Card Readers

The <cardreaders> section controls how internal and external badge readers function with the Dayforce Touch Clock. You can define entries for the following types of readers:

• Internal barcode
• Internal magnetic
• Internal proximity
• Generic external reader connected via USB

The entries specified in the clock’s config.custom.xml file determine the program classes required to read the cards. For each entry, you can also specify which badge characters the reader scans. This allows the reader to skip characters before reading the required string.

You use the clock config file to define the device type for your badge reader (for example, type="O"). The following characters represent each valid device type:

• "O" for an internal barcode reader.
• "M" for an internal magnetic reader.
• "X" for an internal proximity (RFID) reader.
• "XE" for an external reader, which might be barcode, magnetic, or proximity.

For "O", "M", and "XE" device types, the readers receive characters as if they were entered from a keypad. For "X" device types, the readers receive data in raw binary format and the clock program converts the data to characters.

Note: You define the badge length in the <system> section of the configuration file. If the reader detects a badge with a fewer number of characters than the defined badge length, it adds leading zeros to the badge number. If the reader detects a badge with a larger number of characters than the defined badge length, it drops characters off of the latter portion of the badge number.

The <cardreaders> section contains the tags listed below:

<numkeypad>

Enables the number pad on the clock and sets the supervisor and transfer modes.

For example:

<numkeypad enabled="yes" supervisor_mode="yes" transfer_mode="yes" />

<cardreader>

Enables or disables the card reader using the enabled attribute.

For example:

<cardreader enabled="yes"/>

<badgecoder>

Note: The card reader and biometric identification are mutually exclusive when operating in directionless mode. If both biometric identification and directionless mode are enabled, the card reader is disabled automatically.

Badgecoder entries are required for each type of card reader used on the clock. If the clock has more than one reader, you need to insert entries in the config.custom.xml file for each reader type.

The <badgecoder> tag has the following attributes: 

• type: Defines the type of reader. The following options are available, as described above:
  • "O"
  • "M"
  • "X"
  • "XE"
• totalLength: This attribute is available only for type="X" readers, and should always be set to 32.
• offset: Set this to the number of digits (or bits for "X" readers) from the start of the data that must be ignored before accepting the number of digits (or bits) specified in the length attribute.
• length: Set this to the number of digits (or bits) in the employee badge number.

Badgecoder Entry Examples

This section contains an example of each valid badgedecoder entry with descriptions of each configuration.

Example 1 - Type "O"

This entry reflects a barcode reader that reads 6 characters with no offset. If the badge length defined here is shorter than the length set in the <system> section, leading zeros are inserted:

<badgedecoder type="O" class="com.dayforce.devices.cardreader.GenericDecoder" offset="0" length="6"/>

Example 2 - Type "M"

This entry reflects a magnetic card reader that reads 5 digits after skipping the first 9:

<badgedecoder type="M" class="com.dayforce.devices.cardreader.GenericDecoder" offset="9" length="5"/>

Example 3 - Type "X"

This entry reflects the standard 26 bit HID Proximity II badge where the badge number is a value converted from 16 bits:

<badgedecoder type="X" class="com.dayforce.devices.cardreader.GenericHIDDecoder" totalLength="32" offset="15" length="16"/>

Example 4 - Type "XE"

This entry reflects an external reader connected via USB port, which might be a barcode, proximity, or magnetic reader:

<badgecoder type="XE" class="com.dayforce.devices.cardreader.GenericDecoder" offset="0" length="6"/>

Additional Notes on Internal Proximity Readers

Internal proximity (RFID, version 3) readers support the following 125 Khz and 13.5 Mhz badges:

• HID Proxpoint™
• iClass™
• Mifare™
• NFC

Note: 13.5 Mhz badges are required to use the badge enrollment feature, which is currently supported only in standalone mode and allows for CSN-only reading.

Internal proximity readers determine badge numbers through the total number of bits they read. For example, internal proximity readers receive a total of 32 bits from a 125 Khz badge. If the badge has fewer bits, leading bits are inserted. If the badge has more bits, the 32 least significant bits (that is, the last bits) are received. For the standard 26 bit badge, the first 15 bits are skipped while the next 16 bits are read, which are then converted to a 5 digit number. For 34 bit or 35 bit badges, the first 7 bits are skipped while the next 24 bits are read, which are then converted to an 8 digit number.