GS1-128 barcode

I am wondering... what is the reason for FusionPro to provide two 128barcode rules: Make128Barcode and Make128BBarcode

I tested each rule using the identical input value (e.i. 42022021). After composition the barcodes are different (128BBarcode is longer) but both scan and return the original input value.

Posted from a past reply by our support team:

"I'll offer a few points of clarification.

Since FusionPro 3.1, the Make128Barcode function will examine the input characters and return either a 128B or 128C barcode, or a hybrid barcode which contains both "B" and "C" sections.

Basically, if the input string consists of an even number of numeric digits, it will be encoded entirely in code "C", otherwise, it will contain segments in code "B" as necessary.

This logic optimizes the generated barcode to the most efficient format for the input string, and is based on the usage recommendations from IDAutomation.com, who invented the Code 128 barcode technology and maintain the standard. More info can be found at:

http://idautomation.com/code128faq.html

There is also a separate Make128BBarcode function (note the extra "B" in the function name) that will output a purely 128B barcode. This encapsulates the functionality of Make128Barcode since FusionPro 3.0.

As far as cross-platform issues with "special" characters in barcodes, this should be no more of a concern than in any other context in FusionPro. The Make128Barcode function only looks at the ASCII value of the characters provided to it. If the characters come directly from your input data file, then you have to ensure that they are encoded correctly for the platform. (I recommend using entities to accomplish

this.) If the characters are entered in the Text Editor, or otherwise are contained in the template PDF document, they will be automatically converted to the correct encoding when moving across platforms. "