README.TXT   dL Tecnology

dBarcode Shareware Demonstration version     

Note:  dBarcode was marketed under the name Barman prior to June 1st 1994.
Unfortunately it has been necessary to change the name from Barman to dBarcode
for Trademark reasons. The HELP files have been changed to relect this alteration 
in name, but the filenames will remain unchanged until the next major revision.




Release 1.2

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

The dLSoft Install program will install dBarcode 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.

Installation will install the program file (BARMAN.EXE), a help file (BARMAN.HLP),
and a number of library files, all of which are installed in the dBarcode directory
specified by you during installation.

The installation program installs a file named VBRUN200.DLL into the dBarcode subdirectory. If you already have VBRUN200.DLL in your Windows system directory then the version in the dBarcode directory may be deleted. If dBarcode 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 dBarcode the default font is a TrueType font. If you do not have
TrueType enabled 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 a faile named BARMAN.INI, which holds
default values for the dBarcode program to use. In future dBarcode 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.

Image size

Since the manual was printed a new Target Size dialog box has been added, accessible by choosing the Target size command on the Options menu. This dialog allows a target image height and width (in millimetres) to be defined, so that the barcode metafile may be more precisely created to suit the target size you require. The metafile is still fully resizeable, but defining a target size avoids the user having to guess at a fontsize which will look appropriate after the image has been resized to the target size.
See the HELP system for details.

Version 2.0

Images for EAN/ISSN/ISBN and UPC code types are now created in the standard
format.

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.

This 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.


Release 2.1

The dBarcode control (BRMK.VBX) has been split into two files (BRMK.VBX and DLSBAR1.DLL). Both files must be in the same directory, which may be either the
BarMan installation directory or the Windows directory.

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. 

Release 2.2

The Save Image item of the FILE menu now allows the barcode image to be saved
as a Placeable Windows Metafile (.WMF). WMF files may be directly loaded into a number of applications, such as Word for Windows.

The program now supports US PostNet and FIM codes.








November 1994

DL Technology