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Barcode Scanner Setup

Configuring a Zebra mobile computer with a built-in scanner so it works with the Crows Nest Web app. The TC2X series is Crows Nest Software's recommended model, but these steps apply to Zebra mobile computers generally. This only needs to be done once per device.

Before you start

You'll need the DataWedge app, which comes pre-installed on Zebra devices.
Know which browser/app you use to open the Crows Nest Web app (usually Chrome, or a locked-down kiosk browser if your device is set up that way).

Step 1 — Create a new DataWedge profile

Open the DataWedge app on the device.
Tap the menu (☰) in the top corner and choose New profile.
Give it a name, for example CrowsNestWeb, and tap OK.
Tap the new profile to open it.

Step 2 — Link the profile to your browser

Inside the new profile, tap Associated Apps.
Tap the menu (☰) and choose New app/activity.
Find and select the browser app you use to open the Crows Nest Web app (e.g. Chrome).
Tap the asterisk (*) next to it — this tells DataWedge to apply the profile no matter which page/screen of that app is open.
Tap the back button until you're back on the profile's main settings screen.

Step 3 — Turn on barcode scanning input

On the profile screen, make sure Profile enabled is checked.
Find Barcode Input and make sure it's enabled.
Tap into it and confirm the device's built-in scanner/imager is selected.

Step 4 — Configure keystroke output (the important part)

Still on the profile screen, tap Keystroke Output and make sure it's enabled, then set the following. These exact settings matter — the Crows Nest Web app needs scanned data delivered as individual keystrokes, fast, with an Enter at the end:

Setting	Value	Why
Send Characters as Events	ON	This is the most important setting. If it's off, the scan gets typed into the page as one bulk chunk of text instead of individual keystrokes, and the Crows Nest Web app won't recognize it as a scan at all.
Inter-Character Delay	0 (leave at default)	The app tells a real scan apart from someone typing by how fast the keystrokes arrive. If this delay is turned up, a real scan starts looking like slow typing and gets ignored. Don't raise this above 50–60ms.
Send Control Characters as Events	OFF	Not needed for this app, and can cause issues in a browser.
Action Key Character	Carriage Return	Makes every scan end with an Enter keystroke, which is how the app knows a scan is complete.

Don't also turn on "Send ENTER key" further down under Basic Data Formatting if you set Action Key Character to Carriage Return above — having both on sends two Enters per scan and can cause a scan to be processed twice.

Step 5 — Avoid conflicts with the default profile

Zebra devices ship with a built-in "Profile0" that can also try to handle scans. To avoid the device trying to deliver the same scan two different ways:

Go back to the DataWedge profile list and open Profile0.
Either uncheck Profile enabled, or open its Associated Apps and remove/avoid associating it with your browser app (so it doesn't overlap with the profile you just created).

Step 6 — Test it

Open the Crows Nest Web app in the browser.
Tap into any plain text box on the page (or just leave nothing selected) and pull the scanner trigger on a barcode.
You should see the app react to the scan (e.g. navigate to an employee's page, or show a scan result) rather than random characters appearing in a text box.

If nothing happens, try this basic check first: open any app with a plain text field (like a Notes app) and scan a barcode — if the numbers/letters don't appear at all, the issue is in DataWedge setup (revisit Steps 2–4) rather than the Crows Nest Web app itself.

Troubleshooting

Scanning does nothing on the Crows Nest Web app, but typing works fine.: Double check Send Characters as Events is ON (Step 4). This is the single most common cause.
Scanning sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, especially on longer barcodes.: Check Inter-Character Delay is at 0 (Step 4). If a technician increased it to fix a different issue on this device, it needs to stay under roughly 50–60ms for the Crows Nest Web app to recognize scans reliably.
A scan seems to trigger the action twice.: You likely have both Action Key Character → Carriage Return and Send ENTER key (under Basic Data Formatting) turned on. Turn off one of them — see the note at the end of Step 4.
Scanning works in some apps but not the Crows Nest Web app's browser.: Make sure your DataWedge profile's Associated Apps (Step 2) actually includes the browser app you use to open the app, with the asterisk (all activities) selected — and that Profile0 isn't also fighting over the same app (Step 5).