Increment the quantity using PDA Honeywell EDA51

[mehdi-89]

Hello Everyone,

I am making a new app with two tables 1- Shipments 2- Shipmentlines to prepare shipments everything went good until i arrived to the Scanning part, i would like pick an item and increment quantity by scanning it with a PDA honeywell EDA51, i need your support guys to show me what are [ Actions and Automations ] i should use to make scan and increment qty possible.

Structure table Shipments :

ShipmentID	ShipmentName	Date	Status
CU00000022	Display Zenata	2025-10-01	In progress

Structure table Shipmentlines :

Date	ShipmentID	ItemCode	ItemName	Location	OrderedQty	PickedQty	RemainingQty	Barcode	ScanCode
09/10/2025	CU00000022	80396399	LYSEKIL WALL PNL DS 120X55 WHI/LGREY CONCRETE EFF	4150130	2
09/10/2025	CU00000022	50580799	UPPDATERA box 50x12 anthracite	4030610	4

Looking forword to hear from you.

thank you.

[Jose_Arteaga]

Hello @mehdi-89 ,

I did some research and I found a couple of AppSheet templates that you might find useful.

• The Simple Inventory track an inventory of items but I do not think it has scanning on it but you might find some useful ideas
• The Inventory Management is a more advanced solution and it integrates the scanning feature.

Please refer to the How to build inventory management apps with AppSheet video.

I hope this helps!

[mehdi-89]

thank you for the support, i already know these templates apps, they are great, but the only thing that i look for is Live scanning and incrementation that’s realy helping when preparing an order, i just need to know if is there solution using [ Actions & Automations ].

thank you

[Jose_Arteaga]

Hello @mehdi-89,

Thanks for the clarification! And yes, you can auto increment a column in AppSheet by using an automation that runs a “Set the values of some columns” action when a new row is added.

This action will find the maximum current value in the column and add one to it, or you can use the built-in UNIQUEID() expression to generate a unique ID for every new record, which is simpler and avoids potential conflicts.

Using an automation with a max value formula

This method is best for a predictable, sequential number, but requires careful setup to avoid issues with concurrent users.

• In the AppSheet editor, go to Automation and create a new automation.

• Set up a process:

  • Event: Create a new process with a Data Change event that triggers “When a new record is added to [your table]”.

  • Process: Add a step to “Set the values of some columns.”

• Define the action:

  • Table: Select your table.

  • Columns to set: Select the column you want to autoincrement.

  • Value: Use an expression like MAX([ColumnName]) + 1.

• Add a safety net: To handle cases where the column is empty, add an `IF()` expression: IF(MAX([ColumnName])=0, 1, MAX([ColumnName]) + 1).

• Set the column as Key: Make sure this column is marked as the Key in your table schema to ensure it’s a unique identifier.

Using the UNIQUEID() expression

This is the easiest and recommended method for generating a unique identifier, as it works reliably for all users and offline scenarios.

• Add a column: Add a new column to your table (e.g., RecordID).

• Set the initial value: In the column’s Initial value setting, use the expression UNIQUEID().

• Regenerate the table structure: Click Regenerate to apply the change.

• Set the column as Key: Set this new column as the Key in your table schema.

Note: While MAX() creates a sequential number, UNIQUEID() is safer for preventing duplicate IDs when multiple users or devices are adding records concurrently.

Let me know if this helps please.