Written by Jack Tripp

Technical Note Summary:

This guide will walk you through performing inventory using a Palm Pilot equipped with the SmartScan software. The information is compatible with all versions of Alexandria in the Macintosh and Windows environment.

If you do not have SmartScan installed on your Palm Pilot, please refer to Tech Note T0007.01. It will walk you through that process. Also, if you are a first time user, it is recommended that you do a small batch (5-10 books) to practice on.

NOTE: BEFORE DOING ANY TYPE OF IMPORT, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CURRENT BACKUP OF YOUR DATA FILE.

To start the inventory process, make sure you have SmartScan running on the Palm Pilot and the Inventory category selected. (Refer to image 1.1)

You are now ready to begin scanning barcodes into your Palm Pilot. We recommend limiting the number of items scanned into your Palm Pilot to 1000.

Once you finish scanning barcodes into your Palm Pilot, you are ready to hot sync the palm and download the Inventory.txt file.

Place the Palm Pilot into the cradle and press the hot sync button, located on the front of the cradle. The Palm Pilot will now connect to your computer and download the Inventory.txt file into your users folder.

Image 1.2

The next step in the inventory process is to import the Inventory.txt file into Alexandria. If you are using Alexandria Version 5, in the circulation screen press the * key (shift + 8), then press Enter.

If you are using Alexandria Version 3, in the circulation screen press *@ (shift +8 and shift +2) and press return. The Add File window will appear asking for a script file to process. (Refer to image 1.2). If you're using SmartScan Conduit V1.1 the file will be found –

Windows - c:\palm\{your user name}\SmartScan\}\{category in which you scanned the barcodes .txt.}

Macintosh – Hard drive\Palm Folder\Users Folder\{your user name}\{category in which you scanned the barcodes .txt}

If you're using SmartScan Conduit V2 (released winter 2002), the file will be found –

Windows - c:\palm\{your user name}\SmartScan\}\{date the file was hotsynced}\{category in which you scanned the barcodes with the time it was hotsynced.txt} (Refer to Image 1.3)

Image 1.3

Macintosh – Hard drive\Palm Folder\ Users Folder\{your user name}\{SmartScan with date the file was hotsynced}\{category in which you scanned the barcodes with the time it was hotsynced.txt} (Refer to Image 1.4)

Image 1.4

Once you have selected the Inventory.txt file to import, simply click on Open, if you are using Alexandria Version 3. If you are using Alexandria Version 5, click on Open and then click Run.

The final step in the inventory process is to clear the barcodes from the Palm. You do this by selecting your category (Inventory) and then click on Menu. Click on Clear, and finally click on OK. The barcodes are erased from your Palm Pilot's memory and you are ready to begin scanning barcodes again.

Please note that scanning barcodes with the Palm Pilot is quite battery intensive, and if the Palm Pilot is left in the HotSync cradle when not in use, it will drain the batteries. SmartScan has a built in warning system that will notify you before your batteries are completely drained. When the low battery warning is displayed, you must change the batteries immediately to prevent data loss. Please note that while changing the batteries, you have approximately two minutes before the Palm Pilot will lose all information saved in its memory. If the batteries drain completely, or you take too long changing them, you will lose the SmartScan program and all scanned barcodes saved on the Palm Pilot.

To avoid losing data, it is a good idea to HotSync you Palm III Laser Scanner before changing the batteries. If you do lose the SmartScan program from your Palm Pilot, simply HotSync your Palm III and SmartScan will be reinstalled.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PERFORMING INVENTORY USING YOUR PALM PILOT AND THE SMARTSCAN SOFTWARE, PLEASE CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT AT (800) 347-4942.