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In this guide you will learn step-by-step how to add MatrixScan Count to your application.

The general steps are:

  • Creating a new Data Capture Context instance
  • Configuring the Barcode Count Mode
  • Obtaining the camera instance and set frame source
  • Registering the listener to be informed when scan phase is complete
  • Setting the capture view and AR overlays
  • Configuring the camera for scanning view
  • Storing and retrieving the captured barcodes
  • Resetting the Barcode Count Mode
  • List and exit callbacks

Create A New Data Capture Context Instance​

The first step to add capture capabilities to your application is to create a new Data Capture Context. The context expects a valid Scandit Data Capture SDK license key during construction.

DataCaptureContext dataCaptureContext = DataCaptureContext.ForLicenseKey("-- ENTER YOUR SCANDIT LICENSE KEY HERE --");

Configure The Barcode Count Mode​

The main entry point for the Barcode Count Mode is the BarcodeCount object. It is configured through BarcodeCountSettings and allows you to register one or more listeners that are informed whenever a scan phase has finished.

For this tutorial, we will set up Barcode Count for tracking EAN13 codes. Change this to the correct symbologies for your use case (for example, Code 128, Code 39…).

BarcodeCountSettings settings = new BarcodeCountSettings();
settings.SetSymbologyEnabled(Symbology.Ean13Upca, true);

If you are sure that your environment will only have unique barcodes (i.e. no duplicated values), you can also enable BarcodeCountSettings.ExpectsOnlyUniqueBarcodes. This option improves scanning performance as long as you are sure that no duplicates will be present. Next, create a BarcodeCount instance with the Data Capture Context and the settings initialized in the previous step:

BarcodeCount barcodeCount = BarcodeCount.Create(dataCaptureContext, settings);

Obtain Camera Instance And Set Frame Source Used​

Our recommended camera settings should be used to achieve the best performance and user experience. The following couple of lines show how to get the recommended settings for MatrixScan Count and create the camera from it:

CameraSettings cameraSettings = BarcodeCount.RecommendedCameraSettings;

Camera camera = Camera.DefaultCamera;
camera.ApplySettingsAsync(cameraSettings);

Because the frame source is configurable, the data capture context must be told which frame source to use. This is done with a call to DataCaptureContext.SetFrameSourceAsync():

dataCaptureContext.SetFrameSourceAsync(camera);

Register the Listener​

To keep track of the barcodes that have been scanned, implement the IBarcodeCountListener interface and register the listener.

// Register self as a listener to monitor the barcode count session.
barcodeCount.AddListener(this);

IBarcodeCountListener.OnScan() is called when the scan phase has finished and results can be retrieved from BarcodeCountSession.

Alternatively to register IBarcodeCountListener interface it is possible to subscribe to corresponding event. For example:

barcodeCount.Scanned += (object sender, BarcodeCountEventArgs args) =>
{
};

Set Capture View And AR Overlays​

MatrixScan Count’s built-in AR user interface includes buttons and overlays that guide the user through the capturing process. By adding a BarcodeCountView the scanning interface (camera preview and scanning UI elements) will be added automatically to your application.

Add a BarcodeCountView to your view hierarchy:

BarcodeCountView barcodeCountView = BarcodeCountView.Create(context, dataCaptureContext, barcodeCount);

You can use a BarcodeCountView from XAML in your MAUI application.

<ContentPage xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dotnet/2021/maui"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
    xmlns:scandit="clr-namespace:Scandit.DataCapture.Barcode.Count.UI.Maui;assembly=ScanditBarcodeCaptureMaui"
    x:Class="MyScanPage">
    <AbsoluteLayout>
        <scandit:BarcodeCountView x:Name="barcodeCountView" AbsoluteLayout.LayoutBounds="0,0,1,1"
            AbsoluteLayout.LayoutFlags="All" DataCaptureContext="{Binding DataCaptureContext}"
            BarcodeCount="{Binding BarcodeCount}" ViewStyle="Icon">
        </scandit:BarcodeCountView>
    </AbsoluteLayout>
</ContentPage>

You can configure your view in the code behind class. For example:

public partial class MyScanPage : ContentPage
{
public MyScanPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();

// Initialization of BarcodeCountView happens on handler changed event.
this.barcodeCountView.HandlerChanged += BarcodeCountViewHandlerChanged;
}

private void BarcodeCountViewHandlerChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Your BarcodeCountView configuration goes here, e.g. subscribe for buttons tap events
}
}

For MAUI development add Scandit.DataCapture.Barcode.Maui NuGet package into your project.

Set Up The Camera So That It Switches On When You Are In Scanning View​

The camera is not automatically turned on when you are in a scanning view. You need to set up the camera so that it switches on when needed and it switches off when not needed anymore. Similarly BarcodeCount should also be enabled and disabled. For instance, you should switch off the camera when the BarcodeCountView is not visible anymore (including when the app goes in the background), similarly you want to switch on the camera when the BarcodeCountView is visible (including when the app goes to the foreground). One way to achieve this is the following:

protected override void OnPause()
{
camera.SwitchToDesiredStateAsync(FrameSourceState.Off);
base.OnPause();
}

protected override void OnResume()
{
camera.SwitchToDesiredStateAsync(FrameSourceState.On);
base.OnResume();
}

Store And Retrieve Scanned Barcodes​

The values captured as part of the scanning process are part of the session, and the session is not accessible outside IBarcodeCountListener.OnScan(). Therefore, we recommend that you store the values to present a list, for example when the user taps the list icon. To do this, make a copy of BarcodeCountSession.RecognizedBarcodes:

Reset Barcode Count Mode​

When the scanning process is over, you need to reset the mode to make it ready for the next process. This clears the list of barcodes scanned and all the AR overlays.

To reset Barcode Count’s scanning process, you need to call the BarcodeCount.Reset() method.

barcodeCount.Reset();

List And Exit Callbacks​

The UI includes two icons (buttons) named “List” and “Exit”. The SDK provides events so you can add the desired action when those icons are tapped by the user.

barcodeCountView.ListButtonTapped += (object sender, ListButtonTappedEventArgs args) =>
{
// Show the current progress but the order is not completed
};

barcodeCountView.ExitButtonTapped += (object sender, ExitButtonTappedEventArgs args) =>
{
// The order is completed
};