dlsoft dbarcode.net components dbarcode.net components contents ... setting the initial properties...

dLSoft

dBarcode.NET Components

By dLSoft

This manual was produced using ComponentOne Doc-To-Help.™

dLSoft dBarcode.NET Components Contents iii

Contents

dBarcode.NET Components 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 The 1D components ..................................................................................................... 1 The 2D components ..................................................................................................... 2

Using dBarcode.NET Components in Visual Studio ................................................................. 2 Adding a dBarcode.NET Component to the ToolBox ................................................. 2 Adding a dBarcode.NET component to a project. ....................................................... 3 Setting the initial properties in a WinForms project .................................................... 4 Setting and retrieving property values programmatically ............................................ 4 Setting properties through the Barcode properties dialog box ..................................... 5 Displaying a barcode on a form ................................................................................... 6 Printing a barcode image ............................................................................................. 7 Saving a barcode image ............................................................................................... 7

Licensing the component ........................................................................................................... 8 1D Components Reference ........................................................................................................ 9

Summary of Properties and Methods .......................................................................... 9 Required properties ................................................................................................... 10 Information properties ............................................................................................... 19 Methods ..................................................................................................................... 20

ASP.NET ................................................................................................................................. 24 2D Components Reference ...................................................................................................... 27 dBarcode.NET 2D Component Properties ............................................................................... 27

Summary of Properties and Methods ........................................................................ 27 Required properties ................................................................................................... 28 Information properties ............................................................................................... 38 Methods ..................................................................................................................... 39

Deutschepost and PostMatrix .................................................................................................. 43 GS1 Encoding .......................................................................................................................... 44 Using 8-bit byte data ................................................................................................................ 44 2D Pattern strings .................................................................................................................... 45

Aztec .......................................................................................................................... 45 Codablock F and Code 49 ......................................................................................... 45 DataMatrix................................................................................................................. 45 MaxiCode .................................................................................................................. 45 MicroPDF417 ............................................................................................................ 45 PDF417 & Truncated PDF417 .................................................................................. 45 QR Code .................................................................................................................... 45 Databar ...................................................................................................................... 46

The GS1-Composite Component ............................................................................................. 46 Composite data .......................................................................................................... 46 CodeType .................................................................................................................. 46 Barcode size .............................................................................................................. 47

dBarcode.NET Dual component .............................................................................................. 49 Dual component Properties ....................................................................................... 49 Dual component CodeTypeValues ............................................................................ 51

dBarcode.Net Controls............................................................................................................. 53

iv Contents dLSoft dBarcode.NET Components

The 1D controls ......................................................................................................... 53 The 2D controls ......................................................................................................... 53

Using dBarcode.NET Controls in Visual Studio ..................................................................... 54 Adding a dBarcode.NET Control to the ToolBox ..................................................... 54 Adding a dBarcode.Net Control to a Form. ............................................................... 54 dBarcode Control methods ........................................................................................ 57 dBarcode Control events ........................................................................................... 60

Index 63

dLSoft dBarcode.NET Components dBarcode.NET Components 1

dBarcode.NET Components

Introduction

dBarcode.NET Components are managed code components that allows barcode images to be created within the user’s

own .NET application. A barcode image may be displayed on screen or printed on a printer, and the image may be

passed to any other image-handling component. The components are fully serializeable.

Single computer versions of the components are useable only on a single computer. Developer versions permit

applications built with the dBarcode.NET components to be distributed up to a maximum distribution of 10,000 copies.

Developer versions require the developer’s serial number to be passed to the component using the Serial property.

dBarcode.NET Components are designed to work with Visual Studio 2005 and later and require the .NET run-time

(version 2.0 or later) to be installed on any computer using the components. Example code is provided with each

component for users of Visual Basic .NET and C# in Visual Studio 2005 – 2010 targeting the .Net Framework v 2, and

for Visual Studio 2012 targeting the Framework v 4. The target framework in each case may be changed by editing the

project properties.

The 1D components

There are several 1D components in the dBarcode.NET Components family, one for each of the most popular barcode

types, and one which handle a wide range of different barcode types. The 1D components are:

dBarcode.NET Standard Component Abcnet39Lib.dll – for Code 39, Extended Code 39, Code 93, Extended 93, Code 128, Interleaved 2 of 5, and Matrix 2 of

5 barcodes

dBarcode.NET GS1 Component AbcnetEANLib.dll – for Linear Databar (Omnidirectional, Truncated, Limited and Expanded), EAN-13, EAN-14,

EAN-8, GS1-128, ITF-14, SSCC, UPC-A, UPC-E barcodes

dBarcode.NET 1D- Universal Component AbcnetLib.dll – for most common barcode types (over 50 types supported; see the list provided under CodeType).

With the exception of the CodeType property (which specifies the type of barcode to be generated) all components share

the same component properties, and in this manual all components are discussed using the name of the dBarcode.NET

Component. The allowed values for the CodeType property for the individual components is described under Properties

in the 1D Components Reference section.

2 dBarcode.NET Components dLSoft dBarcode.NET Components

The 2D components

There are several 2D components in the dBarcode.NET Components family, one for each of the most popular barcode

types, and one which handle a wide range of different barcode types. The components are:

dBarcode.NET Aztec Component AbcnetAztLib.dll – for Aztec barcodes

dBarcode.NET DataMatrix Component AbcnetDmtLib.dll – for DataMatrix barcodes

dBarcode.NET PDF417 Component AbcnetPdfLib.dll – for PDF417 and Micro PDF barcodes

dBarcode.NET QR Code Component AbcnetQRLib.dll – for QR Code barcodes

dBarcode.NET Databar Component AbcnetRssLib.dll – for Databar (formerly RSS) barcodes, Linear and Stacked.

dBarcode.NET 2D Universal Component Abcnet2dLib.dll – for Aztec, DataMatrix, Maxicode, PDF417, Micro PDF417, QR Code and Databar barcodes.

dBarcode.NET GS1 Composite Component AbcnetcompLib.dll – for ITF-14, SSCC stand-alone symbols and Databar, EAN-13, EAN-8, GS1-128, UPC-A & UPC-

E with or without CC-A, CC-B, CC-C composite codes. See the section entitled “The GS1 Composite Component”

dBarcode.NET Dual Universal component AbcnetDualLib.dll – for all of the 1D, 2D and GS1-Composite symbols listed above.

See the Section entitled “dBarcode.NET Dual Component”.

With the exception of the CodeType property (which specifies the type of barcode to be generated) all 2D components

share the similar component properties, and in this manual all 2D components are discussed using the name of the

dBarcode-PDF417.NET Component, with specific details of properties for other components being described where

appropriate. The allowed values for the CodeType property for the individual components is described under Properties

in the 2D Reference Components section.

Using dBarcode.NET Components in Visual Studio

Adding a dBarcode.NET Component to the ToolBox

To add a dBarcode Component to the Visual Studio ToolBox, display the ToolBox and select the Components tab. Right

click on the Components pane and select Choose Items from the pop-up menu displayed. A dialog box is displayed

listing the currently installed components. Ensure that the .NET Framework Components page is displayed.

Push the Browse button and navigate to the location where you have installed or copied your dBarcode.NET component

and select the DLL (e.g. AbcnetLib.dll).

Then push the Open button.

The list of installed components is now displayed, including your dBarcode.NET component. Ensure that the checkbox

alongside the component name is checked. Now push the OK button.

The component appears as an icon on the ToolBox Components pane, with one of the following class names alongside:

Component .NET name DLL


1D-Universal Abcnet AbcnetLib.dll

Standard Abcnet39 Abcnet39Lib.dll

GS1 Abcnetean AbcnetEanLib.dll

Aztec Abcnetazt AbcnetAztLib.dll

Databar Abcnetrss AbcnetRssLib.dll

Datamatrix Abcnetdmt AbcnetDmtLib.dll

PDF417 Abcnetpdf AbcnetPdfLib.dll

QR Code Abcnetqr AbcnetQrLib.dll

2D-Universal Abcnet2d Abcnet2dLib.dll

GS1-Composites Abcnetcomp AbcnetCompLib.dll

Dual-Universal AbcnetDual AbcnetDualLib.dll

Adding a dBarcode.NET component to a project.

There are two ways to add a component to your project:

1) Adding the component from the Toolbox

With a project's form open in design mode drag the dBarcode.NET component icon from the toolbox onto the form.

The component icon appears on the panel below the form – it does NOT appear on the form itself. The instance of the

component will be given a default name (eg Abcnet1) which appears in the properties panel when the component is

selected. A single Form may contain any number of dBarcode.NET Components. The first to be added will be called

Abcnet1, the second Abcnet2, and so on; the names may be changed by the user by modifying the Name property within

the Properties box.

The properties panel also displays all other settable properties for the component, and these values will be used as

defaults unless properties are changed programmatically within your project.

This method is used if the component is associated with a form.

2) Adding the component directly to the project files

Copy the component DLL to the directory containing you project source files. In the Solution Explorer add the DLL to

the project file list. Then in source file that uses the component declare an instance of the component. For example, in a

Windows Form project declare an instance of the component in the Public Class Form1 source file with

Dim Abcnet1 As New AbcnetLib.Abcnet() ‘ in VB

Or

private AbcnetLib.Abcnet abcnet1=new AbcnetLib.Abcnet(); // in C#

This method is suitable if you do not need to have the component associated with a form.


Setting the initial properties in a WinForms project

When a component has been added to a form the initial properties of the barcode component may be set at design time in

any of four ways:

1. Selecting the component icon below the form and double clicking on it;

2. Right-clicking on the component icon and choosing “Show barcode properties dialog” from the pop-up menu;

3. Selecting “Show barcode properties dialog” at the base of the properties window in Visual Studio.

In each case the Barcode properties dialog is displayed and values may be set.

Setting and retrieving property values programmatically

The dBarcode.NET Components may be operated entirely by setting or retrieving Property values programmatically.

Clicking on the dBarcode Component icon under the form when Visual Studio's Properties box is displayed will show

the current settings for component's available properties. Most of these properties may have their values set from within

the user's program by statements of the kind


Abcnet1.Caption="12345" Visual Basic

Abcnet1.Caption="1234"; C#

dBarcode Component properties that are set AFTER a barcode has been created may be retrieved within user's

programs by statements of the kind:

x=Abcnet1.Error Visual Basic

x=Abcnet1.Error; C#

Setting properties through the Barcode properties dialog box

Using the method AbcProperties() within your program causes the Barcode properties dialog to be displayed. This

displays all settable properties in a convenient form and enables run-time changes to be made by selecting from drop-

down lists or entering values into edit boxes, or summoning standard Windows dialogs for the selection of colors or

fonts.

1D Component Properties dialog


2D Component Properties dialog

Displaying a barcode on a form

To display a barcode on a form a PictureBox is used to hold the image.

