TBarCode: Version History V5-V9

New Barcode Types

• Micro QR Code
  2D symbology with binary encoding support.
• HIBC Bar Codes (Health Industry Bar Codes)
  These barcodes are provided for encoding Label Identification Codes (LIC) and Provider Applications Standards (PAS) as used in the health industry:
• HIBC LIC/PAS 128
• HIBC LIC/PAS 39
• HIBC LIC/PAS DataMatrix
• HIBC LIC/PAS QR Code
• HIBC LIC/PAS PDF417
• HIBC LIC/PAS MicroPDF417
• HIBC LIC/PAS Codablock-F
• Full implementation of Aztec Code
  All encoding types are supported now.

Features/Enhancements

• Improved Quiet Zone Adjustment
  The quiet zone works for all barcodes now. It can be specified in modules, mm, mils and pixels. All four sides may be adjusted separately.
• Improved "Bar Width Reduction" Adjustment
  The bar width reduction uses decimals and lets the user choose between several units (percent, mm, mils and pixel).
• Bitmap Size for Image Export
  New function for calculating the optimal bitmap sizes for image export.
• Compressed Data Size
  New function for retrieving the length of compressed barcode data.
• PDF Output
  Barcodes can be saved in PDF format now (no human readable text).
• Data Matrix
  Added the possibility to enforce 8 Bit Byte Encodation Mode.
• RSS and GS1 DataBar
  Changed the naming of 'RSS' barcodes to 'GS1 DataBar'.
• OCX Property Dialog
  The property 'Notch Height' was replaced in this dialog with the property 'Bar Width Reduction'.

Bug Fixes

• Bitmap Export
  The resolution for barcodes with more than 300 dpi is stored correctly into barcode images (e.g. JPEG, PNG) now.
• Bitmap Export in Compatible Draw Mode
  Fixed a problem with the bar width when creating EMF images in 'Compatible' draw mode.
• Pharmacode
  Fixed a problem related to the encoding of color sequences.
• KIX Barcode
  Right aligned text is now properly aligned.
• Composite Component
  Fixed an issue with the adjustment of composite components in the standard property list (Microsoft^® Word, Excel^®, …).

• Delphi-Include File: Added/corrected definitions for some ANSI/UNICODE functions
• Word Add-In: Eliminated redraw-problem on all Word versions
• Word Add-In: Fixed a possible crash with Word 2003 or older Word versions
• Setup: Opens Microsoft Office bar code examples automatically

• Crash when using function BCSaveImageToBuffer with multiple barcodes
• BarWidthReduction affects 2D codes also vertically
• Calculation of license key in Windows x64 version
• Show full version info in setup dialogs

• Korean Postal Code produced a wrong bar for character "8"

• GDI World Transform in combination with NormalizeDC abberated the drawing coordinates (abberation = Offset in Pixels * 0.01 mm)
• TBarCode.NET returned "not implemented" in dependence of the barcode size (occured mainly with the Web Forms Control).

• Windows x64 version released (in addition to 32-Bit Windows)

• Office Add-In: Crash, when adding "*" to serial letter search criteria
• DLL Developer Reference: Improved Error Code Description
• DLL and OCX Developer Manual: fixed Download Link to VS2005 SP1 Redistributable

• New Barcode Types: Aztec Code, DPD Code, Italian Postal Code 2of5, DAFT Code
• Callback Drawing Functions for MaxiCode
• Possibility to force Binary Encoding Mode with PDF417
• Character Set/ Codepages: The default encoding scheme or codepage now depends on the barcode type. Data provided as Unicode is converted to the appropriate Multi-Byte Character set. The user has the possibility to specify custom encoding schemes.

• Property Drawing Mode with option Compatible (for printer driver and graphics card driver problems)
• MS-IE Security Improvement: Site Locking possibility through registry keys, ActiveX is now Safe for Scripting.
• Microsoft Word Add-In: Bar code insertion and serial letter support was improved.

