Bar codes on Visual FoxPro reports

• Original article: Códigos de barra en reportes de Visual FoxPro
• Author: Luis María Guayán (http://www.luismariaguayan.com.ar)
• Translate by: Ricardo Aráoz

CONTENTS

This document describes the way to add bar codes to VFP reports using True Type fonts. The bar codes with which we'll deal here are :

• Code 39
• Code 128
• EAN-13
• EAN-8
• Interleaved 2 of 5

In order to accomplish this we'll need, besides the True Type fonts, user defined VFP functions which will codify the input text into the proper format for each code and font. The True Type fonts and the functions can be downloaded from further down in this page.

At the bottom of this page you'll find examples on how to use these functions, a results sample from VFP reports, and notes for it's best usage. A VFP example with two reports may also be downloaded.

BAR CODES

We will briefly describe each possible code in order to help you choose the best fit for the app we will be deploying.

CODE 39

This is a variable length code, whose top length is given by the available printing space and the bar code reader we'll be using.

The character set of code 39 includes 43 characters : digits 0-9, letters A-Z (only upper case), space, and the following symbols: - + . / *. The "*" must be at the beginning and end of the code, so it shouldn't be used in an input text.

Each character is compose of 5 bars and 4 spaces, 3 of these 9 elements are wide (from there the name "3 of 9") and 6 thin elements.

Code 39 is composed of :

Start + InputText + End 

CODE 128

This is also a variable length code, and shorter than code 39.

Code 128 includes digits 0-9, letters A-Z (upper and lower case), and all standard ASCII characters (for a total of 128 characters, that's where the name comes from).

Code 128 is divided in three sub-sets A, B and C.

• A includes: digits, upper case letters, and control codes.
• B includes: digits, upper and lower case letters, and control codes.
• C includes: only digits and compresses two digits into each character giving an excellent density.

This code has a control digit that offers more safety. This digit must be as follows:

* initial digit for subset A = 203
* initial digit for subset B = 204
* initial digit for subset C = 205
* final digit for all subsets = 206
sum = initial digit
for each inputCharacter
  sum = sum + (valueOfInputCharacter * position)
  CheckDigit = sum % 103

Code 128 is composed of :

Start + InputText + CheckDigit + End 

EAN-13 AND EAN-8 (European Article Numbering)

EAN-13 is used world wide for retail sales. It is of fixed length (13 characters). EAN-8 is a shortened version of EAN-13 which includes only 8 characers.

These codes are assigned and controlled by EAN International (http://www.ean.be) and authorized entities in every country.

In EAN-13, the first 6 digits stand for the country and company, the next 6 digits stand for the product, and the last digit is a control digit. Besides the country, the first two or three digits may stand for: books (ISBN), newspapers (ISSN), internal use, etc.

In EAN-8, the first 4 digits stand for the country and company, the next 3 digits stand for the product, and the last one is a control digit.

The control digit's algorithm is :

Sum = 0
for each InputDigit (12 or 7 digits)
  CorrectionValue = 1 if the digit's position is odd
                    3 if the digit's position is even
  Sum = Sum + ValueOfInputDigit * CorrectionValue
  CheckDigit = 10 - (Sum % 10)
  If CheckDigit = 10
    CheckDigit = 0
  endif 

EAN codes are composed of :

CountryCode + CompanyCode + ProductCode + CheckDigit

INTERLEAVED 2 OF 5

This is a variable length code, just like Code 39 and 128.

Interleaved 2 of 5 only includes digits 0-9 and fits two digits per character, giving a very good density. All Interleaved 2 of 5 codes have an even number of digits.

Every couple of digits is codified in a character composed by 5 bars and 5 spaces, 2 out of 5 bars are wide, hence the name "2 of 5".

This code has check digit by the following algorithm:

Sum = 0
for each InputDigit
  CorrectionValue = 1 if the digit's position is odd
                    3 if the digit's position is even
  Sum = Sum + ValueOfInputDigit * CorrectionValue
  CheckDigit = 10 - (Sum % 10)
  If CheckDigit = 10
    CheckDigit = 0
  endif 

Interleaved 2 of 5 is composed of:

Start + InputText + CheckDigit + End

TRUE TYPE FONTS

The true type fonts used in these examples are freeware files and work perfectly with the VFP functions included below.

The fonts used here may be downloaded from: fuentes.zip (30.9 Kb)

For better printing and readability of the codes our advise is to use the following font sizes:

VFP FUNCTIONS

See below the VFP functions that transform an input text to the selected bar code.