Place a PictureBox Windows Forms control on the form and add some code to your program to take the barcode image

from the dBarcode.NET component and use it as the Image for the PictureBox

For example:

private void DoBarcode() Visual Basic

{

Dim g As Graphics = PictureBox1.CreateGraphics()

Abcnet1.Caption="1234"

PictureBox1.Image=Abcnet1.Barcode(g)

g.Dispose()

}

private void DoBarcode() C#

{

Graphics g=pictureBox1.CreateGraphics();

abcnet391.Caption="1234";

pictureBox1.Image=abcnet391.Barcode(g);

g.Dispose();


}

Printing a barcode image

Printing the image returned by the Barcode() call may be accomplished by any of the printing techniques available for

Visual Studio project. However, probably the most useful approach is to use the DrawImage() method in a PrintPage

handler as illustrated below, and in the examples provided with the components:

Visual Basic

Private Sub PrintDocument1_PrintPage(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As

System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs) Handles PrintDocument1.PrintPage

e.Graphics.PageUnit = GraphicsUnit.Document '

e.Graphics.DrawImage(Abcnet1.Barcode(e.Graphics), 300.0F, 300.0F)

e.HasMorePages = False

End Sub

C#

private void printDocument1_PrintPage(object sender,

System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs e)

{

e.Graphics.PageUnit = GraphicsUnit.Document;

e.Graphics.DrawImage(abcnet1.Barcode(e.Graphics), 500F,500F);

e.HasMorePages = false;

}

While the PageUnit setting can be any of the allowed values, we have found that the most accurately sized barcodes are

produced when the highest resolution setting (Document, equivalent to 300 units per inch) is used.

Saving a barcode image

Barcode images should NOT be saved by attempting to save the image directly from a PictureBox. This will result in the

image being saved with screen resolution – which is rarely suitable for barcodes.

To save an image for subsequent printing the developer should use sBarcode(hDpi,vDpi,filename) – in which case hDpi

and vDpi are the target horizontal and vertical resolutions of the target printer and filename is the full pathname of the

file to be created.

For example, to save an image for printing on a 600 dpi printer:

Private Sub saveBarcode(string graphicfilename)

Dim filename As String = “C:\fread.png”

Dim I,hres,vres As Integer

Abcnet1.Caption = Data.Text

hres = 600

vres = 600

Abcnet1.sBarcode(i, i, filename)


End Sub

Note that when printing images saved in this way the printer’s PageUnit should be set to GraphicsUnit.Pixel, or the

image size scaled appropriately.

Images may be saved in BMP, EPS, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF or WMF formats.

Licensing the component dBarcode.NET components will behave as Testware versions (generating deface barcode and truncated pattern strings)

unless correctly licensed.

Single computer versions of the components are licensed for use only on a single computer. Developer versions permit

applications built with the dBarcode.NET components to be distributed up to a maximum distribution of 10,000 copies.

Developer versions require the developer’s serial number to be passed to the component using the Serial property before

the Barcode() method is called. The Serial property should be set to the serial number provided for your product, e.g.

Abcnet1.SerialNo="12345" for VB

abcnet1.SerialNo="12345"; for C#

Single computer version should NOT use the Serial property.


1D Components Reference

Summary of Properties and Methods

dBarcode.NET Component properties fall into two categories - those that are required to specify characteristics of the

barcode image, and those that provide information about the barcode.

The most important properties and methods are outlined below, and followed by sections in which the properties and

methods are defined in detail.

Component properties.

The properties that can be set to generate an image

Abcnet1.AutoCheckdigit specifies whether any check digits are calculated automatically

Abcnet1.BackColor the colour behind the bars

Abcnet1.BarRatio specifies the ratio of wide/narrow bar for some barcode types

Abcnet1.BarcodeHeight required target height of barcode image (in units determined by the setting of the Unit

property)

Abcnet1.BarcodeWidth required target width of barcode image (in units determined by the setting of the Unit

property)

Abcnet1.BearerSize specifies the thickness of bearer bars for those barcodes that may have bearer bars

Abcnet1.BorderWidth specifies the thickness of any border around the image

Abcnet1.BothBearers determines whether both upper and lower bearer bars are displayed

Abcnet1.Caption specifies the characters that make up the code

Abcnet1.CodeType specifies the barcode type required

Abcnet1.ExtendBearers Allows bearer bars to extend into light margins.

Abcnet1.ForeColor the colour of the bars and any text under the bars

Abcnet1.Font The font used to render any text under the barcode

Abcnet1.Indicators specifies whether light margin indicators should be displayed for those barcode types that support

these. Not that the prefix and suffix digits of UPC barcodes and the prefix digit of EAN-13 and EAN-8 barcodes are

regarded as light margin indicators for this purpose.

Abcnet1.MarginSize specifies the size of the light margins

Abcnet1.Orientation specifies the orientation angle of the barcode image

Abcnet1.Mirror specifies that a mirror image of the symbol is created

Abcnet1. Reduction specifies the percentage reduction in bar thickness (useful for allowing for ink spread in wet-

ink printing processes.

Abcnet1.ShowText specifies that the text content of the barcode should be displayed under the bars

Axbarcode.ShowCheckdigit specifies whether any automatic check digit is displayed (for those barcode type which

permit this)

Abcnet1.TextAlign specifies the text justification for human readable text under the barcode

Abcnet1.Xunit specifies the thickness of each barcode element in mils (1/1000 inches)


Many of these properties have default values (see the reference section), so do not require changing if you can make do

with the default values. The properties that must be set for you to obtain a barcode are



A typical example of setting these properties is:

Abcnet1.CodeType=Code_39


The following Information properties are available after calls to the Barcode() method.

Abcnet1.Error an error code which is non zero if an error has occurred in generating the barcode image.

Abcnet1.ImageHeight the height of barcode picture generated (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit

property of the Graphics object passed into the component)

Abcnet1.ImageWidth the width of barcode picture generated (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit


Abcnet1.Pattern a pattern string containing 1s and 0s representing the bars and spaces respectively for the barcode

symbol (see Pattern details for clocked code variants).

Abcnet1.Status a string interpreting the error code produced when generating the barcode image.

Abcnet1.String2 the barcode content in text form (including any automatically calculated check digit).

Component methods

Abcnetxx(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context) for creating an instance of the component using

BinaryFormatter.Deserialize() method.

Barcode(Graphics g) causes a barcode image to be created using the Graphics properties of g

cBarcode(Graphics g, int hDpi, int vDpi) copies to the clipboard a bitmap image scaled to be suitable for printing on

a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.

doBarcode() checks that a barcode can be created using the current property settings, returning 0 if the current settings

are valid, or an error code. This method also fills the Pattern string for valid barcodes.

GetObjectData(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context) for serializing the component using the

BinaryFormatter.Serialize() method.

Properties() Displays the Barcode properties dialog for the component.

sBarcode(Graphics g, int hDpi, int vDpi) generates an image scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with

horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.

Required properties

The following properties are required - although all are provided with default values.


AutoCheckdigit

Type: BOOL

Default: FALSE

Allowed values: FALSE (check digit characters not calculated)

TRUE (check digit characters calculated and appended to code for appropriate code types)

This property is ignored for Code 128, GS1-128, Planet and Postnet codes where the check digit is mandatory and not

available in human readable form.

BackColor

Type: Color

Default: Color.White

Allowed values: any allowed Color value.

Sets the colour of the image background.

BarcodeHeight

Type: float

Default: 16.0 mm

Sets the required target height of barcode image (in units determined by the setting of the Unit property)

BarcodeWidth

Type: float

Default: 30.0 mm

Sets the required target width of barcode image (in units determined by the setting of the Unit property).

Note: this value is ignored if a non-zero value is provided from the Xunit property.

BarRatio

Type: float

Default 2.5

Allowed values: 2.0 – 3.0

This setting allows some barcode types to have the Wide bar/Narrow bar ratio modified.

Applies mainly to Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of 5 barcodes.

BearerSize

Type: float

Default: 0

Allowed values: 0 - 10000

Allows the thickness of bearer bars for those barcodes which support bearers to be set (in units determined by the setting

of the PageUnit property of the Graphics object passed into the component).


Note that for most barcode types the number of bearer bars displayed depends on the setting of the BothBearers property.

If BothBearers is True the bars are displayed above and below the barcode. If BothBearers is False then only a single

bearer bar is displayed above the barcode.

BorderWidth

Type: float

Default: 0.0 (no border)

Allowed values: any

Specifies the size (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit property of the Graphics object passed into the

component) of a border placed around the barcode. The border area is created using the background color set by the

BackColor property.

BothBearers

Type: BOOL

Default: FALSE

Allowed values: TRUE or FALSE

When TRUE causes bearer bars to be draw above and below the barcode. When FALSE no bearer bars are drawn if the

BearerSize property is zero. Otherwise a FALSE setting causing only a single bearer bar to be displayed above the

barcode.

Caption

Type: string

Default: "12345"

Allowed values: Any text string.

Note: only text strings recognised as valid barcodes will result in a barcode picture. An Illegal character in the text string

will cause an Error value to be set.

CodeType

Type: bCode enumeration member

For dBarcode.NET Component Universal

Default: Code_39 (GS1_128 for the GS1 component)

Allowed values: The ranges of values defined for the individual components are shown in the barcode type tables

below.

The barcode type can be set using either the CodeType property or the CodeTypeValue property

CodeTypeValue

Type: integer

Default: 0 (7 for the GS1 component)


below.