• PDF417: Corrected an encoding error when a space follows a punctuation character at the end of the data stream.
• Data Matrix : Bug in EDIFACT mode corrected (Umlauts in specific character sequences generated an error code)
• TBarCode .NET: accessing string properties had a risk for an access violation (crash in marshaling code). Not happened so far but this problem was solved.

• Telepen
• KIX (Dutch Postal Barcode)
• Add new GS1 code names (e.g. GS1-128 was formerly named EAN-128)
• Codabar Mod-16 Check Digit

• License data is now written to HKEY_CURRENT_USER by default. But license data is read from ini-file, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and HKEY_CURRENT_USER (in this order). If you need a license which is valid for a complete system (regardless of the user), then use ini-file licensing or move the license key from HKCU to HKLM.

• A fix was implemented in response to a reported security leak (a malicious web-site in conjunction with Internet Explorer and an installed TBarCode ActiveX Control). Up to now no real threat is known, but it is recommended to update all TBarCode installations as soon as possible. As a part of the fix the ActiveX methods SaveImage() and SaveImageEx() now append the filename extension to the filename in each case.

• TBarCode OCX: Help File Button in ActiveX Property Pages
• TBarCode OCX: “Suppress Error Messages” property is now saved correctly
• TBarCode .NET: a memory leak was fixed
• Documentation error for Licensing (wrong Product codes)
• PDF417: TBarCode hangs when using a wrong character in the File-ID (happened only when using structured append)
• PDF417: binary sequences are encoded in a wrong way (If the input data was encoded in Punctuation mode and TBarCode have had to shift to Byte mode, it incorrectly returned to Punctuation instead of Alpha mode).
• PDF417/MicroPDF: Compaction now always uses binary mode for barcode creation. This avoids error messages “Barcode does not fit….”
• Data Matrix: catastrophic failure with \F (FNC1)
• Code128: FNC1 was not encoded in the actual sub set (only happened with user specified subsets)
• Escape sequences are handled now before a possible data compression and before a check-digit is computed (previous versions incorrectly computed check-digits in this situation)
• SaveImage()/SaveImageEx() now returns correct error codes

• Setup: changed license terms, created additional setup which doesn't require .NET
• TBarCode .NET Samples: added printing and CalculateBarcodeWidth example
• Added custom drawing examples
• TBarCode Word Add-In: template is now stored in user-application-data folder.

• TBarCode .NET with Callback Functions: Crash because garbage collector removed delegates; P/Invoke tried to free MetaData string.

• TBarCode .NET: Samples for Callback-functionality
• Function BCGetLibraryVersion()
• PDF output now supports grayscale and CMYK color spaces.

• TBarCode .NET: Custom Drawing Event during Redraw of visible Control.
• Can't close About Dialog with Esc
• TBarCode Office Add-In crashes when run with restricted user-account.
• Error 1706 during setup on some machines.
• Missing validation of input parameters in some TBarCode functions (e.g. null pointer = access violation).
• BCGetBarcodeSize returns wrong size when sizemode=minimal

• Dot NET bar code library and controls: Win Forms Control, Web ASP 2.0 Control
• Multiple bar codes with Auto-Structured-Append
• Quietzone can now be set in ActiveX property pages
• Data compression (ZLIB)
• Different size modes
• Windows CE version of TBarCode DLL available
• New bar code: USPS-4CB (OneCode)
• New bar code: Plessey Code Bi-directional version
• Chinese compaction added for QR Code
• Bearer bars for ITF-14 / 2of5 Interleaved
• Term 'guard bar' replaced by 'bearer bar'
• Precision of drawing routines improved
• New Check Digit Modulo-36 (for DPD)
• Callback functions redesigned
• Precision of PCL (HP-GL/2) output is now 1/1000 mm
• New setup (MSI) and improved product manuals
• All distributed files are signed

• Do not draw beyond 16-bit limit in metafiles
• Module width was doubled in Microsoft Access
• Wrong barcode in Vision 2003 (design mode)
• Relative size of text changes with different zoom factors in Microsoft Word
• Codablock-F crashes with too much data
• Text in About-box is clipped
• Access Violation in BCCopyToClipboard()

• Microsoft Word Add-In for Barcode Generation is installed with the setup

• '{' was inserted before the last character.
• Error E_UNEXPECTED in ComputeEdifact.
• When automatically selecting the Datamatrix version, the biggest Datamatrix version could not be selected.

