i.d. mate Quest Power Users
The following is a list of items for users who want to get the most out of their i.d. mate Quest. This information is supplemental information that is found in the Quest User's Guide:
1. Updating the Product Database
The easiest way to update your product database is via Wi-Fi.
Updating via Wi-Fi requires you have Wi-Fi enabled on your ID Mate Quest. For more information on connecting to a wireless network, please refer to Help Mode, number 6. Once connected, go to the System Menu, navigate to Barcode Database Update. Follow the prompts to select the version you would like to download.
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If you are unable to update your database via Wi-Fi, call technical support at 1-800-890-1180 to request the database be sent to you as an email link or through the mail on a CD-ROM.
Updating via link or CD requires that you have a USB cord (male A to mini B) connecting your ID Mate Quest to your PC. The Quest's memory card should show up as a removable disk under My Computer (Windows XP) or Computer (Windows Vista, 7, 8). Please make yourself familiar with how to find and interact with this resource before attempting the following steps.
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As a precautionary measure, make a backup copy of all the data on your Quest to your computer.
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Obtain your new database:
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Download: Download the database named BARCODES.DAT from the email you received by clicking on the link. Because of the large file size, it may take your browser several minutes to pop up the save dialog box. Save file to your computer, noting where it is being saved.
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CD ROM: Place the database upgrade CD in your computer's CD or DVD drive. On the CD, the BARCODES.DAT file is the new database.
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Copy the new BARCODES.DAT file and paste it in the root directory of your ID Mate card. This will replace the old BARCODES.DAT with the new one. Your computer should ask you to confirm file replacement, "Would you like to replace the existing file" and it will describe the files in question. Confirm with the Yes option.
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Once copying is complete, go to your system tray and safely eject the Quest from your computer.
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Your i.d. mate should now be ready to go. Enjoy!
2. Inventory Mode
This procedure requires that you have an SD card reader connected to your PC, which should be available in Windows XP under My Computer, and in Windows Vista and Windows 7 under Computer, as a Removable Disk. Please make yourself familiar with how to find and interact with this resource before attempting the following steps.
Inventory Mode Instructions
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To Add an Item and Quantity:
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Scan the item's bar code.
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Press the Select/OK (oval) button to store the item in inventory then press the Next and Previous (triangle) buttons to choose the quantity.
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Press the Select/OK (oval) button to save the quantity.
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Listen for the chime to verify the quantity has been saved.
Follow the same directions above to edit the quantity for an item already entered.
You cannot erase a record from Inventory Mode. Items without descriptions in the En-Vision America database on your Micro SD Card will be given incorporate the barcode number as its’ title descriptor.
To change a quantity rapidly, press and hold the Next or Previous button. The count will change by 1 for the first ten, then will change by 10 for the next ten, then will change by 100 for the next ten, then by 1,000 for the next 10, then by 10,000 for the next 10.
Browse Inventory Instructions
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Use the Next and Previous buttons to browse through inventory items. The recorded quantity will be spoken after the item description.
To change a quantity rapidly, press and hold the Next or Previous button. The Summit will change the count by 1 for the first ten, then will change by 10 for the next ten, then will change by 100 for the next ten, then by 1000 for the next 10, then by 10000 for the next 10.
To Edit the Quantity for an Item in Browse Inventory Mode:
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Use the Next and Previous buttons to find the item you wish to edit the quantity for.
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Press the Select/OK (oval) button to store the item in inventory then press the Next and Previous (triangle) buttons to choose the quantity.
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Press the Select/OK (oval) button to save the quantity.
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Listen for the chime to verify the quantity has been saved.
To Delete an Item from Inventory:
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Use the Next and Previous buttons to find the item you wish to delete.
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Press the Erase (square) button twice.
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Listen for the chime to verify the quantity has been saved.
Working with the Inventory.txt File​
Caution: It is best not to work directly with the original Inventory.dat file on your SD Card unless absolutely necessary. Even a seemingly innocuous change to the file's syntax or structure may disrupt the ability of the Quest to properly access and manipulate it. It is best to work with a copy of the file on your computer. You may wish to edit the name of this copy to include the date (and possibly time) of the save.
