Changelog
New features, fixes and improvements requested by Orca users
- 2022
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
- 2016
- All
Added Orca Variables dropdown
24 Dec 2022
were designed to make it easier to extract data from barcodes as they are scanned, and move that data into the relevant field.
To remove the need to read the docs every time you need to do this, we’ve added Orca Variables as a dropdown list to the default field in the Orca Scan web app.
Simply right-click any column in the Orca Scan web app, go to the default value and type $
Zapier integration is now in BETA!
16 Dec 2022
With Zapier, you can scan barcodes into thousands of apps, to do things like upload products to your . Follow our or and we’ll help you get setup.
We’ve also released a mobile app update (v11.9.0); which includes:
And finally… We’ve taken barcodes back to basics in our 👈
That’s all for now; let us know what you’d like to see next
Improved Orca Variables
14 Oct 2022
Thanks to your feedback, we’ve improved so it’s even easier to extract barcode data.
Improved support for slower connections
18 Sep 2022
Quick fix: we’ve increased the amount of time allowed to pull cloud data to better support slower connections. Let us know what you’d like to see next
Fixed bugs with triggers and photos
14 Sep 2022
This update fixes a bug where triggers do not detect when a photo is added.
Bug fixes for $ decoding
4 Jul 2022
This update fixes a bug decoding barcodes that contain $ (thanks Curtis)
A visual refresh
24 Jun 2022
To celebrate national barcode day, we’ve introduced a new look… same great product, just a little prettier
Extract barcode data with Orca Variables
21 Mar 2022
We’ve introduced Orca Variables to make it easier to extract data from barcodes, add $GS1:GTIN or $HIBC:PCN as a default value and scan a UDI barcode (more info at )
We also fixed a few UI issues.
Improved trigger functionality
9 Mar 2022
Conditional if-this-then-that triggers will continue to work when “Add detail after scan” is disabled.
This means you can speed up scanning by disabling the detail screen and only show it when needed using a “Set Required” trigger. More info at
Added support for UDI barcodes
8 Mar 2022
Hello, this update includes:
As always, let us know what you’d like to see next
Increase scan region
19 Dec 2021
As requested, this update allows you to increase the size of the scan region.
Bug fix when scanning UPC barcodes
7 Dec 2021
This update resolves a bug when scanning UPC barcodes (thank you Michelle)
Photos are finally here!
22 Oct 2021
You can now add images of your items. Whether you want to show proof of delivery, capture a photo for quality purposes or show product variations, it’s now possible!
Capture multiple values from dropdowns by editing a field/column and enabling multi-select. A few ways you might use this:
Improved export
1 Aug 2021
Hi there 👋
We’ve improved data export, you can now choose columns, date format etc… Hit export to give it a try. Thanks to David Gati for the suggestion 🙏
Improved permissions, faster GPS and more
20 Jul 2021
We’ve improved … admins can now alter a sheets structure 🚀
without wiping your sheet 💪
Create an Any Field to monitor all fields:
Improved scanning on PDF417 scanners
16 Jul 2021
Improved ability to scan PDF417 barcodes (thanks Mike)
Better support for non-GPS devices
14 Jul 2021
GPS is now optional, so you can install on devices without GPS
Now supporting Datalogic scanners
12 Jul 2021
Added support for Datalogic barcode scanners (thanks for the nudge Nathalie)
Import without clearing existing data
1 Jun 2021
Hello 👋 as requested you can now append rows to a sheet, without clearing existing rows and history 🚀
Or replace all data as usual… The choice is yours 🙂
BIG thanks to Elaine for the suggestion.
Create medical sheet templates
30 May 2021
Scan any medical device and we’ll automatically extract serial number, lot number and expiry date into the relevant fields. We’ll also warn you when you scan an expired product.
Create a new sheet to give it a try.
We’ve introduced to make extracting values from barcode data into separate fields easier. Add an Orca Variable as a default value to one of your fields and start scanning.
Print barcodes in 3 taps
25 May 2021
We’ve made it a little easier to print barcodes from the .
You can choose from the following types:
Easier to print barcodes
21 May 2021
We’ve made it easier to print barcodes (tap print next to barcode field)
Light Theme, Triggers And More
4 May 2021
Some of you reported difficulty seeing Orca Scan in sunny climates. To remedy this, we added a light theme 😎
You can now use the value of any item within a trigger simply by wrapping the column name in [square brackets]
In case you missed it, you can use to show/hide fields, set up notifications and break barcodes into multiple columns 🤖
We’ve made it even easier for external systems to , and items from your Orca sheets by providing a unique URL for every sheet.
Light theme added to mobile app
1 May 2021
A few of you reported difficulty using the Orca Scan mobile app in sunny climates. To remedy this, we’ve added a light theme :
Let us know what you’d like to see next 👋
Print barcodes from mobile, in 3 taps
1 May 2021
We’ve made it a little easier to print barcodes from the mobile app:
Fixed date/timezone issues
19 Apr 2021
We’ve fixed the date/timezone issue. Thank you to Clark and others for raising this. Let us know what you’d like to see next
Templates, hardware are more
14 Apr 2021
We added templates to help you track more, faster. A few of our favourites:
Medical Device Tracking
Scan UDI barcodes on medical devices, and we’ll populate the make, model, expiry date etc.
