Scan barcode/QR to open file

[acs5538]

The idea is to have items labeled with barcodes or QR codes and scan them to open a local file that corresponds to that item.

The reason I need this is so that technicians can scan equipment to view past calibration logs and edit new ones in Google Sheets. I know that I can make a QR code open a file locally but the file paths differ from phone to phone and I don't want to make barcodes that will be useless next year. Any ideas? There very well may be a solution currently available but I haven't found one.

Thank you.

Edit: And by the way, I do know basic programming so I could start this if I know where to go. I'm not a developer but I have some experience in Java and several other languages. My problem is that I don't know where to start and I may not even have to write anything. I believe the QR code must contain the file path but that introduces a lot of problems, so perhaps this is futile.

 

[acs5538]

Some of the many options I've thought of:

*App used to store barcode/QR code as input to get file path by traversing directory, and opens file with intent*

• Difficult to store QR code

QR code opens spreadsheet directly from specified URI

• Change in file path can render codes useless

QR code URI opens app that opens spreadsheet

• One application needed per spreadsheet - impractical

I think the first one I mentioned is my best bet. But I don't know how to store the QR code or barcode as a variable. Sorry about my "programming language" by the way. Like I said, I am no developer.

 

[abdrahka]

This is what I think of the app.

You need to open a spread sheet as per the QR code.

As the location of the spread sheet is not fixed, we may need to scan the device for possible spread sheet candidates before hand.

So we maintain an index of spread sheets in the device. when ever a qr code is scanned, pick the file from the index and open it.

If there are multiple files with same name, show a prompt to select.

The main concern is when to periodically scan the file system for new spread sheets.

 

[acs5538]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. So far I have an application that scans barcodes (I chose barcodes instead of QR) and stores the barcode string data. I used a great tutorial that can be found here.


Now I should be able to use the string data to traverse the SD card directory to locate and open the file. If I should find success I will post my code here.