User manual

V002450_25_CR1200-CR2-CR3-CR2500-CR3500_Interface_Configuration_Document_CLIENT.docx
2011-04-27 Page 4 of 65
© 2011 The Code Corporation
• 14870 S. Pony Express Rd., Suite 200, Bluffdale, UT 84065 • [phone] • FAX [phone]
1 Scope
This Interface Configuration Document (ICD) specifies the communication protocol between the Code
Reader 2.0
™
(CR2), Code Reader 3.0
™
(CR3), Code Reader 2500
™
(CR2500), Code Reader 3500
™
(CR3500), Code Reader 1200
™
(CR1200) and application software that runs on the Host computer,
specific Reader commands, examples of a variety of ways to communicate and send data to the Reader
(i.e., RS232, USB, RF) and command/communication types.
It is important to note that some functionality has changed and/or been added for each firmware
release. Make sure to use the latest released firmware for both boot and app.
CR2/CR3/CR2500/CR3500 default values listed in Section 8 were compiled using firmware
version 4634. CR1200 default values listed in Section 8 were compiled using firmware version
4226.
2 Host to Reader Command Overview
This section is intended to introduce developers/users to the basic command types of the Reader. There
are two ways to send a command to the Reader; from a Host computer, or by scanning a bar code
containing a command sequence. In addition, there are two methods of sending a command from a Host
computer to the Reader; packetized and text commands.
2.1 Packetized Commands
Packetized commands are the most reliable way to communicate to the Reader. The packet consists of a
prefix and a suffix. The prefix contains the amount of data to be transmitted and the suffix contains error
detection. Unlike text commands, packetized commands are always enabled. (See Section 6.2)
2.2 Text Commands
Text commands are provided as an easy way to send a command to a Reader but they lack the reliability
of packetized commands. In addition, text commands must be enabled. Text commands can easily be
sent from a terminal program and uses a %xx (similar to URL encoding) to translate an escape sequence
containing a 2-digit hex value to the corresponding single 8-bit ASCII character. This allows non-
printable ASCII characters to be entered via the terminal program. Text commands can be sent via the
RS232, USB Virtual COM or RF mode by using appropriate communication software. In addition, the
developer/user may send text commands by using CRB files. (See Section 10)
2.3 Bar Code Commands
The Reader will recognize the following sequence within a bar code as a command to the Reader:
SOH ‘X’ GS STX Text-Command EOT (Packet does not contain spaces)
The Text-Command portion contains a text command as described above.
Because the Bar Code Command is terminated with ASCII EOT, the Text-Command may not contain
EOT. If the Text-Command needs to contain EOT, encode it as %04.