pic2shop Pro

Pic2shop Pro is a user-configurable version of pic2shop. It does not display consumer product information. Instead, it displays your own web site or web application. It is the most economical way to build a barcode scanner app for your business.

Just implement the functionality you need as a web application using the server-side technologies you like best. Then configure the URLs of your web application in pic2shop PRO: one for the app launch, one for barcode scans. Finally, use pic2shop PRO to scan barcodes, transmit the code to your server, and interact with the results.

Like Safari, the embedded web browser supports HTML5, CSS, cookies, javascript, https, etc. You can quickly and inexpensively build a rich barcode scanning app for your own or your company's use. For example, give your employees access to a product information or an asset tracking app on their iPhone, over the internet or your intranet.

Pic2shop PRO reads EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A and UPC-E barcodes (the ones found on virtually all retail packages and books), ITF (Interleaved 2 of 5), Standard 2 of 5 (aka Industrial 2 of 5, or Code 25), Code 39, Code 128, Code 93 and Codabar (aka NW-7 or USD-4), as well as QR codes.

The app can be configured for many users, by sending them a specially formatted link. Each user can be identified by including an extra parameter in the URLs.

Please note that we do not provide the hosting service nor the web application. You are responsible for developing the web application and hosting it on your own server.

Quick configuration

In order to configure pic2shop PRO quickly for many users, send each user a link by email or via a web page. When they click the link after they have installed pic2shop PRO, the app will launch and the three parameters will be set automatically.

The link has the form:

p2spro://configure?lookup=LOOKUP_URL&home=HOME_URL&formats=EAN13,EAN8,UPCE,ITF,CODE39,CODE128,CODE93,STD2OF5,CODABAR,QR &gps=True|False&hidebuttons=True|False&autorotate=True|False&highres=True|False&settings=True|False

Any special character in "LOOKUP_URL" and "HOME_URL" is replaced by its %-encoding. The formats parameter can contain any number of barcode symbologies separated by commas. The parameter hidebuttons is Android-only (and will be ignored by iOS). autorotate, highres and settings are iOS-only (and will be ignored by Android).

For example, to make pic2shop PRO scan UPC-A, EAN-13, UPC-E and EAN-8, then lookup the UPC database:

p2spro://configure?formats=EAN13,UPCE,EAN8&lookup=http%3A//www.upcdatabase.com/item/CODE

Pic2shop PRO will replace the string "CODE" with the barcode, and replace the optional string "FORMAT" with its symbology.

Pic2shop PRO as external scanner

Pic2shop PRO, like pic2shop, can be launched by another app or by a web page to scan a barcode, then pass the result back to the calling app or web page. A popular use is to import barcodes into the Filemaker Go application.

The syntax of the custom URL is the following:

p2spro://scan?formats=EAN13,EAN8,UPCE,ITF,CODE39,CODE128,CODE93,STD2OF5,CODABAR,QR &callback=CALLBACK_URL

The callback URL should be percent-encoded and contain the strings "CODE" and "FORMAT", which will be replaced after the scan by the barcode content (or 'CANCELLED') and the symbology, respectively. Again, formats can contain any number of barcode symbologies.

The barcode scanner can also be started from the embedded browser with a link to a "p2spro://scan" URL like described above, which overrides the lookup URL and barcode formats for a single scan.

Please check the source code of the online demo and client apps for more examples.

We look forward to the creative uses you will make of pic2shop PRO. Do not hesitate to drop us a line at support@pic2shop.com to tell us about it.