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Alloy Inventory Scanner configuration

Alloy Inventory Scanner 2.0

Alloy Inventory Scanner is our native mobile asset tracking solution that gives you the ability to identify, view, and inventory assets in the field. This page describes how to integrate Alloy Inventory Scanner with Alloy Navigator, what its mobile configuration includes, and how you can customize the application as an Alloy Navigator administrator.

Alloy Inventory Scanner available for Android and iOS mobile devices on Google Play and App Store. For step-by-step assistance on how to use it, see How-to: How to inventory IT assets using barcodes or QR codes.

NOTE: For the list of supported clients, see Installation Guide: Mobile clients.

Integration with Alloy Navigator

For integration Alloy Inventory Scanner with Alloy Navigator, a few things must be in place.

API backend

The mobile application integrates with Alloy Navigator using native API integration. Native API integration requires the API module to be installed and configured for the Access Token user authentication. For instructions, see Installation Guide: Installing the API Module.

When users are signing in to Alloy Navigator in their mobile app, they specify the API's web address (API URL) along with their Alloy Navigator credentials.

TIP: To view the API URL, start the Web Configuration on the web server and navigate to the API module using the sidebar. The URL is shown in the main pane on the right hand side, among other configuration information.

Technician accounts

When technicians are signing in to Alloy Inventory Scanner, they specify the credentials of their Alloy Navigator technician accounts: the username and password. Usernames of Alloy Navigator accounts with Windows authentication must include the domain name: <Domain name>\<User account name>.

Barcode or QR code labels

IT assets (computers, hardware, and software licenses) that you need to inventory are labeled with QR code or barcode labels.

Alloy Inventory Scanner supports these identifiers:

  • Asset ID
  • Asset Tag
  • Serial Number
  • Barcode

  • Part Number (this is how Alloy Navigator treats the UPC product code)

You can generate and print out QR code or barcode labels using our standard Asset QR Code Labels or Asset Barcode Labels reports. For details, see Administration Guide: Auto-Generation of Asset Barcodes.

Inventory Scanner configuration

The default mobile configuration for Alloy Inventory Scanner contains all settings to start your mobile asset inventory right away. The configuration is stored in the Alloy Navigator database, and you can access and manage it from the Settings App.

Configuration settings include:

  • Workflow action - A workflow Step Action for mobile asset inventory. The action defines user input and controls how the inventory step updates the inventory data. The default workflow includes the "Inventory" service action #2244 for assets that is ready to use.

    You can customize the default Step Action for asset inventory or even create a new one, if needed. In any case, the action form must contain these fields, because Inventory Scanner relies on them:

    • Location - a physical field to identify the Asset location,

    • Comment - a virtual Memo field for leaving comments during the inventory process.

  • Action display name - The button label on the Inventory Scanner screen. Users tap that button to perform the inventory. By default, it is INVENTORY! For more information, see How-to: How to inventory IT assets using barcodes or QR codes.

  • Response text - The message that Inventory Scanner shows to the user when the task is complete. By default, it is "Inventory completed."

To customize the Inventory Scanner configuration:

  1. In Settings, go to Services > Mobile Applications and double-click InventoryScanner. The Mobile Application [InventoryScanner] dialog box opens.

  2. The configuration is available in the Configuration field. It is an XML document, where all configuration entries are wrapped inside the <Data> and </Data> tag pair. There is a single section <Actions> </Actions>, and it contains a single element: Action. For its attributes, see the table below.

    IMPORTANT: Any changes made to the Inventory Scanner app configuration become immediately active. We recommend that you export the default configuration to an external XML file before making any changes. A backup would help revert your changes and reset all settings to defaults.

    Action Attributes Description 
    ActionID="ID"

    The ID of the Step Action to be performed.

    For details, see Workflow action.

    		 
    DisplayName="Label"

    The Step Action display name. Inventory Scanner uses this display name as the label of the action button on the screen.

    For details, see Display name.

    		 
    ResponseText="Message"

    The message that Inventory Scanner shows to the user when the task completes successfully.

    For details, see Response text.

  3. In most cases, leave the URL Mask field blank. This field stores the API URL associated with the Alloy Inventory Scanner mobile app. When you have a single API backend associated with this mobile app, there is no need to specify the URL here.

    However, if you need to have different configurations for different API endpoints, you can explicitly specify the API endpoint URL or its significant part in the URL Mask field. This requires you to have more than one API modules configured.

  4. Click OK to close the window and save your changes, if any. Alloy Navigator will check the syntax of the XML configuration file before saving.

Related Information:

How-to: How to inventory IT assets using barcodes or QR codes

Administration Guide: Auto-Generation of Asset Barcodes

Alloy Navigator API User's Guide