Live Reads
Live Reads provides a real-time, operational view of RFID tag activity as it happens. Unlike the Ingest History, which shows a historical, per-event record of raw reads, Live Reads aggregates live reads, shows inventory context, and lets you take immediate action on detected tags: mapping them to items, moving them between locations, or decommissioning them.
Overview
Live Reads is a tab of the Devices page (/devices/live). Earlier versions called it the Event Viewer. A workflow sends its results here with the Update Live Reads action. As RFID readers detect tags, it displays each unique tag with aggregated read data, inventory context, and available actions. Tags that are already mapped to inventory items show their item identity, current location, and lifecycle state. Unmapped tags are flagged so you can quickly assign them.
From Live Reads you can:
- Monitor live tag reads across selected devices in real time
- See inventory context (item identity, lifecycle state, current location) for mapped tags
- Map unmapped tags to inventory items on the spot
- Move items to different locations or add them to inventory
- Decommission tags and optionally remove items from inventory
- Clear a row from the view without changing any data
- Filter by event source (Live reads vs. Workflow updates)
- Configure auto-clear to remove stale entries
Permissions
| Permission | What It Allows |
|---|---|
| View Devices | Open Live Reads and see tag reads |
| Edit Inventory | Map tags, create inventory items while mapping, move items, add to inventory, decommission |
Display
Each row matches the look of an entity page row: an item-type icon, an identity link, and a line of context chips.
For a mapped tag, the identity follows the same rule used across Tagnet: the instance ID, or the catalog item ID when the instance uses an auto-generated ID, with a sub-line showing the item ID (or "Tracked instance" for auto-generated instances). The identity is a link that opens the full inventory item page in a new tab, so your live monitoring session keeps running underneath. An unmapped tag shows its raw EPC in place of an identity, along with an "Unmapped tag" label.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Item icon | Colored by item type (mapped tags only) |
| Identity | Instance ID or item ID, linking to the full item page (mapped tags only) |
| Location chip | Current inventory location, with hierarchy on hover (mapped tags only) |
| State chip | Lifecycle state: New, Active, or Closed (mapped tags only) |
| Tag chip | The active RFID tag ID, in your configured tag ID display (mapped tags only) |
| Device chip | Which reader detected the tag, plus the antenna number. Hover the antenna number for the port's configured name, if the reader reports one |
| RSSI chip | Signal strength, color-coded using the same scale as the Ingest History |
| Event source chip | Green for a live tag read, blue for a workflow-triggered update. Hover for detail |
| Time chip | Time of the most recent read. Hover to see both the first and last scan times |
| Read count chip | How many times the tag has been read since it first appeared (shown once read more than once) |
| Direction chip | The direction the reader reported for the read, when the reader supplies one |
| GPS position | The reader's coordinates at the tag's latest read that had a GPS fix, Select the coordinates to see the spot on a map. Shown only for reads from a GPS-equipped reader (see GPS Position) |
| Auto-clear timer | Countdown to automatic removal, if enabled, turning red under 60 seconds remaining |
Device Selection
Click the Devices button in the toolbar to select which devices to monitor. Your device selection is saved and restored between sessions. The button shows a count of how many devices are currently being monitored. Opening /devices/live?device={id} (which the reader setup wizard's Watch live reads button does) watches just that one device for that visit and leaves your saved selection alone; it returns the next time you open the tab normally.
Actions
Click anywhere on a row to work with its tag, or use the row's Actions menu for the same options plus Clear from View.
Map to Item
Clicking an unmapped row, or choosing Map to Item from its Actions menu, opens the mapping dialog:
- The EPC is shown (read-only).
- Search for an inventory item by instance ID or item ID. Search is case-insensitive. Results show each item's type icon and the same identity logic used elsewhere: the item ID appears on a sub-line for instances with an auto-generated ID. If the tag belongs to something not yet in inventory, click New beside the search box (see below).
- Optionally select a location to add the item to inventory. Only locations within the selected item's access scope are offered.
- Optionally select a transaction type. The dropdown shows each type's configured icon and color; close-out types are not available here because this action places a tag into inventory at a location, not out of it.
- Confirm the mapping.
The dialog warns if the tag is already assigned to another item or if the selected item already has an active tag.
Creating the inventory item on the spot
New (users with Edit Inventory) opens a short create dialog over the mapping dialog: choose the catalog item, then fill in what that item asks for, which is an instance ID when its type expects one typed, a description, a quantity for quantity-tracked types, and its custom fields (required ones must be filled). The tag and location are left out because the mapping dialog handles both. Click Create and you are back in the mapping dialog with the new inventory item selected; pick a location if you want one and click Map Tag. The row updates in place, so a first tag goes from read to inventory without leaving Live Reads: add a device, open Live Reads, scan a tag, map it, and create the inventory item as you go.
If there are no catalog items yet, the mapping dialog says so straight away instead of offering a search: every inventory item is an instance of a catalog item, so one has to exist first. Users with Manage Items get a Create an item button that opens the Items page and returns to Live Reads afterwards.
Move / Add to Inventory
From a mapped row's Actions menu, the action depends on whether the item is currently in inventory:
- Move: If the item has a current location, move it to a different location
- Add to Inventory: If the item is not currently assigned to a location, add it to a location
Decommission
Choose Decommission from a mapped row's Actions menu to retire the tag. The confirmation dialog shows the tag EPC, item name, instance ID, and current location. Decommissioning retires the tag mapping and optionally removes the item from inventory.
Quick Peek
Click a mapped row to open a quick-peek dialog: the item's Overview and Location history tabs, formatted exactly like the full inventory item page. Use Open Full Page to jump to the complete record, or work entirely from the dialog. Every link inside it (the catalog item, location history entries, and so on) opens in a new tab, so the live tag list underneath is never lost.
Clear from View
Choose Clear from View to remove a row from the current list. This only affects the display; no data changes. If the tag is read again, the row reappears.
Settings
Click the gear icon in the toolbar to access display settings:
Sort Order
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Latest | Most recently seen tags appear first (sorted by last scan time) |
| Stable | Tags stay in position, sorted by first scan time |
Event Source Filter
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| All | Show both live tag reads and workflow-triggered updates |
| Live | Only show direct tag reads from devices |
| Workflow | Only show updates sent by a workflow's Update Live Reads action |
Auto-Clear
When enabled, entries that haven't been updated within the configured time window are automatically removed. The slider ranges from 1 to 30 minutes. A countdown timer on each entry shows how much time remains before it is cleared, turning red when less than 60 seconds remain.
Connection Status
Live reads arrive over the same connection the page itself uses, so there is no separate feed to watch. If the browser loses its connection to the server, the standard reconnect overlay appears and the view resumes when the connection returns, with your device selection intact. The page header's Refresh button is disabled on this tab, since a live view has nothing to reload.
Clear
The left of the toolbar says how many tags are currently in view ("12 tags scanned"). Click Clear to remove all entries from the current view. This only affects the display; it does not delete any data.
Live Reads vs Ingest History
| Aspect | Live Reads | Ingest History |
|---|---|---|
| Data | Live, real-time | Historical, from database |
| Format | Card-based with inventory context | Data grid with raw values |
| Aggregation | Deduplicates by EPC | Shows every individual event |
| Actions | Map, move, decommission | View details only |
| Auto-clear | Configurable | N/A |
| Best for | Operational monitoring | Investigation and diagnostics |