Zebra LS2208 programming: keyboard, Enter, symbologies, reset

Every LS2208 setting is changed by scanning programming bar codes from the LS2208 Product Reference Guide (PRG). This guide covers the four changes most shops need: the keyboard layout, Enter or Tab after each scan, which bar code types are read, and a reset. Bar code names and page numbers are quoted as printed in the PRG, revision MN000754A07EN.

Before you start

• Scan programming bar codes from paper or from a monitor. On screen, zoom to at least 125 %, as Zebra recommends.
• A high/low/high/low beep confirms that a setting changed. A low/high beep means a wrong bar code or sequence.
• Settings are stored in the scanner and survive power-off. Test each change in Notepad before you use your own software.

Set the keyboard layout for your country

In USB keyboard mode the scanner sends key presses for a US English keyboard. If Windows uses another layout, some letters, digits or symbols change. Zebra's support page gives the fix: scan the country code that matches the language Windows uses.

1. Check the active layout in Windows. Select the input language icon in the system tray area of the taskbar. On Windows 11 you also find it under Settings › Time & language › Language & region: select ··· next to your language, then Language options (see Microsoft support).
2. Open the PRG at Appendix B, section "USB and Keyboard Wedge Country Keyboard Types (Country Codes)".
3. Scan the bar code for your layout from the table below.
4. The scanner resets itself and plays its startup beeps. That is normal.
5. Scan a bar code with letters, digits and symbols into Notepad and compare.

You do not need to scan a code page. Appendix B lists a fixed code page for each keyboard type: Windows 1257 for the Baltic layouts, 1252 for Finnish and 1250 for Polish and Czech. Unlike the DS2208, the LS2208 list has no Mac keyboard type.

Fallback: keypad emulation

For a layout that is not in the list, Zebra's documented fallback is keypad emulation. The scanner then sends each character as an Alt code on the numeric keypad, for example Alt + 065 for "A". Windows types the right character whatever the layout.

1. In the PRG chapter "USB Interface", section "Emulate Keypad" (page 3-9), scan Enable Keypad Emulation.
2. Leave section "Quick Keypad Emulation" (page 3-10) at its default, Disable. Zebra's note asks for exactly this combination when your keyboard type is not listed.
3. Test a scan in Notepad.

On the LS2208 both settings are off by default, unlike on the DS2208. Sending every character as an Alt code takes more key presses, so use this only where no matching keyboard type exists. A keyboard wedge (PS/2) cable uses Enable Alternate Numeric Keypad in chapter "Keyboard Wedge Interface" instead.

Add Enter or Tab after each scan

By default the LS2208 sends the data as is, with nothing after it. Most POS and stock programs expect Enter, and many spreadsheets or web forms work better with Tab.

• For Enter, scan Enter Key (Carriage Return/Line Feed).
• For Tab, scan Tab Key.

Both are on page 9 of the LS2208 Quick Start Guide and in the PRG section "Miscellaneous Scanner Parameters" (page 7-27). To remove the suffix again, scan Data As Is in section "Scan Data Transmission Format" (page 7-23).

For another key, use the suffix settings:

1. In section "Scan Data Transmission Format", scan <DATA> <SUFFIX 1>.
2. In section "Prefix/Suffix Values" (page 7-21), scan Scan Suffix 1.
3. Scan four digits from Appendix E, "Numeric Bar Codes". The values are in Appendix G: 7013 is Enter and 7009 is Tab (table "Extended Keypad Standard Default Table"). Suffix 1 is already Enter by default.

If you get two line breaks, your software adds its own Enter: remove the scanner suffix with Data As Is.

Turn bar code types on or off

The LS2208 reads only the bar code types that are enabled. Its defaults are narrower than many users expect:

To turn a type on, open the PRG chapter "Symbologies" and scan its enable bar code, for example Enable Code 93 (page 8-39) or Enable Codabar (page 8-54). GS1 DataBar has three: Enable GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional, Enable GS1 DataBar Limited and Enable GS1 DataBar Expanded (pages 8-67 and 8-68). If you need only a few types, Zebra suggests scanning Disable All Code Types (page 8-6) first and then enabling those few. Zebra marks this bar code for silver-logo scanners.

Interleaved 2 of 5 is on, but by default only 14 or 44 digits long. For other lengths, use section "Set Length(s) for Interleaved 2 of 5" (pages 8-45 and 8-46), for example I 2 of 5 - One Discrete Length followed by two digits from Appendix E. Zebra advises fixed lengths for this code type, because a partial scan can otherwise pass as a complete one.

Reset to factory defaults

In section "Set Defaults" (page 7-4), scan Set Factory Defaults. It removes all changes, including the keyboard type and suffix, and also clears any custom defaults. Then scan your country keyboard type and suffix again.

The same section has Write to Custom Defaults, which stores the current settings as your own defaults, and Restore Defaults, which returns to those custom defaults if they exist. This is useful when the same scanner is often reconfigured by mistake.

To prepare several scanners, configure one and copy its settings with Zebra's free 123Scan utility over USB. More on first-time setup is in our LS2208 setup guide.