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SQL Reporting Services Barcode Tutorial

SQL Report Example This SSRS Barcode Tutorial provides step-by-step instructions for adding barcode generation technology to Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services and Visual Studio 2003 environments. This can be accomplished by using IDAutomation barcode fonts in conjunction with the .NET Report Function Custom Assembly file, a font encoder that is free to use with IDAutomation demo or purchased products. When using Reporting Services 2005 or 2008, IDAutomation recommends using the Reporting Services Barcode CRI component to create barcodes on reports.

Function List | Reporting Services Support | Reporting Services Integration Guide

Reporting Services Barcode Tutorial Overview

The .NET Report Function Custom Assembly file used in this tutorial formats the data-to-encode specifically for use with IDAutomation's barcode fonts, and is designed to meet the specifications of the symbology laid out by the AIM and/or ANSI standards. This example will demonstrate how to build a report based on the "Customers" table of the Northwind database. The report will include the database fields of CompanyName, CompanyID, and ContactName. A custom field will be added to the report, which will provide a Code 128 barcode representation of the Company ID.

To use this tutorial, the following requirements must to be met:

Visual Studio .NET 2003 should be installed.
Access will be needed to a SQL Server 2000 SP 3a database. This tutorial will make use of the Northwind database that is included with the SQL Server installation.
Reporting Services must be installed.
The .NET barcode custom assembly, IDAutomation.com.FontReportFunctions.dll, should be downloaded.

SSRS Reporting Services Barcode Tutorial

Install the purchased or demo barcode fonts on the printers, servers or computers where the barcode will be utilized. If not sure which font to use, consider the code 128 barcode fonts used in this tutorial, which encode numbers, upper and lower case letters, special symbols and functions.
Download IDAutomation's Microsoft Reporting Services Custom Assembly and unzip the file to an easy-to-remember location. The IDAutomation.com.FontReportFunctions.dll assembly will be in the zip file.
Copy the custom assembly DLL to the Report Designer folder. The default location of the Report Designer is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\80\Tools\Report Designer.
The assembly also needs to be copied to the Report Server directory so that it is available for deployment. The default location of that directory is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Reporting Services\ReportServer\bin
If adding the custom assembly to an existing report, skip to Step 13.
Create a report by selecting File | New | Project from the Visual Studio .NET (VS.NET) IDE menu.
In the New Project dialog, highlight Business Intelligence Projects in the Project Types box and Report Project Wizard in the Templates box.
Name the sample report appropriately in the Name box. Click OK.
Select the data source. For this example, the Northwind database is used.
Ensure that the connection string is edited to properly connect to the database and click Next.
Create the query string for generating the report by using the Query Builder.
Add the Customer table to the query by right-clicking the upper pane in the query builder and selecting Add Table.
Highlight Customers and click Add and Close.
Drag the CustomerID, CompanyName, and ContactName fields into the query. Click OK.
Click Next on the Design Query Wizard.
Choose the type of report (Tabular or Matrix) to create and click Next.
Leave the default values for the grouping of the report and click Next.
Select the style of the table and click Next.
Select the Report Server (leave the default value set up at installation) and the folder for the deployment of the compiled report and click Next.
Name the report Barcode Company ID and click Finish. The report will now be in Layout Mode. A test report may be printed to see the output display.
Add the encoded data field to the report by right-clicking the last column in the table.
Select Insert Column to the right.
Label the column Barcode ID by typing directly into the column header.
Click on the body of the report to activate the Report menu in the VS .NET IDE.
Click the Report Menu | Report Properties.
Click the References tab. At this point IDAutomation.com.FontReportFunctions.dll will be added to the report project.
Click the button containing three dots next to the Assembly column.
Click the Browse button on the Add Reference dialog box.
Navigate to the location of IDAutomation.com.FontReportFunctions.dll. Select the file and click Open.
Click OK on the Add Reference Dialog.
Select the class name containing the data-encoding functions. This value is pulled directly from the assembly file. Also, an instance name is required. The values for these fields may be pulled directly from the image below:
Click OK. The encoding functions are now available for use in the report. In this example, Code128 function is used. Complete lists of available functions are listed below.
The encoding functions are added as expressions to the appropriate field. Right-click the empty area below the Barcode ID field and select Expressions.

Note: Because there is no graphical means to enter these functions, the information must typed into the Expression: area of the Edit Expression dialog. The format of the expressions is:

=Code.InstanceName.FunctionName(parameter) where Code is a global module for processing custom code requests, InstanceName is the instance of the class variable assigned in step 16, FunctionName is one of the functions listed below, and the parameter is the data that needs to be encoded into a barcode.

Enter =Code.clsIDAutomationBarcode.Code128(Fields!CustomerID.Value) in the expression field.
Click the Preview tab to ensure that the function is returning data. There should be some strange characters appended to the beginning and ending of the data from the fields. This is normal for Code 128 and Interleaved 2 of 5 symbologies when numbers need to be compressed within the barcode.
Click the Layout tab and apply one of the Code 128 fonts to the field containing the expression. The report may now be previewed.
Click Build | Deploy Solution to deploy the solution to the Report Server.

Barcode Function List

For all Reporting Services barcode functions below, the data input type is a single string. For all number symbologies such as Postnet and UPC, dashes or spaces may be entered for greater readability, but 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 barcodes may be created by appending them to the end of the string.

