android and iPhone.
OS: iOS, Android, Symbian.
Program features:
- turning smartphones and tablets into barcode scanners;
- fast and accurate barcode scanning;
- wide range of supported characters;
- does not require autofocus;
- scanning from any angle;
- size does not affect accuracy.
There is a free version. A premium subscription costs $399 per month.
Visiting supermarkets with such applications will be much more fun. At the same time, they can be used in your own business - to create barcodes or conduct inventory. Of course, you will have to pay for premium features, but most often it is a small amount that will quickly pay for itself.
Hello everyone, dear readers and happy users and owners of a mobile gadget based on the Android operating system. Today, as is usually the case, I made a selection of programs, this time programs for Android that allow you to scan barcodes and get all the information about a product using these codes.
A very good program for scanning barcodes, which allows you, completely free, to scan any barcode in order to find out complete information on the products being scanned. Of all the useful functions, I would like to note the following:
- In addition to scanning regular barcodes, this application can scan QR codes;
- The application is completely free to download and use. This point, it seems to me, is very important and decisive in choosing an application for a large number of users.
Another good barcode and QR code scanner. Of all the undoubted advantages of this barcode scanning program, I will note the following:
- In addition to scanning and recognizing barcodes and QR codes, you can create your own codes;
- The ability to share barcodes with your friends and subscribers on the most popular social networks;
- The application (scanner) is able to save the history of all your recognized barcodes. Thanks to this, you can view all your codes at any time.
Application for scanning barcodes and QR codes in English. Because This application is in English, it is not suitable for the majority of the Russian-speaking audience, but if you speak English, then you will like the application. I would like to point out the following possibilities:
- The application allows you to find the cheapest prices for the products you are interested in. Sometimes it is very useful;
- Search products by keywords.
And closing our selection today is another application for scanning barcodes called “QR code scanner”. Of all the possibilities, I will note the following:
- The ability to scan barcodes both from an external camera and from an image saved on a mobile gadget;
- Sending barcodes to the most popular social networks via SMS.
Vote
In this tutorial we will learn how to create an application for reading barcodes and QR codes using the standard Mobile Vision API library.
Back with the release of Google Play services version 7.8, developers added Mobile Vision interfaces that provide an API for barcode detection. They read and decode many different types of barcodes, quickly, easily and locally.
Classes for barcode detection and analysis are available in the com.google.android.gms.vision.barcode namespace. The main workhorse is the BarcodeDetector class. It handles Frame objects and returns a SparseArray of barcodes
The Barcode type represents a single, universally recognized barcode and its meaning. In the case of 1D barcodes, such as UPC codes, this will simply be a number that is encoded into the barcode. Its value is available in the rawValue field, while the barcode type (that is, its encoding) can be found in the format field.
For 2D barcodes that contain structured data, such as QR codes, the valueFormat field is set to a specific value type corresponding to the data field. So, for example, if the type URL is detected, then the valueFormat field will return the URL constant, and the Barcode.UrlBookmark object will contain the value of the URL. Besides URLs, there are many different types of data that a QR code can store. For example, mailing address, calendar event date and time, calendar event, contact information, phone number, map location, and other data, a complete list of which is provided in the documentation. Links to documentation.
Using the Mobile Vision API in the application allows you to read barcodes in any position.
It's important to note that all barcode parsing is done locally, so you don't need to use a server connection to read data from the code. For example, when reading a PDF-417 linear barcode, which can hold up to 1 KB of text, you can immediately get all the information encoded in it.
So, to develop the application we will need:
- Android Studio development environment
- Smartphone running Android 4.2.2 or later
- Latest version of the Android SDK, including the SDK tools component. You can get it using Android SDK Manager in Android Studio.
- Google Play Services SDK. You can also get it from Android SDK Manager in Android Studio.
Create a new project in Android Studio. When creating, select the Empty Activity template.
The next step is to ensure that your app can use Google Play Services, which includes the Mobile Vision API. To do this, you need to update your project's build.gradle file.
There should be lines like this in the dependencies section. Update Gradle if necessary.
Compile "com.android.support:appcompat-v7:25.0.0" compile "com.google.android.gms:play-services:9.8.0"
Google Play Services is updated frequently, and to get the latest version, in Android Studio, go to Tools > Android > SDK Manager.
Then find the line for Google Play services and make sure you have version 26 or higher installed. If not, install the component.
Now let's create the user interface.
In Android Studio, select the "res" folder and open its subfolder "layout". Here you will see "activity_main.xml". Open it in the layout editor.
