About EMDK For Android

EMDK For Android 6.9

Overview

EMDK for Android is an extension for the Android Studio IDE that provides developers with a comprehensive set of tools to easily create powerful line-of-business applications for Zebra Android devices. EMDK for Android includes class libraries, sample applications with source code and all associated documentation to help applications take full advantage of the power of Zebra devices.

EMDK for Android also inserts exclusive Profile Manager technology within the the IDE, providing a GUI-based development tool for configuring Zebra devices. This allows developers to write fewer lines of code, produce fewer errors and reduce overall development time and effort.

Prerequisites

The following software must be installed prior to using EMDK for Android:

Windows:

  • Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (32- or 64-bit)
  • Java Development Kit (JDK) v7u45 or higher
  • Android Studio v2.x or higher (EMDK for Android validated on Android Studio 2.2.x, 2.3.x, 3.0 and 3.1)

Mac OS X:

  • Mac OS X 10.10.x Yosemite or 10.11.x El Capitan (64-bit)
  • Java for OS X 2014-10x or higher
  • Java Development Kit (JDK) v7u75 or higher

Notes:

  • Install the Android SDK Platform package on the development host appropriate for targeting the corresponding EMDK API SDK add-on. For example, Android 6.0 (API 23) must be installed for targeting EMDK APIs (API 23) as Compile SDK Version in Android Studio.
  • Android SDK 23.0.x or higher build tools must be installed for building EMDK samples.
  • Close any running Android Studio sessions prior to installing.

Devices Supported

Mobile devices

  • ET5X - Lollipop, Marshmallow
  • MC18 - Lollipop
  • MC32N0 - Lollipop
  • MC33 - Nougat
  • MC40 - Lollipop
  • TC20 - Nougat
  • TC25 - Nougat
  • TC51 - Marshmallow, Nougat
  • TC56 - Marshmallow, Nougat
  • TC70 - Lollipop
  • TC70x - Marshmallow, Nougat
  • TC75 - Lollipop
  • TC75x - Marshmallow, Nougat
  • TC8000 - Lollipop
  • VC80x - Nougat
  • WT6000 - Lollipop, Nougat NEW

Scanners and imagers

  • DS3608
  • DS3678
  • LI3608 NEW
  • LI3678 NEW
  • RS507
  • RS4000
  • RS5000
  • RS6000

New in v6.9

Device Support

EMDK for Android 6.9 adds support for the following Zebra devices/OSes:

  • LI3608 rugged USB scanner
  • LI3678 rugged Bluetooth scanner
  • WT6000 running Android Nougat

API Enhancements

Enhanced Barcode Manager API:

  • Adds support for LI3608 rugged USB scanner
    • A new enum under BarcodeManager.DeviceIdentifier can be used to select the LI3608
  • Adds support for LI3678 rugged Bluetooth scanner
    • A new enum under BarcodeManager.DeviceIdentifier can be used to select the LI3678

Enhanced Notification Manager API:

  • A new getDeviceIdentifier() method in DeviceInfo class identifies the notification device
  • A new enum DeviceIdentifier supports getDeviceIdentifier() with following values:
    • DEFAULT - default
    • BLUETOOTH_IMAGER_RS6000 - Bluetooth imager RS6000
    • EXTERNAL_VIBRATOR1 - External Vibrator

Software Support

Now supports Android Studio v3.1

Now supports MX v8.0 in Profile Manager adds the following Settings Types and features:

  • Enhanced App Manager adds these new actions:
    • Clear Application Cache
    • Enable/disable All GMS Applications on the "Safe to Disable" list
  • Enhanced License Manager adds these new actions:
    • Select a licensing file to be embedded in the XML
    • Select a preactivated license source
    • Query product-specific license information
    • Specify product name to be queried
    • Select the method used to supply the license .bin file
  • Enhanced Power Manager adds a new action:
    • Enable/disable PTT and scan buttons to wake the device from suspend mode
  • Enhanced Settings Manager adds a new action:
    • Enable/disable tethering and portable hotspot features
  • Enhanced UI Manager adds these new actions:
    • Enable/disable the Magnification Gesture
    • Show/hide the Virtual KeyBoard while Physical Keyboard is active

Deprecations

  • SecureNFC APIs allow applications to perform secure communications with the NFC tags such as MifareDesfire, MifarePlus SL3 using the Secure Access Module (SAM). These APIs remain supported but are no longer being advanced.
  • The ProfileConfig class, used to access profile data, remains supported but is no longer being advanced. Zebra recommends using the name-value pair function of the Profile Manager. Profile XML data also can be modified directly. See the Clock Sample for information about how to modify Profile XML data.
  • The ContinuousRead class, used to enable continuous scanning, remains supported but is no longer being advanced. Zebra recommends using the aimType, sameSymbolTimeout, differentSymbolTimeout of the camera-, imager- and laser-specific reader parameters.
  • The picklist field, used for enabling picklist mode, remains supported but is no longer being advanced. Use the picklistEx field instead.

