Using on screen keyboard and barcode scanner with iPad.

So I am working on setting up an iPad for use as a POS system. I have a bluetooth bar-code scanner that I will be using, but I also want to use the on screen keyboard for entering information. Because the scanner acts as a keyboard, it automatically hides the on screen keyboard. I can hold the up arrow on the input bar to bring the keyboard up, but I was hoping that there was a way to keep its original functionality (coming up when I tap on an input section) and use the barcode scanner at the same time.

Solution 1:

It depends on the bar code manufacturer and which Bluetooth profile they use.

Most will use the HID (Human Interface Device) which will make it emulate a keyboard. Some will have a button that triggers the on-screen keyboard to come up while others will use a different bluetooth profile (like SPP - serial port profile) that will allow data to come in via a different avenue.

The Socket Mobile Bluetooth scanner supports the extended Bluetooth profiles like SPP and MFi-SPP (Application Mode). From their datasheet:

Application Mode - Improves business productivity with faster, efficient and reliable data transfer over Bluetooth; leverages Application Mode functionality by integrating Socket Mobile’s SDK in app

Basically, that a fancy way of saying the BT scanner communicates directly with the App and not as an HID device meaning the on screen keyboard (or another BT keyboard) is free to be used.