User's Manual

Chapter 15 Advanced Data Formatting
Introduction
Advanced Data Formatting (ADF) is a means of customizing data before transmission to the host device. Scan
data can be edited to suit particular requirements.
To implement ADF, scan a related series of bar codes, which begin on page 15-8, which allows programming the
digital scanner with Advanced Data Formatting (ADF) Rules.
Avoid using ADF formatting with bar codes containing more than 60 characters. To add a prefix or suffix value for
such bar codes, use Prefix/Suffix Values on page 5-34. Using ADF with longer bar codes transmits the bar code in
segments of length 252 or less (depending on the host selected), and applies the rule to each segment
Rules: Criteria Linked to Actions
ADF uses rules to customize data. These rules perform detailed actions when the data meets certain criteria. One
rule may consist of single or multiple criteria applied to single or multiple actions.
For instance, a data formatting rule could be:
Criteria: When scan data is Code 39, length 12, and data at the start position is the string “129”,
Actions: pad all sends with zeros to length 8,
send all data up to X,
send a space.
Scanning a Code 39 bar code of 1299X1559828 transmits the following: 00001299<space>. If you scan a Code 39
bar code of 1299X15598, this rule is ignored because the bar code did not meet the length criteria.
The rule specifies the editing conditions and requirements before data transmission occurs.