C# PDF-417 Generator generate, create 2D barcode PDF-417 images in C#.NET class. Download trial with tutorial for C# PDF-417 generate library SDK

C# PDF417 Barcode Generator Library

Integration & Developer Guide for PDF-417 2D barcode image generation in C#

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Generate 2d barcode PDF-417 images in Visual C# .NET with complete sample C# source code

Generate, create PDF-417 in Visual C# .NET applications
Easy to install & integrate barcode PDF-417 generation library SDK into C# developments
Generate over 30 linear, 2d barcode images in C#.NET including C# QR Code, C# Data Matrix, C# Codabar, C# Code 39, C# Code 128, C# EAN, C# UPC
Generate PDF-417 images in C# class library
Create barcode PDF-417 in C# ASP.NET web application
Print PDF-417 barcode in C# Windows Form project
Draw PDF-417in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) & Crystal Reports for .NET projects
Easy to encode PDF-417 images to jpeg, gif, png, tiff, bitmap files in C# program

ON THIS PAGE:

Introduction
PDF417 Encoding Character Set
PDF417 Barcode Symbol Size
Encode non-English text
Encode non-printable chars
Encode byte array data
Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI)
Compact (Truncated) PDF417
Macro PDF417
Error Detection and Correction (ECL)
Property Settings in C#
Sample Code: How to generate PDF-417 Barcode using C#

C# PDF-417 Generator Introduction

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PDF-417, also known as Portable Data File 417, PDF 417, PDF417 Truncated, is a stacked linear barcode symbol format used in a variety of applications.

C# PDF-417 Generator is one of the functions in OnBarcode's Barcode for .NET Generation Controls, which supports generating & printing PDF-417 and 20+ other linear & 2D bar codes for C# applications.

OnBarcode C# Barcode Generator makes it easy to generate, create PDF-417 and other linear & 2d barcodes in Microsoft Word.

OnBarcode provides several PDF-417 Generator components and software, including .NET PDF-417, Java PDF-417, VB.NET PDF-417, ASP.NET PDF-417, Android PDF-417, PDF-417 Generator.

This document is providing a detailed C# source code about generating PDF-417 barcodes in C# class using C# Barcode generation component. Complete PDF-417 custmoization settings is included in C# PDF-417 generation guide.

PDF417 Barcode Data Characters Encoding using C#

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PDF417 Valid character set

PDF417 barcode supports encoding the following character sets

Full ASCII (128 characters)

Extended ASCII. Values 128-255 in accordance with ISO 8859-1

Up to 811 800 different character sets or data interpretations

Various function codewords for control purposes

PDF417 data encoding mode

PDF417 format supports the following compact modes

Text Compaction mode permits all printable ASCII characters to be encoded, i.e. values 32 - 126 inclusive in accordance with ISO/IEC 646 (IRV), as well as selected control characters.

Byte Compaction mode permits all 256 possible 8-bit byte values to be encoded. This includes all ASCII characters value 0 to 127 inclusive and provides for international character set support.

Numeric Compaction mode permits efficient encoding of numeric data strings.

Using PDF417 barcode generator C# library, you can set the data encoding mode through property DataMode. You can also set DataMode to auto value, and the barcode library will choose the right encode mode for you.

            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();
            
            barcode.Data = "PDF417";
            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Auto;

PDF417 maximum data length

Maximum possible number of characters a PDF417 barcode (at error correction level 0).

Text Compaction mode: 1,850 characters

Byte Compaction mode: 1,108 characters

Numeric Compaction mode: 2,710 characters

PDF417 Barcode Symbol Size in C#?

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In C# PDF417 barcode generator, you can use the following barcode dimension size settings:

UOM: Unit of measure. You can choose PIXEL, CM or INCH.

X: Width of the bar module. The mimumum bar width is defined by the application specification

XtoYRatio: Bar width vs bar height ratio. Default value is 0.3333333f

RowCount: 3 to 90. Number of rows

ColumnCount: 1 to 30. Number of columns

LeftMargin, RightMargin, TopMargin, BottomMargin: Quiet zone. the minimum width of quiet zone is 2X.

C# sample code: PDF417 barcode symbol size setting.

            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();

            barcode.Data = "PDF-417";
            barcode.ProcessTilde = true;

            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Auto;

            // Barcode Size Related Settings
            barcode.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL;
            barcode.X = 5;              //  Module Width 4 pixels
            barcode.XtoYRatio = 0.3333f;   //  Module Height 10 pixels
            barcode.Resolution = 300;

            barcode.ColumnCount = 5;    //  5 data columns per row
            barcode.RowCount = 12;      //  12 rows

            barcode.LeftMargin = 0;
            barcode.RightMargin = 0;
            barcode.TopMargin = 0;
            barcode.BottomMargin = 0;


            // Image format setting
            barcode.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png;

            barcode.drawBarcode("W://csharp-pdf417-symbol-size.png");

How to encode, create non-English text in PDF417 barcode using c#?

