USB-COM is a connection mode in which a USB device, through a driver, creates a virtual serial port. The application reads that port and can therefore tell a scan from a keystroke.
Why it matters to a reseller
If the client’s software requires a serial port, a reader left in keyboard mode will not work. USB-COM solves this without a serial cable, but it adds a driver on every station and a port number to pin down. Include that install time in the quote.
Related guides
Related terms
- Keyboard wedge (HID)
Keyboard wedge (HID) is the mode in which a reader presents itself as a keyboard: scanned characters are typed into the active field with no driver, but the application cannot tell where the input came from..
- Driver and firmware
The driver is the software that lets a device talk to the operating system; the firmware is the software embedded in the device itself.
- OPOS
OPOS is the Windows implementation of the UnifiedPOS standard: a driver layer that exposes a point-of-sale device to a Windows application under a logical name, always the same way..
Hardware involved
- SC310 (Barcode and card readers)