Decoding 2D barcode on forms printed from Adobe Reader

[Former Community Member]

We use LiveCycle Designer 8 in Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro to create forms, which are then opened, completed and printed using Adobe Reader, then signed by the user and mailed back.



We believe we can put a 2D paper forms barcode on the form, but if filled in by Adobe Reader the data gets encrypted and so cannot be scanned (though if completed by Acrobat, the data is not encrypted - unfortunately most customers do not have Acrobat)



We heard that you could buy software or a hardware device to enable the received printed forms to be scanned and the 2D data decoded - is this correct still?



Thanks

[Former Community Member]

Yes, you still need to license Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms from Adobe or a Partner to be able to use the Barcode technology using the free Adobe Reader.

[Former Community Member]

If you would like more information on how the licensing actually works, take a look at: http://my.adobe.acrobat.com/barcodedformsandreaderextensions/

[Former Community Member]

Wow, that is a really excellent presentation - I hope they do more like that for the rest of ES, it will really help sales.



Just one point - what exactly is/was the Adobe Decoder? - some kind of software program to identify and decode 2D barcodes on scanned tif images maybe??



thanks

[Former Community Member]

In regards to the Decoder, this is a piece of software that does the actual decoding of the barcode from a printed and scanned form (or faxed). It can decode barcodes from both TIFF and PDF documents.



If you are using a high-speed scanning solution then you more than likely have a decoder built into your solution. If not, then the decoder is an ideal add-on solution. In fact, with the new Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms ES you can not only decode but you can integrate the data right into your existing workflow quite easily.



For a great overview of the ES line, check out: http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/techsummary.html?showMyTab=tab_foundation



Lee.

[Former Community Member]

Thanks for the Decoder explanation, that makes sense.



>>For a great overview of the ES line, check out:<<



- I think that Adobe actually need do pay for more recorded presentations like the one explaining how the 2D barcoding works, which really works well.



Although web information on LiveCycle is improving, there's still a lot of confusion out there - even Adobe's own sales staff don't seem to fully understand the technology, which is a shame because it is powerful stuff.