How do I insert a bar code?

M

Moonbase47

How do I insert a bar code font into Excel. I can do it in Word 2003 but
apparently not in Excel. Perferably I'd like to do it without spending any
more money.
 
G

Guest

hi,
use font "3 of 9 barcode".
RClick cell that you want to have barcode in.
choose format cells
click font tab
Scroll to the top of the font list.
3 of 9 barcode is the first font on the list.
 
M

Moonbase47

Thanks for the response. I should have said that I want to insert a
Postnet-type barcode. In any case, the 3 of 9 or Code39 font is not loaded
on my machine and neither is the Postnet font. However, I can insert a
Postnet barcode in MS Word '03 using the Barcode field-type. I'm suprized
that I can't do something similar in Excel since obviously the Postnet font
is hiding somewhere on my machine for Word's use.

I'd be happy to load the fonts directly also if I can find them somewhere
for free. These should have been included in Excel. I paid a lot of $ over
the years for all of this MS Office stuff.

Thanks again.
 
T

Thomas Lutz

I assume that you want to use a PostNet bar code because Word does not
support any other types of bar codes.
If this is the case then you will probably need to use a software
component that is designed for generating bar codes as images.
The best one on the market is available from TAL Technologies at:
http://www.taltech.com/products/activex_barcodes.html

The product is not free ($695) however it is a developer tool that
allows you to install it on up to 10000 workstations royalty free.

You can download a sample Excel spreadsheet that shows how to use the
control in Excel at:

http://www.taltech.com/support/bcax/bcExcel.htm
 
T

Thomas Lutz

One thing that you might consider is to store all your data in Excel
and then use a mail merge with Word when you want to print out your
data (or whatever it is that you are printing) and use the bar code
function in your merge document to produce the bar codes.

Printing documents or labels is not Excel 's strong point however it
is exactly what Word was designed for. Use Excel to store your data
and then use Word for the printed output.

Setting up a mail merge document is extremely easy in Word and you can
also set the merge data source to an Excel spreadsheet so you should
be able to accomplish everything using the combination of both
products.
 
M

Moonbase47

OK good idea to use Word rather than Excel. I didn't REALLY want to print
Postnet barcodes from Excel anyway. Actually I want to do it from MS Access
but Access 2000 doesn't seem to have the Postnet fonts available as they are
in MS Word 2003 (eventhough they don't show up in the Word Fonts list.) MS
Access has a similar "Mailmerge" concept with the Label Wizard. I wonder if
I can print labels with Postnet barcodes in Access 2003? May be a reason to
purchase the '03 version.

Thanks for your help.

Tom (moonbase47)
 
M

Moonbase47

Thanks for the suggestion but I spent my $ on MS Office and can't afford to
spend a bunch more $. Yes, Postnet are the fonts I'm looking for to print
labels from MS Access (2000). I'm a "retired" developer and doing some
charity work for an organization that doesn't have a lot of money to spend.
I'm donating my time but not too much cash.

Thanks again.
 
M

Moonbase47

P.S. The Taltech barcode product looks great. Wouldn't happen to have a
copy laying around that you'd like to donate? Maybe I could drum up some
business with my other developer friends ... I'm retired Bell Labs/Lucent
Technologies developer.
 
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