The "Barcode" object

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The object displays barcodes in the report. It looks like this:

 

barcode

 

The object supports the following types of barcodes:

 

Code

Length

Allowed symbols

2 of 5 Interleaved


0-9

2 of 5 Industrial


0-9

2 of 5 Matrix


0-9

Codabar


0-9, -$:/.+

Code128


128 ASCII chars

Code39


0-9,A-Z, -. *$/+%

Code39 Extended


128 ASCII chars

Code93


0-9,A-Z, -. *$/+%

Code93 Extended


128 ASCII chars

EAN8

8

0-9

EAN13

13

0-9

MSI


0-9

PostNet


0-9

UPC A

12

0-9

UPC E0

6

0-9

UPC E1

6

0-9

2-Digit Supplement

2

0-9

5-Digit Supplement

5

0-9

PDF417


any

Datamatrix


any

 

A detailed description of different barcode types can be found in the internet, for example, here:

http://www.barcodeisland.com

 

Barcode data in an object is of a string type. The string can contain any symbol, allowed for the chosen type of barcode. You can choose the type of barcode in the context menu of the "Barcode" object.

 

You can connect an object to data by using one of the following methods:

 

set the barcode data in the "Text" property;
bind the object to a data column using the "DataColumn" property;
set the expression that returns the barcode data in the "Expression" property.

 

The "Barcode" object has the following properties:

 

Property

Description

Barcode

This property contains barcode-specific settings. Expand this property to set these settings.

Angle

This property determines the rotation of a barcode, in degrees. You can use one of the following values: 0, 90, 180, 270.

Zoom

This property allows to zoom a barcode. It is used along with the "AutoSize" property.

AutoSize

If this property is on, the object will stretch in order to display a whole barcode. If this property is off, the barcode will stretch to to object's bounds.

ShowText

This property determines whether it is necessary to show the human-readable text.

DataColumn

The data column which this object is bound to.

Expression

The expression that returns the barcode data.

Text

The barcode data.

Padding

The padding, in pixels.

 

The following properties are specific to the barcode type. To change them, select the barcode, go "Properties" window and expand the "Barcode" property.

 

Property

Description

WideBarRatio

This property is specific to all linear barcodes. It determines the wide-to-narrow bar ratio. For most of barcode types, the value for this property should be between 2 and 3.

CalcCheckSum

This property is specific to all linear barcodes. It determines whether is necessary to calculate the check sum automatically. If this property is off, you should provide the check digit in the barcode data.

AutoEncode

This property is specific to the Code128 barcode. This code has three different encodings - A, B, C. You should either set the encoding explicitly in the barcode data, or set this property to true. In this case the encoding will be chosen automatically.

 

Use the following control codes in the barcode data:

 

Code

Meaning

&A;

START A / CODE A

&B;

START B / CODE B

&C;

START C / CODE C

&S;

SHIFT

&1;

FNC1

&2;

FNC2

&3;

FNC3

&4;

FNC4

 

If you set the "AutoEncode" property to true, all control codes will be ignored.

 

Example of use the control codes:

 

&C;1234&B;ABC

AspectRatio

This property is specific to the PDF417 barcode. It determines the height-to-width aspect ratio and is used to calculate the barcode size automatically (in case the "Columns" and "Rows" properties are not set).

CodePage

This property is specific to the PDF417 and Datamatrix barcode. It determines the code page which is used to convert non-ASCII chars. For example, the default windows codepage is 1251.

Columns, Rows

These properties are specific to the PDF417 barcode. They determine the number of columns and rows in a barcode. If both properties are set to 0, the size of the barcode will be calculated automatically. In this case the "AspectRatio" property is used as well.

CompactionMode

This property is specific to the PDF417 barcode. It determines the PDF417 data compaction mode.

ErrorCorrection

This property is specific to the PDF417 barcode. It determines the error correction level.

PixelSize

This property is specific to the PDF417 barcode. It determines the size of barcode element, in screen pixels. As a rule, the element's height should be greater than the element width by 3 times or more.

Encoding

This property is specific to the Datamatrix barcode. It determines the Datamatrix data encoding.

PixelSize

This property is specific to the Datamatrix barcode. It determines the size of barcode element, in pixels.

SymbolSize

This property is specific to the Datamatrix barcode. It determines the size of barcode symbol.