Drug Tracking
Scan FMD barcodes on drug packaging, and we’ll populate batch, lot and expiry dates.
Vehicle Tracking
Scan VIN barcodes, and we’ll populate make, model, location etc.
Book Cataloging
Scan ISBN barcodes on books, and we’ll populate title, author, number of pages etc.
Orca Scan now works with the , , and range of hardware scanners 💪
And finally… you can now reorder your sheets by dragging the tabs 🚀
Draggable sheet tabs
1 Apr 2021
Quick update; you can now reorder your sheets by dragging the tabs 🚀
Improved GS1 support for extracting barcode data
27 Mar 2021
This update includes the following:
New:
Fixes:
Bug fixes with Unique ID field types
22 Mar 2021
This update fixes a bug when using a Unique ID field type as the barcode field
App loading bug fix
21 Mar 2021
Quick update to resolve a random loading bug when starting the app (sorry about that)
Fix print barcode issue
7 Mar 2021
Quick update to fix the print barcode issue (long press an item in the list to print a barcode)
Introducing templates
19 Feb 2021
We’re super pleased to introduce templates! Simply create a new sheet, select what you’d like to track (Inventory, Books, Medical Devices etc), and we’ll set up your sheet with all the fields you need to do a great job :)
View deleted rows
1 Feb 2021
Hi there, just a quick update.
You can now view deleted items, and see who deleted them, when, and from which device. Simply hit the History
button on the toolbar and select the Deleted rows
tab:
Happy scanning 👋
Supporting Linea Pro Barcode Sled (Infinite Peripherals)
8 Jan 2021
Orca Scan now works with the Linea Pro Barcode Sled from Infinite Peripherals. BIG thanks to Israel & Jose for the suggestion.
Use column values in Triggers
1 Nov 2020
You can now use the value of columns in your triggers 🎉
Let’s say you have a stock list with Barcode
, Name
, Quantity
and Min Stock
level :
You can use the value of the Min Stock
within a trigger to say: :
With that trigger in place, if the Quantity
drops below Min Stock
for any of your products, an email notification will be sent asking to reorder the item:
To use a column value in a trigger, simply wrap the column name in square brackets [Min Stock]
.
Hasta luego 👋
Import and export Triggers
1 Nov 2020
Triggers are a great way to add custom functionality to your sheet, from showing and hiding fields to breaking apart barcodes and sending notification as data changes.
To make them even easier to work with, we’ve added the ability to import/export to Excel.
Here are the triggers used in the Medical Device Tracking template to extract data from GS1 barcodes into separate fields:
And the same triggers are exported to Excel:
Hope this helps!
View your assets and inventory on a map
25 Sep 2020
You can now view the location of all your assets and inventory in real-time ✨
A few more updates from the team:
Send SMS messages using triggers
1 Sep 2020
Emails notifications are great for things that need attention , but what if something needs attention right-away?
You can now send an SMS message to up to 10 people per trigger the instant something happens:
You can also send email notifications to multiple recipients now too 🎉
Until next time 🖖
Track your assets on a map
1 Aug 2020
As requested, we’ve added the ability to view the location of your assets. Just click the map button at the bottom of your sheet:
View the entire location history by clicking the asset pin and View History:
Let us know what you think
Remove yourself from a sheet
31 Jul 2020
You know all those sheets people keep adding you to? Well, you can now remove yourself.
Just right-click the sheet tab and hit Remove Sheet 🎉
BIG thanks to James for the suggestion👌
Transfer ownership of a sheet
31 Jul 2020
Hello 👋!
You can now between user accounts. Simply:
Let us know what you’d like to see next.
Live Data URL updates!
1 Jul 2020
Hey 👋. We’ve added more power to the . You can now:
what you’d like to see next!
Further improvement to scanning speeds
26 Dec 2019
As requested, this update improves scanning speed.
Splitting barcodes with regular expressions
2 Dec 2019
You can now break barcodes apart into different fields using regular expressions within triggers. Simple, yet powerful!
Increased trigger functionality
26 Nov 2019
You can now use triggers to conditionally alter the mobile interface based on the value of fields. You can do things like:
Whenever a particular field:
Trigger field changes with other field values
16 Nov 2019
We’re super excited to introduce triggers! You can now show/hide/set and clear fields based on the value of other fields. We’ve added the ability to set and clear required status using triggers :)
Improved bulk update
15 Nov 2019
A few tweaks to the recently released bulk update feature. To update a bunch of items at once:
“It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” - Steve Jobs
Better support for notched devices
28 Oct 2019
Quick update to fix a UI bug on devices with a notch.
Improved grouping
23 Oct 2019
Quick update. We’ve added the number of items within a group to the group headers (thanks for the suggestion Prithvi!). To enable grouping tap the sort icon :)
Improved in-app search
21 Oct 2019
We’ve upgraded the in-app search, you can now search by one particular field at a time. Tap search to try it.
