Event Attendance Monitoring:

Barcode Scanner Installation and Usage

(RevisedAugust 2012)

Attendance at all Exeter Award and Exeter Leaders Award activities can recorded using Opticon barcode scanners. These instructions describe how to setup your scanner and use it to record student attendance at events.

1. Installing software

Before you can start using a barcode scanner with your PC, you need to have the right software on your PC,installed under your profile. The software can be found here:

N:\Resources\Opticon scanner drivers and application and is also located on the Career Hub staff support web page. You will also need your scanner handy to complete the installation.

a. Download/Copy the Opticon application folder to your desktop and unzip.

b. Select the correct driver set up file for your operating system from the driver folder, download/copy across to your PC desktop and unzip.

c. Double click the driver icon (eg optousb32.exe for Win XP) and follow the on screen prompts to install the driver.

2. Using your scanner for the first time

Plug the scanner into your computer’s USB port using the supplied cable.The ‘new hardware found’ box should pop up

(a) Identifying the correct COMPort

You will need to know which COMPort the scanner is using on your PC. This is how you find out (in Windows XP)

Right click on My Computer

Select ‘Properties’

Select ‘Hardware’ tab

Click on ‘Device Manager’ and click on the plus sign next to ‘Ports’

Your scanner should be listed here:‘Opticon USB code reader’.

Write down the COM port number (it is assigned toCOM4 in the illustration)

Close the control panel box.

(b) Configuring your scanner application

You now have to configure the Opticon software to use the scanner.

Open the Opticonapplication folder on your desktop.

Click on the barcode scanner icon

‘OPN2001.exe’

The scanner application will launch which looks like this:

Select the appropriate com port you established earlier (see 2a) from the drop down box and click on the button that says Open. It will then grey out like this

(Note:If the wrong port is showing in the drop down window and it is greyed out, you will have to close this first by clicking the closebutton and then selecting the correct com port as described in the paragraph above).

(c) Setting the time and date

Then click ‘Set time’.

When you click ‘Get time’, the time should be correct.

(d) Other checks

Ensure thatAuto is unticked and that Save to file is ticked.

Your scanner software is now set up ready to use.

Please ensure you charge your scanner regularly by leaving it plugged into your USB port when the computer is on, especially if you haven’t used it in a while.

3. Using the scanner to scan bar codes

Each student’s card will need to be swiped. Depress and hold the large button on the scanner and pass the red beam horizontally across the student’s bar code (NB – do NOT press the small square button, which deletes/clears codes held in the scanner). You should hear a double beep.

4. After the event - generating your attendance file

(a) Saving the barcodes to your PC

Plug the scanner into your PC using the USB cable

Open the ‘Opticon’ folder on your desktop.

Double click on the barcode scanner icon – ‘OPN2001.exe’ to launch the scanner application

Click ‘Get barcode’

Barcodes will now appear in the ‘Barcode data’ box and will alsobe saved in a text file format in the same folder as the Opticon application.

The Opticon application can now be closed.

Rename your Barcodes.txt file to reflect your event(s). This will help you with filing, save you time uploading the data and help with troubleshooting any problems in future.

(b) Clearing the bar codes file in your scanner

At this point you have a text file of bar codes on your PC, and those bar codes are still stored in your scanner. The next time you host an event and scan in barcodes, these will be ADDED to the codes already there, so when you come to copy the file to your PC it will contain the bar codes from the previous event AND your new event.

To prevent this gradual accumulation of bar codes, you need to clear the scanner. There are two ways to do this, one is to press and hold the small square button on the scanner for at least six seconds – it will beep when cleared.

The other way is to launch the Opticon software (see 5a)and click the Clear Barcode button.

5. Uploading the barcodes

Please see Career Hub staff training file ‘Career Hub training - Finding events, viewing bookings and recording attendance.pptx’

Which can be downloaded from the staff career Hub support page or here; N:\Engagement\My Career Zone\Training\Events

Note

(i) Please do not delay in uploading event data as students are quick to query that events they attended are not showing in their profiles.

(ii) Ensure you charge your scanner regularly by leaving it plugged into your USB port when the computer is on, especially if you haven’t used it in a while.

If you are uncertain about any of this procedure or if you are having technical problems using a scanner, please contact Jon Boyes ext. 4312.

Jon Boyes

Curriculum and Work-Related Learning Officer/Exeter Award Programme Manager

August 2012