Socket Mobile is a leading innovator of data capture and delivery solutions for enhanced productivity.
CaptureSDK is the easiest solution for adding barcode scanning and RFID/NFC reading capability to an iOS application.
The Socket Mobile barcode scanner and contactless reader/writer are an ergonomic, fast and accurate solution to a variety of data entry scenarios.
This SDK is very easy to integrate to an application without requirement to follow a specific design architecture.
Within 10 minutes the barcode scanning or RFID/NFC reading capability can be integrated into an application.
The CaptureSDK offers a built-in barcode scanner called SocketCam, allowing to test and integrate the SDK even before getting a Socket Mobile scanner, using the exact same API, which makes the transition from using SocketCam to a Socket scanner totally frictionless.
More documentation can be found here in our CaptureSDK Documentation.
There are 2 choices to connect and use our Bluetooth LE readers:
- Install our Socket Mobile Companion app which takes care of the discovery and the selection of the reader to connect to.
- Write some code to fit the Bluetooth discovery flow to your application's design by creating an UI that starts and shows discovered devices and select them to be paired to your application.
See our Getting Started section in our documentation
| Devices | < 2.0 | 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| SocketCam C820, C860 | âś… | âś… |
| S720/D720/S820 | âś… | âś… |
| D600, S550, and all other barcode scanners | âś… | âś… |
| S370 | âś… | âś… |
| M930 | âś… | âś… |
| S320 | âś… | âś… |
| S721 (new Bluetooth LE barcode scanner) | ❌ | ✅ |
- Breaking changes V2.0
- Quick install notes
- SocketCam C820 and C860
- CaptureSDK usage
- Sample code
- Configure and connect a Socket Mobile device
- Device Notifications (Battery Level)
- Closing CaptureSDK
- Install notes for Objective-C projects
We have made a step forward and changed a few things to stay up to date with  requirements. The SDK still works as you expect.
- CaptureSDK is built with Xcode 26
- The minimum target is now iOS 15.0
- The Bluetooth discovery flow is a bit different. The transition of our products from Bluetooth Classic to Bluetooth Low Energy forces to change the Developers and Users Experience slightly. You can use our CaptureSDK to connect devices either through our Socket Mobile Companion app which takes care of the discovery and the selection of the reader to connect to, or, you can write your own code, using the new CaptureSDK APIs, to make a UI for the discovery that fits your design and application's flow.
CaptureSDK is using CocoaPods.
First, you need to install CocoaPods on your machine by following the instructions found here: Cocoapods
To install the SDK to the application you need to create a file named Podfile in the same folder as your Xcode project is located.
The content of this file should be something like this assuming the name of your project is myProject:
You need to add an additional source to your Podfile in order to get those private pods in addition of the official Cocoapods and your private ones, if any.
source 'https://github.com/CocoaPods/Specs.git'
target 'myProject'
pod 'CaptureSDK', '~> 2.0'Once you have saved this file, from the terminal command prompt, type the command pod install --repo-update and make sure your current directory is where the Podfile is.
This creates a workspace file. If you have Xcode open on your project, you need to close it, and re-open your project using this time the workspace file.
From there you should be able to compile without error.
VERY IMPORTANT: Supported external accessory protocols array in the application settings. In order to be able to use the Socket Mobile barcode scanners, the scanners external accessory protocol string needs to be added in the application project info in the supported external accessory protocols array.
The protocol string is com.socketmobile.chs.
If the application does use a Socket Mobile barcode scanner it will need to be MFi whitelisted before submitting the application in the App Store. Socket Mobile will handle the whitelist (MFi) application process for you, when you submit your app for MFi in your Socket Mobile developer account. This has to be done once for the first version supporting the barcode scanner.
You also need to add the following key to your Info.plist: CFBundleAllowMixedLocalizations (Localized resources can be mixed) to YES. That allows or SDK to display localized strings.
An AppKey is required in order to use CaptureSDK.
The AppKey can be generated by logging in Socket Mobile developer portal and registering your application.
This registration needs the Socket Mobile developer ID, the application Bundle ID (which is case sensitive).
Now you're ready to add import CaptureSDK in your main controller, and make it derive from one of the CaptureHelperDelegate that your application needs.
Go to the CaptureHelperDelegate source and copy paste the delegates you want to override, at minimum the onDecodedData delegate in order to be able to receive the barcode decoded data in your application.
We have included SocketCam C820 & SocketCam C860 into the SDK, formerly known as SoftScan.
