Zebra DS2208 types wrong characters? Set the keyboard layout

A scanner in USB keyboard mode does not send letters. It sends key presses, and it assumes a US English keyboard. Windows then reads those key presses with whatever keyboard layout is active on the PC. If that layout is not US English, some characters change. The fix is to tell the scanner which layout the PC uses.

Typical symptoms

• Y and Z are swapped on a Czech QWERTZ layout.
• Digits arrive as accented letters on layouts whose number row types letters, such as Czech or Lithuanian.
• Symbols such as - / : or @ come out as other characters, for example on Estonian or Finnish layouts.
• Upper and lower case are inverted. That is Caps Lock, not the layout: see the tip in step 2.

The same applies to the DS2278 when its cradle is connected by USB.

Check the keyboard layout on the PC

Select the input language icon in the system tray area of the Windows taskbar: it shows the active layout. On Windows 11 you can also open Settings › Time & language › Language & region, select ··· next to your language and then Language options; the layouts are listed under Keyboards. Note the exact layout name, for example "Estonian" or "Polish (Programmers)". Several countries have more than one layout, and the scanner setting must match the one in use.

Scan the matching country keyboard type

1. Open the DS2208 Product Reference Guide or the DS2278 Product Reference Guide at Appendix B, Country Codes, section "USB and Keyboard Wedge Country Keyboard Types (Country Codes)".
2. Scan the bar code with the name of your layout, for example Estonian or Czech (QWERTY). Check the caption: a few bar codes are marked for a specific Windows version.
3. The scanner restarts and sounds its startup beeps. That is normal.
4. Open Notepad and scan a bar code that contains letters, digits and symbols. Compare the result with the text under the bar code.

You do not need to scan a code page as well. Appendix C of the PRG lists a default code page for each keyboard type, and Zebra says you only scan one if the default does not suit you.

Which setting for our markets

Zebra's list has more than 90 keyboard types, and all six of our markets are on it. Pick the row that matches the layout shown in Windows.

Zebra's country keyboard types are designed for Windows. For a Mac, the list contains only US English (Mac).

If your layout is not in the list: keypad emulation

Zebra's documented fallback is keypad emulation. The scanner then sends each character as an Alt code on the numeric keypad, for example Alt + 065 for "A". Windows produces the right character whatever the layout.

1. In the PRG, chapter "USB Interface", section "Quick Keypad Emulation", scan Disable Quick Keypad Emulation.
2. In section "Keypad Emulation", scan Enable Keypad Emulation. This is already the default, but scanning it does no harm.
3. Test a scan in Notepad.

Both settings are on by default. With Quick Keypad Emulation on, Alt codes are only used for characters that are not on the selected keyboard. Switching it off sends every character as an Alt code. This works with any layout but types more slowly, so use it only when no matching keyboard type exists.

Another option on a dedicated scanning PC is to leave the scanner on US English and add a US keyboard in Windows, selected while you scan. This depends on staff switching layouts, so the country keyboard type is usually the better fix.

DS2278 connected directly by Bluetooth

Zebra documents the country keyboard type for USB keyboard (HID) connections, which covers the DS2278 through its cradle. For a direct Bluetooth HID link to a PC, tablet or phone, the PRG does not say whether the setting applies. The Bluetooth HID mode has its own keypad emulation settings, both on by default: Enable Keypad Emulation (section "Emulate Keypad") and Quick Keypad Emulation Enable, in chapter "Radio Communications". Set the country keyboard type, test with a mixed bar code, and contact us if characters are still wrong.

Several scanners and Unicode

When you prepare many scanners, configure one, then use 123Scan to clone its settings to the others.

The PRG also offers Unicode output (Appendix D). Zebra designed it for Chinese, Japanese and Korean bar codes and for a few layouts with characters missing from their code page. None of our six markets is on that list.