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PDF417 encodes characters in ISO 8859-1 by default. If you want to encode non-English text, such as Thai, Arabic, Greek, you can do it in one of the two methods.

Convert non-English text characters to byte array using C# UTF8 encoding, and encode converted byte array in PDF417 using Byte compaction mode.

Use Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) to encode international text character set in PDF417 using C#

Sample C# source code to encode non-English text in PDF417 barcode using Byte compaction mode.

            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();

            //  It may encode any Unicode characters after converting them to bytes in UTF-8 encode.
            //  And then, use Byte mode to encode these byte data.
            String message = "早上好";
            byte[] bytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(message);
            StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
            foreach (byte b in bytes)
                sb.Append("~" + b.ToString().PadLeft(3, '0'));
            barcode.Data = sb.ToString();
            barcode.ProcessTilde = true;

            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Byte;

            // Barcode Size Related Settings
            barcode.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL;
            barcode.X = 4;              //  Module Width 4 pixels
            barcode.XtoYRatio = 0.4F;   //  Module Height 10 pixels

            barcode.ColumnCount = 5;    //  5 data columns per row
            barcode.RowCount = 12;      //  12 rows

            barcode.LeftMargin = 50;
            barcode.RightMargin = 50;
            barcode.TopMargin = 50;
            barcode.BottomMargin = 50;
            barcode.Resolution = 96;

            // Image format setting
            barcode.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png;

            barcode.drawBarcode("W://Projects//Test-Output//OnBarcode.com//csharp-pdf417-non-en-text.png");

How to encode, generate PDF417 barcode with non-printable chars using c#?

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            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();

            // Encode non-printable character '[CR]' between 'a' and 'b'.
            barcode.Data = "a~013bc";
            barcode.ProcessTilde = true;

            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Auto;

            // Barcode Size Related Settings
            barcode.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL;
            barcode.X = 4;              //  Module Width 4 pixels
            barcode.XtoYRatio = 0.4F;   //  Module Height 10 pixels

            barcode.ColumnCount = 5;    //  5 data columns per row
            barcode.RowCount = 12;      //  12 rows

            barcode.LeftMargin = 50;
            barcode.RightMargin = 50;
            barcode.TopMargin = 50;
            barcode.BottomMargin = 50;
            barcode.Resolution = 96;

            // Image format setting
            barcode.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png;

            barcode.drawBarcode("C://Projects//Test-Output//OnBarcode.com//csharp-pdf417-non-print.png");

How to encode, generate byte array data in PDF417 barcode using c#?

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            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();

            //  Byte mode is used to encode any 8-bit byte data.
            //  Each byte should be represented in format "~ddd", which "ddd" is a decimal number between 0 to 255.
            //  ProcessTilde must be enable to support this feature.
            barcode.Data = "~000~001~003~253~254~255";
            barcode.ProcessTilde = true;

            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Byte;

            // Barcode Size Related Settings
            barcode.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL;
            barcode.X = 4;              //  Module Width 4 pixels
            barcode.XtoYRatio = 0.4F;   //  Module Height 10 pixels

            barcode.ColumnCount = 5;    //  5 data columns per row
            barcode.RowCount = 12;      //  12 rows

            barcode.LeftMargin = 50;
            barcode.RightMargin = 50;
            barcode.TopMargin = 50;
            barcode.BottomMargin = 50;
            barcode.Resolution = 96;

            // Image format setting
            barcode.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png;

            barcode.drawBarcode("C://Projects//Test-Output//OnBarcode.com//csharp-pdf417-byte-array.png");

Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) in PDF417 using C#

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Using PDF417 ECI feature, PDF417 supports up to 811 800 different data character sets.

In the following C# sample code, we will encode Thai text using ECI in PDF417 barcode.

Key Settings:

ProcessTilde: it should be enabled, and set to true.

ECI value for Thai: Use ECI 000013 (ISO/IEC 8859-11) for 8-bit data bytes. In OnBarcode ECI solution, the value should be "~7000013".

