How to extract data from barcodes

Orca Scan Variables make it easy to extract data from a barcode value and move it to another field. Simply add a variable as a default value to one of your fields and scan a barcode. To get started:

Download the Orca Scan barcode app
Create a new sheet
Add columns/fields for each value you want to extract
Enter an Orca Variable as the default value for each field
Save the changes
Scan the relevant barcode to see the data extracted

How do Orca Variables work?

Orca Variables have the following structure $TYPE:PROPERTY:FORMAT

TYPE = type of data $GS1, $HIBC, $ISBT, $JSON, $CSV, $PSV
PROPERTY = property/reference of the item to extract
FORMAT = (optional) output format

There are times when you may need to extract data from an unstructured barcode; that is barcodes that contain data that does not follow a specific standard. In such cases, you would use the $RAW variable listed below.

Orca Scan supports the following barcode standards:

GS1

Get data from a GS1 barcode using the following variables:

Variable	GS1 AI	Description
`$GS1:SSCC`	`00`	SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code)
`$GS1:GTIN`	`01`	GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)
`$GS1:CONTENT`	`02`	GTIN of contained trade items
`$GS1:LOT`	`10`	Batch or lot number
`$GS1:MANUFACTUREDATE`	`11`	Production date
`$GS1:DUEDATE`	`12`	Due date
`$GS1:PACKINGDATE`	`13`	Packaging date
`$GS1:BESTBEFOREDATE`	`15`	Best before date
`$GS1:SELLBYDATE`	`16`	Sell by date
`$GS1:EXPIRYDATE`	`17`	Expiration date
`$GS1:SERIAL`	`21`	Serial number
`$GS1:CPV`	`22`	Consumer product variant
`$GS1:GDTI`	`253`	Global Document Type Identifier
`$GS1:GLN`	`414`	GLN (Global location number)
`$GS1:GRAI`	`8003`	Global Returnable Asset Identifier
`$GS1:GIAI`	`8004`	Global Individual Asset Identifier
`$GS1:GSRN`	`8018`	Global Service Relation Number
`$GS1:3340`	`3340`	Area in square metres
`$GS1:AI`	n/a	Replace `AI` with GS1 Application Identifier num
`$GS1:ISVALID`	n/a	True if valid GS1

Note: if the barcode scanned is not a valid GS1 barcode, no data is returned.

HIBC

Extract data from a Health Industry Bar Code (HIBC) using the following variables:

Variable	Description
`$HIBC:BARCODE`	Correctly formatted HIBC barcode
`$HIBC:TYPE`	`Concatenated`, `Line1` or `Line2`
`$HIBC:LIC`	Labeler Identification Code
`$HIBC:UOM`	Unit Of Measure
`$HIBC:PCN`	Product or Catalog Number
`$HIBC:EXPIRYDATE`	Expiry Date
`$HIBC:LOT`	Lot number
`$HIBC:QUANTITY`	Quantity
`$HIBC:CHECK`	Check character
`$HIBC:ISCONCATENATED`	True if concatenated HIBC
`$HIBC:ISPRIMARY`	True if primary HIBC
`$HIBC:ISSECONDARY`	True if secondary HIBC
`$HIBC:ISVALID`	True if valid HIBC

Note: if the barcode scanned is not a valid HIBC barcode, no data is returned.

ISBT

Get data from an ISBT barcode using the following variables:

Variable	Description
`$ISBT:DI`	Device Identifier for Blood Container
`$ISBT:SERIAL`	Serial Number
`$ISBT:DIN`	Donation Identification Number
`$ISBT:EXPIRYDATE`	Expiration Date
`$ISBT:MANUFACTUREDATE`	Manufacturing Date
`$ISBT:LOT`	Lot Number
`$ISBT:ISVALID`	True if valid ISBT

Note: if the barcode scanned is not a valid ISBT barcode, no data is returned.

UDI

UDI barcodes can be encoded using the GS1, HIBC or ISBT barcode standard. Using the $UDI variable allows you to extract the correct data, regardless of the standard used. To get data from a UDI barcode, use the following variables:

Variable	Description
`$UDI:DI`	Device Identifier (GTIN, PCN)
`$UDI:LOT`	Lot Number
`$UDI:EXPIRYDATE`	Expiration Date
`$UDI:SERIAL`	Serial Number
`$UDI:PRODDATE`	Production/Manufacture Date
`$UDI:TYPE`	Data structure `GS1`, `HIBC` or `ISBT`
`$UDI:ISVALID`	True if valid UDI

Note: if the barcode scanned is not a valid UDI barcode, no data is returned.

FMD

Get data from an FMD barcode using the following variables:

Variable	Description
`$FMD:PRODUCTCODE`	Product Code
`$FMD:SERIAL`	Serial Number
`$FMD:LOT`	Lot or Batch Number
`$FMD:EXPIRYDATE`	Expiration Date
`$FMD:NHRN`	National Healthcare Reimbursement Number
`$FMD:ISVALID`	True if valid FMD

Note: if the barcode scanned is not a valid FMD barcode, no data is returned.

