Linking Of Esls To Products - Opticon ESL Server Manual

4.

Linking of ESLs to products

Linking of ESLs is the process of telling the system which product should be shown on which
ESL. This is usually done by scanning the MAC address bar code on the ESL label followed by
scanning (or entering) the unique ID of the product.
The unique ID can be anything: an EAN code, article number, location, room number, etc. As long
as it's a unique identifier in the database, it can be linked to an ESL.
Opticon provides 3 methods for linking ESLs to products in your product database.
1. Using the ESL server application (manually or by using a USB-HID barcode scanner )

Advantage: Linking of ESLs in the ESL server application requires no additional hardware.
This makes it ideal for demonstration purposes and small installations.

Disadvantage: The ESL server usually isn't located right next to the products and ESLs in a
store, which makes scanning both the ESLs and products and time consuming process
2. Using the provided web application (requires a handheld terminal with web browser & Wifi)

Advantage: Linking of ESLs using a web application is quick and can be done everywhere
in the store with almost all handheld barcode device (as long as it has a web browser and
Wifi). ESLs will immediately start updating after linking.

Disadvantage: Requires that the Web application is installed using an HTTP-server (like
Apache) and to be available on the Wifi network.
3. Using an Opticon batch terminal

Advantage: Linking using a batch terminal is quick and can be done everywhere in the
store and without any wireless connection.

Disadvantage: It requires an Opticon batch terminal, which needs to be moved back to the
ESL server to upload the created link information. ESLs won't start updating until the batch
terminal is connected to the ESL server PC.
The following 3 chapters will describe these 3 methods in more detail.
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Opticon ESL
ESL Server manual
v1.0.62.2