C-Pen Text and Barcode Reader

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The information on this page applies to the C-Pen 600C. There are other models available. They don't all have the same capabilities. For example not all models can scan barcodes. You can find more information on the C-Pen at http://www.cpen.com.

Readerware works with the C-Pen text and barcode reader. The C-Pen is a small portable device that can scan plain text and barcodes. You can use it for scanning text right into Readerware, scan the ISBN or LCCN on books that do not have barcodes. Or enter a complete book by scanning in the information from the title page.

You can take the C-Pen to your shelves rather than drag your books, music and videos to your computer. This can make a big difference when cataloging your collections with Readerware. You can scan the barcode or on older books scan the ISBN/LCCN. Then you can connect your C-Pen to your computer and load the barcodes and ISBNs into Readerware auto-catalog.

The C-Pen also works when connected to your computer, you can scan text and barcodes right into Readerware when cataloging, searching your database etc.

Installing a C-Pen

Mac OS X software is also available but only for IrDA equipped Macs.

As shipped the device includes text reading capabilities only. If you also want to be able to scan barcodes, you must download and install the optional C-Barcode application from the C-Pen website.

There are a number of settings you can change on your C-Pen. There is one in particular that you will want to look at. The Read Mode option can be set to Continuous, Separate Lines or Tab. This controls how the pen scans data. Typically you will want to set the Read Mode to New Line. This tells the C-Pen to send a new line character after you scan data. So for example when you scan the ISBN, the C-Pen will send the ISBN followed by the Enter key. This tells Readerware that the input is complete and to validate the ISBN.

Using a C-Pen with Readerware

There are a number of different applications included with the C-Pen. When using a C-Pen with Readerware you are only really interested in two of them, C-Direct and Notes.

C-Direct is used when your C-Pen is connected to your computer, it allows you to scan text or a barcode directly into Readerware. You do this by making sure the field is active, just as you would if your were going to type data into the field. Then you scan the text or barcode. So if you are using Readerware auto-catalog, you could use the C-Pen to scan the barcode or ISBN/LCCN of a book into the auto-catalog wizard.

Notes is used to capture data when your are scanning while disconnected from your computer. It is a simple application that will let you scan, edit and delete data. When you reconnect to your computer you can copy the file to disk using drag and drop. Then when running Readerware auto-catalog, click on the Load List button and select the file. Readerware will load the file and add the input to the list.

Scanning Tips

	When you are connected to your computer and scan directly into Readerware, the data is validated in real time. If the device misreads an ISBN for example, Readerware will tell you that the ISBN is invalid and you can correct it. If you are scanning remotely, the ISBN is stored in the device memory. The data will not be validated until it is loaded into Readerware. For this reason, the C-Pen works best if you can scan directly into Readerware. If you scan remotely, check the scans if possible. The C-Pen does display your input in a small LCD display.
	You must toggle between text and barcode modes. You have to tell the device the kind of data you are scanning. You can capture both barcodes and text in the same session, but you must change the mode.
	The C-Pen scanner does take a bit of getting used to but it can be very accurate and provides very good text scans. Sometimes the ISBN of a book can be listed on a separate line. That is easy to scan. But sometimes the ISBN might be embedded. For example one book I have includes the ISBN as: ISBN 0 333 90701 9 (hb) Readerware expects just the ISBN itself, no extraneous data. It is actually easy to do, it just takes a bit of practice. The mouth of the C-Pen is wider than the scanner. So if you put it down so that the mouth covers the first 0, you actually miss the first character. I find that I have to put the mouth down so that it partially covers the letter N and then scan. The C-Pen is capable of "surgically" extracting data from the middle of a line like that. It is very precise, it just takes a bit of practice.
	I found the C-Pen to be a better text reader than it is a barcode reader. If a book has a barcode, the ISBN is typically also printed above or below the barcode. I found it easier to scan the ISBN than the barcode in those situations. Again practice helps. But overall text is easier to scan.

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Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Readerware is in no way affiliated with C-Pen.