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ASP.NET Barcode Server Control Manual & Tutorial

Easily add barcodes to ASP Dotnet web forms applications with this bar code control. Our ASP .NET Linear Barcode Server Control supports several barcode symbologies including Code 39, Extended Code 39, Code 128, UCC/EAN-128, Interleaved 2 of 5, LOGMARS, Codabar, UPC, MSI, EAN, Code 11, Code 93, Industrial 2 of 5 Planet and Postnet.

ASP Server Control Tutorial

Installing our ASP .NET control in your web application is a simple 3 step process:


Step 1 - download and unzip the control package

Download and unzip the package. The DLL file will need to be placed in the bin project directory for the web application that uses the DLL. For example, an application named WebApplication1, needs the file to be in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\WebApplication1\bin as in the graphic below:
The ASP.NET Barcode Server Control DLL file will need to be placed in the bin project directory for the web application that uses the DLL.


Step 2 - register the control in your application

After you have extracted the control to application bin folder, you have to place it in the toolbox. 

Registering the Control with an ASP .NET Web Application:

  1. Open your solution or application and display the form that you want to add the barcode to. Choose View - Toolbox to display the Toolbox. Right-click on the Toolbox and choose Customize Toolbox. Choose the .NET Framework Components folder. Choose Browse and select the server control.
  2. After the control appears in the Toolbox, it can be added to the web form. The control cannot be manually sized; this is by design to eliminate scanning errors and to ensure the dimensions are accurate. To make the barcode wider, change the X Dimension property from .03 CM to .06 CM. By default, this is only adjustable in increments of .03CM because the browser is limited to 96 DPI.
  3. To update the barcode with data use the DataToEncode property in the code behind window, for example:.
    LinearBarcode1.DataToEncode = TextBox1.Text

Setting the properties of the ASP Dotnet Barcode Server Control in the application...Step 3 - adjust the properties of the control

After you insert the control in your web application as described in step 2, you may adjust the properties of the control. To do this, you can change the properties with program code or you can right-click on the control and choose Properties if it is installed on a form.

This section explains the main configuration parameters and methods of the control:

NOTE: Many of the barcode sizing parameters are calculated in CM (centimeters). Some barcode measurements are determined in "mils", which are 1/1000 of an inch. You may use the following rules for your conversions:

  1. The default of .03CM is equal to about 12 mils (which is read by most scanners) when printed.
  2. To convert mils to CM, multiply the mils value by .00254. For example, 12 mils * .00254 = .03 CM.
  3. To convert CM to mils, divide the CM value by 2.54. For example, .03 CM / 2.54 = 11.8 mils.
  4. To convert inches to CM, divide the value in inches by 2.54.

Symbology Specific Notes

UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8 and EAN-13
Enter the data to be encoded without any spaces or dashes. You can enter the +2 and +5 add-on codes by just adding them to the end of the string. If the check digit is added, it will be ignored and regenerated to ensure that the code can be scanned. If you rotate the barcode by 270, you may need to increase the top margin. For UPC-E, you must enter the full 11 or 12 digit UPC-A code and the barcode will be compressed if possible.

POSTNET and PLANET
When using the POSTNET barcode, the XDimensionCM (Narrow Bar Width) of .05 CM should be used. For barcodes to be acceptable to the US post offices, they must be between 22 and 24 bars per inch. Setting the XDimensionCM to .05 should produce about 23 bars per inch. You should adjust this setting for your printer if your results are different.

Code 128
The "AUTO" setting for Code 128 will automatically switch character sets in the barcode as necessary. Our implementation of Code 128 auto has many options as described below:


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Technical Notes and Support

The barcode images generated are high quality JPEG images that should display in all web browsers. The files that are generated are stored in the TEMP directory by default. Therefore, you may have to grant ASPNet_USR rights to that directory. To go to the TEMP directory, Choose File - Run on your server and type %TEMP% in the Open dialog and choose OK. Although the files are small, an administrator should delete them every month or so to free space on the server.

To obtain technical support for this product, please visit the ASP.NET Technical Support Site.


 

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