Support for external data validation
17 Oct 2019
We’ve added support for external data validation via a Validation URL, this allows your system to inspect data entered by a user before it is saved to your sheet.
If your server returns an error, we’ll present that error to the user within the app and reject the changes until the issue is resolved.
Delta values return to number fields
30 Sep 2019
A quick fix to bring back delta values on number fields
Fixed view barcode history
24 Sep 2019
Quick fix: long-press to view barcode history was a bit buggy. All sorted now :)
Unique ID fields
22 Sep 2019
As Abraham Lincoln once said “The best way to predict the future is to create it” - so let us know what you’d like to see next.
Improved loading for slow connections
10 Aug 2019
Increased timeout when loading the sheets menu on a slow connection.
Settings for fields
24 Jul 2019
Hello everyone, as requested you can now:
If you’re using the quantity field you will need to make this visible again after this update (Edit field > Show in list).
New Data Visualization Tools
19 Jul 2019
Many of you asked for more analytics and reporting, so we’re pleased to now announce integrations with both and .
You can now:
Other updates:
Web app
Mobile app
Return of the Pin Value
16 Jul 2019
This update brings back the “Pin Value” value feature to help reduce data entry when batch/location scanning.
Grouping and sorting bug fix
13 Jun 2019
This update fixes an intermittent bug with the grouping and sorting features.
-/+ delta indicator
12 Jun 2019
This update includes a few UX tweaks, most notably +/- delta indicator on numeric fields.
Connect Orca Scan to your systems
4 Jun 2019
We’re super pleased to announce the release of and . You can now connect Orca Scan directly to your systems using simple HTTP requests and without complex APIs.
Grouping items
4 May 2019
This update includes:
Let us know what you’d like to see next hello@orcascan.com
Sorting lists by field values
30 Apr 2019
Hello! A couple of tweaks:
Let us know what you’d like to see next hello@orcascan.com
Pinning values
14 Apr 2019
We’ve added the ability to Pin values on fields, so you can enter data once and repeat it for every scan.
First hardware integrations
8 Apr 2019
Orca Scan now works with hardware scanners such as the and Bluetooth scanners such as the .
Bluetooth scanner support
20 Mar 2019
As requested, we’ve added support for Bluetooth barcode scanners. To get started, simply:
(1) Pair your Bluetooth scanner with your device as normal
(2) Open Orca Scan
(3) Start scanning using your Bluetooth scanner
Drop-down default values
7 Feb 2019
As requested, you can now set a default value for drop-down fields.
View Cloud Sheet data on your phone
14 Jan 2019
App:
Web:
You can now push your barcode scans directly into Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
Bugs:
Microsoft Excel integration is live
17 Dec 2018
You can now connect Orca Scan directly to Microsoft Excel 2016, removing the need to manually export/import data.
Google Sheets integration is live
13 Dec 2018
As requested, you can now automagically send your Orca Scan data to Google Sheets!
Fixed required number fields bug
21 Nov 2018
Fixed required number fields bug causing them to reject 0 as a value
Export barcode via DropBox, WhatsApp and more
24 Sep 2018
Just a couple more of the changes you requested:
Added auto field types
21 Sep 2018
We love getting your suggestion; please keep them coming. As requested, this update includes:
Fixed export to Excel bug
13 Sep 2018
We’ve resolved a random export as Microsoft Excel bug some of you experienced. Thank you for reporting this.
Added true/false fields
10 Sep 2018
As requested, you can now add true/false fields to every barcode scan. We’ve also
Added scan into field button
1 Aug 2018
We’ve added a “Scan into field” button next to all text fields allowing you to scan additional barcodes after every scan.
Added account info to app settings
27 May 2018
As requested, we’ve added the email address you have logged in as to the bottom of the app settings screen.
Lots of improvements based on your feedback
19 Apr 2018
Thank you for all your feedback! This update includes:
Added autogenerate barcode feature
30 Dec 2017
Thanks again for your feedback, please keep it coming! This update includes:
Added reset quantities and fixed some bugs
28 Dec 2017
Thank you for your feedback! Please keep it coming, it helps drive development.
This update includes:
Fixed unable to connect issue
22 Dec 2017
Fixed intermittent “unable to connect” error after an app update
Resolved iOS 10 issue
20 Dec 2017
We fixed an issue with iOS 10 that caused the app to crash after an app update.
Lots of improvements based on your feedback
18 Dec 2017
A BIG thank you for all your feedback! Please keep it coming as it really does help drive development. This version contains the following changes:
Bug fixes
New features
Changes to CSV export
Added barcode detail screen after scan
17 Nov 2016
Added, “Add detail after each scan” to allow an optional prompt for quantity/name/notes after every scan.
Added support for more barcodes
11 Nov 2016
As requested, we’ve added support for PDF417, Aztec & Code 93 barcodes.
Orca Scan beta released
2 Nov 2016
The first version of Orca Scan has been released onto the Apple and iOS App Store. This is a revamped, rebranded version of Barcode Bulk Scanner initially released onto the app stores on 13 August 2016.