ID Label Printing Problem - BARCODE

[Andrew d’Entremont]

I've always created my own barcode labels for comics using the DYMO Label software, but after reading Pete's recent article I decided to try using the integrated label printing feature in Comic base. At first it seemed to work fine, but when I got to an issue of Money Shot #4 it all just seemed to go sideways. When testing the printed label it just went to the first issue of the last title I happened to be viewing in ComicBase instead of Money Shot #4. I thought maybe there was a problem with the database so I closed it and rebooted my PC, but the problem persisted. 

I decided to test a bit more with the custom barcode label I created for Oblivion Song #24. When I scanned my custom barcode it took me to the exact issue of Oblivion Song, but when I scanned the one generated by ComicBase it took me to the first issue of the last title I had viewed. 

After seeing how easy it is to use the ID label feature, I'd love to use it, but I am hesitant to do so if it's not reliable. Do you have any idea why this is happening? 

 

 

[Andrew d’Entremont]

I forgot to mention, I'm running v20.0.2.3162 on an up-to-date Windows 10 system. 

[Peter R. Bickford]

I'm not able to reproduce what you're seeing -- I wonder if what you're experiencing is actually a refresh issue. Try playing with your view settings and seeing if it resolves.

-Pete

[Peter R. Bickford]

Worth noting: the custom barcodes printed with ComicBase are unique to that particular database (they're identifying record numbers in that database). If you try to use them with a different database, you'll get random/no results.

-Pete

[Andrew d’Entremont]

I'm only using one database, so it's not that. I tried rebuilding lists and that didn't change anything, and I just tried changing some of the view settings as you suggested and the barcodes still don't work. It's really odd because the first few I printed worked fine. 

[Andrew d’Entremont]

Just a quick update that this issue has not been resolved. I'm only running one database, and I've tried changing the views as suggested.

On another interesting note, which may or may not be related, I noticed that when I checked my collection statistics it seems like it's basing the information on every item in the database instead of what's in my collection. When I check reports on the mobile app it's the same thing. 

 

 

[Andrew d’Entremont]

Oops, never mind that last part. I decided to run a search on issue quantities over 5 and see that on of the new issues I entered had a quantity of over 4 million! Must have been a borcode scanner mishap.

The barcode problem does persist though. 

Thanks.

[Andrew d’Entremont]

As requested, here is an update of where I am now.

After working with Mark behind the scenes to update to the newest build (v20.0.2.3210) I still can't get the ID label with barcode to scan properly.

After seeing Pete's article on The Science of Comic Filing, I decided to try printing ID labels with barcodes right after entering a new batch of comics with my barcode scanner. I tested them immediately and they all scanned properly and took me exactly where they were supposed to.

Unfortunately the barcodes have never worked properly since that time. Every time I scan one of those barcodes it just seems to take me to the top of the tile I am currently browsing, or to the next comic book title in ComicBase's sequence. For example, I was browsing "The Amazing Spider-Man (4th Series)" when I tried scanning a barcode for "Shazam! (4th Series) #11" and it just took me to "The Amazing Spider-Man (5th Series)". When I tried scanning the barcode again it just took me back to the top of  "The Amazing Spider-Man (5th Series)".  I have also tried printing labels for comics with no barcodes, as well as older issue that do have barcodes but were I entered into the database long ago, and the results of scanning those barcodes are the same. 

I tried different view setting as Pete suggested but that didn't help. I'm also only running one database.

Attached are some screenshots of my setup as well as a scan of a label I printed today, which does not work

Thanks!

 

[Mark J. Castaneda]

thanks for the extra info, i'll notify Pete to get his thoughts.

[Mark J. Castaneda]

if you have a document program like MS Word or even Notepad, scan the barcode off the label and see how the digits show up. We're curious if the scanner is picking up all the characters in the code or not.

Also, are you using the scanner we sell on our website?

[Andrew d’Entremont]

I tested the scanner and it's not picking up the leading and ending characters. If I type in the code manually it works so I guess I need to reprogram my barcode scanner. It must only be configured to read numbers.

I'm using an Esky barcode scanner.  There's  a PDF of the setup sheet, but I'm not entirely sure which code to use to reprogram it. I originally found this scanner after reading a post in the old forum by a user who recommended it, and he even provided the setup instructions, but I can't seem to find it in the archive. 

[James Buck]

Just a quick note from a user - I also had a scanner prior to buying the software, and to get it to work properly I needed to scan the Codabar set of codes.  After doing so I would see only the numbers in a text editor (notepad, etc..), not the first and last letter.  In addition to turning Codabar on I had to scan another setup code to enable first and last characters.  Hope that points you in the right direction.

Jim

[Andrew d’Entremont]

Thanks. I haven't tried the codabar settings so I'll give that a try!

[Andrew d’Entremont]

35 minutes ago, James Buck said:

Just a quick note from a user - I also had a scanner prior to buying the software, and to get it to work properly I needed to scan the Codabar set of codes.  After doing so I would see only the numbers in a text editor (notepad, etc..), not the first and last letter.  In addition to turning Codabar on I had to scan another setup code to enable first and last characters.  Hope that points you in the right direction.

Jim

Success! I reset my scanner and programed it as I had before but also added "CODABAR SEND START/STOP CHARS-ENABLE" and now it works! Thanks so much for the tip! 

Incidentally, I finally found that old thread where this barcode scanner was recommended.