Zebra DataWedge setup: scan into any app on TC22, TC27, MC3400

DataWedge is the Zebra service that controls the built-in scanner and passes the scanned data to your apps. With the right profile it types each barcode into any app, as if someone had entered it on the keyboard, so your app needs no programming for scanning. This guide works on the TC22, TC27 and MC3400.

Before you start

How DataWedge works

DataWedge is preinstalled on every Zebra Android device. It uses profiles: each profile defines the scanner input, how the data is formatted and how it is delivered. You link a profile to one or more apps, and each app can belong to only one profile.

• Profile0 is the default profile. It applies to every app that has no profile of its own and cannot be linked to an app.
• Launcher is used on the home screen.
• Output is Keystroke (typed into the active field), Intent (for apps written for DataWedge) or Internet Protocol (sent over the network).

Check your DataWedge version

Open the DataWedge app, tap the three-dot menu icon and tap About. Menu names in this guide follow DataWedge 15.0, which is included, for example, in Zebra's May 2025 Android 14 update for the TC22 and TC27. Devices on an older version can show slightly different labels.

Which button scans

Test the scanner with DWDemo

1. Open DWDemo from the app drawer.
2. Point the scanner at a barcode and press the scan button, or tap the scan button on the screen.
3. The decoded data appears in the app window, and the Data Capture LED and a beep confirm the read.

If nothing happens, open the DWDemo menu, tap Settings and check that Profile enabled is ticked.

Create a profile and link it to your app

1. Open the DataWedge app. If it opens on another screen, press Back until you see the Profiles list.
2. Tap the menu icon and choose New profile.
3. Enter a short, unique name without special characters, for example Warehouse, and tap OK.
4. Tap the new profile and check that Profile enabled is ticked.
5. Tap Associated apps, open the menu and choose New app/activity.
6. Select your app. Tap the asterisk * to use the profile for every screen of the app, or tap one activity to limit it to that screen.
7. Press Back to return to the profile.

Making a new profile is safer than changing Profile0, because Profile0 also affects every other app without a profile.

Video: Zebra Technologies

Send the data as keystrokes

1. In the profile, check that Barcode input is enabled.
2. Scroll to Keystroke output and tick Enabled.
3. Leave Intent output off unless your app's supplier tells you to use it.
4. Open your app, tap the input field and scan. The barcode appears in the field.

If characters go missing or arrive in the wrong order, raise the Inter-character delay in Keystroke output in steps of 100 ms, up to 1000 ms. Zebra notes that a delay can affect app performance, so keep it as low as possible. During a scan the on-screen keyboard can disappear briefly, because DataWedge uses its own keyboard to send the data.

Add Enter or Tab after each scan

Many apps need Enter to confirm a scan, or Tab to jump to the next field. You set this with Basic data formatting, which sits with the output settings in the profile.

1. In the profile, under Keystroke output, tap Basic data formatting and tick Enable at the top of the screen.
2. Tick Send ENTER key to add Enter after each barcode, or Send TAB key to add Tab.
3. Keep Send data ticked. It is on by default and sends the barcode itself.
4. Optional: enter characters in Prefix to data or Suffix to data to add text before or after every barcode.
5. Scan into your app to test.

Turn barcode types on or off

1. In the profile, under Barcode input, tap Configure scanner settings.
2. Tap Decoders.
3. Tick the barcode types you use and untick the ones you don't.

QR Code, Data Matrix, Code 128, EAN-13 and UPC-A are on by default. Interleaved 2 of 5, Micro QR and DotCode are off by default, so switch them on if your labels use them. Zebra recommends switching off every decoder your app doesn't need, because fewer decoders can improve scanning performance.

Common mistakes

• DataWedge switched off: on the Profiles screen, open the menu, then Settings, and check DataWedge enabled.
• Profile not enabled: a new profile does nothing until Profile enabled is ticked.
• App linked to the wrong profile: an app can belong to only one profile, so check Associated apps in each profile.
• Profile0 disabled: apps without their own profile then cannot scan at all. This can be deliberate on managed devices.
• Barcode type off: a missing decoder looks like a broken scanner. Check the Decoders list.
• Restore pressed by mistake: Restore in DataWedge Settings returns DataWedge to factory defaults and cannot be undone. Export your settings first.

To copy a finished setup to more devices, use Export Profile in DataWedge Settings and Import Profile on the next device. For the device side, see the TC22/TC27 setup guide, the MC3400 setup guide or TC22/TC27 troubleshooting. Full option lists are in Zebra's DataWedge documentation.