For dBarcode.NET Universal


Barcode CodeType CodeTypeValue

Code 39 Code_39 0

Extended Code 39 Extended_39 1

Codabar Codabar 2

2 of 5 Standard_2_of_5 3

Interleaved 2 of 5 Interleaved_2_of_5 4

Matrix 2 of 5 Matrix_2_of_5 5

Code 93 Code_93 6


Code 128 Code_128 8

GS1-128 EAN_128 9

SSCC SSCC 10

EAN 14 EAN_14 11

EAN 13 EAN_13 12

EAN 13 + 2 digits EAN_13_plus_2 13


EAN 8 EAN_8 15



UPC-A UPC_A 18

UPC-A + 2 digits UPC_A_plus_2 19


UPC-E UPC_E 21

MSI/Plessey MSI_Plessey 22

Plessey Plessey 23

DeutschenPost DeutschePost 24

PostNet PostNet 25

Planet 12 Planet_12 26

Planet 14 Planet_14 27

Royal Mail RM4SCC 28

4-State FourState 29

ISBN ISBN 30

ISSN ISSN 31

ISMN ISMN 32

TelePen Standard Telepen 33

TelePen ASCII TelePenA 34

TelePen Numeric TelepenN 35

Japan Postal code JapanPost 36

Code 11 Code_11 37

Code B Code_B 38

ITF-6 ITF_6 39

ITF-14 ITF_14 40

IATA 2 of 5 IATA_2_of_5 41

China Postal Code China_Post 42

OneCode ONE_Code 43

Code 128 Subtype A Code_128A 44

Code 128 Subtype B Code_128B 45

UPC E0 UPC_E0 46

UPC E1 UPC_E1 47

Korean Postal Authority KoreanPA 48

Italian Postal 2/5 ItaliaP25 49

Italian Postal 3/9 ItaliaP39 50

Australia Post AUS 51


InfoMail Barcode A InfoMail_A 52

PZN PZN 53

Databar Omnidirectional Databar_Omni 54

Databar Truncated Databar_Trunc 55

Databar Limited Databar_Lim 56

Databar Expanded Databar_Exp 57

HIBC LIC Code 128 HIBC_128 58

HIBC LIC Code 39 HIBC_39 59

IMTM Package Barcode IM_Package_Barcode 60

For dBarcode.NET Standard


Code 39 Code_39 0


Code 93 Code_93 2


Code 128 Code_128 4

Code 128 Type A Code_128_A 5

Code 128 Type B Code_128_B 6

Interleaved 2 of 5 Interleaved_2_of_5 7

Matrix 2 of 5 Matrix_2_of_5 8

For dBarcode.NET GS1


EAN 13 EAN_13 0



EAN 14 EAN_14 3

EAN 8 EAN_8 4



GS1-128 GS1_128 7

ITF-14 ITF_14 8

SSCC SSCC 9

UPC-A UPC_A 10



UPC-E UPC_E 13

UPC-E0 UPC_E0 14

UPC-E1 UPC_E1 15

Databar

Omnidirectional

Databar_Omni 16

Databar Truncated Databar_Trunc 17

Databar Limited Databar_Lim 18

Databar Expanded Databar_Exp 19


Controls

Type: String

Default: “ÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÐ”

Encoding schemes based on Code 128 may include control characters, such as fnc1. These may be inserted by the user

into barcode data and are handled in specific ways during the encoding process. (Each character may be created on a

western keyboard by holding down the Alt key and type 0xyz on the numeric keypad, where xyz is one of the three digit

codes listed below. The table also shows the function initiated by each character while in each of the Code 128 modes.)

xyz character Code A Code B Code C

197 Å DEL

198 Æ func. 3 func. 3

199 Ç func. 2 func. 2

200 È shift shift

201 É code C code C

202 Ê code B func. 4 code B

203 Ë func. 4 code A code A

204 Ì func. 1 func. 1 func. 1

205 Í Start A Start A Start A

206 Î Start B Start B Start B

207 Ï Start C Start C Start C

208 Ð NUL

The Controls property is a string containing the 12 allowed control codes. The programmer has the option to change any

or all of these characters for alternative characters by setting the Control property to another string of 12 characters.

The facility to specify control codes is particularly useful for schemes such as GS1-128 where the func 1 character is

essential for terminating variable length AIs.

EPScorrection

Type Integer

Default: 1

When vector EPS images are created bars may be rendered one device pixel wider and taller than required – making

black rectangles larger than white rectangles. dBarcode.NET components will reduce the width and height of bars by and

amount equal to

EPScorrection * pixel size of target device

The pixel size of the target device is determined from the hDpi and vDpi values provided in the call that generates an

EPS image (eg. sBarcode()).

If this correction is not required the value of EPScorrection may be set to 0.

EPSpreview

Type Integer


Default: 0

When set to 1 this property causes a low resolution bitmap preview to be incorporated into any EPS files/streams. When

0 no preview image is created.

ExtendBearers

Type: BOOL

Default: FALSE

When TRUE allows bearer bars to extend into light margins. When FALSE bearer bars cover the bars only.

Extra1

Type: BOOL

Default FALSE

These additional properties are not normally used. However, they do provide additional functions for a limited number of

specific barcode types. See Barcodes section for details.

Extra2

Type: BOOL

Default FALSE

These additional properties are not normally used. However, they do provide additional functions for a limited number of

specific barcode types. See Barcodes section for details.

Font

Type: FONT

Default: Arial 10 point

Allowed values: Any accessible TrueType font.

ForeColor

Type: Color

Default: Color.Black

Allowed values: any valid Color

Sets the colour of the image foreground, i.e. the bars and text colour.

Indicators

Type: BOOL

Default: FALSE

A value of TRUE causes the light margin indicators to be displayed. For some EAN barcodes there are recommended

ways for the margin indicators to be shown on the image, and the Prefix code and checkdigit for UPC-A and UPC-E

codetype to be displayed in the light margins. A value of FALSE prevents the display of the light margin indicators.


MarginSize

Type: FLOAT

Default: 0.0

Allowed values: any

The MarginSize property sets the Light Margin space on either side of a barcode image. The units are the units specified

by the current ScaleMode. (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit property of the Graphics object passed into

the component)

Mirror

Type: BOOL

Default: False

A value of True will cause the barcode image to be created as a mirror image. This facility is designed for use with

printing technologies that require a mirror image. Mirror image barcodes may not be scannable unless printed correctly.

Orientation

Type: integer

Default: 0 The value of this parameter determines the orientation of the barcode image created.

Allowed values: 0 - 360 degrees

Note that the rotation of text is only supported by TrueType and other rotatable fonts. Note also that some applications

do not correctly handle metafiles that contain rotated text.

Reduction

Type: float

Default: 0 the thickness of each line drawn on the barcode image is reduced by this percentage amount. This

property may be used to compensate for ink spreading during wet-ink printing.

Allowed values: 0 - 50 (%)

A positive reduces the thickness of bars by the calculated amount of the thinnest bar. A negative value reduces the

thickness of bars by the percentage applied to the bar thickness (so a bar three units wide is reduced by an absolute

amount that is three times greater than that which would apply to a one unit bar)

ShowCheckdigit

Type: BOOL

Default: FALSE

When set to TRUE this property causes the any automatically calculated check digit to be included in the any text

displayed along with the barcode. When set to FALSE the check digit is not displayed.

Note that this property has no effect on those codetypes for which the checkdigit display is mandatory (including EAN

and UPC codes), or for which the check digit is never displayed (Code 128 and GS1-128).


ShowText

Type: BOOL

Default: TRUE

When FALSE text version of the code is NOT included in the barcode image. When TRUE text version of the code IS

included in the barcode image.

This property is ignored for clocked codes which have no text version.

TextAlign

Type: StringAlignment

Default: Center

Allowed values: Near, Center, Far

TextAlign sets the alignment of any text displayed under the barcode. A value of Center centers the text, Near gives left

justification and Far gives right justification. Justification is to the edge of the barcode – NOT the edge of the light

margins.

Unit

Type GraphicsUnit

Default: Millimeter

The scaling mode applied to values of the following size-related properties:

BarcodeHeight

BarcodeWidth

BearerSize

BorderWidth

MarginSize

Allowed values:

Document

Display

Pixel

Point

Millimeter

Inch

Xunit

Type: float

Default: 0.0

Allowed range: 8.0 – 255.0

The Xunit property may be used to specify the width (in Mils) of the smallest element in the barcode.

Note that setting this property to a value other than 0 causes the image to resize itself to a width calculated from the

number of X units in the barcodes – so the value of the BarcodeWidth property is ignored.

Using values smaller than 8 will produce a barcode image, but that image will not meet standard specifications and may

not scan.


Information properties

Note that the barcode symbol is determined only when this Barcode() method is called, so the information properties are

not available until this method has been called.

Error

Type: integer

Returns a value representing the error code if a valid barcode image cannot be created. Otherwise returns 0.

Read only. Do not set this property.

The error codes and corresponding Status property values are shown below:

Status

Type: string

Returns a string interpreting the value of the Error property.


Error Status

0 OK

1 Illegal character in data

2 Wrong data length

3 Error in barcode data

9 Graphics drawing error


ImageHeight

Type: FLOAT

Return the actual height of the image generated, in units of the current Graphics object – NOT the units specified by the

Unit property.

The value returned includes the size of any border, margin and text.


ImageWidth

Type: FLOAT

Return the actual width of the image generated, in units of the current Graphics object – NOT the units specified by the

Unit property.




Pattern

Type: String

Returns: A string containing a pattern of 0s and 1s, where 0 represents a space of minimum width and a 1

represents a bar of minimum width. The 1s may be used to indicate that a bar (filled rectangle) must be drawn.


String2

Type: string

Returns the Caption property plus any additional characters generated as check digits.


Methods

Barcode(Graphics g) Return Type: Metafile

This method causes a barcode image to be created using the Graphics properties of g (including the PageUnit property

which determines that absolute size information embedded in the image).

Barcode(Graphics g, bool bPixelAlign): This method is redundant now that the above methods return vector metafiles. It

is included only for backward compatibility

Barcode(Graphics g, bool bPixelAlign, int Xres, Yres) is similar, except that the image is scaled to the values required by

the target device reolutions Xres and Yres if these are non-zero, rather than the resolution of the Graphics g.

Barcode(Graphics g, float fScale, bool bPixelAlign, int Xres, int Yres int iUseMetaProps): This method is redundant

now that the above methods return vector metafiles. It is included only for backward compatibility

Note that the barcode symbol is determined only when one of these methods is called, so the ImageHeight and

ImageWidth properties are not available until one of these methods has been called.

cBarcode()

Return Type: Integer

cBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi) copies to the clipboard a bitmap image scaled to be suitable for printing on a device

with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.


a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively using the properties of

Graphics g.

This method is useful for generating an image that is to be copied to another application for later printing, e.g. for

copying an image that will be subsequently pasted into Word and printed on a 600 dpi printer:

Abcnet1.cBarcode(g,600,600)

If hDpi and vDpi are zero the properties of the Graphics g will be used.

Returns 0 if successful, or an error code if the barcode cannot be created, or -1 if the clipboard is not available.

doBarcode()


Return Type: int

This method may be used to check that a barcode can be created using the current property settings, returning 0 if the

current settings are valid, or an error code (see the Error property), along with setting the Status property. This method

also fills the Pattern and String2 properties for valid barcodes. It does not create a barcode image.

This method is called when Barcode(g) is called.

Properties() Return Type: BOOL

Displays the Barcode properties dialog for the component.

Returns TRUE if the user exits the dialog by pushing the OK button and sets all component properties to those specified

in the dialog.

Returns FALSE if the user exits the dialog by pushing the Cancel button.

sBarcode()

sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi) generates an image scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and

vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.

