OseComm - basic usage instructions

This is a basic usage guide for Opticon's OseComm which explains basic setup and covers the most used options.

OseComm is used for two-way communication between your Opticon device and your PC. It's main functions are to send and retrieve files but there are some other handy functions as well. Download and install OseComm from here if you've not already done so: https://www.opticon.com/support/OseComm/SetupOseComm32.exe

OseComm Main window:

To get OseComm up and running to your requirements there are two sections that need to be set up. 1) Communication Settings
2) Protocol Tasks

Go to 'Options' and then choose 'Communication Settings', the configuration window will open. The 'Communication Settings' are automatically selected in the left panel.

Communication Settings

Serial Port: Choose the correct communications port of your Opticon device.

If you can't find your device check if the USB cable is connected and your cradle is powered or, when the terminal is connected via cable directly, that your terminal is powered on. If this is the case but you still don't see your Opticon device then check if the USB drivers are installed by (re)installing the drivers. You can find additional info on the Drivers installation here.

IrDA Adapter: The IrDA adapter options are to select the protocol that the cradle (with a build in IrDA adapter) uses. For instance the newer cradles that support 'auto baudrate' will use the ' Litelink Compatible' adapter. These are for instance the CRD-1006 and CRD-9723RU. This is also the default adapter setting. Less common are the 'Tekram' and 'ActiSys' options, which are there to support external USB IrDA devices. Another older option is the 'IRU-1300 Cradle', which is a specific setting used for the (discontinued) IRU-1300 cradle.

Protocol Type: With the Protocol Type you can choose how long or how many times the protocol will run. The options should speak for themselves, but the most common and default option is to let it run in ' Continuous' mode.

Communication Speed: The Communication speed should be known upfront from the applications' documentation. You could go for trail-and-error to 'find' the correct setting, but it is smarter and less stressful to be sure to know with which speed the application is communicating.

Then there are 4 run options to influence OseComm's operational behavior and they also speak for themselves:

- Run protocol at start;
- Run minimized at start;
- Minimize to tray;
- Show messages while in tray.

Protocol Tasks

Under the 'Protocol Tasks' are all tasks listed that will be performed once a connection with an Opticon device is detected.

At the initial setup the Tasks List will be empty.

Let's look at the available available task list:
1) Get OS Version
2) Get Application Version
3) Get Time / Date
4) Set Time / Date
5) Receive File(s)
6) Transmit File
7) List File(s)
8) Delete File(s)

1) Get OS Version: This will retrieve the terminal's OS (firmware) version.

2) Get Application Version: This will retrieve the terminal's application version.

3) Get Time / Date: Retrieves the date & time of the RTC (Real Time Clock) in the terminal.

4) Set Time / Date: Sets the PC's time & date as the terminal's RTC values.
This is valuable in countries with Daylight Savings Time and to synchronize the time between your PC and the terminal, as the time can shift a little over a longer period as the terminal can't auto-sync with an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server like your PC.

5) Receive File(s): This task let's you send files from you terminal to the PC, which would mainly be the scanned barcodes and/or any other input from the keyboard that the application has gathered.

-> 1: Select the terminal's drive (usually the 'Default drive');
-> 2: Enter the filename of your scandata file, including extension;
-> 3: Should OseComm continue the tasks if the file is not available? Yes or No
-> 4: Select the download folder where the retrieved scandata file is stored on the PC;
-> 5: Choose one of the download modes to Append, Overwrite, create a new extension or create a new filename (default: Append)
-> 6: Choose which of these 4 parts you want to appear in the filename (which is constructed at 7)
-> 7: Choose the sequence of how the filename is constructed when it's written. Items at 6 that are not marked but appear in the filename structure at 7 will be left empty.

6) Transmit File: With this task you can send a file or multiple files from your PC to the terminal. Think for instance that the app will check if the read barcode is found in the uploaded article list and then automatically displays the description. Or that the uploaded file is a list of orders with articles to pick and so on. Although the option is called ' Transmit File' you can send multiple files if necessary in one go.

7) List Files: This task will list requested files. If you enter '*.*' in the filename field you will see all files on the terminals disk. This can come in handy for instance when figuring out what the scandata file is called.

8) Delete File(s): This task will remove the requested files from the terminal's disk. You don't have to manually remove the scandata file as this will be done automatically after a successful transfer of the file to the PC.

We hope this is helpful and will get you on your way.

You can always ask us for help if you have additional questions here.