These functions may be downloaded from: funcion.zip (2.2 Kb)

*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrTo39(tcString) * CODIGO 39
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string to be printed with
* True Type Font "PF Barcode 39"
* USE: _StrTo39('Codigo 39')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrTo39(tcString)
  LOCAL lcRet
  lcRet = '*' + tcString + '*'
  RETURN lcRet
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrTo128A(tcString) * CODIGO 128A
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string for printing with
* True Type Font "PF Barcode 128"
* Numerics and alphabetic (only upper case)
* If a character is not valid it is replaced by a space
* USE: _StrTo128A('CODIGO 128 A')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrTo128A(tcString)
  LOCAL lcStart, lcStop, lcRet, lcCheck, ;
    lnLong, lnI, lnCheckSum, lnAsc
  lcStart = CHR(103 + 32)
  lcStop = CHR(106 + 32)
  lnCheckSum = ASC(lcStart) - 32
  lcRet = tcString
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong
    lnAsc = ASC(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) - 32
    IF NOT BETWEEN(lnAsc,0,64)
      lcRet = STUFF(lcRet,lnI,1,CHR(32))
      lnAsc = ASC(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) - 32
    ENDIF
    lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + (lnAsc * lnI)
  ENDFOR
  lcCheck = CHR(MOD(lnCheckSum,103) + 32)
  lcRet = lcStart + lcRet + lcCheck + lcStop
  *--- This changes spaces and invalid characters
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(32),CHR(232))
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(127),CHR(192))
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(128),CHR(193))
  RETURN lcRet
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrTo128B(tcString) * CODIGO 128B
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string to be printed with
* True Type Font "PF Barcode 128"
* Numerics and alphabetic (upper and lower case)
* If a character is not valid it is replaced by a space
* USE: _StrTo128B('Codigo 128 B')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrTo128B(tcString)
  LOCAL lcStart, lcStop, lcRet, lcCheck, ;
    lnLong, lnI, lnCheckSum, lnAsc
  lcStart = CHR(104 + 32)
  lcStop = CHR(106 + 32)
  lnCheckSum = ASC(lcStart) - 32
  lcRet = tcString
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong
    lnAsc = ASC(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) - 32
    IF NOT BETWEEN(lnAsc,0,99)
      lcRet = STUFF(lcRet,lnI,1,CHR(32))
      lnAsc = ASC(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) - 32
    ENDIF
    lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + (lnAsc * lnI)
  ENDFOR
  lcCheck = CHR(MOD(lnCheckSum,103) + 32)
  lcRet = lcStart + lcRet + lcCheck + lcStop
  *--- This changes spaces and invalid characters
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(32),CHR(232))
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(127),CHR(192))
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(128),CHR(193))
  RETURN lcRet
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrTo128C(tcString) * CODIGO 128C
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string to be printed with
* True Type Font "PF Barcode 128"
* Only numeric characters
* USE: _StrTo128C('1234567890')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrTo128C(tcString)
  LOCAL lcStart, lcStop, lcRet, lcCheck, lcCar, ;
    lnLong, lnI, lnCheckSum, lnAsc  
  lcStart = CHR(105 + 32)
  lcStop = CHR(106 + 32)
  lnCheckSum = ASC(lcStart) - 32
  lcRet = ALLTRIM(tcString)
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  *--- La longitud debe ser par
  IF MOD(lnLong,2) # 0
    lcRet = '0' + lcRet
    lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  ENDIF
  *--- Convert couple of digits to character
  lcCar = ''
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong STEP 2
    lcCar = lcCar + CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,2)) + 32)
  ENDFOR
  lcRet = lcCar
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong
    lnAsc = ASC(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) - 32
    lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + (lnAsc * lnI)
  ENDFOR
  lcCheck = CHR(MOD(lnCheckSum,103) + 32)
  lcRet = lcStart + lcRet + lcCheck + lcStop
  *--- This changes spaces and invalid chara
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong STEP 2
    lcCar = lcCar + CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,2)) + 32)
  ENDFOR
  lcRet = lcCar
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong
    lnAsc = ASC(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) - 32
    lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + (lnAsc * lnI)
  ENDFOR
  lcCheck = CHR(MOD(lnCheckSum,103) + 32)
  lcRet = lcStart + lcRet + lcCheck + lcStop
  *--- This changes spaces and invalid characters
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(32),CHR(232))
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(127),CHR(192))
  lcRet = STRTRAN(lcRet,CHR(128),CHR(193))
  RETURN lcRet
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrToEan13(tcString,.T.) * CODIGO EAN-13
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string to be printed with
* True Type Font "PF EAN P36" or "PF EAN P72"
* PARAMETERS:
*   tcString: 12 dígit string (0..9)
*   tlCheckD: .T. Only generates check digit