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To download the saved inventory information from your unit, first turn the unit on and plug the mini USB end of your cable to your Quest and the USB end to your computer. On your computer, “Quest” drive will appear. In the root of the Quest drive you will find the Inventory.dat file. You can view the data in a semi-colon delimited file if you open it using Notepad. We recommend opening an Excel workbook application and then importing the file. Keep in mind that this is a semi-colon delimited text file with no text qualifiers. All of the columns of data should be formatted as "text" not "general." If you neglect this, "general" will eliminate the beginning zeros of each barcode and may turn it into scientific notation.
It may be best to work with the Inventory.dat file's data by importing it with either a database program, such as Microsoft Access or OpenOffice Base, or a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc. When doing so:
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The data is semi-colon delimited with no text qualifiers.
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The first column is the bar code number and should be formatted as "text" not "general". Neglecting this will eliminate any leading zeros and may turn it into scientific notation.
For the Omni and Summit, a big difference between the Inventory.dat file and a BARCODES.DAT file that has been run through the Bar Encode Lite program is that the BARCODES.DAT file MUST be in numerical sorted order, otherwise, it will not work. Inventory Mode does not require this as the items are saved and worked with in the order they are scanned. Quest does not require sort order for either file.
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Also in Inventory Mode, there are only three fields: the bar code number, the item description, and a number for the quantity. However, the description can include a price as part of the description if you type it yourself in the Inventory.dat file.
It is vitally important not to use commas or semi-colons within your data if you will be importing into a spreadsheet like Excel.
For example:
041196805499;Progresso Soup $1.45;00002;
094000183566;A-von Moisturizer 24 $4.45;2;
036000282009;Kleenex $1.24;5;
3. Creating Your Own Database
This procedure requires that the Quest user has a USB cable connected between the Quest and a PC. The reader should be available in Windows XP under My Computer, and in Windows Vista and Windows 7 under Computer, as a Removable Disk. Please make yourself familiar with how to find and interact with this resource before attempting the following steps.
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The following describes the process for creating a custom data file for the i.d. mate Quest. Quest users may have up to 100 *.DAT files existing on their card at a given time. They must be named BARCODES##.DAT in sequential order (example: BARCODES01.DAT, BARCODESO2.DAT, etc.).
Barcodes are subject to these criteria:
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Barcodes and description fields may be comprised of any ASCII character except for comma, semi-colon, and quotes.
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The actual printed barcodes must match exactly what you put into your barcode filed. Include any leading and trailing zeroes and spaces. There should be no duplicate barcodes in a BARCODES.DAT file.
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Barcode ID mode only reads the first 21 characters. We recommend a maximum length of only 20 characters (though more can be accommodated outside of the Barcode ID function).
Creating the Custom Database
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Prepare Data: Note: For all options below, there must be at least one description field in addition to the barcode field, and multiple description fields will be navigable when scanning the barcode. Barcodes may be comprised of any ASCII character except for comma, semi-colon, and quotes. Barcodes can be in any order. It is necessary to remove any duplicate barcodes.
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Option 1: Enter data manually - The first field should always be the record's barcode, followed by a semi-colon (;) and then the descriptive fields separated by semi-colons.
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Option 2: Use Inventory Mode – Open inventory.dat in another program. (This file is comma delimited, quote text qualified, the barcode column should be “text” not general format.) Remove the quantity field/column, modify the descriptions if necessary. Save As BARCODES##.DAT
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Option 3: Acquire manufacturer or retail data - Treatment of barcode data received from a manufacturer may need to be handled on a case-by-case basis. Be sure to import the barcode column into the first field.
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Within your data fields, replace all commas (,) and semi-colons (;) and quotes (“) with spaces or with periods. This will assure that data is uploaded to the Inventory file correctly. (This is a comma delimited, text enclosed by quotes file). A period will create a pause in the speech like a comma or semi-colon. We recommend replacing all double spaces with single spaces to reduce size of file. Repeat until no replacements are reported.