Usage Notes

General Interest

  1. Initial settings for a project can be found at Creating a Project using Android Studio.
  2. Integrator is a utility included with EMDK that can be used to install EMDK for Android components to installations of Android Studio development environment on the host PC.
  3. If two applications are making modifications to the same profile, the settings of last modification will be effective for that profile. If both applications need their own settings to be effective and still want to use the same profile name, both applications must set the profile every time they come to foreground. However, if both applications create or modify the same DataCapture profile simultaneously, one of the operations will fail.
  4. Zebra recommends closing all Android Studio windows before proceeding with uninstallation. Failure to do so might not remove the plug-in component from Android Studio. To remove it manually, go to plug-ins folder (<Android Studio installation path>\plugins) and delete folder: com.symbol.emdk.wizard.intellijIdea.
  5. Wi-Fi: To use the Advanced Options under Wi-Fi, follow these steps:
    • PMKID must be enabled to enable PreAuth (PreAuth=1 and PMKID=1)
    • FT must be enabled to enable FTRIC (FT=1 and FTRIC=1)
    • OKC must be disabled (OKC=0 and PMKID=1) to use PMKID caching
    • Important Note: The default “Fast Power Savings” value must be used for the “Power Save” parameter under the Advanced Options. Using the “Do Not Change” value will fail.
  6. Analytics Manager: “Enable File Upload” option is deprecated and removed (in MX 6.0). Use “File Upload” switch under newly introduced “Feature Switch” section instead. When migrating the profile to new MX version, please note that the configuration will lose the user selection for this field. Zebra recommends editing the configuration to set the “File Upload” options as required in the Analytics Manager configuration.
  7. If the Bluetooth pairing information for RS507 in previous connection attempts has been deleted on the device side, the next connection attempt might fail. The workaround is to clean-boot the RS507 and retry.
  8. When a BarcodeManager instance is created, EMDK disables DataWedge, effecting any application using DataWedge. When BarcodeManager is released, EMDK re-enables DataWedge.
  9. If an application is to use BarcodeManager and ScanAndPairManager features, the first feature instance must be released before getting the other feature instance. Simultaneous use of BarcodeManager and ScanAndPairManager is not allowed.
  10. ProfileManager has been enhanced to support simultaneous usage in multiple applications. This means that an individual application is need required to release EMDKManager > ProfileManager before going to the background. In previous versions, if an application going to the background did not release the ProfileManager, no other applications could access ProfileManager. However, the following restrictions still apply:
    • Only one instance of EMDKManager can be used in an application.
    • Only one instance of ProfileManager can be used in an application.
    • Other than the ProfileManager, all other features (i.e. EMDKManager > BarcodeManager) used in an application must be released before another application can use that feature.
    • All instances of all features including EMDKManager must be released before exiting the application.
  11. A specific EMDK Profile Manager feature such as KeyMapping Manager might not be supported on all devices supported by EMDK. For details about feature support for specific devices, see the MX Feature Matrix and follow instructions there.
  12. EMDK does not support Managed Profiles in devices running Android Marshmallow and higher. In a device with Managed Profiles enabled, when an EMDK sample app is installed via File Browser, MDM, etc. only a Personal (unmanaged) app of the EMDK sample will be created and function properly. A Work (managed) app of the EMDK sample will not be created. If an EMDK sample app is installed via Android Debug Bridge (ADB) in a device with Managed Profiles enabled, the Work app as well as the Personal app of the EMDK sample will be created in the device. Only the Personal app will behave as expected, not the Work (Managed) app.
  13. To EMDK applications cannot use the same serial port at the same time. In addition, if DataWedge serial input is enabled for a port in an active profile, it should be disabled before using the port in EMDK. If the port is already in use, attempts to use the port by EMDK will fail.
  14. If a VC80x device is connected to a computer via USB cable, serial port communications are blocked. Zebra recommends removing the USB cable before using the serial port.

