PDF417

• Aug 01, 2018
• 3 minutes to read

Short Description

PDF417 (Portable Data File) is a stacked linear two-dimensional bar code used in a variety of applications; primarily transport, postal, identification card and inventory management. It was invented by Ynjiun Wang at Symbol Technologies in 1991, and has spawned an Open Source decoder project together with an Open Source encoder.

The PDF417 bar code is also called a symbol bar code and usually consists of 3 to 90 rows, each of which is like a small linear bar code.

For more information on this symbology, refer to its Official Standard web page.

Bar Code Properties

The type of a bar code control’s Symbology property is PDF417Generator.

The following properties are specific to the PDF417 type.

• XRBarCode.AutoModule/BarCodeControl.AutoModule

  Gets or sets whether the Module property value should be calculated automatically based upon the barcode’s size.

• PDF417Generator.Columns

  Gets or sets the number of bar code columns, which allows control of the logic width of the bar code.

• PDF417Generator.CompactionMode

  Gets or sets whether textual information or a byte array should be used as the bar code’s data.

• PDF417Generator.ErrorCorrectionLevel

  Gets or sets the amount of redundancy built into the bar code’s coding, to compensate for calculation errors.

• PDF417Generator.Rows

  Gets or sets the number of bar code rows, which allows control of the logic height of the bar code.

• PDF417Generator.TruncateSymbol

  Gets or sets whether the special end-symbol should be appended to the bar code.

• PDF417Generator.YToXRatio

  Gets or sets the height-to-width ratio of a logical unit’s graphic representation.

Examples

The following code creates a PDF417 bar code and specifies its main properties.

Note

A complete sample project is available at https://github.com/DevExpress-Examples/how-to-add-a-bar-code-to-a-report-e167.

Form1.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using DevExpress.XtraPrinting.BarCode;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
// ...
public XRBarCode CreatePDF417BarCode(string BarCodeText) {
    // Create a bar code control.
    XRBarCode barCode = new XRBarCode();

    // Set the bar code's type to PDF417.
    barCode.Symbology = new PDF417Generator();

    // Adjust the bar code's main properties.
    barCode.Text = BarCodeText;
    barCode.Width = 400;
    barCode.Height = 150;

    // If the AutoModule property is set to false, uncomment the next line.
    barCode.AutoModule = true;
    //barcode.Module = 3;

    // Adjust the properties specific to the bar code type.
    ((PDF417Generator)barCode.Symbology).Columns = 1;
    ((PDF417Generator)barCode.Symbology).CompactionMode = PDF417CompactionMode.Text;
    ((PDF417Generator)barCode.Symbology).ErrorCorrectionLevel = ErrorCorrectionLevel.Level2;
    ((PDF417Generator)barCode.Symbology).Rows = 9;
    ((PDF417Generator)barCode.Symbology).TruncateSymbol = false;
    ((PDF417Generator)barCode.Symbology).YToXRatio = 3;

    return barCode;
}

Form1.vb

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting.BarCode
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
' ...
Public Function CreatePDF417BarCode(ByVal BarCodeText As String) As XRBarCode
    ' Create a bar code control.
    Dim barCode As New XRBarCode()

    ' Set the bar code's type to PDF417.
    barCode.Symbology = New PDF417Generator()

    ' Adjust the bar code's main properties.
    barCode.Text = BarCodeText
    barCode.Width = 400
    barCode.Height = 150

    ' If the AutoModule property is set to false, uncomment the next line.
    barCode.AutoModule = True
    'barcode.Module = 3;

    ' Adjust the properties specific to the bar code type.
    CType(barCode.Symbology, PDF417Generator).Columns = 1
    CType(barCode.Symbology, PDF417Generator).CompactionMode = PDF417CompactionMode.Text
    CType(barCode.Symbology, PDF417Generator).ErrorCorrectionLevel = ErrorCorrectionLevel.Level2
    CType(barCode.Symbology, PDF417Generator).Rows = 9
    CType(barCode.Symbology, PDF417Generator).TruncateSymbol = False
    CType(barCode.Symbology, PDF417Generator).YToXRatio = 3

    Return barCode
End Function

To add the XRBarCode to a report band, handle the report’s XRControl.BeforePrint event.

C#

using System.Drawing.Printing;
// ...

private void XtraReport1_BeforePrint(object sender, PrintEventArgs e) {
    this.Detail.Controls.Add(CreatePDF417BarCode("012345678"));
}

VB.NET

Imports System.Drawing.Printing
' ...

Private Sub XtraReport1_BeforePrint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As PrintEventArgs)
    Me.Detail.Controls.Add(CreatePDF417BarCode("012345678"))
End Sub