.NET Font Encoder Assembly & DLL

The IDAutomation .NET Font Encoder Assembly & DLL is a Font Tool that is used to format text for IDAutomation Barcode Fonts in the Microsoft .NET Framework. This product supports standard bar code fonts as well as the Universal Font. This product is royalty free with the purchase of a license to one of the IDAutomation Barcode Fonts.

INDEX:

• Tutorial
• Methods and Properties
• Download
• Other products used to create barcodes in .NET
• Support
• It is important to have the ability to test the barcodes printed with a barcode scanner;
  If a barcode scanner is not currently owned, IDAutomation sells high quality complete barcode scanner kits.

The download includes a sample application created in ASP.NET; it is the same application used for our Online Font Encoder. To use this application in Visual Studio, it must be extracted into the "fontencoder" folder under Inetpub\wwwroot. This product is most useful in creating barcodes for local .NET applications. Although this product is useful in ASP.NET, we recommend streaming barcode images instead of using fonts for the Internet. Our ASP.NET Web Component is the best product we offer for this purpose.

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The following steps outline the process for setting up the environment to use the encoder assembly:

1. Copy the IDAutomation.NetAssembly.dll to the project directory. When using Visual Studio, do not copy the file to the bin directory, the file will be automatically copied there when the project is compiled.
2. Create a reference to the assembly. In Visual Studio .NET, this is done with Solution Explorer. If Solution Explorer is not visible, click View | Solution Explorer. Right click "References" in Solution Explorer and choose "Add Reference". On the Add Reference dialog click "Browse", select IDAutomation.NetAssembly.dll and click "Open". Click "OK" on the Add Reference dialog.
3. In the project, create an object of the class. For example:
   Dim FontEncoder As New IDAutomation.NetAssembly.FontEncoder()
   Use the following code for the Universal Font Functions: Dim UniversalFontEncoder As New IDAutomation.NetAssembly.UniversalFontEncoder()
4. Format the string to the font. For example:
   txtEncodedText.Text = FontEncoder.Code128(txtDataToEncode.Text)
   or
   txtEncodedText.Text = UniversalFontEncoder.IDAutomation_Uni_C128(txtDataToEncode.Text)
5. After the text is formatted to the font, print or display the text with the appropriate bar code font selected.
6. If necessary, the results can be tested with the on-line font encoder.

The methods listed below are available in the IDAutomation.NetAssembly.dll file and are only valid when used with the font listed in the "font to use" column.

Methods beginning with IDAutomation_Uni_ are only to be used with the IDAutomation Universal Barcode Font Advantage™.

For all functions listed below, the DataToEncode is the string data type. Other data types, such as numbers or dates, may need to be converted to the string data type to be properly encoded. Additional parameters are available for some functions and are optional. For example, Code128("123456",0,True). For all number symbologies, such as POSTNET and UPC, dashes or spaces may be inputted for easier readability which will be filtered out by the function before the barcode is generated. For UPC-A, UPC-E & EAN-13, the +2 and +5 add-on codes may be created by adding the data to the end of the string.

Description of the parts of the functions:

• DataToEncode - this is a string value that represents the data being encoded.
• N_Dimension - determines the width of the wide bars which is a multiple of the X dimension. Valid values are 2, 2.5 and 3. The default is 2. The X dimension is determined by the font point size.
• IncludeCheckDigit - a Boolean value that determines whether a check digit should be automatically calculated and included for the DataToEncode.
• ApplyTilde - In Code 128 auto and UCC128, if the ApplyTilde option is set to True, the tilde will be processed and allow the following encoding options:
  • ASCII characters: the format ~ddd may be used to specify the ASCII code of the character to be encoded. For example, if the following text is entered in the Data field: 66~02977 it will actually encode 66GS77 where GS is a delimiter ASCII 29 character. Other commonly used ASCII codes are ~009 for a tab and ~013 which is a return function. For encoding other functions, please refer to IDAutomation's ASCII chart.
  • Encoding UCC/EAN-128: to encode alpha-numeric UCC/EAN128, the character must be set to "AUTO" for automatic. Then, ASCII 202 or character Ê is entered as the FNC1 before each AI and the required start C is included automatically. For example, the UCC number of (8100)712345(21)12WH5678 should be entered as: Ê8100712345Ê2112WH5678. In most cases, the AI's will be properly represented in the human readable text. If the parenthesis is not around the correct number for the AI, enter the following extended ASCII character as the FNC1 for the correct number of digits in the user's AI:
    ASCII 212 = 2 digits
    ASCII 213 = 3 digits
    ASCII 214 = 4 digits
    ASCII 215 = 5 digits
    ASCII 216 = 6 digits
    ASCII 217 = 7 digits
    For example, to encode (1277)56, enter Ö127756.
    For more information about this, please refer to the UCC/EAN 128 section of IDAutomation's Code 128 FAQ
  • Create a Mod 10 Check digit: to Create a Mod 10 check digit for xx number of characters add the following to the DataToEncode: ~mnn (where nn is a 2 digit number representing the number of characters preceding the tilde in which to base the Mod 10 calculation). The additional MOD 10 check digit is commonly used in UCC or EAN barcode types. For example, setting the DataToEncode property to Ê4021234567890123456~m16, will cause a mod 10 check digit to be created based on all 16 characters before the tilde. The human readable text and scanned data will display as (402)12345678901234566. The final 6 is the mod 10 check digit and replaces ~m16.
  • FNC2: When necessary, the FNC2 character may be inserted into the DataToEncode string by using ASCII 197. For example; Å8012349091. IDAutomation's SC5USB Scanner can be programmed to hold the barcode starting with the FNC2 in memory and only transmit it to the computer after scanning a barcode containing the FNC1.

In addition to this product, we offer a few others that create bar code images in .NET without the use of fonts:

• .NET Forms Controls - create and print barcodes from Microsoft Visual Studio.NET applications. Also generates images that can be saved to a file.
• ASP. NET Barcode Web Controls - create bar-codes in web applications with server controls or streamed images.

Free product support may be obtained by reviewing articles that are documented at IDAutomation's support site and by searching the resolved public help desk issues. Priority phone, email and help desk support is provided up to 30 days after purchase. Additional priority phone, email and help desk support may be obtained if the Priority Support and Upgrade Subscription is active.

View IDAutomation's product index to obtain a list of all products IDAutomation offers.

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