Return Type: Metafile


horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively using the properties of Graphics g. If

hDpi and vDpi are zero the properties of the Graphics g will be used.



sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, ImageFormat im) generates an memory stream image with the format specified by

im, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch

respectively and with the bars pixel aligned. If ImageFormat im is null or ImageFormat.Icon a vector EPS stream is

returned.

sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, ImageFormat im, int iPixAlign) If iPixAlign is 1 and the image format specifies a bitmap

format, then the image is resized so that the bars are pixel aligned. If iPixAlign is 0 does the bitmap is created without

pixel alignment. If ImageFormat im is null or ImageFormat.Icon a vector EPS stream is returned – and iPixAlign is

ignored..

Return Type: MemoryStream. Returns a MemoryStream of Length 0 if an error occurs.

sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, string filename) saves an image into the file specified by filename with the format

specified by filename extension, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of

hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively and with the bars pixel aligned.


sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, string filename, int iPixAlign) If iPixAlign is 1 and the graphics file name specifies a

bitmap format, then the image is resized so that the bars are pixel aligned. If iPixAlign is 0 the bitmap is created without

pixel alignment.

Return Type: Int. Returns 0 if successful or 1 if an error occurs.

Note that the vector formats EPS and WMF produce images that are not dependent on the hDpi and vDpi resolutions.

These methods are useful for generating an image that is to be saved for later printing, e.g. for saving an image that will

be subsequently printed on a 600 dpi printer:

Filename=”c:\fred.png”

Abcnet1.sBarcode(600,600, filename)

Saves the file as a PNG graphic and the following print handler prints the image



Dim newImage As Image = Image.FromFile(filename)

Dim r As Rectangle

r.X = 600

r.Y = 600

r.Width = newImage.Width

r.Height = newImage.Height

e.Graphics.PageUnit = GraphicsUnit.Pixel '

e.Graphics.DrawImage(newImage, r)

' Indicate that this is the last page to print.


End Sub

When creating EPS images the EPScorrection property may be used to correct the bar size produced by PostScript

engines that render rectangles 1 pixel wider than required.

The MemoryStream method is designed primarily for use with ASP.NET (see below)

sBarcode1()

sBarcode1(int hDpi, int vDpi, string filename) saves a monochrome ( 1 bit per pixel) image into the file specified

by filename with the format specified by filename extension, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with

horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively and with the bars pixel aligned.


This method operates only for BMP, PNG and TIF files and the filename provided must have one of those extensions.


sBarcode1(int hDpi, int vDpi, ImageFormat im) generates a monochrome (1 bit per pixel) memory stream image

with the format specified by im, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of


This method operates only for BMP, PNG and TIF formats and the image format provided must be one of

ImageFormat.Bmp, ImageFormat.Png or ImageFormat.Tif.


SetParam()

The SetParam method allows a named property to be set to a specific data value using the format:

SetParam(“Xunit”,”16”)

where both the property name and the data are passed as strings. This approach is useful for creating servlets within IIS

that can return a barcode image to a remote application (such as Crystal Reports). A simple servlet example is included

within the distribution.

The property names used in SetParam are, with a few exceptions, the same as the component properties names described

earlier. The following exceptions should be noted:

The barcode data string is passed using the name “Data” and not Caption.

The barcode code type is passed using the name “CodeType” but the data value must be one of the number strings listed

under CodeTypeValue (eg. “0”).

The Unit data string is passed using the name “Units”, but the data values can be only “IN” (for inches) or “MM” (for

millimetres).

If details of a font are to be passed this must be done using the parameter names “FontName”, “FontSize”, “FontBold”,

and “FontItalic”.

If the TextAlign property is used the allowed values are “0” (centred), “1” (near alignment), and “2” (far alignment).

A property name “Resolution” may be passed to specify the resolution (in pixels per inch) of the barcode image that will

subsequently be returned using the Pic() method.

Where a property requires a Boolean value for data, “0” is interpreted as false, any other value is interpreted as true.

The method type is void; there is no returned value.

The use of SetParam() and Pic() is discussed in the ASP.NET section.

Pic()

The Pic() method returns a memory stream containing a graphics image. The image type is determined using two

parameters:

Ms=m_barcode.Pic(imType as String, colType as Integer)

Where imType may be one of “bmp”, “eps”, “gif”, “jpg”, “png”, “tif” or “wmf” to specify the graphics format, and

colType may be 0 (for normal 24 bbp images) or 1 (for monochrome 1 bpp images).

Note that monochrome images may be generated only for bmp, png and tif images.

The Pic() method if provided only for convenience in creating servlets and is not recommended for other purposes.



ASP.NET There are many possible approaches to generating barcode images for ASP.NET pages, while avoiding the limitations of

the display resolution. One method, suitable for use when the barcode is to be data-dependent, is to use two aspx files,

one which creates the a moderate resolution memorystream barcode image and calls the second file as the SRC for and

IMG tag to display the page at the correct size, eg

<script language="vb" runat="server">

sub Page_Load(Sender As Object, E As EventArgs)

…………………..

m_barcode.Unit = GraphicsUnit.Pixel

m_barcode.XUnit = 0

m_barcode.Font=m_Font

m_barcode.Orientation=0

m_barcode.AutoCheckdigit=TRUE

m_barcode.BarcodeHeight = ht

m_barcode.BarcodeWidth = wd

m_barcode.CodeTypeValue = 8

m_barcode.caption = Session("xx")

Session("ms")=m_barcode.sBarcode(300,300,System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png)

if Session("ms").Length>0 then

Session("ht")=m_barcode.ImageHeight

Session("wd")=m_barcode.ImageWidth

end if

</script>

</head>

<BODY>

<H1>dLSoft dBarcode.NET - on ASP.NET</H1>

<IMG SRC="page2.aspx" HEIGHT=" <% =Session("ht") %> " WIDTH=" <% =Session("wd") %> ">

<p> dBarcode.NET components can generate barcode images in BMP, GIF, PNG, JPG, TIF and WMF formats, and for

more than 50 barcode types.

</BODY>

</HTML>

The Session variables ht and wd contain the actual sizes at which the image is to be drawn on the web page. These are

calculated when the page is loaded and used when the IMG SRC calls the second page.

The second file (page2.aspx) serves up the image at the correct size, eg.

<%@ LANGUAGE="VB"%>

<%

Response.ContentType="image/png"

Response.BinaryWrite(Session("ms").GetBuffer())

%>

A working sample is included with component distribution.


Servlets

The method described above is the preferred method of generating barcode images in ASP.NET, but it can be more

convenient in some cases to use a servlet that returns an image in response to a single HTTP GET call.

The SetParam() and Pic() methods are available within the dBarcode.NET components to facilitate this approach. The

following ASP.NET file (barcode.aspx) illustrates this:

<%@ Page Language="VB" aspcompat=true %>

<%@ import Namespace="System.IO" %>

<%@ import Namespace="System.Web" %>

<%@ import Namespace="System.Web.SessionState" %>

<script language="vb" runat="server">

sub Page_Load(Sender As Object, E As EventArgs)

Dim loop1, loop2,res As Integer

Dim values as ArrayList= new ArrayList()

Dim coll As NameValueCollection

Dim arr1(), arr2() As String

Dim m_barcode = New AbcnetLib.Abcnet()

'm_barcode.SerialNo="12345"

coll=Request.QueryString

arr1 = coll.AllKeys

if Not IsPostBack Then

'These are the default values for the barcode parameters

'and may be changed if required

Dim m_Font As New Font("Arial", 10, FontStyle.Regular)

m_barcode.Font=m_font

m_barcode.DefResolution=96

m_barcode.CodeTypeValue = 9 ' code 128

m_barcode.Unit = GraphicsUnit.Millimeter

m_barcode.XUnit = 0

m_barcode.BarcodeHeight = 16

m_barcode.BarcodeWidth = 30

m_barcode.Indicators=FALSE

For loop1 = 0 To arr1.GetUpperBound(0)

arr2 = coll.GetValues(loop1)

m_barcode.setParam(arr1(loop1),arr2(0))

next loop1

Session("ms")=m_barcode.Pic("png",0)

end if

try

Response.ContentType="image/x-Png"

Response.BinaryWrite(Session("ms").GetBuffer())

catch

end try


end sub

</script>

This file may be called from an application or a web page using a link of the form:

http:// server/barcode.aspx?CodeType=9&Unit=in&BarcodeHeight=0.5&Xunit=12 &Data=1234567890

and the call returns the memory stream barcode image.

Note that properties that are likely to remain constant for many barcodes are best set in the body of the servlet, leaving

only those properties that will change to be passed in the http call. The values passed in the http call overwrite those set

in the servlet body.


2D Components Reference

dBarcode.NET 2D Component Properties

Summary of Properties and Methods

dBarcode.NET 2D Component properties fall into two categories - those that are required to specify characteristics of the

barcode image, and those that provide information about the barcode.

The most important properties and methods are outlined below, and followed by sections in which the properties and

methods are defined in detail.

Component properties.

The properties that can be set to generate an image

Abcnet1.BackColor the colour behind the bars

Abcnet1.BarRatio specifies the ratio of wide/narrow bar for some barcode types

Abcnet1.BorderWidth specifies the thickness of any border around the image



Abcnet1.ForeColor the colour of the bars and any text under the bars

Abcnet1.Orientation specifies the orientation angle of the barcode image

Abcnet1. Reduction specifies the percentage reduction in bar thickness (useful for allowing for ink spread in wet-

ink printing processes.

Abcnet1.StartMode the starting mode for the 2D barcode

Abcnet1.Xunit specifies the thickness of each barcode element in mils (1/1000 inches)

Some barcode types have the following additional properties:

Abcnet1.Columns the target number of columns for Datamatrix, PDF417 or Databar symbols

Abcnet1.SecurityLevel the security or level of the barcode (generally related the the fraction of the barcode devoted

to error correction elements

Abcnet1.Ymultiplier the height of a barcode element specified in Xunits

Many of these properties have default values (see the reference section), so do not require changing if you can make do

with the default values. The properties that must be set for you to obtain a barcode are



A typical example of setting these properties is:

Abcnet1.CodeType=PDF417



The following Information properties are available after calls to the Barcode() method.

Abcnet1.Error an error code which is non zero if an error has occurred in generating the barcode image.

Abcnet1.ImageHeight the height of barcode picture generated (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit


Abcnet1.ImageWidth the width of barcode picture generated (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit


Abcnet1.Pattern a pattern string containing 1s and 0s representing the bars and spaces respectively for the barcode

symbol (see Pattern details for clocked code variants).

Abcnet1.Status a string interpretting the error code produced when generating the barcode image.

Component methods

Abcnetxx(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context) for creating an instance of the component using

BinaryFormatter.Deserialize() method.

Barcode(Graphics g) causes a barcode image to be created using the Graphics properties of g


a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.

doBarcode() checks that a barcode can be created using the current property settings, returning 0 if the current settings

are valid, or an error code.

GetObjectData(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context) for serializing the component using the

BinaryFormatter.Serialize() method.

