Can you use Code 128 instead of Paper Forms Barcode?

[Former Community Member]

Hi,



My name is Dan Sanders and I work for the University of Michigan. I was wondering if it is possible to use the Code 128 barcode instead of the Paper Forms Barcode to use the following code:

this.rawValue = Name.rawValue;



The point of this request is so that I can enter data into a text field and that data will be entered into the Code 128 1-dimensional barcode instead of the Paper Forms Barcode that is a PDF417 2-dimensional barcode. Any advice you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[Former Community Member]

(repost of previous response)



Hi Dan,



Creating a dynamic Code 128 Barcode will work with the "this.rawValue = Name.rawValue;" code in the Barcode but you will be VERY limited in the number of characters.



If you had a Code 128 Barcode of say 3.625in in size and the data length set to 30, you could encode the alphabet easily but then start to run out of space and of course the scans will be unreliable if you encode that much data and then fax the document.



You should consider the 1D Barcodes as more useful for form identification than for data capture.



PDF417 would of course be a better choice to encode data but would require licensing of the technology although the Stand Alone (ST) version is very inexpensive.



If the problem is that you don't have a PDF417 decoder in your workflow, you could also obtain a file-in-file-out decoder that ties in very well with the paper-based scan workflow.



Feel free to call me direct +1-800-866-8006 ext. 53840 if you'd like additional details.