Microsoft InfoPath Barcode Tutorial
This tutorial provides examples for creating barcodes in Microsoft InfoPath®
with the IDAutomation
Barcode ActiveX Control and DLL. InfoPath is an application offered
in Office® 2003 and up.
Creating a Barcode on Form to encode a single field
When dealing with printed InfoPath forms, a linear barcode may be
used to automate data entry and eliminate errors. In this barcode tutorial
example, the Purchase Request template is edited in design mode to add
a barcode that encodes the reference number. The barcode used in this
tutorial is provided by the
Barcode ActiveX Control
and DLL product. IDAutomation also offers other
Barcode ActiveX Controls
for support of 2D barcode types such as
DataMatrix
and PDF417.
- Purchase
or download
the demo version of the
Linear
Barcode ActiveX Control and DLL.
- Open Microsoft® Office®
InfoPath®.
- Open the Purchase Request Template.
- Enter design mode by choosing the design button.
- Choose Insert - More Controls. In the custom section,
choose Add or Remove Custom Controls.
- From the list of available controls, choose the Barcode ActiveX
Control installed earlier; in this case it is named "IDAutomation
Linear BarCode".
- When asked about installation options, choose to include a CAB
file. IDAutomation supplies signed CAB files with all
Barcode ActiveX Controls
which reside in the appropriate "Program Files" folder after
installation.
- When asked to specify a binding property, choose DataToEncode.
- The next screen allows the ability to enable or disable a property.
If unsure, keep all default options and choose Next.
- Choose TEXT (String) for the data type and choose Finish
and OK.
- The barcode control should now be available in the Custom Controls
area of the Control Task Pane. Create a place on the form where
the bar code will be inserted. Be sure to allow enough space for
the height of the bar code and to the right and left of the barcode,
as its width may vary with the amount of data encoded. Place the
cursor in the area where the control will be inserted.
- Click on the custom barcode control that was just added to the
Control Pane. In the Data Source screen, choose to set the binding
to the referenceNumber field and choose OK.
- After the binding, the barcode will appear on the form with
some default data applied.
- After saving and/or publishing the modified form, the barcode
should appear. The barcode field will be automatically updated after
that field is edited and the cursor is moved to another field.
Creating a 2D Barcode
that encodes multiple fields
IDAutomation is currently investigating various processes to encode
multiple fields into a single symbol. Please
contact
us or check back later as this page will be updated when this functionality
is available.
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