For SocketCam C860 is an enhanced version of SocketCam C820, you also need to add the following key to your Info.plist: LSApplicationQueriesSchemes (Queried URL Schemes) with a new item: sktcompanion (in lower case).
In order to use it you have to install Socket Mobile Companion on your device.
You can find more details about SocketCam C860 on our website.
SocketCam feature refers to the capability of using the phone's camera in order to scan a barcode. The main purpose of integrating this feature in CaptureSDK is to provide a consistent interface to barcode readers.
Whether it is a Socket Mobile scanner, or simply the phone's camera, the application relies on the same interface, same API, which makes the transition from using SocketCam to a physical Socket scanner totally frictionless.
The application using the SocketCam feature needs to do 2 things differently, which Socket Mobile scanners don't require.
The first thing is to provide a trigger logic that starts the SocketCam scanning operation. The trigger is a CaptureSDK property kSktCapturePropIdTriggerDevice that exists since the first version of CaptureSDK.
A third property kSktCapturePropIdSocketCamStatus allows to enable or disable the SocketCam feature. This is a CaptureSDK property that is persistent across the life cycle of the application using it.
If the SocketCam feature is enabled, CaptureSDK will send a device arrival notification to the application referencing a SocketCam device the application can control.
Once the application triggers a read, the decoded data arrives the same way with the same information than as any other Socket Mobile devices supported by CaptureSDK.
For more information please check the documentation.
With the new version of CaptureSDK available, you will be able to present SocketCam as you wish in a custom view, a popover and still in full screen. Now you decide where and when triggering and removing SocketCam view controller in your application's flow. And this is your responssability to handle the presentation and the dismissal of the view controller. However, there's a minimal size of 250px x 250px to observe in order to display all SocketCam's UI elements.
BEFORE
AFTER
let scanner = CaptureHelperDevice()
scanner.setTrigger(.start, withCompletionHandler: { result, propertyObject in
DispatchQueue.main.async {
if let anObject = propertyObject?.object, let dic = anObject as? [String: Any], let objectType = dic["SKTObjectType"] as? String, objectType == "SKTSocketCamViewControllerType", let socketCamViewController = dic["SKTSocketCamViewController"] as? UIViewController {
////
// Present the socketCamViewController in a popover or a subview or in full screen
////
}
}
})
extension YourViewController: CaptureHelperDeviceDecodedDataDelegate {
// This delegate is called each time a decoded data is read from a scanner or SocketCam
func didReceiveDecodedData(_ decodedData: SKTCaptureDecodedData?, fromDevice device: CaptureHelperDevice, withResult result:SKTResult) {
print("--->>> didReceiveDecodedData for device: \(device.deviceInfo.deviceType)")
if result == .E_NOERROR {
let str = decodedData!.stringFromDecodedData()
print("Decoded Data \(String(describing: str))")
DispatchQueue.main.async {
////
// When receiving your decoded data you can dismiss, hide, remove the SocketCam custom view controller
////
}
}
}
}Depending on how you want to display SocketCam in your application, it may require to show or hide the close button of the SocektCam view controller. Ideally, you can execute this at the device arrival of a SocketCam device, whether it is C820 or C860. In order to do so, add a specific configuration as follow:
let prop = SKTCaptureProperty()
prop.id = SKTCapturePropertyID.configuration
prop.type = .string
prop.stringValue = "SocketCamCloseButton=enabled" /// to show the close button
// OR
prop.stringValue = "SocketCamCloseButton=disabled" /// to hide the close button
self.captureHelper.setProperty(prop) { result, complete in
}If you add the SocketCam view controller as a subview in another view controller (myView.addsubview(self.socketCamViewController.view)), then you need to remove the SocketCam view controller's view when you finish using it (self.socketCamViewController.view.removeFromSuperview()) otherwise it won't be displayed the next time you trigger SocketCam. So it's good to keep a reference on the SocketCam view controller when it is given by the CaptureHelper method setTrigger
CaptureSDK is described in greater details in the documentation.
The recommended way of using CaptureSDK is by using CaptureHelper. CaptureHelper is now included into the framework and not as a separate file. CaptureHelper for Swift, SKTCaptureHelper for Objective-C
CaptureHelper can be instantiated in one of your application controllers using its CaptureHelper.sharedInstance static member.
The chosen controller must implement one of the CaptureHelper[xxxxx]Delegate protocols in order to receive the various CaptureSDK asynchronous events.
The reference of the controller deriving from at least one of the CaptureHelper[xxxxx]Delegate can be set by using the CaptureHelper pushDelegate method.
