How to integrate QR, Barcode and OCR scanning into a Google Form

HG Network February 02, 2025

How to Make Mobile App Without Coding

So, the plan is to create a web app with a form that has each of these fields and a scan button next to each. Each button will activate the scanner (barcode or OCR) and populate the corresponding input. Then, upon submission, the data is sent to Google Forms.

Next, integrating with Google Forms. The standard way is to use a Google Apps Script as a proxy. The web app would POST data to the script, which then submits it to the Google Form. Alternatively, using the Form's submit URL directly, but that might require authentication.

I need to structure the HTML form with each required field, add scan buttons next to each input, and set up event handlers so that clicking a scan button activates the scanner for that specific field. Each scan result should populate its corresponding input.

For the scanning functionality, when a scan button is clicked, the app should start the appropriate scanner (barcode or OCR) and, upon successful scan, fill the active field's input. Then, the scanner should stop or reset for the next input.

Testing on mobile is important. Mobile browsers handle camera access differently, so ensuring that the ZXing and Tesseract libraries work smoothly on mobile devices is key. Also, the UI should be mobile-friendly, with appropriately sized buttons and inputs.

the submission to Google Forms requires setting up a Google Apps Script to receive the POST data and submit it to the form. The script will need to doUrlFetchApp.fetch to the form's submission URL with the form data.

In summary, the steps are:

1. Create a web app form mimicking the Google Form structure.

2. Add scan buttons next to each relevant input field.

3. Implement scanning (barcode/OCR) for each button, populating the corresponding input.

4. Handle form submission to Google Forms via Apps Script.

5. Ensure mobile responsiveness and proper camera access handling.

6. Test all components thoroughly.

Here's a complete solution that integrates form fields with scanning capabilities and submits data to Google Forms. This creates a mobile-friendly scanning form similar to the examples you mentioned:

html
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Scanning Form</title>
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@zxing/library@latest"></script>
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tesseract.js@v4/dist/tesseract.min.js"></script>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            max-width: 800px;
            margin: 0 auto;
            padding: 20px;
        }
        .form-group {
            margin-bottom: 15px;
        }
        label {
            display: block;
            margin-bottom: 5px;
        }
        input {
            width: 60%;
            padding: 8px;
            margin-right: 10px;
        }
        button {
            padding: 8px 15px;
            background: #007bff;
            color: white;
            border: none;
            cursor: pointer;
        }
        .scanner-container {
            position: fixed;
            top: 50%;
            left: 50%;
            transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
            display: none;
            z-index: 1000;
            background: white;
            padding: 10px;
            box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.5);
        }
        #video {
            width: 300px;
            height: 200px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Scanning Form</h1>
    
    <form id="dataForm">
        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Invoice Number:</label>
            <input type="text" id="invNumber" required>
            <button type="button" class="scan-btn" data-target="invNumber">Scan</button>
        </div>

        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Barcode:</label>
            <input type="text" id="barcode" required>
            <button type="button" class="scan-btn" data-target="barcode">Scan</button>
        </div>

        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Quantity:</label>
            <input type="number" id="quantity" required>
            <button type="button" class="scan-btn" data-target="quantity">Scan</button>
        </div>

        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Date:</label>
            <input type="date" id="date" required>
        </div>

        <button type="submit">Submit</button>
    </form>

    <div class="scanner-container">
        <video id="video"></video>
        <button onclick="stopScanner()">Close Scanner</button>
    </div>

    <script>
        const codeReader = new ZXing.BrowserMultiFormatReader();
        let currentScanner = null;
        let currentTarget = null;
        const videoElement = document.getElementById('video');
        const scannerContainer = document.querySelector('.scanner-container');

