Excel Barcode Add-In Guide & Tutorial

Guide for barcode creation in MS Office Excel

Contents
Excel Barcode Add-In Guide & Tutorial ................................................................................................................. 1
Install..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
How to Start? ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
How to Create a Single Barcode on Excel...................................................................................................... 4
How to Create Cell Linked Barcode on Excel................................................................................................. 5
How to Generate a Barcode List from a Cell List in Excel .............................................................................. 6
How to mail merge with barcodes in Microsoft Word from Excel ................................................................ 9
Common Barcode Questions .............................................................................................................................. 10
Valid Data Sets (Property “Data”) for Each Barcode Types ......................................................................... 10
Barcode Image Width & Height Setting ...................................................................................................... 12
Create GS1 Compatible Barcodes ............................................................................................................... 13
Encode Non-printable Chars ....................................................................................................................... 13
Encode Unicode Text in Barcode................................................................................................................. 13
Work with Excel Macro – How to update barcodes from Excel Macro............................................................... 14
Barcode Property Settings .................................................................................................................................. 15
Barcode Size ................................................................................................................................................ 15
1D (Linear) Barcode .................................................................................................................................... 17
2D (Matrix) Barcode.................................................................................................................................... 18
Install

Requirements
Please make sure you have installed the following programs:

 Microsoft Office Excel 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, or later version

 OnBarcode Excel Barcode Addin

Integration with Office Excel

1. Close all Excel spreadsheets.

2. Run the “OnBarcode.Barcode.Excel.Addin.Setup.exe” to install.

3. If you need Excel Macro, run the

“OnBarcode.Barcode.Excel.Addin.Developer.Setup.exe” to install.

4. Now, you may find OnBarcode Excel Barcode Add-In under the “Add-Ins” tab. If

not, please do as follows:

 Click “Office Button” > “Excel Options” > “Trust Center” > “Trust Center

Settings…” > “Add-ins”. Then, undo “Disable all Application Add-ins (may

impair functionality)” and click “OK”.

 Now, switch to “Add-Ins” > “COM Add-ins” (from the “manage” pull-down

menu) > “Go”.

 In the pop-up window, select “OnBarcode Excel AddIn” and click “OK”.
 Now, the Excel Barcode Add-In is successfully integrated under “Add-Ins” tab.

How to Start?

To activate the Excel Barcode Add-In, you should switch to “Add-Ins” tab, then click

“Create Barcode” button. And the “Barcode Settings” panel appears immediately

on the top right corner of the spreadsheet.

How to Create a Single Barcode on Excel

 Select a cell on Excel document.

 In the setting panel, choose your target barcode type and input valid data.
 Then, click “Generate” button. Not that, this button will change to be
“Update” immediately.
 Now, a barcode image is successfully created on the cell.

To customize the generated barcode, please select it and adjust its property in the
setting panel. Then, click “Update”.
Also, you can remove the generated barcode images by clicking “Delete” button.

How to Create Cell Linked Barcode on Excel

To insert a dynamic barcode which update automatically depending on the content

of the linked cell, you may need to use the button “Link To Cell”.

 Choose the inserted barcode image and click “Link To Cell” (To undo this, the
button “Cancel” should be used).
 Select a cell with your target data. After this, the “Link To Cell” button
immediately changes to be “Update”.
 Click “Update”, and then this barcode is dynamically linked to the cell.

In addition, generated barcodes can be linked to cells in this way. And all those
barcodes can be updated at a time by clicking “Update Link To Cell” button.

How to Generate a Barcode List from a Cell List in Excel

To create multiple barcodes from a list of cells, you need open batch barcode
generation panel.

To create multiple barcodes with your required properties, you need create a
barcode image, and customize the property settings. And the batch barcode
created will use the same property settings with this barcode.

In the following example, we will create FIVE Code-39 barcodes from a list of cells.
Code 39 property: X =6; Text font size = 14;

1. Create a sample Code 39 barcode, and change X to 6, 1D barcode font size to 14

2. Select a list of continuous cells (from a single column only) and click button
“Generate Batch Barcodes”

3. Now you need choose a barcode as a template, and all new created multiple
barcodes will use the same properties as this barcode’s properties.
4. After barcode template selected, now you need choose a cell, where all new
barcode images will be generated.
And click button “Generate Batch Barcodes”

5. Now the batched barcodes are generated.

Note: Check Property “Auto resize cell size to match barcode image width and height”, it will automatically resize
the Excel cell width and height to the same size as barcode images.
How to mail merge with barcodes in Microsoft Word from Excel

Please view the details online at

https://www.onbarcode.com/tutorial/excel-barcode-mail-merge-word.html
Common Barcode Questions

