Explains ShipStation's Scan to Search feature and how to use it. Includes how to add barcodes to custom packing slips, change size and type, and what types are supported.
Scan to Search allows you to scan a custom barcode so ShipStation can perform the action you designate: view the order, ship the order, or add order to a batch.
Scan to Search differs from the Scan to View feature. With Scan to Search, you scan a barcode that contains a searchable field, like order number or customer name, while in the Barcode Search screen. Scan to View adds a ShipStation proprietary barcode to your packing slip that will pull up the order details when you scan the barcode no matter where in the ShipStation interface you are.
Legacy Only
The Scan to Search feature is currently supported only in ShipStation Legacy.
To use the Scan to Search feature:
-
Go to Other Actions in the Action menu and select Barcode Search.
Use Hotkeys To Be More Efficient!
Use the Hotkey command Ctrl + Shift + S (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + S (Mac) to open the Barcode Scan Search pop-up from the Orders tab.
In place of hotkeys, you can instead scan the Enable Barcode Listening screen barcode from the General Barcode Scan Action Report to open the Barcode Scan Search pop-up.
-
In the Barcode Search pop-up, select the order status in which you want to search and choose what you want ShipStation to do with the order.
Display it
Ship it
Add it to a batch (new or existing)
-
Use your barcode scanner to start scanning.
Tip
Check the Keep this window open after orders are found and processed option if you have multiple actions you wish to perform or multiple orders to process.
To add an order number barcode to a custom packing slip in ShipStation's Legacy Layout:
-
Find the packing slip you wish to add a barcode to and click Edit.
A window will then display with an HTML editor.
Note
If you use the default template, you must create a copy before you can edit it.
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Click the Order Footer section, scroll until you reach the bottom, and add the following line of code at the end:
<barcode size="small">[Order #]</barcode>
Note
If your store's order numbers include a long sequence of zeros, such as 10000000034, you will need to use the barcodetype Code128A. Here's an example of what the code would look like:
<barcode size="medium" barcodetype="Code128A">[Order #]</barcode>
To center the barcode, use the code below:
<p align="center"><barcode size="medium">[Order #]</barcode></p>
If ShipStation Does Not Read Your Barcode Scan
If you're having trouble getting ShipStation to read your order barcode, try the following:
Change the value for the barcode size to x-small. Sometimes a part of barcode code gets cut off if the print is too large causing an error when reading it.
Change the type of barcode to Code128A, Code128B or some other type (see options listed below).
You can modify the barcode which appears on packing slips by applying parameters within the <barcode> tag.
Here's the packing slip HTML of a barcode that has a different size, type, and height than the default barcode (Code128Auto):
<barcode size="small" barcodetype="Code128C" height="4">[Order #]</barcode>
ShipStation supports the following optional parameters for barcodes:
Parameter & Description |
Supported Values |
|
|---|---|---|
|
barcodetype The value of this parameter dictates the type of barcode which will be generated. |
Code128Auto (default) Code128A Code128B Code128C Code39 Code39ASCII Code93 CodeCodabar EAN13 EAN8 EXT2 EXT5 |
I2of5 Industrial2of5 ITF14 ModifiedPlessy POSTNET UCCEAN UPCA UPCE GS1Databar14 GS1DatabarTruncated GS1DatabarLimited GS1DatabarExpanded |
|
size The value of this parameter dictates the size of the barcode font. |
x-small (font size: 12) small (font size: 24) medium (font size: 36) large (font size: 60) x-large (font size: 72) Any numerical value between 10 - 100 |
|
|
height The value of this parameter dictates the height of the barcode. It differs from size in that you can independently adjust the height of a barcode without affecting its width. This parameter is not supported by all barcode types. |
1 (smallest) 2 3 (default) 4 5 6 7 (largest) |
|
|
humanreadable The value of this parameter determines if the barcode should have human readable text embedded and where that text should be displayed. This parameter is not supported by all barcode types. |
none (default) top bottom |
|
For HTML Novices
Be sure to always include the value for an attribute between quotation marks, as illustrated in the above example.
The table below lists the types of barcodes and their specifications.
Barcode Type |
Characters |
Max Length |
Height |
Bottom Human Readable Height |
Top Human Readable Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Code128Auto |
alpha-numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
Code128A |
alpha-numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
Code128B |
alpha-numeric |
None |
1-7 |
3 |
None |
Code128C |
numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
Code39 |
Alpha-numeric: upper case only |
None |
1-7 |
3 |
None |
Code39ASCII |
Alpha-numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
Code93 |
Alpha-numeric: upper case only |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
CodeCodabar |
Numeric w/ cap A-D |
None |
3 |
None |
None |
EAN13 |
Numeric |
13 |
1-7 |
1-7 |
1-3 |
EAN8 |
Numeric |
8 |
1-7 |
1-7 |
1-3 |
EXT2 |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
1-7 |
1-3 |
EXT5 |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
1-7 |
1-3 |
I2of5 |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
1-3 |
None |
Industrial2of5 |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
ITF14 |
Numeric |
14 |
1-7 |
None |
None |
ModifiedPlessy |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
POSTNET |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
UCCEAN |
Alpha-numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
UPCA |
Numeric |
10 |
1-7 |
1-7 |
1-3 |
UPCE |
Numeric |
6 |
1-7 |
1-7 |
1-3 |
GS1Databar14 |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
GS1DatabarTruncated |
Numeric |
None |
3 |
None |
None |
GS1DatabarLimited |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
GS1DatabarExpanded |
Numeric |
None |
1-7 |
None |
None |
Additional Information
You can include any field replacement or static value as a barcode on packing slips. However, order level information and product level information must live in specific parts of the template.
Order Level information (like Order #, Shipping Service, Custom Field #1, etc.) must remain in either the Order Header or Order Footer sections of the packing slip.
Product Level information (like SKU, Item Title, Warehouse Location, etc.) must remain inside the Order Items table.
After you customize the packing slip, print a sample slip to ensure everything looks as it should. Remember to Save Changes before closing out the window.
See Apply Template to a Store for instructions on how to assign your custom packing slips to specific selling channels.