---
title: Scanning and browsers
section: apps
order: 3
summary: USB scanners, the barcode formats ThreadCount reads, which browsers can scan with the camera, the Android scanner, and what happens with a code it doesn't know.
role: Admin or Issuer
keywords: scan, scanner, barcode, usb, camera, chrome, edge, safari, firefox, iphone, ean, upc, code 128, unknown barcode, bind, label, print
---

ThreadCount reads a barcode in one of three ways: a USB scanner typing into a box, the camera in a supported browser, or the scanner built into the Android counter app. All three give the same result, and wherever you can scan, you can also type the code.

## USB scanners

A USB scanner that types the code and then presses Enter works with any browser. These desktop boxes accept one:

| Screen | Box |
|---|---|
| `Stock › Count` | `Scan barcode to count +1, then Enter` |
| `Counter` | `Scan barcode, then Enter`, under `2 · Scan items` |
| `Stock › On hand › Scan to add` | `Scan with a USB scanner, or type the code and press Enter` |
| A garment's `Scan sizes` | The prompt names the size to scan next |

`Scan to add` and `Scan sizes` bind codes to the catalogue; the `Scan to add` button is shown to Admins only. Click into the box first. See [Keyboard and scanner](/docs/reference/keyboard-and-scanner).

## Formats it reads

Camera scanning, in the browser and in the Android app, reads these formats only:

- EAN-13 and EAN-8
- UPC-A and UPC-E
- Code 128, Code 39 and Code 93

ITF and Codabar are left out because they carry no check digit, so a partial read can pass as a different valid code. No 2D codes are read.

A USB scanner or a typed code isn't limited to that list, because the box just receives characters. In `Scan to add`, a 13-, 12-, 8- or 14-digit code has its check digit tested. If it fails, you see `check digit doesn't match — the scan may have mis-read`.

## Camera scanning in a browser

In a browser, the camera reads barcodes with the browser's built-in barcode detector.

| Browser | Camera scanning |
|---|---|
| Chrome | Yes |
| Edge | Yes |
| Safari on iPhone or iPad | No |
| Firefox | No |

Where the camera opens but the browser can't read barcodes, the screen says `Live reading isn't supported here — type the code instead.` Where the browser has no camera access at all, it says `This browser has no camera access — type the code instead.`

On an iPhone, type the code or use a USB scanner.

## The Android scanner

Inside the **ThreadCount** Android app, the phone's own scanner reads the code instead of the browser's detector. If the app can't load that scanner, it uses the browser detector instead.

When counting a shelf, scanning stays on until you press `Stop scanning`. The same code seen again within 0.9 seconds is taken as the same garment still in view, not a second one. `Beep and buzz on a scan` in `More › Settings` turns the sound and vibration on or off for that phone.

The ThreadCount Staff app has no scanner.

## Codes ThreadCount doesn't know

A code is known once it is bound to one size of one garment. What happens with an unknown code depends on the screen:

- **Counting a shelf:** `isn't a garment ThreadCount knows. Bind it to a size first`. A known code from another shelf names that shelf instead.
- **Issuing:** `isn't a garment ThreadCount knows.` Nothing is added.
- **Returns:** the code has to match something the person is holding.
- **Search:** the code is put in the search box.
- **`Scan to add`:** you can start a new product from the code, or attach it to a size you already have.

With `Settings › Data` product lookup turned on, `Scan to add` first asks a public barcode database for a product name. With it off, nothing leaves the server.

A code can be on one size only. Binding a code that is already on another garment is refused unless you choose to move it. See [Barcodes](/docs/stock/barcodes).

## Printing ThreadCount barcodes

For garments that arrived without a barcode, `Generate barcodes` on the garment's page under `Stock` gives each size without a code one of ThreadCount's own. These are EAN-13 codes starting `29`, a prefix set aside for use inside one business, with a real check digit. A size that already has a supplier's code keeps it.

`Print labels` prints an A4 sheet of 6 labels at a time, one per garment on hand, for each size that has a code. A 13-digit code with a valid check digit prints as EAN-13, and any other code prints as Code 128.

`Reprint a label` in the counter app prints 1 to 24 copies of one size's label. It only lists sizes with a barcode bound to them. It prints from a phone browser. Inside the Android app the button reads `Print it on the desktop`, because that app can't print.

> **Careful** A garment without a readable barcode drops out of every scanned count. Reprint worn labels before the next stocktake.