Сreate Custom Barcodes with IBarcodeGenerator

Overview

Microsoft Word supports the use of built-in barcodes, which can be inserted into a document using DisplayBarcode and MergeBarcode field codes. The combined usage of Aspose.Words and Aspose.BarCode enables converting built-in barcodes into images as a result of saving an MS Word document in other formats.

The Aspose.BarCode library provides the IBarcodeGenerator interface, which can be used to convert barcodes embedded into Word documents into images. It gets barcode properties using the BarcodeParameters field and then creates a barcode image in a raster format.

The main limitation of this approach is that raster images are resolution-dependent, imposing the restriction on the size of barcode elements, which must be no less than one pixel. Aspose.Words supports the embedded resolution of 96 ppi for images generated with IBarcodeGenerator and thus restricts the minimal size of a barcode image. To resolve this issue, developers can manually insert barcode images with a target resolution into a Word document and then save them in the required format.

This article describes how to use IBarcodeGenerator jointly with Aspose.Words and Aspose.BarCode to convert built-in barcode images into other formats.

The sample project can be downloaded here.

Implement IBarcodeGenerator using Aspose.BarCode

This section explains how to call the IBarcodeGenerator interface using all possible field codes. The main limitation is the impossibility to create tiny barcode images because IBarcodeGenerator does not support setting a custom image resolution, and therefore, the minimal size of a barcode element (a cell or a bar) cannot be less than 1 pixel. The following code sample demonstrates how to generate various barcodes with customized properties using IBarcodeGenerator.

//Copyright(c) 2001-2023 Aspose Pty Ltd.All rights reserved
using System;
using System.IO;
using Aspose.Words.Fields;
using Aspose.BarCode.Generation;
#if NETSTANDARD2_0_OR_GREATER || NETCOREAPP2_1_OR_GREATER
using SkiaSharp;
using Aspose.Drawing;
using Aspose.Drawing.Imaging;
#else
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
#endif

namespace Aspose.BarCode.Utils
{
    internal class CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils
    {
        public static double TwipsToPixels(string heightInTwips, double defVal)
        {
            return TwipsToPixels(heightInTwips, 96, defVal);
        }

        public static double TwipsToPixels(string heightInTwips, double resolution, double defVal)
        {
            try
            {
                int lVal = int.Parse(heightInTwips);
                return (lVal / 1440.0) * resolution;
            }
            catch
            {
                return defVal;
            }
        }

        public static float GetRotationAngle(string rotationAngle, float defVal)
        {
            switch (rotationAngle)
            {
                case "0":
                    return 0;
                case "1":
                    return 270;
                case "2":
                    return 180;
                case "3":
                    return 90;
                default:
                    return defVal;
            }
        }

        public static QRErrorLevel GetQRCorrectionLevel(string errorCorrectionLevel, QRErrorLevel def)
        {
            switch (errorCorrectionLevel)
            {
                case "0":
                    return QRErrorLevel.LevelL;
                case "1":
                    return QRErrorLevel.LevelM;
                case "2":
                    return QRErrorLevel.LevelQ;
                case "3":
                    return QRErrorLevel.LevelH;
                default:
                    return def;
            }
        }

        public static SymbologyEncodeType GetBarcodeEncodeType(string encodeTypeFromWord)
        {
            //https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/field-codes-displaybarcode-6d81eade-762d-4b44-ae81-f9d3d9e07be3
            switch (encodeTypeFromWord)
            {
                case "QR":
                    return EncodeTypes.QR;
                case "CODE128":
                    return EncodeTypes.Code128;
                case "CODE39":
                    return EncodeTypes.Code39Standard;
                case "JPPOST":
                    return EncodeTypes.RM4SCC;
                case "EAN8":
                case "JAN8":
                    return EncodeTypes.EAN8;
                case "EAN13":
                case "JAN13":
                    return EncodeTypes.EAN13;
                case "UPCA":
                    return EncodeTypes.UPCA;
                case "UPCE":
                    return EncodeTypes.UPCE;
                case "CASE":
                case "ITF14":
                    return EncodeTypes.ITF14;
                case "NW7":
                    return EncodeTypes.Codabar;
                default:
                    return EncodeTypes.None;
            }
        }
        
        public static Color ConvertColor(string inputColor, Color defVal)
        {
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(inputColor)) return defVal;
            try
            {
                int color = Convert.ToInt32(inputColor, 16);
                //return Color.FromArgb((color >> 16) & 0xFF, (color >> 8) & 0xFF, color & 0xFF);
                return Color.FromArgb(color & 0xFF, (color >> 8) & 0xFF, (color >> 16) & 0xFF);
            }
            catch
            {
                return defVal;
            }
        }
        
