.NET Font Encoder Assembly & DLL

The IDAutomation .NET Font Encoder Assembly & DLL is a Font Encoder and Tool that is used to format text for IDAutomation Barcode Fonts in the Microsoft .NET Framework. This product supports standard bar code fonts, Intelligent Mail fonts and the Universal Barcode Font. This product is royalty-free with the purchase of a license to one of the IDAutomation Barcode Fonts.

INDEX:

• Tutorial
• Methods and Properties
• Download
• Other products used to create barcodes in .NET
• Support

It is important to have the ability to test barcodes; if a barcode scanner is not currently owned, IDAutomation also provides complete barcode scanner kits.

The download includes a sample application created in ASP.NET; it is the same application used for the Online Font Encoder. To use this application in Visual Studio, it must be extracted into the "fontencoder" folder under Inetpub\wwwroot. This product is most useful in creating barcodes for local .NET applications. Although this product is useful in ASP.NET, the preferred method of generating barcodes in ASP.NET is with the ASP.NET Server Control or the ASP Barcode Server for IIS.

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The following steps outline the process for setting up the environment to use the encoder assembly:

1. Copy the IDAutomation.NetAssembly.dll to the project directory. When using Visual Studio, do not copy the file to the bin directory; the file will be automatically copied there when the project is compiled. Additional DLLs are provided for Intelligent Mail, Universal and DataBar encoders.
2. Create a reference to the assembly. In Visual Studio .NET, this is done with Solution Explorer. If Solution Explorer is not visible, click View | Solution Explorer. Right click "References" in Solution Explorer and choose "Add Reference". On the Add Reference dialog click "Browse", select IDAutomation.NetAssembly.dll and click "Open". Click "OK" on the Add Reference dialog. Additional references must also be created to use Intelligent Mail, Universal or DataBar encoders.
3. In the project, create an object of the class. For example:
   Dim FontEncoder As New IDAutomation.NetAssembly.FontEncoder
   Use the following code for other encoders:
   Universal:  Dim UniversalFontEncoder As New IDAutomation.NetAssembly.UniversalFontEncoder
   IntelligentMail:  Dim IntelligentMail As New IDAutomation.IntelligentMail.IntelligentMail
   DataBar:  Dim DataBar As New IDAutomation.DataBar.DataBar
4. Format the data to the font:
   txtEncodedText.Text = FontEncoder.Code128(txtDataToEncode.Text)
   Examples for other encoders:
   txtEncodedText.Text = UniversalFontEncoder.IDAutomation_Uni_C128(txtDataToEncode.Text)
   txtEncodedText.Text = IntelligentMail.FontEncode(txtDataToEncode.Text)
   txtEncodedText.Text = DataBar.IDAutomation_DataBar_DataBarStackedOmniDirectional(txtDataToEncode.Text)
5. After the text is formatted to the font, print or display the text with the appropriate bar code font selected.
6. If necessary, the results can be tested with the on-line font encoder, which uses the same DLLs that are provided in this download.

The methods listed below are available in the IDAutomation.NetAssembly.dll file unless otherwise indicated and are only valid when used with the font listed in the "font to use" column. All parameters are optional except DataToEncode.

Methods beginning with IDAutomation_Uni_ are only to be used with the IDAutomation Universal Barcode Font Advantage™.

Description of the parts of the functions:

• ApplyTilde - If the ApplyTilde option is set to "1" or "True", characters following the tilde may be used to perform additional calculations or encode ASCII characters directly.
• DataToEncode - this string value represents the data being encoded.
• N_Dimension - determines the width of the wide bars when applicable, which is a multiple of the X dimension. Valid values are 2, 2.5 and 3. The default is 2. The X dimension is determined by the font point size.
• IncludeCheckDigit - a Boolean value that determines whether a check digit should be automatically calculated and included for the DataToEncode.
• Segments - reducing segments to a low, even number such as 4, 6 or 8 in a DataBar Expanded symbol can create a stacked barcode. The default is 22.

In addition to this product, IDAutomation offers a few other options that create bar code images in .NET without the use of fonts:

• .NET Windows Forms Controls - create and print barcodes in local Microsoft Visual Studio.NET applications.
• ASP. NET Barcode Web Forms Server Controls - create bar-codes in ASP.NET web applications.
• Native Barcode Generator for Crystal Reports - generates native barcodes in Crystal with Visual Studio .NET.

Free product support may be obtained by reviewing articles that are documented at IDAutomation's support site and by searching the resolved public help desk issues. Priority phone, email and help desk support is provided up to 30 days after purchase. Additional priority phone, email and help desk support may be obtained if the Priority Support and Upgrade Subscription is active.

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