Scanner set-up and operations
Before setting up a scanner in your school, you must decide on a computer layout.
If you wish for the students to see the class they are scanning into, then you will need to devote a computer and monitor to attendance scanning. In this situation, you can use a wedge type or serial barcode scanner or a finger scanner. To track attendance, the Studio MA Manager program is opened and the desired scanning screen is the active screen on the monitor.
If you will be using the same computer for other functions while students are scanning into class, meaning that they do not need to see a scanning screen of the class they are logging into, then you will need to use a finger scanner or a serial type barcode scanner. In this situation, the Studio MA Manager program is opened and the scanning screen is minimized (i.e., just the name of the screen appears at the bottom of the screen). You can open up other applications and work them while students are scanning into class. A wedge type barcode scanner will not work for this situation.
If you will be devoting a computer and screen for attendance scanning and tying up your only school computer for scanning is not a viable option, then you should consider a second computer, which will need to be networked to your office computer. The following site provides good information for establishing a small network in your school http://computer.howstuffworks.com/home-network.htm. To keep your costs down, use an older computer for scanning students. You will need to have Windows 98 Second Edition or better and Ethernet cards installed in the computers for establishing a network.
Once you have established a network, you will then need to install Studio MA Manager as a networked program onto all associated computers. The following page provides instructions for networking Studio MA Manager http://www.cabinsoftware.com/installSMAM.htm. If Studio MA Manager is already installed on a computer that will become a networked peripheral machine, then you will need to uninstall Studio MA Manager and reinstall per the page mentioned.
If you decide to use Barcode Scanning, then any wedge type or serial scanner that can read Code 39 will work with Studio MA Manager. If you wish to use Finger Scanning then you must purchase a special scanner provided by Cabin Software along with a HASP Key that will register the scanner. Studio MA Manager uses third party software to operate the finger scanning function which requires registration and fees for each end user. We have chosen the HASP Key approach to meet this requirement rather than calling numbers back and forth. A separate HASP Key is required for each scanner and will continue to work when moved to a different PC or following reformatting of a hard drive. The Finger Scanner setup will require a minimum of Windows 98, 64MB of RAM and 2 USB ports; one USB port for the scanner, the other for the HASP Key. The Finger Scanner and HASP Key will come with an installation CD. Barcode Scanners are ready to use without any additional software or registration.
You should make a monitor, scanner and mouse available to the student for logging into the proper class. A keyboard is not required and is discouraged if you intend to lock the scanning screen.