Properties() Displays the Barcode properties dialog for the component.


horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.

Required properties

The following properties are required - although all are provided with default values.

AspectFlag

Type: int

Default: 0

Allowed values 0,1

Determines the interpretation of the Columns property for PDF417 barcode symbols. A value of 1 inteprets the Columns

number as the number of Rows required in the symbol.

AzFlag

Type: bool

Default: false


dBarcode.NET Aztec and 2D Universal only. Sets the Aztec flag on or off.

AzMenu

Type: bool

Default: false

dBarcode.NET Aztec only. Sets the Menu flag on or off.

AzRvideo

Type: bool

Default: false

dBarcode.NET Aztec only. Sets the Reverse Vidoe flag on or off.

BackColor

Type: Color

Default: Color.White

Allowed values: any allowed Color value.

Sets the colour of the image background.

BorderWidth

Type: float

Default: 0.0 (no border)

Allowed values: any

Specifies the size (in units determined by the setting of the PageUnit property of the Graphics object passed into the

component) of a border placed around the barcode. The border area is created using the background color set by the

BackColor property.

ByteNumber

[Aztec, DataMatrix, PDF417 and QR Code only]

Type: integer

Default: 0

Allowed values: 0 – barcode byte capacity

This property should normally be set at 0 when the Caption property is derived from a string of characters.

When ByteValue is greater than 0 the Caption string (which is a Unicode string) is unpacked into 8-bit bytes before the

data is used to generate the barcode.

If ByteNumber is set to a value other than zero it MUST be set after the Caption property has been set.

See Using 8-bit byte data for further information.

Caption

Type: string


Default: "dBarcode.NET"

Allowed values: Any text string.

Note: only text strings recognised as valid barcodes will result in a barcode picture. An Illegal character in the text string

will cause an Error value to be set.

CodeType

Type: bCode enumeration member

For dBarcode.NET 2D Universal Component

Default: Aztec

Allowed values:

Aztec

Datamatrix

Maxicode

PDF417

Micro_PDF

Databar

QR Code

Truncated (PDF417)

MicroQR

For dBarcode.NET PDF417 Component

Default: PDF417

Allowed values: PDF417 or Micro_PDF.

For dBarcode.NET QR Code Component

Default: QRCode

Allowed values: QRCode or MicroQR.


For all other components the only allowed value is the default value corresponding to a CodeTypeValue of 0

CodeTypeValue

Type: integer

Default: 0


below.


The possible values for CodeType and CodeTypeValue are shown below (for the GS1 Composite component see the

Composite section; for the Dual Universal component see the Dual Universal component section).

Component CodeType CodeTypeValue

dBarcode-Aztec.NET Aztec 0

dBarcode-49.NET Code 49 0


dBarcode-49.NET Codablock F 1

dBarcode-DataMatrix.NET DataMatrix 0

dBarcode-PDF417.NET PDF417 0

dBarcode-PDF417.NET Micro_PDF 1

dBarcode-PDF417.NET Truncated PDF417 2

dBarcode-QR.NET QR Code 0

dBarcode-QR.NET MicroQR Code 1

dBarcode-RSS.NET Databar 0


For dBarcode-2D.NET

CodeType CodeTypeValue

Aztec 0

Datamatrix 1

Maxicode 2

PDF417 3

Micro_PDF 4

Databar 5

QR Code 6

Truncated PDF417 7

Micro QR Code 8

Columns

Type: integer

Default: 0

Allowed values: 0 – maximum size of symbol

Applies to PDF417, MicroPDF, QR Code, Micro QR Code, Datamatrix, Databar (expanded stacked) and Codablock

barcodes only

For PDF417, MicroPDF, Databar and Codablock “Columns” refers to the number of datawords in a row – NOT the

number of bars. Note that requirements of the symbology mean that not all values are possible. For example, PDF417

requires a minimu of 3 rows irrespective of the number of columns.

For Datamatrix and QR Code symbols “Columns” refers to the number of square elements in a row. Only specific

symbol sizes are permitted in these symbols. If an invalid number of columns is specified the next valid number will be

used. Columns should be set to zero if you wish the symbol size to be determined by the security level setting.

DeutschePost

Type: Boolean

Default: False

Applies to Datamatrix barcode type only.

When set to true, forces Damatrix symbols to be created using Base256 encoding as required in some DeutschePost

applications.

EPScorrection

Type Integer

Default: 1

When vector EPS images are created bars may be rendered one device pixel wider and taller than required – making

black rectangles larger than white rectangles. dBarcode.NET components will reduce the width and height of bars by and

amount equal to

EPScorrection * pixel size of target device


The pixel size of the target device is determined from the hDpi and vDpi values provided in the call that generates an

EPS image (eg. sBarcode()).

If this correction is not required the value of EPScorrection may be set to 0.

EPSpreview

Type Integer

Default: 0

When set to 1 this property causes a low resolution bitmap preview to be incorporated into any EPS files/streams. When

0 no preview image is created.

Esc

Type: string

Default: null

If the Esc string is set to a value then the first character of that string is used as an escape character, which allows

specific strings to be inserted into a SetParam() data string using an escape sequence.

For example if the Esc string is set to “^”, then the string “ABC^tDEF” is changed so that ^t is replaced by a Tab

character.

The escape sequences available are:

^t horizontal tab

^n newline

^r carriage return

^p carriage return + linefeed

In each case the ^ character may be any character as set by the Esc property.

Note: this facility is provided to allow concatenation of fields to generate barcodes using the Pic() method. Escape

sequences are NOT converted during any other calls.

Flag

Type: Boolean

Default: false

Allowed values: true or false

dBarcode.NET Aztec, Datamatrix, PDF417 and QR Code only.

When set to true the Caption data is converted from Unicode to a byte stream enabling any Unicode characters to be

encoded as a byte sequences. If the property is false (the default) then the interpretation of the data depends on the value

of ByteNumber property; if cnumber is 0 then Unicode is converted to single bytes for the ASCII character and double

bytes for other characters. If ByteNumber is greater than 0 then the data is unpacked into 8-bit ASCII characters before

the data is used to generate the barcode (and may include ASCII 0).

Note that if the Flag is true the any value in ByteNumber is ignored; furthermore the Flag should only be used in the

barcodes byte/binary mode (including Kanji mode for QR symbols).


ForeColor

Type: Color

Default: Color.Black

Allowed values: any valid Color

Sets the colour of the image foreground, i.e. the bars and text colour.

GS1_Flag

Type: bool

Default: false

dBarcode.NET Datamatrix and 2D Universal only. Sets the GS1 encoding flag on or off.

Mirror

Type: BOOL

Default: False

A value of True will cause the barcode image to be created as a mirror image. This facility is designed for use with

printing technologies that require a mirror image. Mirror image barcodes may not be scannable unless printed correctly.

Orientation

Type: integer

Default: 0 The value of this parameter determines the orientation of the barcode image created.

Allowed values: 0 - 360 degrees

Note that the rotation of text is only supported by TrueType and other rotatable fonts. Note also that some applications

do not correctly handle metafiles that contain rotated text.

PairsPerRow

Type: float

Default: 1.0

Allowed values: 0.1 – 10.0

Applies to Databar Expanded-Stacked barcodes only

For Databar Expanded Stacked symbols the value specifies the number of segment pairs in the first row. Fractional

values are rounded to the nearest integer. The final row of an Expanded Stacked symbol may contain a smaller number

of segments.

PostFlag

Type: bool

Default: false


Applies to Datamatrix barcode type only.

When set true the symbol is created as a Deutsche Post PostMatrix symbol, with two additional vertical bars.

Reduction

Type: float

Default: 0 the thickness of each line drawn on the barcode image is reduced by this percentage amount. This

property may be used to compensate for ink spreading during wet-ink printing.

Allowed values: 0 - 50 (%)

A positive reduces the thickness of bars by the calculated amount of the thinnest bar. A negative value reduces the

thickness of bars by the percentage applied to the bar thickness (so a bar three units wide is reduced by an absolute

amount that is three times greater than that which would apply to a one unit bar)

SecurityLevel

Type: integer

Default: 0

This parameter specifies the security level - i.e. the amount of redundancy built in to the barcode image to allow for

errors to be corrected. The greater the security level the larger the barcode image. See 2D-Barcodes Help for details.

Allowed values are 0 - 8 for PDF417.

Allowed values for Aztec codes depend on the mode, and are 0-99 for Normal mode, 1-4 for Compact mode, and 1-32

for Full range mode (the value is ignored for Runes). Note that for Compact and Full range the security level is actually

the required number of Aztec layers in the symbol.

For Datamatrix symbols the allowed values are 0 – 23 for Square symbols, or 0 – 6 for Rectangular symbols.

For QR Codes the allowed security levels are 0 – 3. For Micro QR Code the values are 0 – 2.

For other barcode types this parameter should be 0.

StartMode

Type: integer

Default: 0

Some 2D barcode types support different modes of encoding data. This parameter allows the initial mode to be specified,

according to the tables below. For other barcode types the mode is determined automatically and the StartMode

parameter must be 0.

Allowed values:

PDF417 (see 2D Barcodes Help for details)

StartMode parameter Mode

0 EXC Alpha

1 EXC Lower

2 EXC Mixed

3 EXC Punctuation.

4 Binary/ASCII Plus


5 Numeric mode

For most applications this parameter should be 0 for PDF417, the algorithm within the DLL will adjust to the most

appropriate mode.

Aztec (see 2D Barcodes Help for details)

StartMode parameter Mode

0 Normal

1 Compact

2 Full range

3 Rune

For most applications a value of 0 is recommended, along with a security level of 0 which provides the default value of

23% + 3 codewords.

For DataMatrix

StartMode value DataMatrix type

0 Auto Square

1 Auto Rectangular

2 ASCII Square

3 ASCII Rectangular

4 C40 Square

5 C40 Rectangular

6 Text Square

7 Text Rectangular

8 X12 Square

9 X12 Rectangular

10 EDIFACT Square

11 EDIFACT Rectangular

12 Base 256 Square

13 Base 256 Rectangular

MaxiCode (see 2D Barcodes Help for details)

StartMode Value MaxiCode Mode

0 obsolete, not supported

1 obsolete, not supported

2 Mode 2 (Structured Carrier Message –

Numeric Postal Code)

3 Mode 3 (Structured Carrier Message – Alphanumeric Postal Code)


4 Mode 4 – Standard Symbol (SEC)

5 Mode 5 – Full EEC Symbol

6 Mode 6 – Reader Program (SEC)

Databar codes.

StartMode value Databar version

0 Omnidirection

1 Truncated

2 Limited

3 Stacked

4 Stacked Omnidirectional

5 Expanded

6 Expanded Stacked

QR Code & Micro QR Code

StartMode value QR mode

0 Automatic

1 Alphanumeric

2 Byte

3 Kanji*

*Set the Flag property when using Kanji mode.