API-related Usage

  1. A profile name argument (the first argument of processProfile API) is mandatory.
  2. If the profile name is given in the extraData (third argument of processProfile API) and if it does not match the profile name (first argument of processProfile API), the profile will NOT be modified.
  3. The profile name provided in extraData (third argument of processProfile API) is ignored if a profile segment is present in criteria (first argument of processProfile API).
  4. Developers must implement EMDKListener and wait for onOpened() before making any API call. If making any API calls inside onResume(), check the status of the EMDKManager object first. In some cases, onResume() can be called before the onOpened() callback, and the EMDKManager object can become null.
  5. The EMDKManager.release() without an argument specifying the specific feature type (ex: FEATURE_TYPE.BARCODE) releases all the resources bound to underlying features. This API must be called before exiting the application only. Zebra recommends the using onDestroy() callback for this purpose.
  6. Profile API: The profile applied by passing extraData in Profile Manager's process profile method is stored in the memory until the Profile Manager is released or process profile method is called with PROFILE_FLAG.RESET.
  7. To determine if the processProfile API is successful, check the “statusCode." If the statusCode is set to “CHECK_XML," traverse through the response XML (embedded in EMDKResults) to obtain the error. The EMDK samples demonstrate the manipulation of response XML for errors.
  8. In some cases the EMDKResults.getExtendedStatusMessage() might not provide correct status information.
  9. Barcode API: Setting scanner configurations is not allowed while a read is pending. This behavior is demonstrated in the BarcodeSample1 code as well.
  10. Barcode API: To handle barcode scanning during device suspend-resume cycle (ex: pressing Power key) or background-foreground switching (ex: pressing Home key), it is required to release BarcodeManager instance by calling EMDKManager.release(FEATURE_TYPE.BARCODE) during suspend/switching to background and gain new BarcodeManager instance by calling EMDKManager.getInstance(FEATURE_TYPE.BARCODE) during resume/switching to foreground. Zebra recommends using onPause() and onResume() callbacks for this purpose. This behavior is demonstrated in the BarcodeSample1 code as well.
  11. Barcode API: The RS507 Bluetooth scanner supports device wake-up from suspend by pressing RS507 trigger. To use this feature, the RS507 scanner should not be disabled when the device goes to suspend. The generally recommended practice is to release the barcode scanner during device suspend or moving an app to the background.
  12. EMDK API calls such as Barcode, SimulScan and SerialComm are designed to be called sequentially. If called within separate threads, such as from AsyncTasks, some kind of synchronization mechanism should be employed to prevent multiple EMDK API calls getting called simultaneously.
  13. Barcode API While using Bluetooth and Pluggable scanners such as RS507, RS6000, RS4000, when the scanner DISCONNECTED event is received, the created scanner object must be released and cannot be used for future scanning tasks. When the subsequent CONNECTED event is received, a new scanner object must be created and used for scanning. See the Using Bluetooth Scanner tutorial or the BarcodeSample1 application for more programming information. Zebra recommends maintaining a time gap between every DISCONNECT and CONNECT for the Pluggable scanner devices.
  14. The beam timer for RS507 scanners has a maximum value of 10 (seconds).
  15. Barcode API Specifying any custom audio file with the same name as one of the system audio files (/system/media/audio/notifications/) for decodeAudioFeedbackUri in ScannerConfig.ScannerParams will play a system audio file instead of the specified custom audio file. This is working as designed.
  16. SimulScan API When SimulScanReader.read() is called and if there are any unlicensed features in the selected template, an ERROR state is returned with extended status as "UNLICENSED_FEATURE" for each unlicensed feature in the template. Use SimulScanStatusData.getStatusDescription() to view the name of the unlicensed feature(s).
  17. ScanAndPair API: Using the Bluetooth Name requires location permission to discover the nearby Bluetooth devices on devices running Android Marshmallow and higher. These permissions are enabled by default in EMDK. Turning off these permissions manually (Settings > Apps > EMDK Service > Permissions) in the EMDK service would result in failure to pair the Bluetooth device using ScanAndPair.
  18. Barcode and SimulScan APIs require camera permission to use the device camera for scanning and document capture on devices running Android Marshmallow and higher. These permissions are enabled by default in EMDK. Turning off these permissions manually (Settings > Apps > EMDK Service > Permissions) in the EMDK service would result in failure to use the camera in Barcode and SimulScan.
  19. SerialComm API Calling SerialComm.enable(), SerialComm.read() and SerialComm.write() while serial cables are disconnected might not throw an exception. Some kind of a mechanism should be employed to determine whether a cable is connected.
  20. MultiBarcode scanning:
    • Barcodes can be of multiple label types. If the required number of barcodes (from 1-10, as set using the BarcodeCount parameter) is not in view of the scanner, the scanner will not decode any data.
    • If the scanner's field of view contains a number of barcodes greater than the value set by BarcodeCount, the scanner will randomly decode any barcode(s) until the count is reached. For example, if the count is set to two and eight barcodes are in the field of view, the scanner returns data for the first two barcodes it sees, and returns the data in random order.
    • There is no guarantee that the order of returned data will be the same on any two scans; order of individual barcode data can vary with each scan.
    • In multi-barcode scanning mode, when a picklist reader parameter is set to a value other than “Disabled," the user is expected to move the crosshair to the specified number of barcodes to be scanned. Set this value (from 2-10) using the BarcodeCount parameter. Data is returned only after the specified number of barcodes is read.

