Moin Tez,
that sounds really great (IMO). Do you know the Sun Report Builder? The
SRB can fetch data from a database and use this value as parameter for
any defined function. So I have the iea to write such a function, call
it rpt:barcode(x;x;x;..) (I don't know how many parameters we need), for
the SRB which is written in Java. With this method you could create
Writer and Calc docs with barcode images included. I don't know but do
most barcodes values come most times from database fields. This would be
the first step, the 2nd could be to create an OLE object which can be
inserted as stand alone. But this is not that interesting for SRB ;-)
If the first step might be an option for you [EMAIL PROTECTED]
would be a good list.
Best regards,
Ocke
Terry Burton wrote:
OOo developers,
The suggestion that OOo should include a native barcode generation
utility has been raised on several occasions in the past [1]. Those
discussions have tended to digress into expounding the inadequacy of
barcode fonts for most barcode formats and, so far as I can tell, no
real progress has been made in this area.
I would like to recommend my open source PostScript barcoding library,
Barcode Writer in Pure PostScript (BWIPP) [2], as the most suitable
backend for this purpose. The project supports every major
one-dimensional barcode format (or "symbology"). It also supports the
major two-dimensional symbologies albeit requiring some detailed
knowledge on the part of the user [3].
The library is mature, well field-tested and is the backend to the
barcode generators in Scribus, KBarcode, LaTeX (via PStricks), some
special-purpose plugins to commercial DTP products and is optionally
embedded into the firmware of some brands of PostScript printers – the
latter being under NDAs otherwise I'd be more specific.
The introduction of the barcode generator feature in Scribus was
hailed with many subsequent press reviews along the lines of "Scribus
even includes ... features not present in commercial DTP offerings,
such as native barcode generation." [4]
I'm sure that there would be both a strong business case and community
requirement for the development of a native barcode generator for OOo
since this would certainly place the product ahead of similar
commercial offerings in this respect. Furthermore, when its potential
is unleashed in combination with automation features such as
mail-merge and macros, it would bring a refreshing enhancement to the
AIDC [5] industry, specifically in the field of barcode label
generation.
I am volunteering my assistance to any OOo developer that is
interested in adding a native, cross-platform barcode generation
feature to OOo based on BWIPP. Due to time constraints my support
would likely be limited to providing expertise in the specifics of the
barcode symbologies, assistance with the advanced use of the BWIPP
library, feature testing and debugging, rather than actual OOo coding
- I prefer to focus my coding time on development of the library
itself so that everyone can potentially benefit.
Fonts aside, the way that users currently include barcodes is their
documents is by importing barcode images from either external software
or web-based barcode generators (such as [6]) using the Insert ->
Picture -> From File... feature. This method is inconvenient and
error-prone such as when user imports a raster image which they
subsequently rescale or process in some way that obscures its meaning
– a vector image such as an SVG or EPS file is somewhat more
resilient.
The most straightforward approach would be the creation of a dialog
(say Insert -> Object -> Barcode...) that accepts the parameters for
the barcode, creates the correponding EPS code (this is what BWIPP
makes completely trivial) and then places the picture in the current
document/spreadsheet, etc. This would greatly simplify the task of
vector-based barcode image creation so that users would not be
required depend on external resources for this task. The approach
taken by either Scribus or KBarcode makes it clear what is required.
Although to be really useful it would be necessary to create a
"barcode object" so that users could adjust the properties of a
barcode without starting over. Furthermore, it should be possible to
create custom barcodes within a form letter for use during a mail
merge, or even to poplulate a spreadsheet cell with a barcode image
whose contents is based on the result of a calculation... I'm sure
that there are many other uses that I haven't thought of.
I'd be interested to find out how much interest there is in such a
development and would be happy to answer any questions that you may
have along these lines.
Thanks for entertaining this long post and for continuing to make OOo
such a great product. I hope that I can find some way to contribute to
further improving it.
Warm regards,
Tez
[1] http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=discuss&msgNo=14797;
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=users&msgNo=95738;
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=discuss&msgNo=56430;
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?listName=users&msgNo=126459
[2] http://www.terryburton.co.uk/barcodewriter/
[3] The next major milestones on the roadmap for BWIPP address this
issue making 2D barcodes much simpler to use.
[4]
http://www.terryburton.co.uk/blog/2006/05/linux-format-mentions-barcodes-in.html
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_identification_and_data_capture
[6] http://www.terryburton.co.uk/barcodewriter/generator/
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