Use Barcode Check-in

You can use barcode scanners in addition to your standard check-in methods as long as the barcode scanner you use supports keyboard wedge. You don't need to direct Rock to search for barcodes, though. Once installed, the scanner waits at the Welcome screen, ready to check people in by barcode key. You do, however, need to match up barcodes with person records in Rock, but this process is easy. See the steps below. When a person's barcode is scanned, Rock automatically identifies their family and checks them in. This system can be used for check-out as well.

To associate barcodes with people, follow these steps:

1. Go to a person's profile page.
2. Click the edit icon at the top right of their person profile page. (In past versions, alternate identifiers were stored on a family rather than an individual—please don't be confused! We're editing the person record itself now, not the family).
3. Click ti ti-plus to add an Alternate Identifier in the section shown above.
4. Click in the Alternate Id field in the pop-up dialog to set its focus.
5. Scan the barcode using the barcode reader. The barcode number will be captured in the Check-in Identifier field.
6. Click Save on the pop-up dialog, and then be sure to also click Save on the Edit Person page. It will return you to their profile, and the check-in barcode should work for their family now.

Barcode Readers

Scanning a barcode printed on paper is easy. Reading a code presented on a mobile device screen is a different story. You’ll want to make sure that the reader you purchase is able to read a code from a device screen. These types of readers typically use cameras for the task instead of the old school laser.

While there are numerous readers on the market that will work, we have found the Zebra DS457 fixed mount scanners to work very well. You’ll often find this exact model from Motorola. In 2014 Zebra purchased Motorola’s scanning business. You’ll also sometimes see the same model from Symbol. Turns out Motorola owned Symbol…

Either way the scanner works well and can be flush mounted to a surface, or you can purchase a moveable arm stand (Symbol part 20-60136-02R) or a wall bracket (Zebra KT-145344-01).

The built-in cameras on recent iPad models can read codes very well. If you’re using an iPad for check-in you won’t need to purchase a separate reader. You might want a reader even if you have an iPad, to support different types of check-in. A reader might be better for weekly services, while an iPad is definitely more practical for checking kids onto a bus.

Generating QR Codes

Rock has a feature that lets you generate QR codes based on a person's Alternate Identifier using GetQRCode.ashx. In most cases you'll probably want to include the QR code in a communication to the person, so they can have it on their phone when they go to check in.

Including a QR code in your communication (or elsewhere) is fairly easy. The key is that you provide a value for the data parameter. This is what's used to create the content of the QR code. The below example can be copied into an email, using the person's Alternate Identifier for the data parameter. In this example you can control the size of the QR code image by changing the dim variable value.

{% assign dim = 200 %}
{% assign altId = Person | GetPersonAlternateId %}
<img src="{{ 'Global' | Attribute:'PublicApplicationRoot' }}GetQRCode.ashx?data={{ altId }}" height="{{ dim }}" width="{{ dim }}">