CaptureHelper maintains a delegates stack. The delegate on top of the stack is the one that receives the notification from CaptureSDK. So if the application has multiple views requiring the scanning feature, it can push a reference of a new view controller to the CaptureHelper delegates stack, and remove that reference when the view is no longer active.
In order to start CaptureSDK, the API uses the openWithAppInfo:withCompletionHandler method with the application information.
This open method can be called only once, in the main view controller by example, and the CaptureHelper.sharedInstance can be used at various place in the application code as singleton reference without the need to pass it through various controllers.
The application information is retrieved from the Socket Mobile developer portal, by registering the application with its application ID, the developer ID. The application key is then generated and all three initialize the AppInfo required to open CaptureSDK.
The application ID is composed by the application bundle ID prefixed by the platform on which the application is designed to run.
Here is an example of such application ID: "ios:com.socketmobile.SingleEntry". The application ID is case sensitive.
Once CaptureSDK is open, then the device arrival notification can occurs as soon as a scanner is connected to the iOS device.
The decoded data coming from the scanner can be retrieved by overriding the onDecodedData delegate.
Example of ViewController.m for SingleEntry app:
import UIKit
import CaptureSDK
class MasterViewController:
UITableViewController,
CaptureHelperDevicePresenceDelegate,
CaptureHelperDeviceManagerPresenceDelegate,
CaptureHelperDeviceDecodedDataDelegate,
CaptureHelperErrorDelegate,
CaptureHelperDevicePowerDelegate {
// Capture Helper shareInstance allows to share
// the same instance of Capture Helper with the
// entire application. That static property can
// be used in any views but it is recommended
// to open only once Capture Helper (in the main
// view controller) and pushDelegate, popDelegate
// each time a new view requiring scanning capability
// is loaded or unloaded respectively.
var captureHelper = CaptureHelper.sharedInstance
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
// fill out the App Info with the Bundle ID which should start by the
// platform on which the application is running and followed with the
// case sensitive application Bundle ID,
// with the Socket Mobile Portal developer ID
// and with the Application Key generated from the Socket Mobile Developer
// portal
let AppInfo = SKTAppInfo()
AppInfo.appKey = "MC0CFQD1tdTpaABkppmG+iP3dB9kolYVtwIUY8c3UmEfaPoTI3AxbPOTpNgw+fo="
AppInfo.appID = "ios:com.socketmobile.SingleEntrySwift"
AppInfo.developerID = "bb57d8e1-f911-47ba-b510-693be162686a"
// there is a stack of delegates the last push is the
// delegate active, when a new view requiring notifications from the
// scanner, then push its delegate and pop its delegate when the
// view is done
captureHelper.pushDelegate(self)
// to make all the delegates able to update the UI without the app
// having to dispatch the UI update code, set the dispatchQueue
// property to the DispatchQueue.main
captureHelper.dispatchQueue = DispatchQueue.main
// open Capture Helper only once in the application
captureHelper.openWithAppInfo(AppInfo, withCompletionHandler: { (_ result: SKTResult) in
print("Result of Capture initialization: \(result.rawValue)")
})
}
}CaptureHelper makes the application aware of a new device connection by invoking the onDeviceArrival of the protocol and, in the same way when a device disconnects, the onDeviceRemoval is invoked. A CaptureHelper device instance representing the device that is connected can be used to retrieve or set a device property.
Example of the view controller being aware of the scanner:
func didNotifyArrivalForDevice(_ device: CaptureHelperDevice, withResult result: SKTResult) {
print("Main view device arrival:\(device.deviceInfo.name!)")
}
func didNotifyRemovalForDevice(_ device: CaptureHelperDevice, withResult result: SKTResult) {
print("Main view device removal:\(device.deviceInfo.name!)")
}For a combo device like the S370 which has 2 devices, there will be two didNotifyArrivalForDevice and two didNotifyRemovalForDevice notifications.
The following code shows how you can distinghuish and handle them:
func didNotifyArrivalForDevice(_ device: CaptureHelperDevice, withResult result: SKTResult) {
print("didNotifyArrivalForDevice: \(String(describing: device.deviceInfo.name))")
if device.deviceInfo.deviceType == .NFCS370 {
// handle the NFC reader of the S370
} else if device.deviceInfo.deviceType == .scannerS370 {
// handle the Barcode scanner of the S370
}
}If the scanner triggers a scan, the decoded data can be retrieve in the protocol function onDecodedData.
