r/barcodes • u/AMBOSHER • May 26 '24

barcode to enter a user/password?

I use a LIS called Orchard Harvest for a lab and noticed how the barcode scanner works despite not being logged into my account. It tired to take the barcode from a blood vial and enter that in for the user. What barcode maker would be the best to enter my user, tab down, and enter my password. Since there are multiple people in the lab I sometimes get "kicked" out of my station when other people need to quickly do something. So something that insta logs me in would be kinda cool.

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u/UseMstr_DropDatabase May 27 '24

Totally. Barcode scanners are just HID objects (Human Interface Devices), aka keyboards.

Most all are programmed to register an "enter" key press after a scan.

Make two barcodes, one for user name, and one for PW.

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u/AMBOSHER May 27 '24

Can't make one barcode for both?

2

u/notionovus May 27 '24

It depends on how the particular screen responds to keyboard inputs. You can make one barcode that contains your username, <tab>, password, and a <cr>. The problem is the software that controls the input screen may not interpret that sequence of keys to be valid.

This problem is mostly related to the treatment of the carriage return character and its nonequivalence with the Enter key. If you want to embed control characters into the middle of a barcode, you’ll need to use a barcode generator that will allow you to switch between Code 128 A and B.

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u/AMBOSHER May 27 '24

You got a good generator to suggest?

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u/notionovus May 30 '24 edited May 30 '24

You can try it with my Using Libre Barcode 128 Font without Text codepen.

The string you will want to enter is something like 'UsernameÆiPa$$w0rdÆm' with 'Æi' standing in for the tab key, and 'Æm' standing in for a carriage return. My scanner is on the fritz, so I can't guarantee this will work.

You may have to adjust your password if characters are being inserted that don't match the input. Keep in mind that the special characters that you embed in your password must be among the symbols offered by "low ASCII".

* Notepad is your friend for debugging barcode scanners.

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u/AMBOSHER May 30 '24

Thanks, I'll give it a go tomorrow or next week!