*             .F. Generates check digit and characters to be printed
* USE: _StrToEan13('123456789012')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrToEan13(tcString,tlCheckD)
  LOCAL lcLat, lcMed, lcRet, lcJuego, ;
    lcIni, lcResto, lcCod, lnI, ;
    lnCheckSum, lnAux, laJuego(10), lnPri
  lcRet = ALLTRIM(tcString)
  IF LEN(lcRet) # 12
    *--- Error en parámetro
    *--- debe tener un largo = 12
    RETURN ''
  ENDIF
  *--- Generate Check digit
  lnCheckSum = 0
  FOR lnI = 1 TO 12
    IF MOD(lnI,2) = 0
      lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) * 3
    ELSE
      lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) * 1
    ENDIF
  ENDFOR
  lnAux = MOD(lnCheckSum,10)
  lcRet = lcRet + ALLTRIM(STR(IIF(lnAux = 0,0,10-lnAux)))
  IF tlCheckD
    *--- If I only generate a check digit
    RETURN lcRet
  ENDIF
  *--- To print with True Type Font PF_EAN_PXX
  *--- 1st. dígit (lnPri)
  lnPri = VAL(LEFT(lcRet,1))
  *--- Character code table
  *--- according to 'lnPri' (¡DO NOT TOUCH!)
  laJuego(1) = 'AAAAAACCCCCC' && 0
  laJuego(2) = 'AABABBCCCCCC' && 1
  laJuego(3) = 'AABBABCCCCCC' && 2
  laJuego(4) = 'AABBBACCCCCC' && 3
  laJuego(5) = 'ABAABBCCCCCC' && 4
  laJuego(6) = 'ABBAABCCCCCC' && 5
  laJuego(7) = 'ABBBAACCCCCC' && 6
  laJuego(8) = 'ABABABCCCCCC' && 7
  laJuego(9) = 'ABABBACCCCCC' && 8
  laJuego(10) = 'ABBABACCCCCC' && 9
  *--- Initial character (outside the code)
  lcIni = CHR(lnPri + 35)
  *--- Lateral and central characters
  lcLat = CHR(33)
  lcMed = CHR(45)
  *--- Rest of the characters
  lcResto = SUBS(lcRet,2,12)
  FOR lnI = 1 TO 12
    lcJuego = SUBS(laJuego(lnPri + 1),lnI,1)
    DO CASE
      CASE lcJuego = 'A'
        lcResto = STUFF(lcResto,lnI,1,CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcResto,lnI,1)) + 48))
      CASE lcJuego = 'B'
        lcResto = STUFF(lcResto,lnI,1,CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcResto,lnI,1)) + 65))
      CASE lcJuego = 'C'
        lcResto = STUFF(lcResto,lnI,1,CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcResto,lnI,1)) + 97))
    ENDCASE
  ENDFOR
  *--- Compose code
  lcCod = lcIni + lcLat + SUBS(lcResto,1,6) + lcMed + ;
    SUBS(lcResto,7,6) + lcLat
  RETURN lcCod
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrToEan8(tcString,.T.) * CODIGO EAN-8
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string to be printed with
* True Type Font "PF EAN P36" ó "PF EAN P72"
* PARAMETERS:
*   tcString: 7 digit string (0..9)
*   tlCheckD: .T. Only generates check digit
*             .F. Generates check digit and characters to be printed
* USE: _StrToEan8('1234567')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrToEan8(tcString,tlCheckD)
  LOCAL lcLat, lcMed, lcRet, ;
    lcIni, lcCod, lnI, ;
    lnCheckSum, lnAux
  lcRet = ALLTRIM(tcString)
  IF LEN(lcRet) # 7
    *--- Parameter error
    *--- must have length = 7
    RETURN ''
  ENDIF
  *--- Generate check digit
  lnCheckSum = 0
  FOR lnI = 1 TO 7
    IF MOD(lnI,2) = 0
      lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) * 1
    ELSE
      lnCheckSum = lnCheckSum + VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) * 3
    ENDIF
  ENDFOR
  lnAux = MOD(lnCheckSum,10)
  lcRet = lcRet + ALLTRIM(STR(IIF(lnAux = 0,0,10-lnAux)))
  IF tlCheckD
    *--- If I only generate check digit
    RETURN lcRet
  ENDIF
  *--- To print with True Type Font PF_EAN_PXX
  *--- Lateral and central characters
  lcLat = CHR(33)
  lcMed = CHR(45)
  *--- Characters
  FOR lnI = 1 TO 8
    IF lnI <= 4
      lcRet = STUFF(lcRet,lnI,1,CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) + 48))
    ELSE
      lcRet = STUFF(lcRet,lnI,1,CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,1)) + 97))
    ENDIF
  ENDFOR
  *--- Compose code
  lcCod = lcLat + SUBS(lcRet,1,4) + lcMed + SUBS(lcRet,5,4) + lcLat
  RETURN lcCod
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------
* FUNCTION _StrToI2of5(tcString) * INTERLEAVED 2 OF 5
*------------------------------------------------------
* Converts a string to be printed with
*   True Type Font "PF Interleaved 2 of 5"
*   or "PF Interleaved 2 of 5 Wide"
*   or "PF Interleaved 2 of 5 Text"
*   Only numeric characters
* USE: _StrToI2of5('1234567890')
* RETURNS: Character
*------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTION _StrToI2of5(tcString)
  LOCAL lcStart, lcStop, lcRet, lcCheck, ;
    lcCar, lnLong, lnI, lnSum, lnAux
  lcStart = CHR(40)
  lcStop = CHR(41)
  lcRet = ALLTRIM(tcString)
  *--- Generate check digit
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  lnSum = 0
  lnCount = 1
  FOR lnI = lnLong TO 1 STEP -1
    lnSum = lnSum + VAL(SUBSTR(lcRet,lnI,1)) * ;
      IIF(MOD(lnCount,2) = 0,1,3)
    lnCount = lnCount + 1
  ENDFOR
  lnAux = MOD(lnSum,10)
  lcRet = lcRet + ALLTRIM(STR(IIF(lnAux = 0,0,10 - lnAux)))
  lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  *--- Length must be even
  IF MOD(lnLong,2) # 0
    lcRet = '0' + lcRet
    lnLong = LEN(lcRet)
  ENDIF
  *--- Convert a couple of digits to character
  lcCar = ''
  FOR lnI = 1 TO lnLong STEP 2
    IF VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,2)) < 50
      lcCar = lcCar + CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,2)) + 48)
    ELSE
      lcCar = lcCar + CHR(VAL(SUBS(lcRet,lnI,2)) + 142)
    ENDIF
  ENDFOR
  *--- Compose code
  lcRet = lcStart + lcCar + lcStop
  RETURN lcRet
ENDFUNC
*------------------------------------------------------

