Use Automated Data Capture Systems (ADCS)

Note

The Automated Data Capture System (ADCS) solution provides a way for Business Central to communicate with handheld devices through web services. You must work with a Microsoft partner who can provide the link between the web service and the specific handheld device.

You can use your automatic data capture system (ADCS) to register the movement of items in the warehouse and to register some journal activities, such as quantity adjustments in the warehouse item journal and physical inventories. ADCS typically involves scanning a barcode.

To use ADCS, you must give each item stored in the warehouse an item identifier. You must also set up miniforms, handheld functions, data exchanges, and specify settings for fields that control ADCS. You specify whether to use ADCS on the location card of a warehouse.

Based on the needs of your warehouse, you define the amount of information displayed in the miniform setup for the particular handheld device. The following are examples of information that you can display:

  • Data from tables within Business Central, such as a list of pick documents from which the user can select.
  • Text information.
  • Messages to show confirmations or errors about activities performed and registered by the handheld device user.

To enable Web Services for ADCS

To use Automated Data Capture System, you must enable the ADCS web service.

To enable and publish the ADCS web service

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Web Services, and then choose the related link.

  2. Choose the New action.

  3. On the Web Services page, enter the following information on a new line:

    Field Value
    Object Type Codeunit
    Object ID 7714
    Service Name ADCS Important: It is required that you name the service ADCS.

  4. Select the Published check box.

  5. Choose the OK button.

To set up a warehouse to use ADCS

To use ADCS, you must specify which warehouse locations use the technology.

Note

We recommend that you do not set up a warehouse to use ADCS if the warehouse also has a bin capacity policy.

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Locations, and choose the related link.
  2. Select a warehouse from the list for which you want to enable ADCS, and then choose the Edit action.
  3. On the Location Card page, select the Use ADCS check box.

To specify an item to use ADCS

Each warehouse item that you want to use with ADCS must be assigned an identifier code to link it with its item number. For example, you can use the item's bar code as the identifier code. An item can also have multiple identifier codes. You may find this useful in the case where an item is available in various units of measures, such as pieces and pallets. In this case, assign an identifier code to each.

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Items, and then choose the related link.

  2. Select an item from the list that is part of your ADCS solution, and then choose the Edit action.

  3. On the Item Card page, choose the Identifiers action.

  4. On the Item Identifiers page, choose the New action.

  5. In the Code field, specify the identifier for the item. For example, the identifier could be the item's bar code number.

    You can also enter a Variant Code and a Unit of Measure code.

  6. If needed, enter multiple codes for each item.

  7. Choose the OK button.

  8. To review the information, choose the Identifier Code field to open the Item Identifiers page.

To add an ADCS user

You can add any user as a user of an Automated Data Capture System (ADCS). When you do this, the user must also provide a password. Optionally, you can also provide a connection that identifies the ADCS user as a warehouse employee. The ADCS user password can be different from the Windows logon password of the user. For more information, see Assign Permissions to Users and Groups.

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter ADCS Users, and then choose the related link.
  2. Choose the New action.
  3. In the Name field, enter a name for the user. The name cannot contain more than 20 characters, including spaces.
  4. In the Password field, enter a password. The password is masked.

To specify that a warehouse employee is an ADCS user

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Warehouse Employees, and then choose the related link.
  2. If needed, add a new warehouse employee. For more information, see Set Up Warehouse Employees.
  3. Choose the Edit List action.
  4. Select a warehouse employee from the list. In the ADCS User field, choose the drop-down arrow, and then select the name of an ADCS user from the list.
Note

The default warehouse for the employee must be one that uses ADCS.

To create and customize miniforms

You use miniforms to describe the information that you want to present on a handheld device. For example, you can create miniforms to support the warehouse activity of picking items. After you create a miniform, you can add functions to it for the common actions that a user takes with handheld devices, such as moving up or down a line.

Note

To implement or change the functionality of a miniform function, you must create a new codeunit for the Handling Codeunit field to perform the required action or response. You can learn more about ADCS functionality by examining codeunits, such as 7705, 7706, 7712, and 7713.

To create a miniform for ADCS

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Miniforms, and then choose the related link.

  2. Choose the New action.

  3. In the Code field, enter a code for the miniform. Optionally, enter values in all other fields.

    Select the Start Miniform check box to indicate that the miniform is the first form that the user sees at logon.

  4. On the Lines FastTab, define the fields that appear on the miniform. The order in which you enter lines is the order in which the lines appear on the handheld device.

When you have created a miniform, the next steps are to create functions and to associate functionality for various keyboard inputs.

To customize miniform functions

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Miniforms, and then choose the related link.
  2. Select a miniform from the list, and then choose the Edit action.
  3. Choose the Functions action.
  4. In the Function Code drop-down list, select a code to represent the function that you want to associate with the miniform. For example, you can select ESC, which associates functionality with the press of the ESC key.

See Also

Warehouse Management
Inventory
Setting Up Warehouse Management
Assembly Management
Design Details: Warehouse Management
Working with Business Central

Note

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