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Make your file into a semi-colon delimited file and save as text. Download this text file (right click and save to your Quest's removable disk storage) to see an example of the final format in Notepad.
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Option 1: Export from Access. When exporting from Access, choose to export as "text files." On the first screen, choose "delimited". On the second screen, choose "semicolon". Also make sure to indicate {none} where it asks if you want Text Qualifiers. Save the file as: BARCODES01.DAT
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Option 2: Convert Excel file to semi-colon delimited file using Notepad:
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Select File > Save As.
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Change "Save as type" to CSV (comma delimited) *.csv.
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If prompted that the selected file type does not support workbooks that contain multiple sheets, click OK. Then if prompted that the file may contain features that are not compatible with CSV (comma delimited) - "Do you want to keep the workbook in this format?" - choose Yes. Select File > Close. When prompted to save changes, choose No.
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Open the file in Notepad or a similar text editor.
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Using Edit > Replace, replace all commas (,) with semi-colons (;).
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Save the file using File > Save (or Ctrl + S) Name: BARCODES01.DAT
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Option 3: Change Regional Options and use Notepad. If your file is very large, the replacement function above may take too long. Here is another way of doing it: Before saving your .csv file, change your computer's regional settings: Go to Start > Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Customize (from the numbers tab), then under the List Separator, choose the semi-colon (;). This will make any .csv files semi-colon delimited instead of comma delimited. Return to the Excel file and save as a .csv file format. In your file window rename file BARCODES01.DAT.
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No further processing is necessary!
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Copy the BARCODES01.DAT file to the root directory of the unit's card. RESTART before beginning to use your new database. You may have multiple databases co-exist. The "official" En-Vision America BARCODES.DAT file should remain named as it is. Your custom barcodes files should be renamed with a sequencing number with the following pattern: BARCODES01.DAT, BARCODES02.DAT, etc. up to BARCODES99.DAT
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Order of Announcements: Enumerated DAT files are queried in numerical order before BARCODES.DAT. You can tell if the product announcement is an En-Vision America product by the preceding announcement of "Product" or "Artist" or "Title" before the data is spoken. If Google product search is enabled you will hear a small beep indicating the search/replay of Google data.
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Notes During Use:
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Because the software will not be doing a searched based on sort order, the time elapse between scan and found records is longer than if you just had En-Vision America's database on your unit.
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If you want to scan another item quickly, press the erase button to "reset" the scanner.
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NEW! Inventory mode will be able to pull down your description field from your self-made databases.
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For further technical assistance, contact En-Vision America at 1-800-890-1180 and ask for help creating a custom barcode database.
4. Quest Specifications
Camera
5 Megapixel CMOS; 640x480 pixels
Flash Module / Light Sensor
Audio Formats Supported
MP3
Photo Formats
Supported
JPG
Barcode Formats
Supported
Code 39, Codabar, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8, EAN-13, Code 128, UCC/EAN 128 Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, PDF417
Connectivity - WiFi
802.11 b/g (2.4 GHz) Wi-Fi module
Supports WPA, WPA2, WEP
Bluetooth
Supports: HSP Profile -
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BlueAnt Q2
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Samsung HM1100
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Gogroove Air Band
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Sony MDR-XB950BT, MDR-ZX550N, & MDR-ZX750BN
Does Not Support: A2DP Profile -
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iHome Speakers
Storage - Card Reader
Micro SDHC - SanDisk 8GB
Storage - USB
USB 2.0 Host / Device Controller
Audio
Stereo Speaker (8 ohm) x 1
Integrated Microphone x 1
I/O Connectors
DC In Jack (5V @ 2A) x 1
Memory Card SDHC Slot x 1
Micro USB Connector x 1
Earphone Jack (3.5Φ, 1/8") x 1
Switch Buttons
On/Off Switch x 1
6 Button Membrane Switch x 1
Volume Thumbwheel x 1
Battery
Standby Time: 45 Minutes
Scan Time: 6 Hours
Power
AC Adapter: 5V / 2A
Battery: 3.7V / 2200mAh