Configure RFID XML Files for multiple format read

This section provides an example of an XML file configured to enable a single device to read RFID tags containing different information.

Tip: As a best practice, configure all newly deployed tags with a TagFormatNumber. It serves as an identifier for the tag field definition and facilitates the use of tags with different field definitions in the same environment. For example:

Set of tags with the following fields – EPC, Asset_Name, Asset_Material, Hazard_Rating (TagFormatNumber = 1)

Set of tags with the following fields – EPC, Employee_Name, Employee_ID (TagFormatNumber = 2)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

-<Readers>

-<Reader PercentRadioStrength="100" Class="UHF" Name="Panasonic M1">

<TagFormatNumberLocation PrefixToken="#" Length="2" DataType="UnsignedByte" Offset="0" DataSegment="User_Data"/>

-<TagDefinition Name="Format#1" TagFormatNumber="1">

<Field Name="EPC" Length="12" DataType="UnsignedByte" Offset="32" DataSegment="EPC" Format="HEX"/>

-<DataSegment Name="User_Data" Offset="16">

<Field Name="Asset_No" Length="1" DataType="UnsignedWord" Format="Decimal"/>

<Field Name="Asset_Name" Length="12" DataType="Char8Bit" Format="ASCII"/>

</DataSegment>

</TagDefinition>

-<TagDefinition Name="Format#2" TagFormatNumber="2">

<Field Name="EPC" Length="12" DataType="UnsignedByte" Offset="32" DataSegment="EPC" Format="HEX"/>

-<DataSegment Name="User_Data" Offset="16">

<Field Name="Employee_ID" Length="12" DataType="UnsignedByte" Format="HEX"/>

<Field Name="Employee_DOB" Length="1" DataType="DateTime" Format="StandardDateTime"/>

</DataSegment>

</TagDefinition>

-<TagDefinition Name="Format#3">

<Field Name="EPC" Length="12" DataType="UnsignedByte" Offset="32" DataSegment="EPC" Format="HEX"/>

-<DataSegment Name="User_Data" Offset="0">

<Field Name="Asset_Price" Length="1" DataType="UnsignedDWord" Format="Decimal"/>

</DataSegment>

</TagDefinition>

</Reader>

</Readers>

When configuring for multiple formats, obey the following rules:

1. Define the TagFormatNumberLocation element.

2. Each TagDefinition element must have a corresponding TagFormatNumber, which is an integer greater than or equal to one.

3. TagDefinition requires a common field: in this example, EPC is a common field, and is being used as a Search field.

4. For each deployed tag, reserve the first 2 bytes to indicate the Tag Format Number. The first byte is used as a Prefix Token (in hexadecimal), and the second for the actual format number (in hexadecimal). For example, if the prefix token is "#" (23 in hex), and the tag format number is 24 (18 in hex), "2318" is written to the tag. Note that the smallest writing unit is 16-bit (1 word).