In one example in accordance with the present disclosure, a method is described. According to the method, from assembly instructions for a multi-component device, component-specific assembly instructions are generated for a component. The component-specific assembly instructions include a portion of the assembly instructions that relate to the component. Data identifying the component-specific assembly instructions are encoded into a format to be formed onto the component and the encoded data is formed onto the component.

Operating an indicia reader configured for hand held operation by a user is performed by controlling the indicia reader according to a plurality of configuration setting to: scan information bearing indicia (IBI); provide output scan signals representative of the IBI; attempt to decode IBIs from the output scan signals; tracking a plurality of decoding attempts and the at least one configuration setting used during the decoding attempts; and changing at least one of the plurality of configuration settings in response to the tracking without user intervention.

A method for individualizing a portable data carrier, in particular a chip card includes an end device that supplies data for configuring and/or updating one or more functions of the portable data carrier. The data are transmitted by the end device to the portable data carrier via a communication connection between the end device and the portable data carrier. A configurating and/or updating of the function or functions of the portable data carrier is effectuated by means of the data transmitted to the portable data carrier.

Some embodiments product identifying systems comprising: a scanner control circuit; an imaging system; a display; and a memory storing a product identifier module executed by the control circuit to: detect, through a series of images, a machine-readable identifier pattern; control the display to render the series of images on the display; activate a scan timer having a scan duration; render, on the display, a scan timer graphic overlaid on a subset of the series of images and corresponding to a changing remaining time of the scan duration as the remaining time expires; confirm that the identifier pattern was maintained within a threshold distance of the center of the field of view over at least a threshold read duration of the scan duration; extract identifying information; and obtain a product identifier corresponding to the identifying information and add the product identifier to a virtual shopping cart.

A method for individualizing a portable data carrier, in particular a chip card includes an end device that supplies data for configuring and/or updating one or more functions of the portable data carrier. The data are transmitted by the end device to the portable data carrier via a communication connection between the end device and the portable data carrier. A configurating and/or updating of the function or functions of the portable data carrier is effectuated by means of the data transmitted to the portable data carrier.