Function	Function Notes and Additional Information
Code128(Data, ApplyTilde)	This is a "Code 128 Auto" function that will automatically encode any data from ASCII 0 to ASCII 127, and will automatically switch to character set C for numbers. Code 128 barcode fonts have many options: UCC/EAN-128 Encoding: to encode alpha-numeric UCC/EAN128, the character set must be "0" or "AUTO" for automatic (the default setting). ASCII 202 or character Ê is recognized as the FNC1 before each AI. When a barcode begins with an AI, 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 AIs 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. Apply Tilde: when using Code 128, the character set is Auto and ApplyTilde is True, the following options are available: Encode ASCII Characters: The format ~ddd may be used to specify the ASCII code of the character being encoded. For example, if the user enters 128~029TEST in the data field, the user will be encoding 128GSTEST Where GS is a delimiter ASCII 29 character. Other commonly used ASCII codes are ~032 the space, ~202 the FNC1, ~197 the FNC2, ~009 the tab and ~013 which is a return function. For encoding other functions, please refer to the ASCII chart. 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 create a mod-10 check-digit 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. Review the Code 128 Barcode FAQ and Tutorial for more information.
Code128HumanReadable(Data, ApplyTilde)	Returns the human-readable text that displays above or below the barcode, which describes the data encoded in the barcode. The second parameter (a true or false value) determines if the tilde character (~) should be interpreted for special processing when using the ApplyTilde Character.
Code128a(Data)	Use character set B to print characters not on the keyboard; the scanner will scan characters from set A. Formats output to the Code 128 barcode fonts.
Code128b(Data)	Returns codes formatted to the Code 128 character set B. Formats output to the Code 128 barcode fonts.
Code128c(Data)	Requiring an even number of digits, this Code 128 function "interleaves" numbers into pairs for high density barcodes.
UCC128(Data)	Creates a UCC/EAN-128 barcode.
I2of5()	Requiring an even number of digits, this function "interleaves" numbers into pairs for high density without check digits and formats the return string to Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode fonts.
I2of5Mod10(Data, Number)	(Data, 0) performs the mod10 checksum calculation for increased accuracy and formats the return string to the Interleaved 2 of 5 fonts. MOD 10 checksums are required for SSC-14 when using Interleaved 2 of 5 for that purpose. An odd number of digits is required. (Data, 1) returns the human readable data with the MOD10 check digit included. (Data, 2) returns the MOD10 check digit.
Code39()	Formats the output to print using Code 39 barcode fonts.
Code39Mod43(Data, Number)	(Data, 0) performs the mod43 checksum calculation for increased accuracy and then formats the output to print using Code 39 fonts. The mod43 checksum is usually required for LOGMARS applications. (Data, 1) returns the human readable data with the check digit included. (Data, 2) returns only the check digit.
Codabar()	Formats the output to print using Codabar barcode fonts.
Postnet(Data, Number)	Enter a single string of Zip, Zip + 4 or Zip + 4 + Delivery Point. The input for Data must be a number and may include dashes and spaces. (Data, 0) formats output to Postnet barcode fonts. (Data, 1) returns the human-readable data with the check digit included. (Data, 2) returns the check digit only.
MSI(Data, Number)	(Data, 0) formats output to the MSI barcode fonts. (Data, 1) returns the human-readable data with the check digit included. (Data, 2) returns the check digit only.
Code11()	Only the C check digit is calculated which is the standard when encoding 10 digits or less.
UPCa(Data)	A UPC-A number string of 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 or 17 digits with or without a check digit, add-ons are supported. Formats output to the UPC/EAN barcode font. Entering incorrect data will create a barcode containing all zeros.
UPCe(Data)	A UPC-A number string of 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 or 17 digits with or without a check digit, add-ons are supported. The purpose of this function is to print the UPC-E barcode from a UPC-A barcode that may be compressed. It will print a UPC-A if it can not be compressed by zero suppression rules. Formats output to the UPC/EAN barcode font. Entering incorrect data will create a barcode containing "00005000000".
EAN13(Data)	A number string of 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 or 18 digits with or without a check digit, add-ons are supported. Formats output to the UPC/EAN barcode font. Entering incorrect data will create a barcode containing all zeros.
mod10(Data)	A number string. A MOD 10 check digit is returned. This is useful in calculating check digits for UCC/EAN 128 barcodes where a MOD check digit is needed.
EAN8(Data)	Data is a number string of 7 or 8 characters (EAN-8 without the check digit). Formats output to the UPC/EAN barcode font. Entering incorrect data will create a barcode containing all zeros.

Using the ApplyTilde Character

This Code 128 function allows for the encoding of unprintable ASCII characters and calculation of a Mod 10 check character by denoting the tilde character (~) as a special processing delimiter. When the ApplyTilde parameter is set to true, the function assumes that special processing will occur, and thus does not encode the tilde character. When encoding a tilde character in the Code 128 barcode font, set the ApplyTilde property to false.

Encode an ASCII Character: The format ~ddd may be used to specify the ASCII code of the character to be encoded. For example, if entering 66~02977 in the Data field, 66GS77 will be encoded where GS is a delimiter ASCII 29 character. Other commonly-used ASCII codes are ~009 for a tab and ~013 for a return function. Please refer to the ASCII chart when encoding other functions.
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 create a mod 10 check digit 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.

Additional Code 128 Auto Function Features

Manual Setting of the Number of AI Characters: In most cases, the Application Identifiers will be represented properly 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 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.
FNC2: The FNC2 character may be inserted into the DataToEncode string by using ASCII 197. For example, Å8012349091. The IDAutomation USB Barcode Scanner may 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.