Automation to update a field based on a barcode scanned.

[Pandrews]

We utilize Airtable to keep record of barcoded assets located at 10 different locations. When we do a physical inventory we have to manually search the item by barcode number and use the checkbox field to check that it has been inventoried. 

I'm looking for a way to set an automation to simply scan a barcode the item being inventoried and using automation Airtable will find the record and update the checkbox field.

[ScottWorld]

This would be super easy to setup.

The #1 easiest & quickest & most inexpensive way to handle all of this would be to use a combination of:

(1) Fillout's advanced forms for Airtable
and
(2) Make's advanced automations & integrations.

Fillout is 100% free, and it offers hundreds of features that Airtable's forms don't offer.

In your case, one of the best features of Fillout is that after a form is submitted, you can set it to AUTOMATICALLY & IMMEDIATELY REDIRECT to the EXACT SAME FORM with your cursor already blinking right in the field for barcode scanning.

What this means is that you can quickly scan multiple pieces of equipment in a row with no delays at all.

Check out the first screenshot below for how simple your form can be in Fillout. This is just a simple number field in Fillout.

Note that the most important thing is that you will need to configure your barcode scanner to send the "Return" key after scanning a barcode.

So, you would just go to your Fillout form on your desktop or mobile device, and SCAN SCAN SCAN! 😀

Then, in Make, you would setup an automation that automatically runs whenever a form is submitted in Fillout. Make would then search for the scanned barcode number in Airtable, and then mark it off as inventoried in Airtable.

Check out the 2nd screenshot below for how the automation could be setup in Make.

If you’ve never used Make before, I’ve assembled a bunch of Make training resources in this thread.

Hope this helps! If you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with anything Airtable-related, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consultant — ScottWorld

[HannesK-ME]

Hey there, our miniExtensions form can do this natively, and super quickly! You can set it up so it starts the camera for barcode scanning immediately, submits the form immediately after a code is scanned, sets the necessary fields to the desired value, and then redirects back to itself to scan the next item! This way, you can scan lots of items incredibly quickly, and without the need for additional tools! You can try this out with a free account now! Setting this up takes only a minute, and our support team can help if you need any pointers! 🙂