B. Uniform, Instrument and Equipment Tag ID's

B. Uniform / Instrument / Equipment ID’s -

Things to consider when setting up a new sequence: Uniform ID’s must have 3 digits to be read by most barcode scanners. If you want to start with 1 then you should start with “001" or “101". You should consider the entire collection before assigning the ID’s. If you want to code the uniforms by Uniform Type (i.e. all Accessories start with “ACC”, “ACC101" Dresses are “DRE”) or by the Class / Activity they are used for (i.e. Marching Band = “MB”) that is fine but that needs to be decided before you start entering a lot of data. A little planning ahead will save a lot of work later.

The Uniform/Tag ID is essential to the Uniform records. Each Uniform piece must have a unique ID number. The ID number can contain numbers only or letters and numbers. When you add a new uniform piece record you will be asked to assign a new ID or accept the next ID in the sequence. Please note that ID numbers can start with one or more letters - such as ACC-001 or end with one or more letters - such as 1256a - but they cannot start and end with letters.

Sample ID #	Acceptable?	Reason
12345	OK
ACC-521	OK
1256a	Not Recommended
BBD-123-A	Not Allowed	Cannot have letters at the beginning and end of the ID.
1	Allowed but not a good idea	Barcode scanners must have 3 digits, i.e. “001" or “101".

Understanding how the “next number” is calculated

When a new Uniform record is added and the next number in sequence is calculated the program will look only at the numbers within the ID number. See some examples below.

Current Number	Next number	Explanation
12345	12346	12345 + 1 = 12346
AAC-521	AAC-522	521+1 - Prefix stays the same

If you are copying a Uniform (Instrument or Equipment) record the program will do it’s best to assign the next number in sequence. If the calculated ID number is not correct - you can always change it by clicking on the “#” button next to the Tag ID field.