PDF417

PDF417 is one of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see Barcode.

The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see Adding a Barcode.

Initially the barcode will have the barcode type's default properties. To change those properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the barcode type on the shortcut menu.

Barcode properties

This topic lists the properties of the barcode type PDF417. For the properties of other barcode types, see Barcode type and properties.

Mode

Use the drop-down to set the compaction mode:

  • Binary: allows any byte value to be encoded
  • Text: allows all printable ASCII characters to be encoded (values from 32 to 126 and some additional control characters)
  • Numeric: a more efficient mode for encoding numeric data
Error Correction Level

Use the drop-down to select the built-in error correction method based on Reed-Solomon algorithms. The error correction level is adjustable between level 0 (just error detection) and level 8 (maximum error correction). Recommended error correction levels are between level 2 and 5, but the optimal value depends on the amount of data, printing quality of the PDF417 symbol and decoding capabilities of the scanner.

Nr. of Columns

The number of data columns can vary from 3 to 30.

Nr. of Rows

A PDF417 bar code can have anywhere from 3 to 90 rows.

Bar height

Defines the height of the bars for a single row measured in pixels drawn.

Compact

Check this option to use Compact PDF417 instead of the PDF417 barcode. This shortened form of the PDF417 barcode is useful where the space for the symbol is restricted.

Scale

Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element:

  • None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width.

  • Fit to box: The barcode is stretched to fit the parent box in both width and height.

  • Proportionally: The barcode is stretched up to where it fits either the width or height of the parent box, whichever requires the less stretching.

Color

The Color group allows you to choose a different Barcode color (instead of black) and Background color (instead of white), by typing a hexadecimal color value (see for example w3school's color picker).

When black is a composite of CMYK or RGB values, it may incur a color click charge on some printers. Check the Output in Grayscale option to make sure that pure black is used.

Output format

  • Defines how the barcode is output on the page. There are two possible formats:

  • SVG: Vector format. This is smaller in size, but not compatible with Email output.

  • PNG: Binary rasterized format. This is slightly larger than SVG but will display properly in Email output.