        public static double ScaleFactor(string scaleFactor, double defVal)
        {
            try
            {
                int scale = int.Parse(scaleFactor);
                return scale / 100.0;
            }
            catch
            {
                return defVal;
            }
        }

        public static void SetPosCodeStyle(BarcodeGenerator gen, string posCodeStyle, string barcodeValue)
        {
            switch (posCodeStyle)
            {
                //STD default and without changes
                case "SUP2":
                    gen.CodeText = barcodeValue.Substring(0, barcodeValue.Length - 2);
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.Supplement.SupplementData = barcodeValue.Substring(barcodeValue.Length - 2, 2);
                    break;
                case "SUP5":
                    gen.CodeText = barcodeValue.Substring(0, barcodeValue.Length - 5);
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.Supplement.SupplementData = barcodeValue.Substring(barcodeValue.Length - 5, 5);
                    break;
                case "CASE":
                    gen.Parameters.Border.Visible = true;
                    gen.Parameters.Border.Color = gen.Parameters.Barcode.BarColor;
                    gen.Parameters.Border.DashStyle = BorderDashStyle.Solid;
                    gen.Parameters.Border.Width.Pixels = gen.Parameters.Barcode.XDimension.Pixels * 5;
                    break;
            }
        }

        public const double DefaultQRXDimensionInPixels = 4.0;
        public const double Default1DXDimensionInPixels = 1.0;
        public static Bitmap DrawErrorImage(Exception error)
        {
            Bitmap bmp = new Bitmap(100, 100);

            using (Graphics grf = Graphics.FromImage(bmp))
#if NETSTANDARD2_0_OR_GREATER || NETCOREAPP2_1_OR_GREATER
                grf.DrawString(error.Message, new Aspose.Drawing.Font("Microsoft Sans Serif", 8f, FontStyle.Regular), Brushes.Red, new Rectangle(0,0, bmp.Width, bmp.Height));
#else
                grf.DrawString(error.Message, new System.Drawing.Font("Microsoft Sans Serif", 8f, FontStyle.Regular), Brushes.Red, new Rectangle(0,0, bmp.Width, bmp.Height));
#endif
            return bmp;
        }

#if NETSTANDARD2_0_OR_GREATER || NETCOREAPP2_1_OR_GREATER
        public static SKBitmap ConvertImageToWord(Bitmap bmp)
        {
            MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
            bmp.Save(ms, ImageFormat.Png);
            ms.Position = 0;

            return SKBitmap.Decode(ms);
        }
#else
        public static Image ConvertImageToWord(Bitmap bmp)
        {
            return bmp;
        }
#endif
    }

    internal class CustomBarcodeGenerator : IBarcodeGenerator
    {
#if NETSTANDARD2_0_OR_GREATER || NETCOREAPP2_1_OR_GREATER        
        public SKBitmap GetBarcodeImage(Aspose.Words.Fields.BarcodeParameters parameters)
#else
        public Image GetBarcodeImage(Aspose.Words.Fields.BarcodeParameters parameters)
#endif
        {
            try
            {
                BarcodeGenerator gen = new BarcodeGenerator(CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.GetBarcodeEncodeType(parameters.BarcodeType), parameters.BarcodeValue);

                //color
                gen.Parameters.Barcode.BarColor = CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.ConvertColor(parameters.ForegroundColor, gen.Parameters.Barcode.BarColor);
                gen.Parameters.BackColor = CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.ConvertColor(parameters.BackgroundColor, gen.Parameters.BackColor);

                //display or hide text
                if (!parameters.DisplayText)
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.CodeTextParameters.Location = CodeLocation.None;
                else
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.CodeTextParameters.Location = CodeLocation.Below;

                //QR Code error correction level
                gen.Parameters.Barcode.QR.QrErrorLevel = QRErrorLevel.LevelH;
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(parameters.ErrorCorrectionLevel))
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.QR.QrErrorLevel = CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.GetQRCorrectionLevel(parameters.ErrorCorrectionLevel, gen.Parameters.Barcode.QR.QrErrorLevel);

                //rotation angle
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(parameters.SymbolRotation))
                    gen.Parameters.RotationAngle = CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.GetRotationAngle(parameters.SymbolRotation, gen.Parameters.RotationAngle);

                //scaling factor
                double scalingFactor = 1;
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(parameters.ScalingFactor))
                    scalingFactor = CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.ScaleFactor(parameters.ScalingFactor, scalingFactor);

