IDautomation PDF417 Font and Encoder

Print PDF417 as a Font
Works with Crystal Reports
Compatible with many operating systems
Uses IDAutomation Vertical Interleaved Technology
Includes ActiveX Control, Java Library, ASP.NET Web DLL and .NET DLL
Supports TrueType, SFP, PCL laserjet soft fonts, PostScript (type 1) Binary or PostScript ASCII fonts
Custom BDF, FON, AFP, Xerox Metacode, XES and FNT fonts can also be created with the Developer's License and one year of support
PDF417 Barcode Symbology General Information:

Large amounts of text and data can be stored securely and inexpensively when using the PDF-417 symbology. Using Reed Solomon error correction, the printed PDF417 symbol can withstand damage without causing loss of data. This high level of error correction is far more advanced than one dimensional barcodes with check digits. The Reed Solomon error correction adds significantly to the size of the PDF417 barcode, but this is usually not a problem because the barcode is two-dimensional, multi-row and can be printed at very small x dimensions. Up to about 850 characters can be dependably encoded with our PDF417 Font and Encoder package.
PDF417 Font Implementation Options & Automation:

Our PDF417 symbology barcode fonts allow printing of two dimensional, multi-row
PDF 417 barcodes from
MS Windows and any other operating system with a Java Virtual Machine that
supports TrueType, SFP, PCL laserjet soft fonts, PostScript (type 1) Binary or
PostScript ASCII fonts. This advanced PDF417 font uses IDAutomation Vertical Interleaved
Technologywhich allows increased throughput and printing at small
X dimensions. The implementation of PDF417, as a font, consists of both the encoder and the
font. The purpose of the encoder is to convert the data to encode into proper
bar and space patterns formatted to our PDF417 barcode font. The encoder returns
a text string that when printed or displayed as our PDF417 font creates the
PDF417 symbol. It is necessary to
use the encoder because of the complexity of the symbology and the required Reed
Solomon error correction. Please review the PDF417 Encoder for
Windows Tutorial for a simple encoder usage example.
Our PDF417 font encoder is accessible as a Windows DLL,.NET DLL,ASP.NET DLL
and a Java class library. However, there are a few options available for printing PDF417 from
other operating systems that do not have this support:



PDF417 may be printed on
another system by using the encoder (DLL or java library) to populate a database with
the "text string to print" and then access the database from
the other operating system with the PDF417 font.
The source code for printing PDF417 directly from
Java, C# .NET and Visual
Basic 6 can also be supplied with
the purchase of 3 Developer Licenses and a signed source
code license agreement.The VB source code consists of about 1200 lines of
code using
simple functions and arrays that can be easily converted to a
programming language for another operating system.
If you are a java programmer, we also have complete JavaBeans, applets and servlets that can create several 1D barcodes plus PDF417 on
any OS with a Java virtual machine, including web pages.

In Microsoft Windows the encoder is an ActiveX DLL that is installed
when you install the PDF417 Fonts and Encoder application. The other tools provided
such as MS Office macros, access the encoder from the PDF417 DLL. 

Running the INSTALL.exe file in the package will install
the following components:


The PDF417 Encoder for Windows - an application that provides an
easy method for users to create PDF417 barcodes and print them or paste them
into other applications. For more information on this application, please
review the PDF417 Encoder for
Windows
Tutorial.
Crystal Reports UFL and sample report - for barcoding in Crystal
Reports version 9 and above.
MS Office Macros - are provided as MS Word Mail-Merge, Access 97 and Access 2000
macros. The VBA macro code can also be used in
other MS Office applications.
The PDF417 DLL - with this DLL, programmers can use the PDF417
encoding functions in any development environment that can use ActiveX DLL
technology.
Visual Basic source code to access the DLL - this is the VB source
code used to create the PDF417 Encoder for Windows. The source code for printing PDF417 directly from Visual Basic,
a C++ DLL or Java can be revealed with the purchase of 3 Developer Licenses and a signed source
code license agreement. 
TrueType PDF417 fonts - four fonts are installed for printing with
different ratios from 1:2 to 1:5.
PDF417 ActiveX Control - our ActiveX Control is also supplied with
the font and encoder package. The control is easy to use in Access, Excel,
Visual Basic, Visual Foxpro and C++. For the operation of this control,
please refer to the PDF417
ActiveX Control & DLL User Manual.

The following encoders are included in the ZIP file but are not installed
with INSTALL.exe:



PDF417
Java class library
.NET DLL and
Forms Control
ASP.NET DLL and Web Control

Font and Encoder Advanced Options:

Our PDF417 font encoders allow advanced users to re-shape the PDF417 symbol
and define specific options such as error correction levels, row and column
limits, and truncation.

Error Correction Levels
By default, if the error correction level is not defined, the encoder chooses
an error correction level between 2 and 5 that is recommended by AIM standards.
The error correction level automatically chosen depends on the amount of data
that needs to be encoded. The error correction can also be manually selected
from level 1 to level 8.

Font Point Sizes, X and Y Dimensions

The X dimension is the width of the narrowest bar. When printing at 10 points, the X dimension is set to .015 inches, or
15 mil.
If your barcode scanner supports it, we recommend printing the PDF417 font at 6
points (which is about .009 inches, or 9 mil), if you need to print very small
symbols. We have been
able to dependably scan our PDF417 font printed as small as 4 points (6 mil) with the
Hand Held
Products PDF417 CCD scanner we sell at our scanner site.

The Y dimension is the height of each row within the PDF417 symbol. We
recommend printing the standard PDF417 font which has an X to Y ratio of 1:3.
Fonts are also provided for ratios of 1:5, 1:4 and 1:2. To get the full benefit of
changing the X to Y ratio, you should also adjust your font size.

Aspect Ratio, Row and Column Limits

The aspect ratio is the ratio between the height and width of the entire
PDF417 symbol. By default, the aspect ratio is 1:3 which will generate a PDF417 symbol which is 3 times wide as it is high. The number of rows and columns can also be
selected to place the symbol in specific form. If either the number of rows or columns
is set then the PDF417 code created will have the number of rows and columns selected.
The PDF417 symbol has limits and if the rows or columns cause the symbol to
go beyond the limits of the symbol the row and column settings will be ignored.
The PDF417 symbol is limited to 30 columns and 90 rows. When selecting columns,
keep in mind that you are only selecting the number of data columns in the
symbol. The normal PDF417 symbol has two row start columns and two row stop
columns. Truncated PDF417 contains only two row start columns.

Truncated PDF417

A truncated PDF417 symbol is more area efficient than normal PDF417. By selecting this option, the right hand side of the PDF417 is
removed or truncated. This option should only be used in clean environments since
it is less immune to damage.

Scanning PDF417

With a 600 DPI
laser printer, the PDF417 font can be printed at 4 points or smaller if the
scanner supports reading it. Printed with a HP Laserjet at 600 DPI, we have been
able to dependably scan our PDF417 font printed at 4 points with the Hand Held
Products
PDF417 CCD scanner we sell at our IDAutomation.com
site. The symbol should be printed at 8 to 10 points for open systems.