• Enhanced sample applications(Microsoft^® Excel^®, Microsoft^® Access, Microsoft^® Word, Microsoft^® Visual Basic^® 6, Microsoft^® VB .NET^®).
• New Tutorial for First Steps with TBarCode OCX.
• New Product Manual with a complete property and ActiveX method reference(included in the Setup).

• Thread-safe license-handling was implemented (multi-threading applications had sometimes "demo" text in the bar code).

• Demo Text instead of crossbar in unlicensed Mode
• New types of bar code: MicroPDF417, EAN UCC Composite Symbology (all kinds!), Telepen Alpha
• New Functions: BCGet_InvalidDataPos in combination mit BCCheck specifies which character in Inputstring can't be coded BCGet2D_XRows/ BCGet2D_XCols delivers back the size of bar code in the unit modul width X (very helpful in generating bitmaps to prevent raster errors!); BCGetTextAreaHeight provide the size of text area (DC dependent), calculation also in pixel (very helpful for generating bitmap); BCGetBarcodeSize provide the size of the bar code with only one function call (better performance)
• New function for EAN/UCC Composite Symbology: BCGet_CompSym_IsCCPresent informs if a CC exist; BCGet_CompSym_ErrorInCC informs if an error code in the linear symbol or in CC exist; BCSet_2DCompositeComponent determines the type of CC (CC-A, B, C or Autoselect).

• PDF417: The calculation of height is wrong - no possiblity to deactivate the MacroPDF Mode after it has been activated once (Terminate now with BCSet_PDF417_FileID(pBC, NULL)
• BCCheck() - The number of digits in NVE-18 / SSCC-18 was wrong, changed to 18.
• Renaming "Postnet8"-->"PostNet9"
• Bug Fix for Maxicode SCM-3 (Format S): The program crashes if there was a small letter in the ZIP Code.

• "TrimSpaces", "BarSimDefaults" + Enumeration for Error-Codes

• Barcode Symbology MicroPDF
• Additional code pages in the InterpretInputAs property (ASCII Extended / 437, ANSI Cyrillic, Russian KOI8-R)

• Listbox problem with Property Pages in Microsoft^® InfoPath^®

• RSS Family: RSS Limited, RSS Expanded, RSS14 Truncated, RSS14 Stacked, RSS14 Stacked Omni, RSS Expanded Stacked
• JapanesePostal, Korean Postal Authority, Planet 12, Planet 14

• Licensing was changed.

• TBarCode OCX supports the coding of Asian character sets, especially of interest with 2D symbologies like QR-Code.
  This is now possible through integrated conversion functions from Unicode to MultiByte character sets.. The Property InterpretInputAs controls the conversion, it supports different code-pages (Korean, Shift JIS Japanese, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified).

• Vector EPS Output is using optionally Microsoft Windows fonts or Postscript^® standard fonts (substitute with device font).

• If you set CBF_RowHeight, BCGetHeight supplied a wrong value
• BCCountModules supplied a wrong number (per line at 1 modul too less)
• BCGetWidth supplied the width at 1 modul too less; Improvement: Separator line will be centered vertically.

• Setup will be delivered with a new Postscript^® DLL (TBarCodePS.dll), which is used to generate vector based graphics output in EPS format.

• OptResolution didn´t work with Microsoft Visual Basic Printform.

• New symbologies Codablock F, RSS14, Flattermarken
• New properties DisplayText, BarWidthReduction (adaptation to printing processes), TextAlignment, Quality
• Enhanced Microsoft .NET compatibility
• SaveImage supports now high resolution, vector based EPS format by a new PostScript^® library (optional).