brady_flutter_plugin #

This is the official Flutter Plugin to integrate the Brady SDK within a Flutter application. The Brady SDK will allow users to communicate with Brady printers. The API will allow the functionality of discovering printers, connecting to printers, retrieving printer details, setting a template or image to print, and printing labels (to name a few).

Getting Started #

• Add the following dependency to your pubspec.yaml: brady_flutter_plugin: ^2.0.0+2
• To demonstrate the basic functionalities of the Brady SDK Flutter Plugin, copy and paste the main.dart under the "example" tab into a fresh Flutter project.
  • For additional information about platform specific documentation, refer to https://sdk.bradyid.com
• For the example app to work, you must provide an image or template (.BWT file) to print. Add the following to the pubspec.yaml: under the "flutter" block:

assets:
   - assets/

• Now, at the root of your project, create a folder named "assets" and place all images and templates (.BWT files) here.

Android Setup #

• It is recommended to change minSdkVersion in your app/build.gradle to 26.
  • Flutter applications will still build if minSdkVersion is lower than 26. However the SDK will not communicate with printers if the mobile device is less than 26 (Android 8).
• When developing a Flutter application for Android, the "buildTypes" block in the "app/build.gradle" must be changed to the following:

buildTypes {
    release {
        //The following two lines ensure that no third-party library classes get ignored at compile-time.
        //This is crucial because the Brady Android SDK depends on these classes to make a successful connection.
        shrinkResources false
        minifyEnabled false
        signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
   }
}

iOS Setup #

• It is recommended to use the widely used Flutter Permissions library to handle permissions.
  • Add the following to your Flutter app's pubspec.yaml: "permission_handler: ^11.3.1"
• Add the following permissions to your Podfile's post_install:

post_install do |installer|
  installer.pods_project.targets.each do |target|
    flutter_additional_ios_build_settings(target)
    target.build_configurations.each do |config|
      # You can remove unused permissions here
      # for more information:
      https://github.com/BaseflowIT/flutter-permission-handler/blob/master/permission_handle
      r/ios/Classes/PermissionHandlerEnums.h
      # e.g. when you don't need camera permission, just add 'PERMISSION_CAMERA=0'
      config.build_settings['GCC_PREPROCESSOR_DEFINITIONS'] ||= [
        '$(inherited)',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.calendar
        'PERMISSION_EVENTS=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.reminders
        'PERMISSION_REMINDERS=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.contacts
        'PERMISSION_CONTACTS=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.camera
        'PERMISSION_CAMERA=1',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.microphone
        'PERMISSION_MICROPHONE=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.speech
        'PERMISSION_SPEECH_RECOGNIZER=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.photos
        'PERMISSION_PHOTOS=0',
        ## dart: [PermissionGroup.location, PermissionGroup.locationAlways,
        PermissionGroup.locationWhenInUse]
        'PERMISSION_LOCATION=1',
        'PERMISSION_LOCATION_ALWAYS=1',
        'PERMISSION_LOCATION_WHENINUSE=1',
        ‹
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.notification
        'PERMISSION_NOTIFICATIONS=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.mediaLibrary
        'PERMISSION_MEDIA_LIBRARY=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.sensors
        'PERMISSION_SENSORS=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.bluetooth
        'PERMISSION_BLUETOOTH=1',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.appTrackingTransparency
        'PERMISSION_APP_TRACKING_TRANSPARENCY=0',
        ## dart: PermissionGroup.criticalAlerts
        'PERMISSION_CRITICAL_ALERTS=0',
      ]
    end
  end
end

• Add the following permissions to your info.plist:

<key>NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription</key>
<string>To find nearby printers.</string>
<key>NSBluetoothPeripheralUsageDescription</key>
<string>To find nearby printers.</string>
<key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
<string>To find nearby printers.</string>
<key>NSLocationUsageDescription</key>
<string>To find and connect to nearby printers</string>
<key>NSLocationAlwaysAndWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>To find and connect to nearby printers</string>
<key>NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>To find and connect to nearby printers</string>
<key>NSBonjourServices</key>
    <array>
		<string>_pdl-datastream._tcp.</string>
	</array>

• Show a permissions request to your user with the following code:

Map<Permission, PermissionStatus> statuses = await [
    Permission.bluetooth,
    Permission.bluetoothConnect,
    Permission.bluetoothScan,
    Permission.nearbyWifiDevices,
    Permission.locationWhenInUse
].request();