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Problem retrieving information

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Former Community Member
Hi,



I have recently integrated PDF Barcoded Forms into my PDF forms and bought a PDF417 scanner. In the first tries to retrieve that information, all I'm getting is a weird stream of characters (I just tried dumping the information into NotePad). Is there any encryption or encoding used in the PDF Barcoded forms? If yes, is there a way I can get to the information? I can also provide a sample form if anyone would be willing to check it out.



Best regards and thanks in advance,



Raphael Pirker
17 Replies

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Former Community Member
Raphael,



If you are using the dynamic Paper Forms Barcode then you will require the Adobe Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST Decoder to read the contents of a barcode that was filled using the free Adobe Reader.



The alternative is to use Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions to enable the 2D barcode on your form.

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Former Community Member
Hi Lee,



Thanks for the prompt reply! I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean with the Reader Extensions. Where can I get those and is there anything I have to purchase? And where can I have a look at the Barcoded Forms Decoder?

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Former Community Member
Hi Raphael,



For a complete overview of the Extensions product, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/server/readerextensions/main.html where you will also find Flash tour (look for Product tour).



In regards to the Decoder, feel free to post your "filled-in" PDF and I will post the decoder results.



For a complete evaluation of the Decoder product contact your local sales rep whom will be able to start the process for you.



You may also want to take a look at the Barcoded overview located at http://www.adobe.com/products/server/barcodedpaperforms/.

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Former Community Member
Hi,



Ok, I've had a look at the reader extensions. Please confirm if I have understood this correctly:



The dynamic barcode created with Acrobat is encrypted or encoded and can only be read using the barcode decoder product - unless I have enabled ReaderExtensions for the form, then the PDF will not be encoded and I can scan it in plain-text?

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Former Community Member
That is correct Raphael.



You also have the option to use the Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST Decoder which does offer decoding capabilities of not only PDFs but TIFF files that may come in from a Fax server for example.

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Former Community Member
hi Raphael, is good idea to use Adobe Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST Decoder to read the contents of a barcode that was filled using the free Adobe Reader but this will cost you a fortune.



if u have a 2d barcode reader, why not try to look for third-party decorder? try to google it, you will be surprise how much you can save.

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Former Community Member
Hi,



I tried google, but didn't find anything. Perhaps you have a link?

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Former Community Member
Just wanted to come back to this thread and respond to the "cost you a fortune" comment from "question".



What you realistically have to do is look at the use-case of the barcoded document. Where is it created, where and when is it going to be filled in, and how are the results going to be received & processed? Are the documents going to be faxed, emailed, or printed and mailed in (for example)? Once you fully understand your documents Workflow then you can select the hardware and software that is required for the job. Licensing of the decoder is very economical so be certain to do your homework.



Adobe Sales Engineers can take a look at this with you and tell you what options you may have.

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Former Community Member
Hi Lee,



I am sure Adobe is not charging too much for their whole system - after all if they would, then they wouldn't sell anything. I'm just a little frustrated to see that first it says "You need Acrobat", then I get acrobat. Then it says "can be scanned with any PDF417 barcode scanner", so I get one of these. Then I try it out and all I get is lots of weird bitstreams. I think if you guys would say clearly in your numerous PDF product sheets what exactly is required to put a barcode on the PDF and to retrieve the information contained within the barcode, then the whole process would not be as frustrating. Not to mention that until now, I have not yet successfuly retrieved a XML file from any of the barcodes, which makes it hard for me to develop a sample solution that I can show other people. Is there any place I can send a normal PDF form created with adobe designer to and in return I receive a (watermarked would be fine too!) form that I can fill out, print and scan in using any normal PDF417 barcode scanner and no additional decoder software (e.g. just dump it into NotePad)?



Best regards,



Raphael Pirker

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Former Community Member
Hi Raphael,



Ok, so we have a completely separate issue all together. If you are filling out your fillable form in Acrobat then this should be printed and scanned with any Reader. It is only with the free Adobe Reader that you would not be able to do this.



Let's take a look at your printing and scanning tools. You may also want to make sure you turn off compression on the barcode. Some scanners do not support this.



The other option that you were looking at would require the Reader Extensions product. This would allow you to take your form and enable features like 2D barcodes as well as others like save offline.

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Former Community Member
Hi Lee,



Thanks for sticking with me on this, since I'm helplessly lost at the moment :)



Compression was not turned on. But I didn't print with Adobe Acrobat, since the station at the office that has the printer only has Reader installed. I'll try installing Acrobat on the printer-machine and then give it another go.



I'm using Metrologic PDFVoyager scanner, which seems to do fine on any other PDF417 barcodes I created with other software.



I have a demo PDF form. Would it somehow be possible to add the reader extensions for 2D barcode to this form? The form is only used for demonstration purposers. I need something to show my customers, though, which works in Adobe Reader.

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Former Community Member
Hi Raphael,



Call me 1-800-866-8006. We will make sure you have a great customer demo.

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Former Community Member
Hi Lee,



I'm located in Europe, I can't reach 1-800-xxx-xxx numbers. Can I send you the demo form via E-Mail? It's just a 3-fielded form, very simple but it will do the cause.



Sorry about all the trouble.



Best regards,



Raphael Pirker

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Former Community Member
so we have a completely separate issue all together. If you are filling out your fillable form in Acrobat then this should be printed and scanned with any Reader. It is only with the free Adobe Reader that you would not be able to do this
.

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Former Community Member
Hi
.

I'm using Metrologic PDFVoyager scanner, which seems to do fine on any other PDF417 barcodes I created with other software
.

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Former Community Member
Make sure your form has been properly licensed and that compression is turned off or the hand scanner will not be able to decode the data.



Here are a couple of eLearning sessions that I put together that should clear things up for you.



http://my.adobe.acrobat.com/barcodedformsandreaderextensions/



http://my.adobe.acrobat.com/barcodedformselearningpdf417bestpractices/