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RFID Component Encoder DLL User Manual

A license is required for each computer this software is installed on; this software may only be used according to the License Agreement.

INDEX:

Introduction

The IDAutomation RFID Encoder is a Managed Code DLL Component that enables printing of text, barcodes (with the associated barcode component) and encoding of RFID smart labels at the same time from custom .NET software applications, such as Microsoft Visual Studio .NET or Delphi for .NET.

View a list of recommended and tested RFID printers to use with this component.

Installation

The RFID DLL is compatible with the Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 and above.

Setup the RFID printer according to the Encoder Setup and Configuration suggestions.
Copy the idautomation.rfid.dll to the project directory.
Add a reference to the DLL in the project or solution. For example, in Visual Studio .NET, right click on references, choose add reference, and choose the DLL.
Add the appropriate code to the project; please refer to the file "IDAutomation RFID Encoder VB.NET 2005 Application Example.zip" for a complete working example.
The code steps to perform in Visual Basic or VB.NET are as follows:

'Create the RFID writer and PrintDocument objects
Private rfidWriter As New IDAutomation.Windows.Forms.RFID.RFIDComponent
Private PrintDocument1 As New System.Drawing.Printing.PrintDocument

'Set the EncoderPrefix
rfidWriter.EncoderPrefix = "^XA^RFW,H^FD"

'Set the data to be encoded in the tag
rfidWriter.DataToEncode = "~b00811001110~b00201~b030110001000100110011111000110001~n02416522293"

'Set the EncoderSuffix
rfidWriter.EncoderSuffix = "^FS"

'Tell the PrintDocument object what printer to use
PrintDocument1.PrinterSettings.PrinterName = PrinterName

'Encode the RFID tag and print the PrintDocument object in a single print job
rfidWriter.EncodeTagAndPrint (PrintDocument1)

Methods and Properties

When using IDAutomation RFID products to encode RFID tags, data may be sent directly or easily formatted. The formatting allows variable data such as a serial number or text to be encoded in hexadecimal with ease. Special processing is performed when a tilde character is used to properly format the data to the tag and insure it is correct.

Special processing of the tilde characters:

Special processing is performed when a tilde character is entered in the DataToEncode property. This is necessary for the component to properly format the data to the tag. The result of the processing is all converted to binary data before it is converted to hexadecimal format. This conversion is usually necessary to meet EPC requirements and take full advantage of every data bit available in the tag. When the data to be encoded does not begin with a tilde (~), the data is sent directly to the encoder as is. When the data begins with a tilde, the following processing operations may be performed to format the data to the tag:

~b??? informs the component the data that follows is binary data where ??? is the length of the binary data in bits.
For example, ~b00811001100 encodes 8 bits of the binary data 11001100 in the tag, which represents the number 204.
~d??? allows the ASCII code of a character to be encoded in EncoderPrefix or EncoderSuffix where ??? is a 3 digit number in decimal format.
For example, ~d013 encodes character <CR>.
This processing is only provided in the EncoderPrefix and EncoderSuffix properties.
~n??? informs the component the data that follows is variable numeric data where ??? is the length of bits reserved for encoding this number.
For example, ~n016170 encodes 170 which is converted to binary as 0000000010101010. Because 16 bits are reserved for this number, several zero bits are added to the beginning. This may be necessary when encoding variable length serial numbers. NOTE: Because this number is variable, a space or tilde must follow this number if data is to be encoded after it. For example the following are all correct uses:
~n016170
~n016170~b00811001100
~n016170 11001100.
~x??? informs the component the data that follows is hexadecimal data where ??? is the length of bits reserved for encoding this data. 4 bits are reserved for each character. Therefore, multiply ??? by 4 to determine the total number of bits reserved in the tag for this command.
For example, ~x016A1C3 encodes A1C3 as hexadecimal which is 1010000111000011 in binary format; 16 bits in length.
~t??? informs the component the data that follows is variable text data to be encoded as hex bytes where ??? is the length of bits reserved for encoding this text. This processing may be used to encode standard text in RFID tags. Up to 12 characters may be stored in a 96 bit tag; 8 bits are required for each character.
For example, ~t032TEXT encodes the letters "TEXT" in the tag as hexadecimal 54455854 which is 01010100010001010101100001010100 in binary format.
NOTE: Because this text is variable, a tilde must follow this number if data is to be encoded after it. For example: ~t032TEXT~n016170

Primary Methods:

EncodeTagAndPrint(PrintDocument) - injects the EncoderPrefix, DataToEncode and EncoderSuffix in the print stream and prints the result of the PrintDocument object.

Primary Properties:

EncoderDeviceType - choose the printer or encoder if it is listed here, default is custom. Choosing this option will automatically populate the EncoderPrefix, EncoderSuffix and TagBitSize properties.
DataToEncode - the data that is to be formatted and encoded in the RFID tag. If the data begins with a tilde, the information will be formatted for UHF tags and converted to hexadecimal format as required. If the data begins with anything else, it will not be modified and is sent directly which is common when encoding HF tags. When using the tilde, spaces may be entered between fields to improve readability, however, spaces may not be entered between the tilde and the end of the data that is to be processed by it. For example, the following is a correct use of the space in DataToEncode:
~x008CE ~b00201 ~b030110001000100110011111000110001 ~n02416522293
EncoderPrefix - a string that is sent directly to the printer (or other encoding device) to inform it the type of RFID label that is being encoded and to prepare it to encode the result of the DataToEncode property.
EncoderSuffix - a string that is sent directly to the printer (or other encoding device) after the DataToEncode is sent to finalize encoding of the tag.
PrintStartCommand - the Print Command that informs the printer to start printing a label. If a value is present in this property, the component injects the EncoderPrefix, DataToEncode and EncoderSuffix in the print stream just before this value during the printing of each label. Normally, PrintStartCommand may be left blank. However, when using Datamax printers, Q0001 must be used or another printer command that identifies the end of each label. When left blank, the encoder commands are inserted just before the last line at the end of each label.

Other Properties and Methods:

EncodeTag(PrinterName) - sends the EncoderPrefix, DataToEncode and EncoderSuffix directly to the printer specified as a single string without any other print information. This method should only be used when encoding tags alone without any other data. This method also requires sending additional data to setup the label and a print command at the end. If no print command is used, the label will not feed.
BinaryToEncode - the binary data that is to be encoded in the RFID tag. This property is usually only used for troubleshooting purposes.
BitsToEncode - the binary data that is to be encoded in the RFID tag. This number should match the number of bits in the tag.
ConvertBinStringToHex - converts a binary string to a hex string.
ConvertDecStringToBinString - converts a decimal string to a binary string.
ConvertHexStringToBinString - converts hex data read from the tag to a binary string.
ConvertHexStringToDecString - converts hex data read from the tag to a decimal (number) string.
ConvertHexStringToTextString - converts hex data read from the tag to a text string.
ConvertTextStringToHex - converts a text string to hex.
EncoderCommand - this is the actual data that is to be sent directly to the output device. It is a combination of the EncoderPrefix, the result of the DataToEncode and EncoderSuffix.Special characters such as <STX> and <CR> will not be visible in the text of this property.
HexToEncode - the hexadecimal data that is to be encoded in the RFID tag. This property is usually only used for troubleshooting purposes.
TagBitSize - the number of bits available in the tag for encoding. The default value is 96.

Encoding Examples and Support:

Additional information and examples are provided in the links below. Please refer to the latest information in these links for anything related to RFID.