BD Photo Capture
A Windows desktop app that documents warehouse shipments: scan an order, shoot with a live preview, and photos auto-file into the correct synced folder, across two departments, self-updating, in production.
The problem
Operators made a folder and dragged photos into it by hand, so shipment photos regularly ended up in the wrong place. At 200+ photos across 50+ orders a day, misfiling was constant.
What it does
- Scan an order, shoot with a live preview, and photos auto-file into the correct synced folder.
- Two versions from one codebase: Parts on a ThinkPad kiosk, Whole Goods on a tablet.
- Whole Goods clears the serial after every save, forcing a fresh scan per machine, the main mis-tag guard.
- Ships as a self-updating one-file executable, currently v3.8, in production.
The hard part
Tablets simply wouldn't update, stuck on an old version while newer builds shipped. The cause: the update folder was derived from the photo-save path, which pointed at a file-server mirror of SharePoint, not the SharePoint the tablets actually read. The fix was one fixed, known update location every station reads directly.
how it fits together
Scan → shoot → auto-file, reliably
A resilient capture app that files every photo into the right place and updates itself in the field.
- Scan the orderBarcode or typed order code; the app opens or reuses the correct order.
- Live camera previewNative-resolution frame, upscaled on the display side only, never forced (forcing distorts and drops fps).
- Capture + auto-filePhotos save into the correct synced folder, created only on save, next free number, never overwriting.
- Two versions, one codebaseParts on a ThinkPad kiosk, Whole Goods on a tablet; they share widgets and state, only the layout changes.
- Self-updateEach station checks a fixed network location on launch and updates itself if a newer build is present.
product screens
key engineering decisions
Never force a capture resolution
Forcing a size made some cameras stretch the image and drop fps; the app upscales the native frame on the display side only, aspect-locked.
Health on frame arrival, not image change
A perfectly still subject used to read as a dead feed; health now keys on frames arriving, with tolerance for USB stalls.
results & outcomes
- Shipment photos land in the right place every time, so the warehouse always has the record it needs for a warranty or freight-damage claim.
- Documents roughly 1,400 shipment photos a week, about 6,000 a month, across two departments with no one dragging files into folders, so documentation scales without adding labor.
- Self-updating stations pull new builds on their own, so a fix reaches the floor without IT touching each machine.
- Resilient camera and save handling, so no false disconnects, no distortion, and no photo ever silently overwritten.