Programming a Zebra DS2278 Barcode Scanner

Programming a Zebra DS2278 Barcode Scanner

Setting up a Zebra DS2278 scanner on a PC is very easy - you plug them in, wait for the battery to charge, and start using it - no install required.
Before you get started with scanning though, there are some setting on the scanner you may need to change. Scanner settings are changed by scanning special programming barcodes.
Idea
When scanning a programming barcode, the scanner will make a different beep than normal.
Alert
These instructions are for the Zebra DS2278 scanner only. Do not follow these steps for other scanners.

Adding Carriage Return

Usually, when scanning a product into the POS screen the product will appear in the sale immediately. If instead when you scan a product the barcode number appears but nothing else happens, you will need to enable the Carriage Return Setting. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Download the document named 'Zebra DS2278 CR.pdf' from the bottom of this article.
  2. Print out this PDF document.
  3. Scan the barcode on the PDF
Once this is done, try scanning a product into the POS screen - the product should now immediately appear in the sale as normal.

Adding 2-digit Addenda for Magazines (Newsagencies Only)

Magazines use different barcodes from other products - they have an extra 2 digits at the end that denote what issue of the magazine it is. By default, scanners will not look for these extra digits - this feature needs to be turned on. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Download the document named 'Zebra DS2278 Addenda.pdf' from the bottom of this article.
  2. Print out this PDF document.
  3. Scan the barcode on the PDF

Resetting a Scanner back to Default Settings

Sometimes it may be necessary to reset a scanner back to its default settings - this can be because a mistake was made with other programming barcodes, or because the scanner is behaving erratically. To reset a scanner, follow these steps:
  1. Download the document named 'Zebra DS2278 Reset.pdf' from the bottom of this article.
  2. Print out this PDF document.
  3. Scan the barcodes on the PDF in order, 1 then 2.
After resetting a scanner, it may be necessary to follow the steps to re-add the carriage return or 2-digit addenda again.