How to add Triggers to your Orca Scan sheet

You can use Triggers to add if-this-then-that logic to your sheets without code. Each Trigger is made up of:

• Condition = what must be true for the action to run
• Action = what happens when the condition is met

By enabling Triggers, you can do things like:

• Show and Hide Fields Conditionally
• Set Low Stock Notifications
• Receive Emails When an Item is Damaged
• Split Barcode Data into Separate Fields

Use Triggers to automatically split complex barcode data, such as GS1 or vCard, into different fields, eliminating the need for repetitive data entry.

How to enable Triggers in your sheet

1. Log in to the Orca Scan Web App
2. Open the sheet where you want to add a Trigger
3. Click the Triggers tab located in the toolbar
4. Click Add
5. Give your Trigger a clear, descriptive name for easy identification and management, for example “Mark damaged vehicles as out of service”
6. Set the condition using If field, Condition and Condition value, for example “If field = Description, Condition = Contains, Condition value = Damaged”
7. Set the action using Then, Action field and Action value, for example “Then = Set Value, Action field = Status, Action value = Out of service”
8. Click Save to confirm and apply your settings

Tip: Test the Trigger by scanning a barcode or entering data to see if it activates as intended.

Conditions

Actions

Advanced Condition Options

For more complex scenarios, you can use advanced conditions like Regular Expressions (RegEx) or GS1 Application Identifiers (AI):

Matches RegEx

Regular Expressions (RegEx) are powerful tools for detecting specific patterns in text. In addition to validation, they can be used to extract, split, or reformat data with the Set Value action.

Matches Regex triggers can reference more than 9 capture groups ($10, $11, etc.), so you can extract more parts of your barcode data.

Given the RegEx pattern (\\d+)-(\\d+)-(\\d+)-(/d+)$, you can match and extract groups of digits separated by hyphens.

Using the following as input:

**12345-67890-54321-98765**

You can reference these matched groups as $1, $2, etc., to extract specific parts of the string.

• First Group: $1 → Output: 12345
• Second Group: $2 → Output: 67890
• Third Group: $3 → Output: 54321
• Fourth Group: $4 → Output: 98765

We love Regular Expressions, but they can be tricky. RegEx 101 is a great tool to use when writing and testing your expressions. If you need step-by-step guidance, RegexOne offers fantastic tutorials, or you can reach out to us!

Contains GS1 AI

GS1 (also known as Global Standards 1) is an international standards organisation that has set a series of standards for how information is encoded within a barcode.

These globally adopted standards help computer systems around the world make sense of physical objects as they move through the supply chain.

The Contains GS1 AI condition can be used to perform an action when a barcode contains a specific GS1 Application Identifier.

When used in conjunction with the Set Value action, values such as serial number, expiry date, etc., can be extracted from a GS1 barcode and moved into a relevant field/column.

How to Set Up Low Stock Notifications

Set up a low stock level for each specific item:

1. Create a minimum stock column
   • Add a new column Min Stock, and assign it a Data type of Number
   • Click Save
   • Enter the minimum stock levels for each Item
2. Add a Trigger using the following:
   • If field - Quantity
   • Condition - Is Less Than
   • Condition Value - [Min Stock] (Use exact column name inside square brackets [] )
   • Then - Notify Me
   • Notify Via - Select a notification method

Now, whenever a product quantity falls below the Min Stock level, you will receive a notification with related product information.

How to Set Up Expiration Notifications for Scanned Products

Set up an expiry date for each product:

1. Create an expiry date column
   • Add a new column Expiry Date, and assign it a Data type of Date
   • Click Save
   • Enter the expiry date for each item
2. Add a Trigger using the following:
   • If field - Expiry Date
   • Condition - Is Less Than
   • Condition Value - $DATE:NOW
   • Then - Notify me
   • Notify Via - Select a notification method

Now, whenever you scan a barcode for a product that has expired, you will receive an immediate notification with the relevant product details.

How to use Triggers to Highlight Rows

Use triggers to highlight rows that meet a condition you choose. For example, to highlight products with an expiry date this week:

1. Open Triggers and click Add
2. Give your trigger a name, such as Expiring this week
3. Set the following conditions:
   • Set If field to Expiry Date
   • Set Condition to Is
   • Set Condition value to This week
   • Under Then, select Highlight Row and choose Red, Orange or Blue
4. Click Save

Now, all products expiring this week will be highlighted, making them easier to spot at a glance.

Questions about Triggers?

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