Example of retrieving the decoded data received by a scanner:
func didReceiveDecodedData(_ decodedData: SKTCaptureDecodedData?, fromDevice device: CaptureHelperDevice, withResult result: SKTResult) {
if result == SKTCaptureErrors.E_NOERROR {
let rawData = decodedData?.decodedData
let rawDataSize = rawData?.count
print("Size: \(String(describing: rawDataSize))")
print("data: \(String(describing: decodedData?.decodedData))")
let string = decodedData?.stringFromDecodedData()!
print("Decoded Data \(String(describing: string))")
}
}The application can retrieve or modify the device properties by calling the various CaptureHelperDevice get/set methods. By example there is a method to retrieve the device friendly name: getFriendlyNameWithCompletionHandler. The call is asynchronous and will return immediately. The final result and the friendly name can be retrieved in the
completion handler function block.
IMPORTANT:
If a property is not accessible through the available CaptureHelper methods, it is very easy to add new ones, by creating a CaptureHelper extension class and copy and paste a similar get/set method and change the property settings inside the new method.
Creating a CaptureHelper extension allows to avoid an overwrite of a modified version of CaptureHelper when updating to a more recent CaptureSDK CocoaPods.
Sample code can be found in GitHub / SocketMobile
CaptureSDK is designed for using all of the Socket Mobile devices on the iOS platforms.
As the application developer, CaptureSDK will give you full programmatic access to a connected Socket Mobile data capture device to customize the data source (barcode symbology or RFID Tag), data support and manage device feedback
messages and functions.
The API documentation for CaptureSDK can be found in our Capture Documentation
The Socket Mobile devices are shipped by default in MFi mode which is compatible with the CaptureSDK.
The device can be configured to the Application mode by using the Socket Mobile Companion app.
You can also refer to the documentation for instructions without using Companion.
Bluetooth LE Devices
For our Blueetooth LE devices (D600, S550, S370, S320 and S721), use the following:
- Install our Socket Mobile Companion app which takes care of the discovery and the selection of the reader to connect to.
- Write some code to fit the Bluetooth discovery flow to your application's design by creating an UI that starts and shows discovered devices and select them to be paired to your application.
The Themes Selection allows to choose LEDs sequences that are played on S550 or S370 devices. Please check the documentation.
The Device Notifications can be configured in order to receive a notification each time one or more of those events occur:
- Battery Level change
- Power State change
- Buttons State change
By default the device notifications are turned off. The recommended usage is to first check if a particular notification is turned off or on. Depending on this reading, then the application can set a specific notification to be received if it is not already set. That setting stays persistent in the Socket Mobile device across scanner shutdown. It is not recommended to set systematically a notification in the device without checking first if that setting is already correct.
For the Battery Level and Power State, it could take a long time before the state changes, so usually the initial value is read using the corresponding CaptureHelper Get method.
Last, some devices don't support some of the notifications. If that's the case, an error ESKT_NOTSUPPORTED (-15) is returned when trying to set a notification that is not supported.
For more information please check the documentation.
It is not recommended to close CaptureSDK because the scanner will go through reinitialization the next time CaptureSDK is open which causes a delay before being able to use the scanner.
Closing CaptureSDK does not affect power consumption, since the scanner stays connected to the iOS host for Bluetooth Classic scanners.
For Bluetooth LE scanners, the CaptureSDK releases the connection to devices or it remains connected to the iOS host if added with Companion.
It is also worth noting that when the Socket Mobile device is connected the power consumption is really minimal, compare to establishing a connection.
If the motive of closing CaptureSDK is to not receive any decoded data from the device then the application delegate can simply be removed and the application will no longer receive any event from the scanner until it sets its delegate back again.
Our framework contains Swift code from now on so, in order to include CaptureSDK in a Objective-C project only, you need to add a bridging header file. It will make the bridge between Objective-C and Swift.
To add a bridging header file, follow those steps:
-
Create a file name
myProject-Bridging-Header.hin your project folder and add it to your Xcode project and add#import <CaptureSDK/CaptureSDK.h>into this file -
Then, in the Build Settings of the target(s), not the project, add the path of your bridging header file to
Objective-C Bridging Headerfield
OR
-
Add a Swift file to your Xcode project and it will prompt you to add the briding header file. add it automatically for you
-
Add
#import <CaptureSDK/CaptureSDK.h>into this bridging header file -
If you're willing to use
Capture Helper, please use SKTCaptureHelper for Objective-C which is suited for ObjectiveC
