Use the application's COM Automation interface and the BarcodeScanner.Reader object. With pywin32, you can listen for its OnBarcodeIn event and process each decoded value:

import time
import pythoncom
from win32com.client import DispatchWithEvents

class BarcodeEvents:
    def OnBarcodeIn(self, value):
        print("Scanned:", value)

scanner = DispatchWithEvents("BarcodeScanner.Reader", BarcodeEvents)
scanner.Visible = True

while True:
    pythoncom.PumpWaitingMessages()
    time.sleep(0.2)

Requires the Windows Barcode Scanner application and the pywin32 package. This example is adapted from the official technical FAQ.

Use the Execute Command setting. Specify the program or batch file to run and use #BARCODE# where the decoded text should appear in its arguments.

For example, if the command calls C:\1\b.bat with the barcode as its argument, the batch file can save that value:

@echo off
echo %1 > C:\1\barcode.txt

The original FAQ also shows how a scanned QR code containing a file path can open an Excel workbook via this feature.

Use the application's COM event from Excel VBA. Add the Barcode Scanner library under Tools → References, then open the VBA editor (Alt + F11) and place this example in ThisWorkbook:

Dim WithEvents ScanReader As BarcodeScannerLib.Reader

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
    Set ScanReader = CreateObject("BarcodeScanner.Reader")
    ScanReader.Visible = True
End Sub

Private Sub ScanReader_BarcodeIn(ByVal barcode As String)
    ActiveCell.Value = barcode
    ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select
End Sub

When a barcode is decoded, its value goes into the active cell and Excel moves to the next row. Disable Transfer Barcode in keyboard under the scanner's Program settings to avoid duplicate keyboard input.

Yes. The scanner's Find what setting supports regular-expression replacement. The source FAQ demonstrates finding control characters with hexadecimal values 1E or 1D, as well as text such as r or hello, and replacing matches with #.

For the exact expression and settings screenshot, see the Windows Barcode Scanner technical FAQ.