Launch IOS Bar Code Scanner From Web Link - c#

I am adding Code 39 bar code scanning functionality to a C# asp.net web app. This function must work with iphone, ipad, android phone, and android tablet. I need the scanned bar code value to be passed back to my web app.
So far I have been able to make this work on android phone and android tablet using ZXing barcode scanner with this method. Unfortunately the current version of ZXing in the App Store (Version 1.1) is currently not capable of scanning 1D bar code types. Through much of my research I have seen that 1D barcode scanning has been ported to later IOS ZXing versions but I'm not an IOS developer and am unsure how to install or enable it.
I have also explored the possibility of using pic2shop's web solution but this only works with UPC and other commercial codes and the bar code must be Code 39 based on my clients requirements.
I have clients all over the country so I can not physically be on site for each one so I need all of the complexity to be on me in my code not on the end user. I realize that the IOS solution will probably not be the same as the droid but I need it to feel as close as possible for the end user because a few of my clients will be using multiple devices and I need to minimize the confusion.
I realize that I have a tall order with a lot of restrictions but any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I ended up using CNS Barcode for IOS devices. CNS is a good solution, it does everything that I need but it is not an ideal solution for two reasons:
It is not free. I have no problem with paying for apps, I think that a developer deserves every penny. In my case though this caused an inconveinence to my clients. The small cost is irrelevant when factoring in the benefit of the new functionality but it's hard to sell a product to a client then tell them to make it work you will need to buy this other product.
CNS does not return the result to the calling window/tab, it opens a new tab. In my case this is a problem because the barcode scanner is being used to scan id badges to clock in or clock out employees and may be done 50 times meaning 50 tabs opened.
I was able to create a solution for number two by creating a local key-value storage instance on the new tab along with a key-value change listener on the old tab:
window.addEventListener("storage", onStorageChanged, false);
function onStorageChanged(e)
{
if(/*check for appropriate key-value*/)
{
window.Close();
}
}
Note: This solution may have to be modified to pass the actual barcode result in the local key-value storage instance back to the original tab and use window.Close() to close the new tab if the original tab was not opened via javascript, which is probably more often the case, because window.Close() does not work for windows that were browsed to naturally (not opened with javascript).
Since the number 1 concern is only an inconvenience and the number 2 concern is fixable I will mark this as solved.

Here is another place I found that does it.
http://codecanyon.net/item/mobile-upc-scanner-with-web-proxy-api/10193177

Related

How do I use a device exclusively in my c# application?

First of all no I'm not writing a keylogger... what I have is a barcode scanner that appears as a keyboard... well I need a way to use the scanner exclusively... this app will run in the background so I need ALL scanned data to scan into my app regardless of what app I'm using..
my guess is to make an invisible form that pops up and has focus when I pull up the screen that I need the barcode scanned..
Please take a look at my answer here How HID devices work when programming?
You can set up your scanner to function as a USB-HID device and capture PDF417 scanned data.
Don't know if you need to do anything special. From what I have worked in the past, scanners are not much more than a keyboard wedge device. Whatever field you are in, scan and as long as a simple barcode (code 39, code 128, similar) that are not complex, they should just fill in whatever field you are on.
Now, that being said, if you have a 2d barcode (PDF417), or other complex barcode that has capacity of larger amounts of data, special characters, etc., that you may need to do parsing, that goes an extra level.
If you could also provide maybe the specific device / manufacturer, there might be libraries that you can use to pre-capture the data and parse before sending forward.
FEEDBACK per comment.
I had to do a similar option of licenses, but limited states needed. Only a few states actually provide their specific format. Doing hospitality work, you probably need to cover most states, and probably skip over international and require that.
Also, having to push the results into whatever current app is, currently active, you might be able to capture in the background and push a Windows message of the final decoded to the active application. May need to dig into those API calls more directly.. Good luck, but I'll try to look into possible messaging for you too.

Using ms-appdata:///Local/ In Adaptive Cards

I have been using adaptive cards in the Windows 10 timeline and up to now have been getting the backgroundImage from a URL which works fine. I would like to know if it is possible to switch to using a local image stored in the LocalStorage folder of my UWP app but when I change the backgroundImage to ms-appdata:///Local/Card.jpeg the image does not display and the file is 100% in the directory as it is used fine in the application itself.
Anyone have any ideas and managed to get this working using ms-appdata?
All Timeline UserActivities must be HTTP images today. A primary function of UserActivities is to roam across devices, and there is no guarantee that a given app (and its associated local images) would be available on a device. As an example, Microsoft Launcher recently added support for Timeline.
The Adaptive Cards team is looking to improve this situation by adding support for "data-URIs", which are base64 encoded images directly in the payload. This feature is being implemented now but won't roll out to Timeline until a future release of Windows. Please let us know if this addresses your needs or post any other suggestions on the team's GitHub.
I've tried it as well. Adaptive cards don't work with ms-appdata:///

How to get the Caller Info from VoIP in real-time in a .NET Application?

