Other Template Operators
Other Template Operators
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Other Template Operators

These template operators assist in capturing, delimiting, and formatting scanned OCR data.

Literal String (" and +)

Use either of these delimiting characters surrounding characters from the alphanumeric keyboard in Alphanumeric Barcodes to define a literal string within a template that must be present in scanned OCR data. There are two characters used to delimit required literal strings; if one of the delimiter characters is present in the desired literal string, use the other delimiter.
Template
Valid data
Invalid data
"35+BC"
35+BC
AB+22
+

New Line (E)

To create a template of multiple lines, add
E
between the template of each single line.
Template
Valid data
Valid data
Invalid data
999EAAAA
321
987
XYZW
BCAD
ZXYW
12
E

String Extract (C)

This operator, combined with others, defines a string of characters to extract from the scanned data. The string extract is structured as follows:
CbPe
Where:
  • C is the string extract operator
  • b is the string begin delimiter
  • P is the category (one or more numeric or alpha characters) describing the string representation
  • e is the string end delimiter
Values for b and e can be any scannable character. They are included in the output stream.
Template
Incoming data
Output
C>A>
XQ3>ABCDE>
>ABCDE>
->ATHRUZ>123
>ATHRUZ>
1ABCZXYZ
No Output
C

Ignore to End of Field (D)

This operator causes all characters after a template to be ignored. Use this as the last character in a template expression. Examples for the template 999D:
Template
Incoming data
Output
999D
123-PED
123
357298
357
193
193
D

Skip Until (P1)

This operator skips over characters until a specific character type or a literal string is detected. It can be used in two ways:
P1ct
Where:
  • P1 is the Skip Until operator
  • c is the type of character that triggers the start of output
  • t is one or more template characters
P1"s"t
Where:
  • P1 is the Skip Until operator
  • "s" is one or more literal string characters (for example, "+") that trigger the start of output
  • t is one or more template characters
The trigger character or literal string is included in output from a Skip Until operator, and the first character in the template should accommodate this trigger.
Template
Incoming data
Output
P1"PN"AA9999
123PN9876
PN9876
PN1234
PN1234
X-PN3592
PN3592
P
1

Skip Until Not (P0)

This operator skips over characters until a specific character type or a literal string is not matched in the output stream. It can be used in two ways:
P0ct
Where:
  • P0 is the Skip Until Not operator
  • c is the type of character that triggers the start of output
  • t is one or more template characters
P0"s"t
Where:
  • P0 is the Skip Until Not operator
  • "s" is one or more literal string characters (for example, "+") that trigger the start of output
  • t is one or more template characters
The trigger character or literal string is not included in output from a Skip Until Not operator.
Template
Incoming data
Output
P0A9999
BPN3456
3456
PN1234
1234
5341
No output
Template
Incoming data
Output
P0"PN"9999
PN3456
3456
5341
No output
PNPN7654
7654
P
0