Background:

One of the many things my company does is file room conversions.  To make this short and sweet, a file folder may need to be moved to a new location.  In the process the folder may need a new label applied to the folder.  This is simplistic example of a conversion.  A client requested this type of service from us.

Problem:

This was a large conversion and the client required several specific "checks" to be in place.   The original folder needed to be scanned by a barcode reader to rule out data entry errors.  The barcode data would then need to be sent to the client so that other various information could be added.  The data would then need to come back to us so that we could print new labels.  Since this was a daily process for approximately 3 months, some tracking was needed so that at any given time a folder could be found.

Solution:

I was to create several applications to aid in the conversion process.  Starting with one to handle the barcode scanning in the first stage.  Next a secure web site needed to be created to allow files to be received from scanning, downloaded by the client, and re-uploaded.

Result:

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3 

I created 2 desktop applications and 1 web application that included a web service.  The first desktop application was installed on laptop with barcode scanners attached.  This application would be used to gather file label barcode.  Fig. 1 show the screen of the laptop with the application running.  The screen provided various information and also included visual and audible verification of scanned barcodes.  Because of the barcode situation on the folders, the application needed to check to make sure the barcode was in fact valid. 
I provided 2 different way to get the scanned data back to the main office.  One way was by using a web site upload utility.  The other way was to have the barcode scanning application automatically send the file via a web service that I created.  Either way, the file was placed in the same folder back at the main office.  This folder was being watched my another desktop application that I made that ran on a separate machine.  Once a file was uploaded, the desktop application would grab the file, import all of the data into a SQL Server, and post the file on the secure web site where the client could download the file.  The client would add various information to the data and re-upload it via the web site.  Date and time stamps were noted of all of the transactions.  The re-uploaded file was placed in a different folder that was also watched by the desktop application.  Once this file was uploaded, it was checked for certain required data, checked for the correct sort order, imported into the SQL Server, and marked as "OK" so the client would know that everything was good.
Up until now, everything was automated and only required routine checkups to make sure everything was okay.  The last step was to print out the labels (sample shown in Fig. 2).  The step to print the labels was simplified into dragging and dropping the file that was re-uploaded from the client into a separate watched folder.  Once the file was dropped there, it was sorted into a special sort order since their sheets were later to be cut into single labels.  Then a cover sheet was printed followed by the label print job.  After the labels are sent to the printer the printed date and time is noted in the database and viewable from the web site.
Fig. 3 show the landing page of the web site application which allows access to several tools and lookups.