You can see that your layout contains a text field
By clicking the button, the barcode image will be loaded and processed, which will be displayed in ImageView. Once the barcode is processed, the information read from it will be displayed in the TextView.
Typically, barcode reading applications receive an image from the device's camera, or process a camera preview. Implementing this will require quite a lot of code, and at the end of the lesson I will show an example of how to implement such an application. To simplify this example, we will process a ready-made QR code image that is already present in your application.
Here is an example of a QR code image that you can download from here.
Name it qr.png and add it to your project folder res/drawable. Android Studio will make the file available as a resource with the ID: R.drawable.qr
Now let's move on to writing the application code.
In the MainActivity.java file, in the onCreate method, add the following code.
Button button = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button); btn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() ( @Override public void onClick(View v) ( ) ));
This sets up an event handler (onClick) that fires when the user clicks the button. We will write the rest of the code in the onClick method.
Let's start by uploading a barcode image. First, we find the ImageView by ID. The BitMapFactory is then used to decode the R.drawable.qr resource into a bitmap. We pass the resulting raster image to ImageView.
ImageView myimageView = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imgview);
Bitmap myBitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getApplicationContext().getResources(), R.drawable.qr);
myimageView.setImageBitmap(myBitmap);
BarcodeDetector barcodeDetector = new BarcodeDetector.Builder(getApplicationContext()) .setBarcodeFormats(Barcode.DATA_MATRIX | Barcode.QR_CODE) .build();
It is possible that the first time our barcode detector will work when the Google Play service is not yet ready to process barcodes. Therefore we must check that our detector is working before using it. If not, we will have to wait for the download to finish or tell users to find an Internet connection or free up space on the device. Before we access the text field, we need to declare it and find it above in the onCreate method.
TextView txtView = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.txtContent);
Now let's add a method for displaying a message.
If (!barcodeDetector.isOperational()) ( txtView.setText("Could not set up the detector!"); )
Frame frame = new Frame.Builder().setBitmap(myBitmap).build();
barcodes = barcodeDetector.detect(frame);
Please note that the Mobile Vision API is capable of detecting multiple barcodes in a single frame. In this case the SparseArray
will be filled with multiple entries.
Typically, this step would involve looping through the SparseArray and processing each barcode individually. It is necessary to provide for the possibility that there may be several barcodes, or none. In our case, we know that we only have 1 barcode, and we can hardcode it. To do this we take a barcode called "thisCode" which will be the first element in the array. Then we assign the value of its rawValue field to the textView text field - and that’s it.
Now the application has launched on the device, press the button. If you use a qr.png barcode image, you will see the data encoded in the QR code in the text field - this is our website address.
This was a simple example application demonstrating how the Mobile Vision API works. But a full-fledged barcode scanner must receive an image from the device’s camera, or process a camera preview.
The developers have prepared an example of such an application on Github, you can download its code from the link.
Clone or download the project and open the barcode-reader module in Android Studio.
When we run the application from this project we can see how it works. Initially, the start screen opens, where you can turn on autofocus or flash. The barcode reader button launches the camera. The application monitors the appearance of barcodes in the preview and draws frames on the detected barcodes. When you click on the detected barcode area, the preview closes, transferring the detected barcode data to the text field on the start screen. See more details in.
This application also uses the Mobile Vision API. But when examining the project in Android Studio, you can see that there is more code here than in our simple example.
The application consists of eight classes. Three of them are responsible for the interface and operation of the camera.
- The CameraSource class provides camera control for obtaining a preview.
- The CameraSourcePreview class is responsible for displaying the preview on the screen.
- The GraphicOverlay class displays graphic objects on top of the associated camera preview.
- The MainActivity class displays a start window with settings and a button to start scanning, and receives barcode data to place in a TextView.
- The BarcodeTrackerFactory class implements the Factory pattern and is used to create barcode trackers - one for each barcode.
- The BarcodeGraphicTracker class is a tracker that is used to detect barcodes on the screen and track them to overlay graphics, as well as remove graphics when the barcode leaves view.
- The BarcodeGraphic class is used to render an instance of a barcode overlay image based on its position, size, and ID.
- The BarcodeCaptureActivity class is an activity that is launched when the barcode capture button is clicked in the application's start window. This activity displays a camera preview and detects barcodes on it, reads them and applies graphic frames to each barcode using the above classes.
I will not delve into a more detailed explanation of the code from the developers in this lesson, but will leave this for you as homework. Moreover, the code is well documented, each class and method contains comments in English. Reading and understanding such code is very useful, especially for a novice developer.
Description:
Using the application you can decode barcodes. This software is completely free. When scanning, if the QR code contains the site address, you will automatically be taken to it. The application counts both QR codes and Data Matrix.
