QR/Barcode Scanning Populating Multiple Fields

[MitchellOrchard]

I'm trying to populate multiple fields using a scanned QR code. A forum from 2017 suggests using the substring function, however I encounter two issues:

1. The substring function only appears to work on data I've already collected, whereas I was hoping for newly scanned data to have several fields populated automatically as well.

2. Ideally the attributes would not all be the same length.

Ex. Scanning a QR code on a street sign. The asset has attributes for QR_CODE, ID, TYPE, SHAPE.

String passed via QR Code #1 = "123, Yield, Triangle"
String passed via QR Code #2 = "4567, No Parking, Rectangle"

When the QR Code is scanned it would populate the QR_CODE field with an abovementioned string, which would be used to populate the rest of the attributes.

If using substrings is the only option I could ensure all attributes are the same length (ie. QR #1 becomes "0000123, YLD, TRI" and QR #2 becomes "0004567, NOP, REC") but, again, when running a calculated field it only applied the calculation on existing row items. When a new asset was scanned in the field the ID, TYPE, SHAPE fields were left blank, despite the QR_CODE field being populated with the correct string.

Is this doable in the current Collector environment?

[JeffShaner · Accepted solution]

Hi @MitchellOrchard - following up late here and I am guessing that you have found your answer already. However,  I thought I would mention that calculating values from a scanned QR code or barcode is not yet supported. With ArcGIS Field Maps and the introduction of smart forms, calculating attribute values is on our roadmap. 

If you are using ArcGIS Server feature services, you could look at replicating the calculation using attribute rules. These rules would be executed when submitted on the server so they won't work offline, yet. Support for attribute rules in the underlying Runtime SDKs as well as in Field Maps is coming. We are patiently waiting on the plumbing to be built for us so that we can support it in the client app. Hope this helps.