Configuring a Handheld: Aliases
Aliases are a Jetstream feature used by the RFID Handheld Reader to add additional information to inventory scans via the included Inventory App. An Alias is essentially a tag, or descriptor, that can be made available to any number of RFID Handheld Devices (many-to-many), so that the user of the device may select one from the list of assigned aliases to submit along with an RFID inventory scan.
Aliases can be selected by the device user to add context to an inventory scan, such as a specific account, location, or even a status related to the scan.
For example, you may have several rooms in a certain facility each with RFID-tagged inventory. Without Aliases, you would need to have a separate device for each room in order to keep the inventory scans distinct for each room. With aliases, If you create an Alias for each room, then assign these aliases to each RFID Handheld Device at the facility, users of the handheld devices can select the Alias matching the room they are scanning, so when the scan is submitted, your integration will know not just which device scanned the inventory, but where the device was scanning.
So once you configure the aliases and devices in Jetstream, how will the handheld user actually specify what location they are physically at?
- When a handheld device user wishes to take an inventory scan, they will power on their reader and phone, connect to wi-fi, Bluetooth connect the reader and phone, and open the Terso Inventory App.
- Select "Inventory" from the main menu.
- Select an available Alias from a searchable, scrollable list.
- Take their inventory scan as usual.
- Submit the inventory scan with the RFID Tag EPCs scanned, the scanning device name, and the selected alias name.
Now that you know the end result, let's see the steps required to create an Alias that can be used by a device:
- Create Aliases.
- Create Devices (can also be done before Aliases).
- Verify that the handhelds can utilize the aliases you tied to them.
- Modify devices or aliases as needed.
Use the Create an Alias endpoint, specifying the alias name, region, and optionally the list of devices you want to be allowed to select that alias (if your handhelds are already added to Jetstream).
Use the Create a Device endpoint, specifying the device name, serial number, device definition, region, and optionally the list of aliases you want the device to be able to select from (if your aliases are already added to Jetstream).
You have created aliases and devices and created relationships between them. You can review the current state of aliases in Jetstream and on the physical device using different endpoints. There is currently no method for viewing all aliases relationships with all devices, as this result would be excessively large (some applications have tens of thousands of aliases related to thousands of handhelds).
If you wish to change which devices can display which aliases, you have multiple options, depending on your goal:
This option is best when you want to change the alias list for a specific device.
- Overwrite the device's existing alias relationships in Jetstream using the Modify a Device endpoint to replace the current alias list with a new alias list.
This option is best when you want to change the device list for a specific alias.
- Overwrite the device's existing device relationships in Jetstream using the Modify an Alias endpoint to replace the current device list with a new device list.
Deleting an Alias or Device record will immediately remove all relationships between that record and other records. If you re-create the Alias or Device in the future, the relationships between that alias or device will need to be re-created.