Version History

Added in v6.8

  • Supports compiling applications to Android API level 26 with new "EMDK APIs, Android 26, rev xx (API 26)" add-on

Enhanced Barcode Manager API:

  • Supports Multi-barcode decoding
  • New MULTI_BARCODE value in enum ScanMode enables simultaneous decoding of multiple barcodes
  • New MultiBarcodeParams class in ScannerConfig adds barcodeCount parameter to set the barcode count to be scanned
  • New PRESS_AND_SUSTAIN AimType avoids canceling a read by subsequently pressing the trigger button (TC20/TC25 devices only)

Enhanced SerialComm API:

  • flowControlMode under Serial Config takes RTS_CTS, XON_XOFF and NONE values

Enhanced Profile Manager DataCapture:

  • Supports Serial Input plug-in
  • Support Zebra DS-3608 scanner
  • Support for Multi-barcode decoding:
    • New Multi Barcode Scanning Mode option in Reader parameters enables simultaneous decoding of multiple barcodes
    • New Barcode count field under Multi-barcode parameters allows a barcode count to be set
  • Supports sending ENTER command as a string
  • Enhanced support for Inter-character delay
  • New PRESS_AND_SUSTAIN AimType avoids canceling a read by subsequently pressing the trigger button (TC20/TC25 devices only)

Support for MX 7.2 adds the following Setting Types and features:

  • Enhanced Display Manager CSP:
    • On VC80 devices, adds the ability to force the display to “Stay Awake” and remain on.
  • Enhanced Power Manager CSP:
    • Turn ON/OFF “Doze Mode” energy saving features on the device. When enabled, only specially designated apps can prevent the device from entering a low-power state to preserve battery life.
  • Enhanced Remote Scanner Manager CSP:
    • Supports RS-507 and DS-3608 scanners
  • Enhanced Settings Manager CSP:
    • Enable/Disable application notification control on devices running Android Nougat

Deprecations

  • Support for configuring DataWedge using EMDK Profile Manager is deprecated. Profile Manager capabilities categorized under Data Capture are still supported but will no longer be advanced. Zebra recommends using DataWedge intent-based APIs to configure DataWedge profiles going forward.

  • Support for ProfileConfig class has been deprecated. This class, which can be used to access profile data, remains supported but will no longer be advanced. Instead, Zebra recommends using the name-value pair function of Profile Manager or carefully modifying the Profile XML directly. Refer to the Clock Sample for information about modifying Profile XML data.

  • Support for the ContinuousRead class is deprecated. This class, which can be used to enable continuous scanning, is still supported but will no longer be advanced. Zebra recommends using the aimType, sameSymbolTimeout, differentSymbolTimeout reader parameters for the device camera, imager or laser.

  • Support for the picklist field is deprecated. This field, which is used for enabling the picklist mode, is still support but will ultimately be replaced by the picklistEx field.

Components

Profile Manager

The EMDK's exclusive Profile Manager Technology is an additional advantage for developers giving you a GUI based development tool built on our open framework. This allows you to write fewer lines of code resulting in reduced development time, effort and errors. This innovative feature not only gives you easy access to critical functions such as bar code scanning and transaction processing via a magnetic stripe reader (MSR) but also functionality not available in Google's Android SDK.

Samples & Programmer's Guide

There are sample projects that are included as part of the EMDK For Android installation. You can import the project into your IDE and run on your device. Look at the Sample Guide for more details on using these samples. You can also reference the Programmers Guide for a complete walk-through of building your first EMDK For Android application.

Java APIs

The EMDK for Android offers access to the device's Barcode capabilities through traditional native Java Barcode APIs.