Unit

Type GraphicsUnit

Default: Millimeter

The scaling mode applied to values of the following size-related properties:

BorderWidth

Allowed values:

Document

Display

Pixel

Point

Millimeter

Inch

Xunit

Type: float


Default: 15.0

Allowed range: 8.0 – 255.0

The Xunit property may be used to specify the width (in Mils) of the smallest element in the barcode.

Note that setting this property causes the image to resize itself to a size calculated from the number of X units in the

barcode

Using values smaller than 8 will produce a barcode image, but that image will not meet standard specifications and may

not scan.

For Maxicodes this property is used to specify the L dimension (the height of the image in mm) and defaults to 25.50

mm.

Ymultiplier

Type: float

Default: 3.0

Allowed range: 2.0 – 5.0 for PDF417, 1.0 – 255.0 for Codablock F, Code 49, and Databar

The Ymultiplier property may be used to specify the height (in Xunits) of the elements in the barcode.

Note that setting this property causes the image to resize itself to a size calculated from the number of X units in the

barcode

Using values outside the allowed range will generate a barcode that may not scan. Some Databar barcode types have

standard values for this property and will ignore the setting of this property.

This property is available only for Codablock F, Code 49, PDF417 and Databar components.

Information properties

Note that the barcode symbol is determined only when this Barcode() method is called, so the information properties are

not available until this method has been called.

Error

Type: integer

Returns a value representing the error code if a valid barcode image cannot be created. Otherwise returns 0.



Status

Type: string

Returns a string interpretting the value of the Error property.


Error Status

0 OK

1 Illegal character in data


2 Wrong data length

3 Error in barcode data

4 Cannot generate barcode

9 Graphics drawing error


ImageHeight

Type: FLOAT

Return the actual height of the image generated, in units of the current Graphics object – NOT the units specified by the

Unit property.



ImageWidth

Type: FLOAT

Return the actual width of the image generated, in units of the current Graphics object – NOT the units specified by the

Unit property.



Pattern

Type: String

Returns: A string containing a pattern of digit characters which represent the bars and spaces in the barcode

symbol. See the Pattern String section for details.


The Maxicode component does note generate a Pattern string.

Methods

Barcode(Graphics g)


This method causes a barcode image to be created using the Graphics properties of g (including the PageUnit property

which determines that absolute size information embedded in the image).

Barcode(Graphics g, float fScale, int iUseMetaProps) is the fundamental metafile-creation method which is called by all

other methods that generate an image and is not normally called directly. fScale provides the absolute scaling factor for

the metafile image created. If iUseMetaProps is greater than zero the metafile is based on a 96 dpi resolution no matter

what the true resolution of the graphics device – and should be used, for example, when creating an image on a web


server based on a dummy bitmap file. If iUseMetaProps =0 then the metafile created is based on the resolution of the

graphics g.

Note that the barcode symbol is determined only when this method is called, so the information properties are not set

until this method has been called.

cBarcode()

Return Type: Integer

cBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi) copies to the clipboard a bitmap image scaled to be suitable for printing on a device

with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.


a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively using the properties of

Graphics g.

This method is useful for generating an image that is to be copied to another application for later printing, e.g. for

copying an image that will be subsequently pasted into Word and printed on a 600 dpi printer:

Abcnet1.cBarcode(g,600,600)


Returns 0 if successful, or an error code if the barcode cannot be created, or -1 if the clipboard is not available.

doBarcode()

Return Type: int

This method may be used to check that a barcode can be created using the current property settings, returning 0 if the

current settings are valid, or an error code (see the Error property), along with setting the Status property. It does not

create a barcode image.

This method is called when Barcode(g) is called.

Properties()

Return Type: BOOL

Displays the Barcode properties dialog for the component.

Returns TRUE if the user exits the dialog by pushing the OK button and sets all component properties to those specified

in the dialog.

Returns FALSE if the user exits the dialog by pushing the Cancel button.


sBarcode()

sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi) generates an image scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and

vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively.



horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively using the properties of Graphics g. If

hDpi and vDpi are zero the properties of the Graphics g will be used.


sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, ImageFormat im) generates an memory stream image with the format specified by

im, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch

respectively with the bars pixel aligned. If ImageFormat im is null or ImageFormat.Icon a vector EPS stream is returned.

sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, ImageFormat im, int iPixAlign) If iPixAlign is 1 and the image format specifies a bitmap

format, then the image is resized so that the bars are pixel aligned. If iPixAlign is 0 does the bitmap is created without

pixel alignment. If ImageFormat im is null or ImageFormat.Icon a vector EPS stream is returned and iPixAlign is

ignored.


sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, string filename) saves an image into the file specified by filename with the format

specified by filename extension, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of

hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively with the bars pixel aligned.



sBarcode(int hDpi, int vDpi, string filename, int iPixAlign) If iPixAlign is 1 and the graphics file name specifies a

bitmap format, then the image is resized so that the bars are pixel aligned. If iPixAlign is 0 does the bitmap is created

without pixel alignment.


These methods are useful for generating an image that is to be saved for later printing, e.g. for saving an image that will

be subsequently printed on a 600 dpi printer:

Filename=”c:\fred.png”

Abcnet1.sBarcode(600,600, filename)

Saves the file and the following print handler print the image



Dim newImage As Image = Image.FromFile(graphicfilename)

Dim r As Rectangle

r.X = 600

r.Y = 600

r.Width = newImage.Width

r.Height = newImage.Height

e.Graphics.PageUnit = GraphicsUnit.Pixel '

e.Graphics.DrawImage(newImage, r)

' Indicate that this is the last page to print.


End Sub


When creating EPS images the EPScorrection property may be used to correct the bar size produced by PostScript

engines that render rectangles 1 pixel wider than required.

sBarcode1()

sBarcode1(int hDpi, int vDpi, string filename) saves a monochrome ( 1 bit per pixel) image into the file specified

by filename with the format specified by filename extension, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with

horizontal and vertical resolutions of hDpi and vDpi dots per inch respectively and with the bars pixel aligned.

This method operates only for BMP, PNG and TIF files and the filename provided must have one of those extensions.


sBarcode1(int hDpi, int vDpi, ImageFormat im) generates a monochrome (1 bit per pixel) memory stream image

with the format specified by im, scaled to be suitable for printing on a device with horizontal and vertical resolutions of


This method operates only for BMP, PNG and TIF formats and the image format provided must be one of

ImageFormat.Bmp, ImageFormat.Png or ImageFormat.Tif.


SetBytes()

The SetBytes method allows byte data (including byte values of 0) to be transferred to the component for generating a

barcode. Applies only to barcode types that have a byte or binary mode (Aztec, Datamatrix, PDF417 and QR Code).

The byte data is passed as a byte array of specified length, eg.

In C#


I=abcnet1.SetBytes(byte[] Bytes, int ArrayLength);

In VB

I=Abcnet1.SetBytes(Bytes,n)

Where Bytes is an array of bytes and n is the number of bytes containing the required data.

The method returns the number of bytes passed in, or 0 if an error occurs.

See Using 8-bit byte data for more information.

SetParam()

The SetParam method allows a named property to be set to a specific data value using the format:

SetParam(“Xunit”,”16”)

where both the property name and the data are passed as strings. This approach is useful for creating servlets within IIS

that can return a barcode image to a remote application (such as Crystal Reports). A simple servlet example is included

within the distribution.

The property names used in SetParam are, with a few exceptions, the same as the component properties names described

earlier. The following exceptions should be noted:

The barcode data string is passed using the name “Data” and not Caption.

The barcode code type is passed using the name “CodeType” but the data value must be one of the number strings listed

under CodeTypeValue (eg. “0”).

The Unit data string is passed using the name “Units”, but the data values can be only “IN” (for inches) or “MM” (for

millimetres).

A property name “Resolution” may be passed to specify the resolution (in pixels per inch) of the barcode image that will

subsequently be returned using the Pic() method.

Where a property requires a Boolean value for data, “0” is interpreted as false, any other value is interpreted as true.

The method type is void; there is no returned value.


Pic()

The Pic() method returns a memory stream containing a graphics image. The image type is determined using two

parameters:

Ms=m_barcode.Pic(imType as String, colType as Integer)

Where imType may be one of “bmp”, “eps”, “gif”, “jpg”, “png”, “tif” or “wmf” to specify the graphics format, and

colType may be 0 (for normal 24 bbp images) or 1 (for monochrome 1 bpp images).

Note that monochrome images may be generated only for bmp, png and tif images.

The Pic() method if provided only for convenience in creating servlets and is not recommended for other purposes.


Deutschepost and PostMatrix dBarcode.NET 2D Universal, Dual and Datamatrix only


Deutschepost Damatrix symbols for some applications are required to use Base256 encoding rather than the standard

ECC200. The DeutschePost property may be set to True force Datamatrix symbols to be encoded in this mode.

The PostMatrix variant of Datamatrix may be generated by setting the PostFlag property to True.

GS1 Encoding dBarcode.NET 2D Universal, Dual and Datamatrix only

If the Caption string begins with an FNC1 character - ASCII 232 (è) - or the GS1_Flag is on, the Caption is scanned for

GS1 Application Identifiers and encoded according to the GS1 Datamatrix specification.

GS1 encoding requires the Application Identifiers to be provided within brackets, eg. (80)12345678(10)123456 so that

the AIs can be identified.

Variable length AIs will have FNC1 characters inserted to terminate the AI and all brackets are removed from the

encoded data.

During scanning FNC1 characters are replaced by ASCII values of 29.

Using 8-bit byte data .NET software is designed to work with Unicode characters. Most barcodes are designed for ASCII. While the two

happily co-exist for ASCII characters up to 127, problems arise with the “higher ASCII” characters 128-255. Graphic

images and encrypted data needs to use data byte values greater than 127 and may include 0.

The dBarcode.NET components that support byte data can convert the use the SetByte method to pass the byte values

required.

The developer can take 8-bit data, place it in a byte array and then use the SetBytes() method to pass the data to the

component rather than using the Caption property.

A simple example for encoding the ASCII values 0 - 255 is illustrated below:

Dim i, j, k As Integer

Dim ByteArray() As Byte = New Byte(2048) {}

x = ""

j = 0

k = 0

For i = 0 To 255

ByteArray(k) = i

k = k + 1

Next i

Abcnet1.SetBytes(ByteArray, k)

Only Aztec, Datamatrix, PDF417 and QR Code can encode data containing all byte values 0 – 255.


2D Pattern strings For many reasons a developer may prefer to draw the bars to generate the barcode, rather than use the metafile image

returned by the dBarcode-2D.NET library.

To do this use the “pattern” string returned from the DLL.

