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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.

INDEX:

 Creating a Linear Barcode on an InfoPath® 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.

  1. Purchase or download the demo version of the Linear Barcode ActiveX Control and DLL.
  2. Open Microsoft® Office® InfoPath®.
  3. Open the Purchase Request Template.
  4. Enter design mode by choosing the design button.
    Enter Info Path design mode.
     
  5. Choose Insert - More Controls. In the custom section, choose Add or Remove Custom Controls.
    Adding custom controls to InfoPath.
     
  6. From the list of available controls, choose the Barcode ActiveX Control installed earlier; in this case it is named "IDAutomation Linear BarCode".
  7. 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.
  8. When asked to specify a binding property, choose DataToEncode.
    Choose the DataToEncode binding property.
     
  9. The next screen allows the ability to enable or disable a property. If unsure, keep all default options and choose Next.

     
  10. Choose TEXT (String) for the data type and choose Finish and OK.
    Choose TEXT (String) for the data type
     
  11. 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.
    Inserting the bar-code ActiveX in InfoPath.
     
  12. 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.

     
  13. After the binding, the barcode will appear on the form with some default data applied.
    Binding the bar code to the InfoPath form.
     
  14. 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.
    A barcode added to an InfoPath form.
     

 Creating a 2D Barcode Symbol that encodes many 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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