USE EXAMPLES

These are some examples on how to use the conversion functions. All functions have the text to be codified as a CHARACTER parameter.

Example 1: To convert text "This is an example" to Code 128 B:

lcTexto = "This is an example"
lcCodBar = _StrTo128B(lcTexto)
? lcCodBar FONT "PF Barcode 128",36 

Example 2: To convert number 12345678 to Code 128 C (this code only takes even length numbers, if length is odd then it adds a "0" to the left of the number):

lcTexto = "12345678"
lcCodBar = _StrTo128C(lcTexto)
? lcCodBar FONT "PF Barcode 128",36

Example 3: To convert country Argentina ("779"), the company "1234" and the product "01234" to EAN-13 (I can only use 12 characters, the thirteenth character is the check code added by the function):

lcTexto = "779123401234"
lcCodBar = _StrToEAN13(lcTexto)
? lcCodBar FONT "PF EAN P72",72

Example 4: To code number 123456789 to Interleaved 2 of 5 (this code only takes even length numbers, if length is odd then it adds a "0" to the left of the number) with the three true type fonts:

lcTexto = "123456789"
lcCodBar = _StrToI2of5(lcTexto)
*-- I 2of5 Normal
? lcCodBar FONT "PF Interleaved 2 of 5",36
*-- I 2of5 Wide
? lcCodBar FONT "PF Interleaved 2 of 5 Wide",36
*-- I 2of5 Human Readable
? lcCodBar FONT "PF Interleavev 2 of 5 Text",36 

To use these codes in VFP reports, you must format the field with the chosen True Type font, and in the expression you must call the corresponding function passing as parameter the text to be codified.

To codify and show field MiCodigo from table MiTabla in a report field, in the field dialog window, we must input in expression:

_StrTo128B(MiTabla.MiCampo).

Another way is to create a cursor through a SELECT with a field with the data already formatted and generate the report from the cursor:

SELECT *, ;
  _StrTo39(MiTabla.MiCampo) as CodBar ;
  FROM MiTabla ;
  INTO CURSOR MiCursor 

RESULTS SAMPLE

These graphics where generated using the functions and fonts in this document, in VFP reports:

Code 39	Code 128 A
Code 128 B	Code 128 C
Code EAN 13	Code EAN 8
Code I 2of5 (wide)	Code Interleaved 2of5
Code I 2of5 (human readable)

 DOWNLOADS

• VFP Functions : funcion.zip (2.2 Kb)
• Bar code True Type Fonts : fuentes.zip (30.9 Kb)
• Project with sample reports : ejemplo.zip (16.7 Kb)

FINAL NOTES

Once generated the bar code reports it is convenient to print them in laser printers due to their excellent definition, given this there'll be no problems with the reading of the bar codes.

With bubble jet printers, results are not optimum and maybe some bar code readers wont be able to read the code in the first scan.

These codes may also be placed in VFP forms, but only for visualizing, as no bar code reader will be able to read them from the monitor.

In order to use these functions in FoxPro for Windows, you will have to modify some commands that are not supported by FPW.

Up to the next time!

Luis María