The choice of size for the drawn bars is a matter for the developer. However, some features of the drawn image should

be considered in relation to the notes below for the different barcode types supported. In particular note that some

stacked barcode types require separator lines to be drawn between each row. In general separator lines are drawn with

the thickness of a single unit (the same as the thinnest bar in the symbol).

Aztec

The pattern string returned for an Aztec barcode consists of the sequence of characters used to create the symbol,

arranged by row, with a ‘1’ for a black square and a ‘0’ for a white square. Each row is separated by a newline (\n or

CHR(10)) characters.

Codablock F and Code 49

The pattern string returned for these barcodes consists of a sequence of 0s and 1s, where 0 represents a space and 1

represents a bar. Each line is terminated by a newline character (\n ASCII 10). The horizontal row lines are not included.

DataMatrix

The pattern string return for a DataMatrix barcode consists of the sequence of characters used to create the symbol,



MaxiCode

Owing to the nature of MaxiCode, no pattern string is produced for this barcode type.

MicroPDF417

The pattern string returned for MicroPDF417 has the same properties as that for normal PDF417.

PDF417 & Truncated PDF417

The pattern strings returned for PDF417 and Truncated PDF417 barcodes consist of a stream of digit characters, with

alternate characters in each row representing first bars, then spaces. So the pattern 82131 represents an 8 unit bar

followed by a 2 unit space, a 1 unit bar, a 3 unit space and a 1 unit bar.

Each row of the barcode symbol is terminated by a newline character (\n or CHR$(10)) in the pattern string.

PDF417 symbols do not contain row separators.

QR Code

The pattern string return for a QR Code barcode consists of the sequence of characters used to create the symbol,




Databar

The Pattern string for a linear Databar symbol consists of a stream of digit characters, with alternate characters

representing first bars, then spaces. So the pattern 12131 represents an 1 unit bar followed by a 2 unit space, a 1 unit bar,

a 3 unit space and a 1 unit bar, etc.

The Pattern strings for Stacked Databar symbols are a little more complex. The string consists a stream of digit

characters, with each row of the symbol (including the separator patterns) being separated by a newline (\n or CHR(10))

character. For the stacked symbols each row start with a space of the specified width. So the row pattern 2112131

represents a 2 unit space followed by a 1 unit bar followed by a 2 unit space, a 1 unit bar, a 3 unit space and a 1 unit bar,

etc. If the initial digit in a row is 0 then this means there is no starting space.

The row heights are given in the Databar barcode section. Users requiring further information on the allowed sizes for

Databar codes should refer to the Databar standard specification..

The GS1-Composite Component

Composite data

The GS1-Composite component shares may of the properties and methods of the other components, but there are some

differences. For a start there are two data sources, one for the linear component and one for the composite.

The component provides two alternative mechanisms for introducing the data. The Caption property may be use to

provide both sets of data with the linear component’s data provided first, followed by the composite component’s data,

the two being separated by a tab, newline or carriage return character (ASCII 9,10 or 13). This method allows the

Caption property to be set from a single string field.

Alternatively the Caption property may be set to null string and the linear component’s data provided to the LinData

property and the composite’s component’s data to the CCData property. Note that if the Caption property is not null the

LinData and CCData properties are ignored.

If no data is provided for CCData but valid data is provided for LinData, the component will generate the normal linear

barcode without a composite. Similarly if data is provided in the Caption property without a separator character then this

data is assumed to be for the linear component and no composiste component is generated.

Control codes (eg the func 1 code used in both GS1-128 and Databar) may be set through the Control property.

CodeType

The CodeType property determines the type of linear barcode to be generated. With one exception (GS1-128 barcodes

with CC-C composites) the choice between CC-A and CC-B composite components is made on the basis of the amount

of composite data and is not user-selectable. The following values for the CodeType and CodeTypeValue properties are

supported:


EAN 14 EAN_14 0

SSCC SSCC 1

EAN 13 EAN_13 2

EAN 13 plus 2 digits EAN_13_plus_2 3



UPC-A UPC_A 5

UPC-A plus 2 digits UPC_A_plus_2 6

UPC-A plus 5 digits UPC_A_plus_5 7

EAN 8 EAN_8 8



UPC-E UPC_E 11

GS1-128 (CC-C) GS1_128_C 12

GS1-128 (CC-A/B) GS1_128 13

ITF-14* ITF 14

Databar Omnidirectional Omnidir 15

Databar Truncated Truncated 16

Databar Stacked Stacked 17

Databar Stacked

Omnidirectional

Omni_Stacked 18

Databar Limited Limited 19

Databar Expanded Expanded 20

Databar Expanded-

Stacked

Expanded_Stacked 21

EAN 14, ITF-14 and SSCC barcodes do not support composites

Barcode size

The size of barcodes generated by the GS1-Composite component is determined entirely by the properties Xunit,

Ymultiplier and LinearHeight. The properties BarcodeWidth and BarcodeHeight used in other components are NOT

provided in the GS1-Composite component.

The Xunit property is specified in Mils (thousandths of an inch) and determines the minimum bar width for both the

linear and composite component. Typically this will be in the range 12-20 for most barcodes, although 40 is the standard

size for ITF-14 symbols.

The Ymultiplier property specifies the bar height for the composite component as a multiple of the Xunit property, and

should be in the range 2 – 5.

The LinearHeight property specifies the height of the bars for the linear component in units specified by the Units

property. For Stacked and Expanded-Stacked Databar types this is the height of each row of bars.

The following properties of other dBarcode.NET components are NOT supported by the GS1-Composite component:

AspectFlag

BarcodeHeight

BarcodeWidth

BorderWidth

ByteNumber

MarginSize


SecurityLevel

StartMode


dBarcode.NET Dual component

Dual component Properties

The dBarcode.NET Dual Universal component combines many of the features of the 1D and 2D Universal components

and the GS1-Composite component. It implements all the properties and methods of the 1D and 2D Universal

components, differing primarily in the Properties dialog – which appears in different forms depending on whether the

current barcode type is a 1D, 2D or Composite barcode:

dBarcode.NET Dual – Properties dialog for 1D barcodes


dBarcode.NET Dual – Properties dialog for 2D barcodes.

dBarcode.NET Dual – Properties dialog for GS1-Composite barcodes.


Dual component CodeTypeValues

The allowed values for the CodeTypeValue property for 1D barcodes are those listed for the 1D Universal component

(see table above), while those for the 2D barcodes and GS1-Composite symbols are shown below:

Symbol CodeType Value

Aztec Aztec 80

Datamatrix Datamatrix 81

Maxicode Maxicode 82

PDF417 PDF417 83

Micro PDF 417 Micro_PDF 84

Databar (RSS) Databar 85

QR Code QRCode 86

Truncated PDF417 Truncated 87

Micro QR Code MicroQR 88

Composites:

GS1-13 (EAN-13) zc_EAN_13 100

GS1-13 plus 2 zc_EAN_13_2 101

GS1-13 plus 5 zc_EAN_13_5 102

UPC-A zc_UPC_A 103

UPC-A plus 2 zc_UPC_A_2 104

UPC-A plus 5 zc_UPC_A_5 105

EAN-8 zc_EAN_8 106

EAN-8 plus 2 zc_EAN_8_2 107

EAN-8 plus 5 zc_EAN_8_5 108

UPC-E zc_UPC_E 109

GS1-128 CC comp zc_GS1_128_CC 110

GS1-128 A/B comp zc_GS1_128_AB 111

Databar Omnidirectional zc_Databar_Omni 112

Databar Truncated zc_Databar_Trunc 113

Databar Stacked zc_Databar_Stacked 114

Databar Omnidir. Stacked zc_Databr_Omni_Stacked 115

Databar Limited zc_Databar_Limited 116

Databar Expanded zc_Databar_Expanded 117

Databar Expanded Stacked zc_Databar_Exp_Stacked 118

Note that Databar barcodes may be produced as 2D barcodes (in which case the variant is determined by the Mode

property) or the Linear variants may be produced using the CodeTypes:

Databar_Exp (Databar Expanded)

Databar_Lim (Daabar Limited)

Databar_Omni (Databar Omnidirectional)

Databar_Trunc (Truncated)


In these cases the barcodes are generated as 1D barcodes, complete with the option of including human readable text

under the bars.

The dBarcode.NET Dual Universal component contains two additional properties: LinData and CCData, which may be

used to pass the data for the linear portion of the symbol and the Composite portion respectively.

The Caption property may be use to provide both sets of data with the linear component’s data provided first, followed

by the composite component’s data, the two being separated by a tab, newline or carriage return character (ASCII 9,10 or

13). This method allows the Caption property to be set from a single string field.

Alternatively the Caption property may be set to null string and the linear component’s data provided to the LinData

property and the composite’s component’s data to the CCData property. Note that if the Caption property is not null and

does not contain one of the separator characters, then the Caption property is used for the LinData property.

If the Properties dialog is called and closed using the OK button while the Composite pane is displayed, then the LinData

and CCData properties contain the data from that dialog. The Caption property does NOT contain meaningful data.


dBarcode.Net Controls While the dBarcode.Net Components can be used on WinForm projects, many developers prefer to use a control that

displays a barcode immediately it is placed on a Form.

The dBarcode.Net Controls are managed code controls that can be loaded into the Visual Studio ToolBox and then

dragged onto a Windows Form – where they appear as a barcode image.

The 1D controls

There are several 1D controls in the dBarcode.NET family, one for each of the most popular barcode

types, and one which handle a wide range of different barcode types. The 1D controls are:

dBarcodeStd dBarcodeStd.dll – for Code 39, Extended Code 39, Code 93, Extended 93, Code 128, Interleaved 2

of 5, and Matrix 2 of 5 barcodes

dBarcode GS1 dBarcodeGS1.dll – for Linear Databar (Omnidirectional, Truncated, Limited and Expanded), EAN-

13, EAN-14, EAN-8, GS1-128, ITF-14, SSCC, UPC-A, UPC-E barcodes

dBarcode1D dBarcode1d.dll – for most common barcode types (over 50 types supported; see the list provided

under CodeType).

The 2D controls

There are several 2D controls in the dBarcode.NET family, one for each of the most popular barcode

types, and two which handle a wide range of different barcode types. The controls are:

dBarcodeAZ dBarcodeAZ.dll – for Aztec barcodes

dBarcodeDM dBarcodeDM.dll – for DataMatrix barcodes

dBarcodePDF dBarcodePDF.dll – for PDF417 and Micro PDF barcodes

dBarcodeQR dBarcodeQR.dll – for QR Code barcodes

dBarcodeRSS dBarcodeRSS.dll – for Databar (formerly RSS) barcodes, Linear and Stacked.

dBarcode2D dBarcode2D.dll – for Aztec, DataMatrix, Maxicode, PDF417, Micro PDF417, QR Code and Databar

barcodes.

dBarcodeComp dBarcodeComp.dll – for ITF-14, SSCC stand-alone symbols and Databar, EAN-13, EAN-8, GS1-


128, UPC-A & UPC-E with or without CC-A, CC-B, CC-C composite codes. See the section

entitled “The GS1 Composite Component”

dBarcode Dual dBarcodeDual.dll – for all of the 1D, 2D and GS1-Composite symbols listed above.

