Automatic recognition of Barcode

[Dag270]

As a user I don't know which kind of Barcode I'm going to scan.

I would like to have a function which automatically switches to the correct Barcodescanner or at least a notification message which tells the user which Barcode has to be selected in order to get a result.

[FilipK]

In our effort to improve our barcode scanning abilities, we are introducing an experimental function ScanBarcode.  In order to use the function you first need to enable it in PowerApps Studio when editing an app under File|Advanced Settings|Experimental features. The function is currently only supported on iOS devices and will open a native barcode scanner in its own UI.  Upon a successful scan, it will return the string representing the scanned code.

To test this function:

1. Create an app with TextInput and Button controls
2. Set Button1.OnSelect = UpdateContext({barcodecanBarcode()})
3. Set TextInput1.Default = barcode

Note that in addition to scanning multiple types of barcodes, the scanner also scans QR codes.

We are looking for feedback on this approach to barcode scanning, so please let us know what you think.  If all goes well, we’ll be extending the support to Android devices.   Extending support to Windows and Web devices would not be as easy so we’re also interested in getting user feedback on that.

[Dag270]

Thank you very much for your answer. I tried the function out and it was fantastic. Please make this as a standard. With all the different labels I tried it and it worked. Even dark rooms and a bit of "label damage" did not throw a single error.

Please make this also available for Android. This is by far a better solution than the one which is as standard implemented. This one can compte now with professional Barcodescanner.

[FilipK]

The new Barcode scanner control is out, and we recommend it to anyone who needs to scan a barcode, QR code or data matrix codes on their mobile devices.

The new control automatically recognizes the type of code present, so you do not need to know that ahead of time.

A couple of notes:

1. Old barcode scanner control has been renamed to Web barcode scanner.  It is disabled by default and can be enabled in the experimental features settings.  We are keeping it around as it is currently the only way to scan barcodes in a web browser.
2. The ScanBarcode function has been removed from experimental properties.  The function will still work for existing apps, but those apps should be updated to use the new Barcode scanner control.  It is the same functionality underneath, and it will store the value for you in the control, so it should be easier to use than the function.