The
IDAutomation
Barcode Plug-In for Excel provides an easy method to generate barcodes in
Excel for Windows, by
either selecting cells or entire columns and clicking the appropriate button (video
tutorial). MAC users should follow the Barcode Fonts in
Excel Tutorial.
Simply install the
IDAutomation Barcode
Font that is needed, select the cells to convert to barcodes and click the
button. After the appropriate barcode font is installed, the applicable buttons
will be available. For example, after installing the Code-128 Fonts, the following buttons appear:
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 After
purchasing or
downloading
the ActiveX Control, it may be dragged, dropped and
resized in a spreadsheet.
- Within Excel, choose View - Toolbars
- Control Toolbox, a toolbox will appear.
- In the toolbox dialog, choose the more controls button:
- Then, select the barcode control from the list of available ActiveX Controls.
Select the control installed starting with "IDAutomation", and then drop it
on a spreadsheet. After selecting it, the control will appear in the spreadsheet
like a graphic image, resize the plug-in as necessary. To change the properties
of the control such as barcode height and symbology type, right click on
the control and choose
properties.
To link a cell to the data to be encoded in the barcode, enter the cell
in the "LinkedCell" property of the control.
- When finished, exit the design mode by choosing the design mode button:
- To edit the properties of the control the design mode must be enabled.
If there are problems editing the properties of the control, press the
design mode button to enable it.
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Self-checking barcode fonts such as Code-39
may be easily used in Excel. This implementation is cross-platform compatible
with both MAC and Windows. To use fonts other than self-checking versions, refer
to the
Barcode Add-In for Windows,
AppleScript for
the MAC or VBA Macros.All
self-checking barcode fonts require a start and stop character. IDAutomation's
Code-39 fonts
can be easily generated in Excel by (1)
using a formula to append the asterisks to the beginning and ending of the
field and (2) selecting the font for the field. The example below creates
the text for a Code 39 barcode in cell B2 from the data in cell A2.
Combining Multiple Fields into a
Single Barcode
Tabs and returns can be added with Code 39 fonts (in
extended-39
mode) between fields by inserting "$I" for a tab and "$M" for a return.
For example, this formula encodes a tab between cells C3 and D3:
=("!"&C3&"$I"&D3&"!")
Using Code 39 in the Excel example below enter the formula
in cell E3.
Creating Barcodes in an Entire
Column in a Spreadsheet
If a large column of data needs to be bar-coded, where copying and pasting
the barcode font formula into each cell would be cumbersome, then creating
barcodes in an entire column would be essential. In this example, Code 3 of 9
barcodes are created in the Excel using the
IDAutomation Code-39 Font.
To use fonts other than the self-checking versions such as Code 128 or
Interleaved 2 of 5, refer to the
Barcode
Add-In for Windows,
AppleScript for
the MAC or VBA Macros.
- The barcodes in column B will be created from the data in
column A. This assumes the IDAutomation Code-39 Font is installed. Enter the formula in one cell.
In this example. the formula
="*"&A2&"*" is entered in cell B2 to append the required asterisks
to data from cell A1:
- Select that cell and choose Edit - Copy. After that,
highlight the entire column by selecting the gray square labeled "B"
at the top of the spreadsheet and choose Edit - Paste. The formulas
may take a little time to re-calculate.
- Change the data in the column to be the Code 39 barcode font.
With the entire column that contains the formula highlighted, choose
the IDAutomationHC39XS font. The barcodes will appear in the entire
column.
- With the entire column that contains the formula still highlighted,
choose the appropriate point size. 12 points is generally compatible with all barcode scanners. If smaller barcodes are to
be scanned, IDAutomation's
USB Plug 'n Play Scanner can read this font printed as small
as 6 points. With the entire column that contains the formula still
highlighted, choose the center text option so the barcode is in the
center of the field. Then, make the column wide enough so there is some
white space between the beginning and ending of the barcode.
 
To use fonts other than the self-checking versions, refer to the
Barcode
Add-In for Windows,
AppleScript for
the MAC or VBA Macros.
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