See the Section entitled “dBarcode.NET Dual Component”.

With the exception of the Font and Color properties (named as bcFont, bcForeColor and

bcBackColor) all controls share the same properties as the corresponding Components discussed

above. Full details of the functions and allowed values are given in the Components reference

section.

Using dBarcode.NET Controls in Visual Studio

Adding a dBarcode.NET Control to the ToolBox

To add a dBarcode Control to the Visual Studio ToolBox, with a Windows Form open in Design view, display the

ToolBox and select the Common Controls section tab. Right click on the item and select Choose Items from the pop-up

menu displayed. A dialog box is displayed listing the currently installed components. Ensure that the .NET Framework

Components page is displayed.

Push the Browse button and navigate to the location where you have installed or copied your dBarcode Control and

select the DLL (e.g. dBarcodeDual.dll).

Then push the Open button.

The list of installed components is now displayed, including your dBarcode Control. Ensure that the checkbox alongside

the component name is checked. Now push the OK button.

The control appears as an icon on the ToolBox Common Controls section, with one of the appropriate control name

alongside:

Adding a dBarcode.Net Control to a Form.

With a project's form open in design mode drag the dBarcode control icon from the toolbox onto the form.

The control appears on the form appearing as the default barcode for the control used. A single form may contain any

number of dBarcode controls.


If the Visual Studio Properties panel is open when the control is added or selected (and if Commands are enabled) then

the Properties panel includes the link to “Show barcode properties dialog”.

Alternatively, right clicking on the selected control will display a pop-up menu which includes the item to “Show

barcode properties dialog”.


In either case selecting the link will display the barcode properties dialog, allowing the default barcode properties to be

set a design time.


The Visual Studio properties panel also displays all other settable properties for the control in the Barcode data section,

and these values will be used as defaults unless properties are changed programmatically within your code.

Unless it is necessary for other properties to be changed within your program, the only property that is likely to be

changed programmatically is the barcode data content. This is easily accomplished by a single line of code such as

In VB: BarccDual1.Caption = TextBox1.Text BarccDual1.Refresh()

In C# barccDual1.Caption = textBox1.Text; barccDual1.Refresh();

dBarcode Control methods

The dBarcode controls provide four methods for doing things other than displaying themselves:

doProps()

Display the barcode properties dialog. Allows the properties of the barcode to be changed by the user at run-time.

Returns true if the user closes the dialog using the OK button; return false otherwise.

In VB:


BarccDual1.doProps()

In C#: barccDual1.doProps();

Refresh()

Forces the control to redraw itself.

In VB:

BarccDual1.Refresh()

In C#: barccDual1.Refresh();

copyBarcode()

Copies the barcode image currently displayed by the control to the Windows clipboard (in Bitmap format).

The method copyBarcode(hRes,vRes) creates a barcode image on the clipboard with the specified horizontal and vertical

resolutions (in ppi). The resolutions should be specified as integers.

Returns 0 if successful or an error code in the event of failure.

In VB: If (BarccDual1.copyBarcode(300, 300) > 0) Then statusbox.Text = "Error copying barcode image" Else statusbox.Text = "barcode image copied to clipboard" End If

In C#: if (barccDual1.copyBarcode(600, 600) > 0) statusbox.Text = "Error copying barcode image"; else statusbox.Text = "barcode image copied to clipboard";

saveBarcode()

Saves the barcode image in a graphics file with a specified resolution.

The method saveBarcode(hres,vRes,filename) save the current barcode image to a file name filename with the image

adjusted to the horizontal and vertical resolutions of hRes and vRes respectively. The resolution should be specified as

integers.

The graphics type is specified by the filename extension. The allowed types are:

BMP, EPS, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF and WMF

The method returns 0 if successful or an error code in the vent of a failure.

In VB: res = 300 'resolution in dpi BarccDual1.saveBarcode(res, res, graphicfilename) statusbox.Text = BarccDual1.Status

In C# int res = 300; //resolution in dpi


barccDual1.saveBarcode(res, res, graphicfilename); statusbox.Text = barccDual1.Status;

Barcode()

The Barcode() method returns a Windows metafile image and is primarily used for drawing on a printer. The method has

a single parameter: the Graphics of the device for which the image is intended, eg. The printer.

So the following examples illustrate how to draw the image directly to the printer.

In VB: Private Sub PrintButton1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles PrintButton1.Click Try AddHandler PrintDocument1.PrintPage, AddressOf Me.PrintDocument1_PrintPage PrintDocument1.Print() Catch ex As Exception MessageBox.Show("An error occurred while printing", ex.ToString()) End Try End Sub Private Sub PrintDocument1_PrintPage(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs) Handles PrintDocument1.PrintPage e.Graphics.PageUnit = GraphicsUnit.Document ' e.Graphics.DrawImage(BarccDual1.Barcode(e.Graphics), 300.0F, 450.0F) e.HasMorePages = False ' Indicate that this is the last page to print. End Sub

In C#: private void Printbutton1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { try { PrintDocument printDocument1 = new PrintDocument(); printDocument1.PrintPage += new PrintPageEventHandler(printDocument1_PrintPage); printDocument1.Print(); } catch (Exception ex) { MessageBox.Show("An error occurred while printing", ex.ToString()); } } private void printDocument1_PrintPage(object sender, System.Drawing.Printing.PrintPageEventArgs e) { e.Graphics.PageUnit = GraphicsUnit.Document; e.Graphics.DrawImage(barccDual1.Barcode(e.Graphics), 500F, 500F); // Indicate that this is the last page to print. e.HasMorePages = false; }

MemoryStream Barcode()

An alternative Barcode() method returns a MemoryStream graphic of the barcode at a specified resolution and in a

specified ImageFormat.


MemoryStream ms=Barcode(hres, vres, Im);

where hres and vres are the target resolutions, and Im is the ImageFormat required (eg. ImageFormat.Bmp, etc).

The image may be extracted using code such as

Image im = Image.FromStream(ms);

im.Save(graphicfilename);

etc.

dBarcode Control events

The dBarcode controls expose four events to the parent container:

OnClick

OnMouseDown

OnMouseUp

OnMouseClick

OnMouseMove

A form containing the control may have a handler added for any of these events along with a suitable implementation of

the handler. For example, the following example displays the control’s Properties dialog when the control is right-

clicked:

in VB

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load AddHandler Barcon1.OnMouseClick, AddressOf Barcon1_OnMouseClick End Sub Private Sub Barcon1_OnMouseClick(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs) If (e.Button = Windows.Forms.MouseButtons.Right) Then Barcon1.doProps() Else Barcon1.Invalidate() End If End Sub

In C# public partial class Form1 : Form { public Form1() { InitializeComponent(); barcon1.OnMouseClick += barcon1_OnMouseClick; } private void barcon1_OnMouseClick(object sender, MouseEventArgs e) { if (e.Button == MouseButtons.Right) { barcon1.doProps(); }


else barcon1.Invalidate(true); }

dLSoft dBarcode.NET Components Index 63

Index

1

1D Components Reference 9

2

2D Components Reference 27

2D Pattern strings 45

A

Adding a dBarcode.NET component to a project. 3

Adding a dBarcode.NET Component to the ToolBox 2

Adding a dBarcode.Net Control to a Form. 54

Adding a dBarcode.NET Control to the ToolBox 54

ASP.NET 24

AspectFlag 28

AutoCheckdigit 11

AzFlag 28

AzMenu 29

AzRvideo 29

Aztec 45

B

BackColor 11, 29

Barcode size 47

Barcode() 59

Barcode(Graphics g) 20, 39

BarcodeHeight 11

BarcodeWidth 11

BarRatio 11

BearerSize 11

BorderWidth 12, 29

BothBearers 12

ByteNumber 29

C

Caption 12, 29

cBarcode() 20, 40

Codablock F and Code 49 45

CodeType 12, 30, 46

CodeTypeValue 12, 30

Columns 32

Component methods 10, 28

Component properties. 9, 27

Composite data 46

Controls 15

copyBarcode() 58

D

Databar 46

DataMatrix 45

dBarcode Control events 60

dBarcode Control methods 57

dBarcode.NET 2D Component Properties 27

dBarcode.NET Components 1

dBarcode.Net Controls 53

dBarcode.NET Dual component 49

DeutschePost 32

Deutschepost and PostMatrix 43

Displaying a barcode on a form 6

doBarcode() 20, 40

doProps() 57

Dual component CodeTypeValues 51

Dual component Properties 49

E

EPScorrection 15, 32

EPSpreview 15, 33

Error 19, 38

Esc 33

ExtendBearers 16

Extra1 16

Extra2 16

F

Flag 33

Font 16

ForeColor 16, 34

G

GS1 Encoding 44

GS1_Flag 34

I

ImageHeight 19, 39

ImageWidth 19, 39

Indicators 16

Information properties 19, 38

Introduction 1

64 Index dLSoft dBarcode.NET Components

L

Licensing the component 8

M

MarginSize 17

MaxiCode 45

MemoryStream Barcode() 59

Methods 20, 39

MicroPDF417 45

Mirror 17, 34

O

Orientation 17, 34

P

PairsPerRow 34

Pattern 20, 39

PDF417 & Truncated PDF417 45

Pic() 23, 43

PostFlag 34

Printing a barcode image 7

Properties() 21, 40

Q

QR Code 45

R

Reduction 17, 35

Refresh() 58

Required properties 10, 28

S

saveBarcode() 58

Saving a barcode image 7

sBarcode() 21, 41

sBarcode1() 22, 42

SecurityLevel 35

Servlets 25

SetBytes() 42

SetParam() 23, 43

Setting and retrieving property values programmatically

4

Setting properties through the Barcode properties dialog

box 5

Setting the initial properties in a WinForms project 4

ShowCheckdigit 17

ShowText 18

StartMode 35

Status 19, 38

String2 20

Summary of Properties and Methods 9, 27

T

TextAlign 18

The 1D components 1

The 1D controls 53

The 2D components 2

The 2D controls 53

The GS1-Composite Component 46

U

Unit 18, 37

Using 8-bit byte data 44

Using dBarcode.NET Components in Visual Studio 2

Using dBarcode.NET Controls in Visual Studio 54

X

Xunit 18, 37

Y

Ymultiplier 38

dlsoft dbarcode.net components dbarcode.net components contents ... setting the initial properties...

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