The Barcoder Handheld application supports two scanning modes: Auto Scan and Direct Scan.
Auto Scan is enabled by default for both standard and custom templates and allows you to scan a barcode regardless of the current field selected. It will also automatically update selected values for association pickers based on the type of the resource that was scanned (e.g. if a Location association exists on the template, scanning a Location barcode will automatically update the Location field with that resource).
To enable Direct Scan mode, click Menu > Scan Mode > Direct from the menu bar. This allows you to scan directly in the currently focused field.
Note that unlike the handheld version, the Barcode Console Application always has Direct Scan mode enabled unless scanning into the Barcode/Serial Number field at the top of the template.