                //size
                if (gen.BarcodeType == EncodeTypes.QR)
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.XDimension.Pixels = (float)Math.Max(1.0, Math.Round(CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.DefaultQRXDimensionInPixels * scalingFactor));
                else
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.XDimension.Pixels = (float)Math.Max(1.0, Math.Round(CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.Default1DXDimensionInPixels * scalingFactor));

                //height
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(parameters.SymbolHeight))
                    gen.Parameters.Barcode.BarHeight.Pixels = (float)Math.Max(5.0, Math.Round(CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.TwipsToPixels(parameters.SymbolHeight, gen.Parameters.Barcode.BarHeight.Pixels) * scalingFactor));

                //Style of a Point-of-Sale barcode
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(parameters.PosCodeStyle))
                    CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.SetPosCodeStyle(gen, parameters.PosCodeStyle, parameters.BarcodeValue);

                return CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.ConvertImageToWord(gen.GenerateBarCodeImage());
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                return CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.ConvertImageToWord(CustomBarcodeGeneratorUtils.DrawErrorImage(e));
            }
        }

#if NETSTANDARD2_0_OR_GREATER || NETCOREAPP2_1_OR_GREATER         
        public SKBitmap GetOldBarcodeImage(Aspose.Words.Fields.BarcodeParameters parameters)
#else
        public Image GetOldBarcodeImage(Aspose.Words.Fields.BarcodeParameters parameters)
#endif
        {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }
    }
}

Convert Built-in Barcodes from Word to PDF

The next step is to set up CustomBarcodeGenerator using the values from FieldOptions, add a barcode image to a Word document, and then convert it into a PDF file. The code sample below demostrates how it can be implemented.

internal static void CreateDocumentWithBarcode(string barcodeField, string documentName)
{
    //source data path
    string path = @".\..\..\..\Data\";
    Directory.CreateDirectory(path);
    
    Aspose.Words.Document wordDoc = new Aspose.Words.Document();
    Aspose.Words.DocumentBuilder wordBuilder = new Aspose.Words.DocumentBuilder(wordDoc);
    //set up CustomBarcodeGenerator
    wordDoc.FieldOptions.BarcodeGenerator = new CustomBarcodeGenerator();

    wordBuilder.Write("Header\n");
    wordBuilder.InsertField(barcodeField);
    wordBuilder.Write("\nFooter.");

    wordDoc.Save($"{path}{documentName}.docx", Aspose.Words.SaveFormat.Docx);
    
    PdfSaveOptions pso = new PdfSaveOptions();
    pso.Compliance = PdfCompliance.Pdf17;

    wordDoc.Save($"{path}{documentName}.pdf", pso);
}

Conversion Results

Built-in Barcode MS Word PDF Description
“DISPLAYBARCODE “Aspose.Barcode” QR” simpleQR_word.png simpleQR_pdf.png Standard QR Code
“DISPLAYBARCODE “Aspose.Barcode” QR \f 0x00FF00 \b 0xFF0000” colorQR_word.png colorQR_pdf.png QR Code with custom background and foreground color settings
“DISPLAYBARCODE “ASPOSE BARCODE” CODE39 \t” displayTextCODE39_word.png displayTextCODE39_pdf.png Code 39 barcode with displayed text
“DISPLAYBARCODE “Aspose.Barcode” QR \q 3” errorLevel3QR_word.png errorLevel3QR_pdf.png QR Code with the error correction value set to Level H
“DISPLAYBARCODE “Aspose.Barcode” QR \r 1” rotatedQR_word.png rotatedQR_pdf.png Rotated QR Code
“DISPLAYBARCODE “Aspose.Barcode” QR \s 25” scaledQR_word.png scaledQR_pdf.png QR Code scaled to 25%
“DISPLAYBARCODE “ASPOSE BARCODE” CODE39 \h 1200” heightCODE39_word.png heightCODE39_pdf.png Code 39 with the height of 1200 twips (1/1440 inch)
“DISPLAYBARCODE “501234567890” EAN13 \p STD” standardEAN13_word.png standardEAN13_pdf.png Standard EAN13 barcode
“DISPLAYBARCODE “50123456789012” EAN13 \p SUP2” supplement2EAN13_word.png supplement2EAN13_pdf.png EAN13 barcode with supplement (EAN2)
“DISPLAYBARCODE “50123456789012345” EAN13 \p SUP5” supplement5EAN13_word.png supplement5EAN13_pdf.png EAN13 barcode with supplement (EAN5)
“DISPLAYBARCODE “501234567890” EAN13 \p CASE” caseEAN13_word.png caseEAN13_pdf.png EAN13 barcode with a frame
Read Barcodes from Word Documents