README.TXT   dL Tecnology

BarMan Shareware Demonstration version     



Release 2.1


This version of BarMan is suitable for use with Microsoft Windows 3.1 and later only.

The dLSoft Install program will install BarMan into a user specified subdirectory. 

The distribution disk contains compressed files which must be decompressed by the install program before use. FILES WILL NOT WORK IF COPIED WITHOUT USING THE INSTALL PROGRAM.

To install this software:
Run the INSTALL program on this disk from within Windows. When using Pogram Manager, insert this disk in your drive (A: or B:), select RUN from the FILE menu, and type A:INSTALL (or B:INSTALL) and click on OK. INSTALL will prompt you for an installation directory name.

The installation program installs a file named VBRUN200.DLL into the BarMan subdirectory. If you already have VBRUN200.DLL in your Windows system directory then the version in the BarMan directory may be deleted. If BarMan does not operate correctly on your system you may need to move the files VBRUN200.DLL, CMDIALOG.VBX, BRMK.VBX and DLSBAR1.DLL to your Windows system directory.

The first time you start BarMan the default font is a Courier. If you do not have
a Courier font on your system the font will not display correctly. Simply choose
FONT from the OPTIONS menu and select a suitable font. The choose SAVE 
DEFAULTS from the FILE menu to create the BarMan.INI file. In future BarMan
will display its default font correctly.

Note: Your application's HELP file (the file with a .HLP extension) may be deleted to save disk space if required. The Help system will not be available if this file is deleted.


Note that UPC-A codes must begin with the US country code 0. The same coding scheme begining with alternative code numbers is used in the USA for different purposes.

The ITF-14 and ITF-6 bearer bars arrangements adopted within BarMan are one of the two recommended layouts approved by the Article Numbering Association. The alternative scheme (which has a thicker box all around) is designed for plate printing and is not mandatory. The print gauges used in the alternative scheme (which show as H characters) are also not mandatory.

Small interleaved two-of-five coding is also provided by barman through the I 2of5 code. This is actually the same coding as ITF, but may be used for any even number of digits and has no nominal size.

The Professional version includes a line width reduction dialog box (accessible from the Options menu). This allows the user to specify a percentage reduction in the line width of each bar in a bar code image, to allow for the effect of ink spreading during wet ink printing. For non-spreading printing technologies the line reduction must be set to 0 to avoid the generation of bar codes which cannot be correctly scanned.

Some applications which attempt to break a metafile into its constituent parts do
not correctly align text when they draw the barcode image. To allow for this BarMan
now includes an option (in the new Preferences dialog) to lift the text within its 
bounding rectangle.

Barcode images may now be rotated to the left or right with correct text alignment for TrueType and other rotatable fonts. Note, however, that some older applications do
not correctly handle metafiles which have rotated text.CorelDraw 3 and Designer 3 
are applications which fall into this category. Fortunately some of these applications
will accept the normal orientation metafile and then can rotate the image within the 
application.

See the HELP system for full details. 


December 1993

DL Technology