Program features:
- the ability to scan barcodes through your device’s camera;
- the ability to view a list of the history of all previous scans;
- the ability to create your own QR codes;
- share QR codes via electronic communication.
Let's move on to the settings. The application's settings are quite flexible. When scanning barcodes, you can disable recognition of linear barcodes, Data Matrix, and QR codes. The application allows you to enable/disable sound and vibration alarms. It is also possible to enable automatic activation of the flashlight; it is activated when there is insufficient lighting in the room. The program will help you find information about the scanned product on the Internet, compare prices, etc.
Conclusion:
The program has a fairly simple, non-trivial interface that even a housewife can understand. I would like to note that the program contains quite a large amount of advertising. Do not forget that Internet access is required to use. Thank you for your attention.
Very quickly, small barcodes, commonly called QR codes, became part of our lives. But they really can make our lives much easier, because with the help of some you can go to various Internet sites or get contact information, and for this you do not need to remember the web page address! This article will cover the ins and outs of choosing the best barcode reader app for Android, as well as the pros and cons of some of them, with recommendations provided for choosing a good app.
Key Features of Barcode Reader Apps
Barcodes can provide you with completely different information. For example, in stores you can learn a lot about a product, and if you take updated QR codes, they can give you phone numbers that you can save, links to Internet sites and the like.
This is convenient because for recognition the user needs only one application, which takes up very little storage space, as well as a camera on a tablet or smartphone. Using some programs, you can view reviews of a particular product, its original price, and much more. Other programs themselves can provide their users with personal QR codes, which can then be used as a business card. Many of these applications are free, so users can easily take advantage of all the barcode features. Now let's look at free, good applications for reading codes for Android.
Best apps
An excellent program for reading codes, both regular, linear, and more advanced options, for example, Data-Matrix and QR. It is worth noting that this application skillfully copes with the task of creating QR codes, thanks to which you can use such small codes as your own business card. A clear interface, takes up less than a megabyte on your drive - everything you need is in this program. This reading program is free, so anyone can download it. It is worth noting that the application is installed in Russian, which is also convenient. There's not much text there, but it's still there.
An excellent application whose main purpose is to recognize QR codes. This barcode scanner only helps to read QR codes, and, for example, linear codes that are located on the back of most products cannot be recognized by this application. Another advantage of the program is its small size on your hard drive. The security of this QuickMark QR Code Reader is also at a high level, so the user does not have to worry about the scanned data being saved and transferred to third parties. The QuickMark website provides information that confirms the high level of security. Among the available languages, unfortunately, only English is available, however, there is not much text in the entire program, so you don’t have to worry about this.
Scan
An excellent program for those who only need the basic function of a scanner. It has a simple, intuitive design in iOS style, simple controls, and a high level of security. Scan is capable of scanning various types of barcodes, both the latest QR codes and regular, linear codes. Not long ago, a version of Scan for Android appeared on Google Play. It has the same functions and properties, however, it is slightly different in design. In addition, Scan is very small compared to competing programs. Convenient, simple, small - this is how you can describe Scan.
Perhaps one of the best applications for recognizing barcodes, QR codes and more. In addition to its usual functions, Google Goggles has the ability to translate text that enters the camera lens into any language.
- The program has the ability to scan texts using optical character recognition technology. Using this technology, you can essentially convert text from PDF, djvu and the like into editable, say, TXT or DOC. This is also a useful feature that can be useful to the user in his work.
- The latest versions of applications help their users recognize thumbnail pictures and covers on discs. With this feature, the user can find out the title and full information about the book, movie or video game that is depicted in the thumbnail.
- For entertainment lovers, there is a feature that helps you solve Sudoku using Google Goggles!
In general, the program has not only basic, but also additional, useful functions that can be useful both at work and in everyday life. Unfortunately, Google Goggles has not been updated for a long time, however, even with the features that it already has, it has a number of its fans. And the program weighs a little - some 2.7 MB. It can be downloaded for free on Google Play.
One of the most accurate and fastest barcode recognition scanners will allow the user to instantly recognize the information that has been encrypted. It is ready to recognize information stored in QR codes as well as regular linear codes. This program allows you to create and share your own QR codes. With their help, you can create full-fledged business cards that will be very small in size and store only the most important things.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a program that will perform only its main function and take up little space, then QuickMark QR Code Reader is an ideal option. It is small, but functional. But if you need a multifunctional program for reading barcodes and thumbnails, the best option is the reliable Google Goggles. Bottom line: The two best programs for reading codes are QuickMark QR Code Reader and Google Goggles.