Valid Data Sets (Property “Data”) for Each Barcode Types

2D Barcodes
Data Matrix  All 128 characters of ASCII.
 Extended ASCII (ISO 8859-1 values 128-255)
PDF-417  All 128 characters of ASCII
 Extended ASCII. Values 128-255 in accordance with ISO 8859-1.
QR Code  numeric data (digits 0 - 9)
 alphanumeric data (digits 0 - 9; upper case letters A -Z; nine other characters: space,
$%*+-./:)
 byte data (default: ISO/IEC 8859-1)
 Kanji characters

1D Barcodes
Codabar  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
 - (Dash), $ (Dollar), : (Colon), / (Slash), . (Point), + (Plus)
Code 11  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
 - (Dash)
Code 39 Code 39 encodes:
 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
 Uppercase letters (A - Z)
 (Dash), $ (Dollar), % (Percentage), (Space), . (Point), / (Slash), + (Plus)

Code 39 extension encodes:

 all 128 ASCII characters
Code 93  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
 Uppercase letters (A - Z)
 - (Dash), $ (Dollar), : (Colon), / (Slash), . (Point), + (Plus)
Code 128  All 128 characters of ASCII
  Extended ASCII (ISO 8859-1 defined values 128-255)
Code 2 of 5  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
EAN-8  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
EAN-13  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
GS1-128  All 128 characters of ASCII
 Extended ASCII. Values 128-255 in accordance with ISO 8859-1
Identcode  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Intelligent Mail  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
(Onecode)
Interleaved 2 of 5  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
ISBN  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
ISSN  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
ITF-14  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Leitcode  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
MSI  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
PLANET  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
POSTNET  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
RM4SCC  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
 Upper case letters (A - Z)
UPC-A  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
UPC-E  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Barcode Image Width & Height Setting

If you want to create a barcode image with specified image width, height, and with
maximum barcode module (X and Y), please do the following steps:

1. Check property “Auto resize”

2. Set values of property “Image Width”, “Image Height”

Or you can resize the barcode image by drag and drop the corners of the image.
After resize the image, you need click button “Update” or “Update all linked
barcodes” to re-draw the barcode image.

Note: After drag and drop the barcode image, you need click the image again, then
you click the button “Update” to update the barcode image width and height.

Check property “Auto resize”, you will get the maximum of bar module width and
height (X, Y).

More details about barcode dimension size here:

https://www.onbarcode.com/tutorial/excel-barcode-dimension-size-setting.html
Create GS1 Compatible Barcodes

Eligible Barcode Types: QR Code, Data Matrix

To create GS1 compatible barcodes, you need follow the steps:

1. Barcode type should be QR Code or Data Matrix

2. In tab “2D Barcode”, check property "GS1 Compatible Barcode"
3. In barcode "Data" property, around AI code with "()", and followed by AI data,
such as "(02)225(03)33344". Here "02", "03" are the AI code, "225", "33344" is
the AI data.

You could view more details here

https://www.onbarcode.com/tutorial/excel-barcode-gs1-data.html

Encode Non-printable Chars

To encode non-printable chars (such as ‘TAB’), follow the steps:

1. Check property “Apply Tilde (~)”

2. Use 3-digts '~ddd' for non-printable chars. For example, ASCII char [GS] is non-
printable, and its decimal value is 29. In barcode data, you need use ~029 for
char [GS].

Encode Unicode Text in Barcode

You could view details here

https://www.onbarcode.com/tutorial/excel-barcode-unicode-text.html
Work with Excel Macro – How to update barcodes

from Excel Macro

Barcode for Excel Add-in Developer Edition allows you to update all celled barcodes
from your VBA codes.

Here is the sample code in “ThisWorkbook”:

Sub CallVSTOMethod()
Sheet1.Range("G7").Value = 123456666
Sheet2.Range("G7").Value = 123457777
Dim addIn As COMAddIn
Dim automationObject As Object
Set addIn = Application.COMAddIns("OnBarcode.OnBarcodeExcel2021AddIn")
Set automationObject = addIn.Object
automationObject.UpdateAllBarcode
End Sub

With the above codes, any barcode linked to these two cells, will be updated.
Barcode Property Settings

After activating the “Barcode Settings” panel, you can make all your adjustments
for the barcode to be encoded.

Barcode Size

Width & Height

Auto Resize If true, X, Y values will be ignored. Barcode image will be created using Image
Width, and Image Height settings, and barcode add-in will generate
maximum X, Y for you.

If false, it will generate barcode image with your specified X, Y values.