JSON

Get values from a barcode containing JSON data:

Variable	Description
`$JSON:KEY`	Replace `KEY` with property name
`$JSON:ISVALID`	True if valid JSON

Note: if the barcode scanned does not contain valid JSON, no data is returned.

CSV

Get values from a barcode that contains CSV data:

Variable	Description
`$CSV:ROW1`	Replace `1` with row number to get full row
`$CSV:ROW1COL1`	Replace `1` with row and column number to get cell value

Using the following as input:

Col1,Col2,Col3,Col4
A1,B1,C1,D1
A2,B2,C2,D2
A3,B3,C3,D3

$CSV:ROW1 returns Col1,Col2,Col3,Col4
$CSV:ROW2 returns A1,B1,C1,D1
$CSV:ROW3COL3 returns C2

PSV

Get values from a barcode that contains Pipe Separated data:

Variable	Description
`$PSV:ROW1`	Replace `1` with row number to get full row
`$PSV:ROW1COL1`	Replace `1` with row and column number to get cell value

Using the following as input:

Col1|Col2|Col3|Col4
A1|B1|C1|D1
A2|B2|C2|D2
A3|B3|C3|D3

$PSV:ROW1 returns Col1|Col2|Col3|Col4
$PSV:ROW2 returns A1|B1|C1|D1
$PSV:ROW3COL3 returns C2

TSV

Get values from a barcode that contains Tab Separated data:

Variable	Description
`$TSV:ROW1`	Replace `1` with row number to get full row
`$TSV:ROW1COL1`	Replace `1` with row and column number to get cell value

Using the following as input:

Col1    Col2    Col3    Col4
A1    B1    C1    D1
A2    B2    C2    D2
A3    B3    C3    D3

$TSV:ROW1 returns Col1 Col2 Col3 Col4
$TSV:ROW2 returns A1 B1 C1 D1
$TSV:ROW3COL3 returns C2

RAW

Get data from a barcode value regardless of the format used:

Variable	Description
`$RAW:GET`	Get full value
`$RAW:GET:FIRST3`	Get first 3 characters
`$RAW:GET:LAST3`	Get last 3 characters
`$RAW:GET:EX3`	Get all but first 3 characters
`$RAW:GET:EX-3`	Get all but last 3 characters

Using the following as input:

Hello World

$RAW:GET:FIRST3 returns Hel
$RAW:GET:LAST3 returns rld
$RAW:GET:EX-3 returns Hello Wo

Formatting

The third segment of an Orca Variable is used to format the output; there are two ways to do this:

1. Dates

Convert dates into another format

Token	Description	Example output
`DDDD`	Full day name	`Saturday`
`DDD`	3 char day name	`Sat`
`DD`	Day in double-digit format	`02`
`D`	Day in single-digit format	`2`
`MMMM`	Full name of month	`January`
`MMM`	Month in 3 character format	`Jan`
`MM`	Month in double-digit format	`03`
`M`	Month in single-digit format	`3`
`YYYY`	4 digit year	`2019`
`YYY`	3 digit year	`019`
`YY`	2 digit year	`19`
`CC`	2 digit century	`20`
`HH`	2 digit hour	`03`
`H`	1 digit hour	`3`
`mm`	2 digit minute	`02`
`m`	1 digit minute	`3`

Using the following GS1 barcode value as an example:

01050601301313832152888501717543172303311000327C

$GS1:EXPIRYDATE:DDMMYYYY returns 31032023
$GS1:EXPIRYDATE:DDMMYY returns 310323
$GS1:EXPIRYDATE:DDDD returns Friday

2. Characters

Get only a specific number or type of characters:

Prefix	Description
`N`	Numeric digit (followed by number of characters)
`A`	Alpha character (followed by number of characters)
`X`	Alphanumeric character (followed by number of characters)
`FIRST`	First `n` characters from the left (followed by number of characters)
`LAST`	Last `n` characters from the right (followed by number of characters)
`EX`	All but `n` number of characters (followed by number of characters)

You must follow the prefix with a number of characters, for example:

Example	Description
`N3`	3 numeric digits
`A3`	3 alpha characters
`X3`	3 alphanumeric characters
`N..3`	0 to 3 numeric digits
`A..3`	0 to 3 alpha characters
`X..3`	0 to 3 alphanumeric characters
`FIRST3`	First 3 characters
`LAST3`	Last 3 characters
`EX3`	All but first 3 characters
`EX-3`	All but last 3 characters

Using the following barcode value as an example:

Orca Scan

$RAW:GET:X6 returns Orca S
$RAW:GET:A4 returns Orca
$RAW:GET:EX-3 returns Orca S

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