I am working on a project which includes a lot of VoIP functions. I don't have access to the source code of the previous system that was being used so I can't dissect it to find out what I need to know. I will describe how the previous system used to work and then ask my question.
First, the old system that we have been using depends on Physical Phones which receive calls over the internet. There is a Desktop App installed on our computer which somehow takes the phone call received by the phone and shows that phone number on the Desktop App. Which uses that number to look up data about the caller. But the problem is that this Desktop App is over a decade old and has not been updated since. So we want to build a new Web Based Application with .NET that will do the same. My question is:
1- How do I fetch the Caller Information From the Physical Phone and use it how I want? The phone being used is SNOM 760 but its possible that other brands or models be used in the future.
2- Let's say that a specific page is always opened on the browser. How do I transfer the caller number to the server and then show a pop up with the information about the caller in that page that's always opened in the browser in a RELIABLE way? What about when that specific page is not opened? Remember that the phone that is receiving this call is not directly in communication with the server. But that is also not a restriction. I read somewhere while researching that I could have my server take the call first and then transfer it to that physical phone. The only restriction is that we use VoIP phones/numbers.
Like I said, I have very vague information on the subject. Any help is appreciated. I've studied that I could use Twillio or other such third party services to achieve this task but I just wanted to know if I can do it myself instead of relying on someone else and hoping they don't shut down their services in the next few years.
Those are a lot of questions jammed into 1 there, I'll try to answer some.
As you already tagged it, TAPI is an option but not very easy to get into. TAPI normally get it's information centrally from the PBX, but in your particular case the SNOM system has the phones themselves connect to a central server to gather the information and distribute it there. You may be able to hook into a proprietary protocol.
Gathering calls on a central server to then distribute them to phones is usually done with an IVR (Interactive voice response). Channeling outside calls through it is easy but the problem with getting your call information from this point is usually you miss the internal calls.
Your website pop-up is not my area of expertise, maybe someone else could comment on the feasibility of that, but personally I would go with a task-tray style app if reliability is your highest priority.

Is it possible to use both windows phone cameras at the same time?

While trying to use both cameras for windows phone app i am not able to display both cameras at the same time..
one of them freeze when the other is working. i used the same code that has been given for reference here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/hh202956(v=vs.105).aspx
any suggestion or code that shows an example of it?
This scenario is not supported by the API. Opening an additional instance of the camera will close the previous one.
However, to behave nicely with battery usage, you should explicitly .Dispose the device as soon as you are done with it (instead of relying on the auto-close behavior).
(Note that some hardware actually shares resources between the FFC and the BFC, so even if the API allowed for it, it is still unlikely to work with the current version of the OS).
refer this link
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/wpapps/en-US/cdefd4cb-94f8-4d98-a4b4-7671606815c6/can-i-use-frontcamera-and-primary-camera-at-the-same-time
but in the phone like S4 it is possible
refer this link
http://www.wpxbox.com/dual-shot-camera-apps-wp/

Using data from Google Maps in a C# Program for Windows Mobile

I'm making a charity Windows Mobile 6 app in C# to help those affected by Alzheimer's.
The aim is for this app to let the carer set a boundary by tapping in Google maps to set points. The carer would then put the windows mobile device in the patient's hand bag or coat, so that when the patient walks out on their own, thinking that they are "going home", the carer receives an SMS text with their position, heading and speed.
However, I don't know how to...
Switch from app to google maps for mobile
tap to select points
import the coordinates of that point to my C# program
use the coordinates to Calculate the boundary
Send the text with the position information
Switch back to my C# program
HTC's HD2 comes with a compass that uses this "tap to select a point then return to app" functionality, so surely it's possible for us too?
If anyone would be able to give me a hand my out I would be EXTREMELY grateful as this will help all those affected by Alzheimer's and other similar conditions. My Gran, for example, recently started trying to walk back to the property she lived in 20 years ago...
Thanks everyone! This means sooo much! I'll even come and buy you a drink to say thanks!
James
Whatever technical issues you're considering, I think you should realize that this type of usage is, AFAICS, contrary to the terms of service of google maps. See:
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/terms.html
That is, you may only use the google maps content if its accessible for everybody, not just whomever you hand out your program to:
Your Maps API Implementation must be generally accessible to users without charge.
If you're building it as a web app, it must be accessible through the internet, not intranet:
[your Maps API Implementation must not:] operate only behind a firewall or only on an internal network (except during the development and testing phase).
Some of the terms in header 10 also seem applicable:
[you must not (nor may you permit anyone else to):]
10.8 use the Static Maps API other than in an implementation in a web browser;
10.9 use the Service or Content with any products, systems, or applications for or in connection with:
(a) real time navigation or route guidance, including but not limited to turn-by-turn route guidance that is synchronized to the position of a user's sensor-enabled device;
Why would you want to kludge something together like that? Trying to have your app interface with another application for which you don't have source, whether it's Google Maps fopr Mobile or anything else, is difficult and should only be used as a last resort.
If this app is going to be free and not require users to log in, you can use the Bing Maps Web Service API directly from your application without cost. You could then use built-in GPS through the GPSID APIs as well, and you'd have control over what data goes where, what maps to draw, etc.
This seems like a much easier path to achieve what you're after.
As a side note, I gave a link above for the GPSID sample from Microsoft. I'd recommend looking at it and the native GPSID APIs but the managed wrapper Microsoft provided is, IMO, pure garbage, so you might consider wrapping the lower APIs yourself.
To restate the problem I believe you're trying to solve:
You've a use case when a carer will sent up a "virtual boundary" on a device. If that device leaves the bounded area, you'd like an alert sent via SMS sent to a predefined recipient, saying where that device is.
My suggestion would be to use something like OpenStreetMap maps (as they're free) for when you're setting up the virtual boundary. For their tiles (each 256px square), there is a relatively trivial method for converting between lat/long and pixel co-ordinates.
You might also be able to do what you want by cannibalising one of their existing Windows Mobile applications intended for surveying, such as OSMtracker, which already includes the map controls, downloads and the like, just leaving point 5 and part of point 4 on your list to tackle.

Categories

Resources