Bar width (X) The width of the barcode narrowest bar module (X).
Bar height (Y) The height of the barcode bar (Y).
Image width The width of the whole barcode image.
Image height The height of the whole barcode image.
Unit of Pixel, Inch, CM
Measure
DPI You’d better set DPI value to match your printer’s DPI.
Bar Style
Bearer bar For ITF-14 Only.
(Horizontal)
This is the specific property of ITF-14 that indicates the width of the barcode
horizontal bearer bars. Valid value is from 0 to 10, which should be the
multiple of the bar module (X).
Bearer bar For ITF-14 Only.
(Vertical)
This is the specific property of ITF-14 that indicates the width of the barcode
vertical bearer bars. Valid value is from 0 to 10, which should be the multiple
of the bar module (X).
Wide to narrow For Codabar, Code 2 of 5, Code 39, ITF-14, Identcode, and Interleaved 2 of 5.
bar ratio (N)
Adjust the proportion of the wide bar to the narrowest one. Valid value is
from 2.0 to 3.0 inclusive. This property is available
Short to tall bar For PLANET and POSTNET
ratio
Customize the proportion of the short bar to the tall one. Its valid value
ranges from 0 to 1.0 inclusive.
I For Code 39 only.
(Intercharacter
gap)
The space between characters of Code 39 whose value is the multiple of the
bar module (X). Valid value is from 1.0X to 5.3X inclusive.

Margin & Rotation

Left margin The width of the barcode left margin (The margin is a clear area around a
symbol where nothing is printed).
Right margin The width of the barcode right margin.
Top margin The width of the barcode top margin.
Bottom The width of the barcode bottom margin.
margin
Text margin The space between the barcode symbol and its text interpretation.
Rotate Set the rotation angle of the barcode image. Valid degrees are 0, 90, 180 and
270.
1D (Linear) Barcode

Basic Properties
Apply tilde (~) When enabled, the tilde character (~) is used to specify the special characters
in the input data of Code 39 and Code 128.
Add checksum For Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, and MSI Plessey.
char
Determine whether to compute and add the check digit to the encoded data.
Show start For Code 39 only.
stop (*)
Determine whether to show the start and stop characters (*) on both sides
of the Code 39 encoded data.
Codabar Start For Codabar only.
stop char
The start and stop character of Codabar. Valid values are A, B, C, D.

UPC / EAN (includes UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8, EAN-13, ISSN, ISBN)

UPC-E Number For UPC-E only.

Specify the encoding system to be used in UPC-E. Valid values are 0 and 1.
Supplement The data to be encoded in add-on symbol for EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A and UPC-
data E barcodes. Valid data length is 2 or 5 digits.
Supplement The bar height of the add-on symbol for EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A and UPC-E
bar height barcodes. Its valid value is the multiple of Y, ranging from 0 to 1.0 inclusive.
Supplement The distance between the end of the main barcode and the beginning of the
bar space add-on symbol for EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A and UPC-E barcodes. Valid value
ranges from 7X to 12X.

Barcode text style

Display Determine whether to show the human-readable text with the barcode.
barcode data
Display Determine whether to display the check digit(s) in the human-readable text.
checksum char
Font Customize the font style of the barcode text interpretation.
2D (Matrix) Barcode

Apply tilde (~) When enabled, the tilde character (~) is used to specify the special characters
in the input data.
GS1 For Data Matrix and QR Code.
Compatible
Barcode When enabled, GS1 compatible barcode can be generated.
Truncated For PDF-417 only.
PDF417
When enabled, the truncated PDF417 can be created.
Data mode Specify how the information is encoded into a 2d barcode.
Format mode For Data Matrix only.

Customize the required format mode of Data Matrix. Its values range from 0
(10X10) to 24 (144X144) and from 25 (8X18) to 30 (16X48).
Version For QR Code only.

Set the version of QR Code. It has 40 versions in all, ranging from V1 to V40.
Error For QR Code only.
correction
level Set the error correction capability of QR Code, which enables the data to be
restored if the barcode is partially dirty or damaged. Valid values are L, M, Q,
H.
Row count For PDF-417 only.

Adjust the number of rows for Pdf417 barcode. Valid values range from 3 to
90.
Column count For PDF-417 only.

Adjust the number of columns for Pdf417 barcode. Valid values range from 1
to 30. Commonly, the maximum value of 30 is difficult to be read by most
scanners.
You may find more details about OnBarcode Excel Barcode Add-In on our web
page
http://www.onbarcode.com/excel_barcode/

To purchase Excel Barcode Add-In, please refer to web page

http://www.onbarcode.com/purchase/purchase-excel-barcode.html

If you have any technical questions, comments or concerns about our products,
we recommend you to contact us via email ([email protected]).