        // Initialize scan buttons
        document.querySelectorAll('.scan-btn').forEach(button => {
            button.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
                currentTarget = e.target.dataset.target;
                startScanner(currentTarget);
            });
        });

        async function startScanner(fieldType) {
            scannerContainer.style.display = 'block';
            
            try {
                if (fieldType === 'quantity' || fieldType === 'invNumber') {
                    startOCRScanner();
                } else {
                    startBarcodeScanner();
                }
            } catch (err) {
                console.error(err);
            }
        }

        async function startBarcodeScanner() {
            stopScanner();
            try {
                await codeReader.decodeFromVideoDevice(
                    undefined,
                    videoElement,
                    (result) => {
                        if (result) {
                            document.getElementById(currentTarget).value = result.text;
                            stopScanner();
                        }
                    }
                );
            } catch (err) {
                console.error(err);
            }
        }

        async function startOCRScanner() {
            stopScanner();
            try {
                const stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({ video: true });
                videoElement.srcObject = stream;
                videoElement.play();
                
                videoElement.addEventListener('click', async () => {
                    const canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
                    canvas.width = videoElement.videoWidth;
                    canvas.height = videoElement.videoHeight;
                    canvas.getContext('2d').drawImage(videoElement, 0, 0);
                    
                    const worker = Tesseract.createWorker();
                    await worker.load();
                    await worker.loadLanguage('eng');
                    await worker.initialize('eng');
                    
                    const { data: { text } } = await worker.recognize(canvas);
                    document.getElementById(currentTarget).value = text.trim();
                    
                    await worker.terminate();
                    stopScanner();
                });
            } catch (err) {
                console.error(err);
            }
        }

        function stopScanner() {
            scannerContainer.style.display = 'none';
            if (codeReader) {
                codeReader.reset();
            }
            if (videoElement.srcObject) {
                videoElement.srcObject.getTracks().forEach(track => track.stop());
            }
        }

        // Handle form submission to Google Forms
        document.getElementById('dataForm').addEventListener('submit', async (e) => {
            e.preventDefault();
            
            const formData = {
                timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
                date: document.getElementById('date').value,
                invNumber: document.getElementById('invNumber').value,
                barcode: document.getElementById('barcode').value,
                quantity: document.getElementById('quantity').value
            };

            // Replace with your Google Forms URL
            const googleFormUrl = 'YOUR_GOOGLE_FORM_SUBMISSION_URL';
            
            try {
                await fetch(googleFormUrl, {
                    method: 'POST',
                    mode: 'no-cors',
                    body: JSON.stringify(formData)
                });
                alert('Data submitted successfully!');
                document.getElementById('dataForm').reset();
            } catch (error) {
                console.error('Error:', error);
                alert('Submission failed!');
            }
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>
Run HTML

To set this up:

  1. Google Forms Setup:

    • Create your Google Form with fields matching the IDs in the code

    • Use a service like Formspree or create a Google Apps Script to handle form submissions

  2. Integration Steps:

    • Replace YOUR_GOOGLE_FORM_SUBMISSION_URL with your actual form submission URL

    • For Google Apps Script integration:

      • Create a script with a doPost function

      • Deploy as a web app

      • Handle the data submission to Google Sheets

  3. Features:

    • Field-specific scanning (click any field's Scan button)

    • Automatic barcode/OCR detection based on field type

    • Mobile-optimized interface

    • Real-time scanning overlay

    • Form validation

    • Data submission handling

  4. Mobile Usage Tips:

    • Add to home screen for app-like experience

    • Ensure HTTPS hosting for camera access

    • Test with different lighting conditions

To enhance this further:

  1. Add scanning type indicators

  2. Implement auto-focus for form fields after scanning

  3. Add sound feedback for successful scans

  4. Include data validation

  5. Add loading indicators during scanning

  6. Implement error handling for failed scans

For Google Apps Script integration:

Create a script with this code and deploy as web app:

javascript
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function doPost(e) {
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
  const data = JSON.parse(e.postData.getDataAsString());
  
  sheet.appendRow([
    new Date(),
    data.date,
    data.invNumber,
    data.barcode,
    data.quantity
  ]);
  
  return ContentService.createTextOutput(JSON.stringify({result: "success"}));
}

Deployment Steps:

  1. Create new Google Apps Script

  2. Paste the code

  3. Deploy as web app with permissions

  4. Use the generated URL in your form code

This solution provides a complete scanning-to-form workflow similar to the examples you mentioned, with direct Google Forms/Sheets integration. Let me know if you need help with any specific aspect of the implementation!

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