The simplest form of barcode reader is called a "wedge". It is installed between teh keyboard and PC. It shoots caharacters that would otherwise come from the keyboard. In this wsetup, essentially any thinkg you do with keystrokes can be done with the scanner. Additionally some units allow programming of macros in the scanner itself that can extend this functionality. As Rekd said, the addition of some macros in your software is an easy way to prompt for and manipulate scanned data.
CAM
I will post more regarding the initial question when I have a little more time, just got a call, gotta go.
