ScannerBenchBY SMARTFACTFREE KEYBOARD-SCANNER CHECKS
Updated
To test a barcode scanner, connect it in keyboard mode, click into a text box and scan a barcode whose value you already know: it works when exactly that value arrives, followed by the Enter or Tab your software expects. ScannerBench is a free online barcode scanner test for USB and Bluetooth scanners that type like a keyboard: it shows every character that arrives, names invisible ones and compares the scan with the value you expect.
Free to use. No account, email address or installation. Your scans stay in this browser tab.
Most USB and Bluetooth barcode scanners work in keyboard mode, also called HID or keyboard wedge: the computer sees a keyboard, and each scan is typed wherever the cursor is. Plug the scanner in, or pair it, and listen for its beep. Then open Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on a Mac, click inside the window and scan any barcode.
A text editor shows that the scanner types, not exactly what it typed. It cannot show a tab apart from spaces, a space at the end of the value or an invisible control character, such as the group separator between the fields of a GS1 barcode. ScannerBench shows exactly what arrived, in quotes, with hidden characters shown as codes and named, such as GS for a group separator.
Test with a barcode whose value you know from somewhere other than the scanner: the digits printed under a product's barcode, a label from your own system or one of the three codes below. Each checks one thing a scanner can get wrong: 000017 that leading zeroes arrive as text, Ab@#12 that the scanner and the computer use the same keyboard layout and that Caps Lock is off, and the QR code, which holds QR-000017, that the scanner reads 2D codes at all.
Most 2D imagers read these codes from the screen; a laser scanner usually needs them printed. To check labels from your own printer, PrintBench, also free, prints a test label with a Code 128 and a QR code of known values, and its test file gives ScannerBench those values to compare against.
Open ScannerBench and press Start capture, so that only the capture box collects input, then scan a barcode whose value you already know. The value stays text, so leading zeroes survive: 000017 arrives as six characters, leading zeroes included. Check the length and the characters before anything else.
Most scanners end each scan with Enter or Tab, and the receiving application often depends on it. Choose how a scan ends: Enter, Tab or manual finish. The event log lists the key events for the scan separately from the text, and the result says how the scan ended, for example Ended by the Enter key. If neither arrives, use manual finish and check the scanner's suffix setting.
Type the value the barcode encodes, taken from the label specification or the system that printed it, not copied from this capture, which would only prove that it matches itself. Exact match means every character is the same. Different value names the position of the first difference, and lost or extra leading zeroes are pointed out.
When a scan arrives but is wrong, the difference usually points to the setting to change. ScannerBench names the first difference and every character, so each of these faults shows in a single scan.
It inspects what a scanner that types like a keyboard delivers to the browser. It does not read barcodes with a camera, grade print quality or measure how fast a scanner decodes, and the three codes on this page test what a scanner types, not every symbology. It does not detect, configure or certify a scanner, and it shows what reached the browser, which can differ from the scanner's original bytes.
For technicians, developers and operators checking a USB, Bluetooth or handheld scanner in native keyboard mode.
A USEFUL STARTING POINT
ScannerBench listens in a field you explicitly arm. It shows the received text, individual Unicode characters and recent browser events. Start with one of the test barcodes above or a label you know, so you can tell a genuine mismatch from an incorrect expectation.
FROM QUESTION TO EVIDENCE
Select Enter or Tab if the scanner sends that key. Choose manual finish if it does not. An idle timeout is optional, not proof of a physical scan boundary.
Keep focus in the capture box. Inspect the result and character list. If nothing arrives, first confirm the scanner can type into an ordinary text editor.
Enter the known encoded value. Review the exact result, then preview a redacted JSON or printable report before downloading it.
If the barcode encodes 000017, the expected value is 000017, not 17. A difference in length or a trailing space can explain why another system rejects the scan. ScannerBench preserves that distinction rather than converting the result to a number.
USED IN PRODUCTION
ScannerBench shows exactly what one scanner sends. Two SmartFACT services put that same keyboard-scanner input to work at the bench. Both are in early access, with scope agreed at onboarding.
Free tierScan-to-verify kits at the bench. Approved rules build each kit’s component plan from its order options, and the KitProof station checks every scan against the expected parts and quantities. A scanner that sends exactly the expected value is where that check starts.
Free tierJob travellers that start with a scan. At a WorkSteps station, the operator scans or types a traveller code or unit ID to open that unit’s traveller, with the steps and evidence that approved rules selected for it. The station has its own scanner test.
BEFORE YOU START
Scan a barcode whose value you know into a text box. Notepad or TextEdit shows whether the scanner types at all; ScannerBench, free in your browser, shows every character, the Enter or Tab at the end and whether the value matches exactly.
Yes. ScannerBench runs in your browser with no account or installation. Connect a USB or Bluetooth scanner in keyboard mode, press Start capture and scan. Nothing is uploaded: your scans stay in the browser tab.
Scan it with a scanner you trust and compare the result with the value it should carry: ScannerBench shows whether the whole value arrived. Grading print quality, such as contrast and bar widths, is a different test that needs a barcode verifier.
Identifiers in GS1 barcodes, such as the GTIN, end in a check digit. BarcodeBench, also free, checks the check digits, field lengths and dates of supported GS1 data in a scanned value. ScannerBench shows whether the scanner delivered the value exactly; it does not judge whether the value itself is valid.
Scan it and compare what arrives with the value it should hold. ScannerBench never decodes the symbol, so a QR code is tested like any barcode: by the text a 2D scanner in keyboard mode sends, shown exactly, hidden characters included.
Not with ScannerBench, which tests a scanner that types like a keyboard and never uses a camera. MatchBench and ManifestBench, also free, read barcodes with a phone's camera.
Yes, if it presents as a native keyboard. The model list controls available manufacturer advice, not whether you can capture input. The reviewed references cover Zebra DS2208 and DS4608 USB keyboard settings.
Yes. Use the built-in synthetic examples to explore capture inspection and comparison. These examples do not qualify a physical scanner.
ScannerBench shows exactly what reaches the browser, so check your own scanner, operating system and browser together. Model selection provides reviewed manual references for two Zebra USB models; it does not detect, configure or certify a scanner. Raw HID, serial input, camera scanning, barcode decoding and GS1 interpretation are outside its scope. A session holds up to 50 captures and ends when the tab is reloaded or closed.
Scan values, expectations and device notes are processed in browser memory. No account or upload is required. Reloading loses the session. Reports are redacted by default and downloaded only after review. Hosting may log ordinary page requests; suite links are plain product addresses and never carry a scan, report or device value. Google Analytics is optional and loads only after you accept. Use Analytics settings to change your choice. Analytics cookies and the stored consent choice are separate from your working data; see /privacy/.
ONE SMALL JOB, DONE WELL
Open the free tool and start with one known example.