Each Thai text char value fromISO/IEC 8859-11: Eg. ก - 0xA1 - 161

            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();

            //  Use ECI 000013 (ISO/IEC 8859-11) for 8-bit data bytes.
            String eci000013 = "~7000013";
            //  ISO/IEC 8859-11 Latin/Thai alphabet
            //  Byte values from 0xA0 to 0xFF are used for Thai characters.
            //  Eg. à¸ - 0xA1 - 161
            String bytesInISO8859_11 = "~161";

            //  Set flag to enable '~' in data message.
            barcode.ProcessTilde = true;
            barcode.Data = eci000013 + bytesInISO8859_11;

            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Auto;

How to create Compact (Truncated) PDF417 barcodes using C#

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Compact PDF417 is also named as Truncated PDF417. In the original AIM USA (1994) and AIM Europe (1994) PDF417 specifications, the term Truncated PDF417 has been used in a technically synonymous manner.

Compact PDF417 may be used where space considerations are a primary concern and symbol damage is unlikely.

To create compact PDF417 using PDF417 generator C# library, you need set property Truncated to true;

            barcode.Truncated = true;

How to create Macro PDF417 barcodes using C#

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Macro PDF417 provides a mechanism for the data in a file to be split into blocks and be represented in more than one PDF417 symbol. This mechanism is similar to the Structured Append feature in other symbologies.

Each Macro PDF417 symbol shall contain additional control information to enable the original data file to be properly reconstructed, irrespective of the sequence in which the individual PDF417 symbols are scanned and decoded.

Up to 99 999 individual PDF417 symbols may be used to encode data in Macro PDF417.

            PDF417 barcode = new PDF417();

            barcode.Data = "MacroPDF";

            barcode.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Auto;

            //  Macro PDF417 provides a mechanism to split a large data file into segaments and one PDF417 symbol for each segament.
            //  Enable Macro PDF417 feature and set additional properties.
            barcode.Macro = true;
            barcode.MacroFileIndex = 3;         //  File ID is 3. 
            barcode.MacroSegmentCount = 10;     //  Total 10 segements for the file.
            barcode.MacroSegmentIndex = 2;      //  This symbol is Segment 2. The first Segment Index is 0

            // Barcode Size Related Settings
            barcode.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL;
            barcode.X = 4;              //  Module Width 4 pixels
            barcode.XtoYRatio = 0.4F;   //  Module Height 10 pixels

            barcode.ColumnCount = 5;    //  5 data columns per row
            barcode.RowCount = 12;      //  12 rows

            barcode.LeftMargin = 50;
            barcode.RightMargin = 50;
            barcode.TopMargin = 50;
            barcode.BottomMargin = 50;
            barcode.Resolution = 96;

            // Image format setting
            barcode.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png;

            barcode.drawBarcode("W://Projects//Test-Output//OnBarcode.com//csharp-pdf417-macro.png");

PDF-417 Error detection and correction (ECL)

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Each PDF417 symbol contains at least two error correction codewords. The Error Correction codewords provide capability for both error detection and correction.

The error correction level for a PDF417 symbol is selectable at the time of symbol creation. The barcode software provides property "ECL". The following table shows the number of error correction codewords for each error correction level.

Error Correction Level	Total Number of Error Correction Codewords
0	2
1	4
2	8
3	16
4	32
5	64
6	128
7	256
8	512

PDF-417 Barcode Property Settings

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Category

Properties

Value

Comments

Basic

Property: Data
URL: DATA

Type: string
Default: "PDF417"

Barcode value to encode.

PDF-417 Valid Data Char Set:

Text Compaction mode permits all printable ASCII characters to be encoded, i.e. values 32 - 126 inclusive in accordance with ISO/IEC 646 (IRV), as well as selected control characters.
Byte Compaction mode permits all 256 possible 8-bit byte values to be encoded. This includes all ASCII characters value 0 to 127 inclusive and provides for international character set support.
Numeric Compaction mode permits efficient encoding of numeric data strings.
Up to 811,800 different character sets or data interpretations.
Various function codewords for control purposes.

PDF 417
Special

Property: ProcessTilde
URL: PROCESS-TILDE

Type: bool
Default: true

Set the ProcessTilde property to true, if you want use the tilde character "~" to specify special characters in the input data. Default is true.

1-byte character: ~0dd/~1dd/~2dd (character value from 000 ~ 255); ASCII character '~' is presented by ~126
Strings from "~256" to "~299" are unused
2-byte character (Unicode): ~6ddddd (character value from 00000 ~ 65535)
Strings from "~665536" to "~699999" are unused
Programming for reader initialisation: ~rp.
This should be located at the beginning of the encoding data, e.g. data = "~rpABCD1234".
ECI: ~7dddddd (valid value of dddddd from 000000 to 999999)

Property: DataMode
URL: DATA-MODE

Type: PDF417DataMode
Default: PDF417DataMode.Text (1)

valid values:

PDF417DataMode.Auto (0)
PDF417DataMode.Text (1)
PDF417DataMode.Byte (2)
PDF417DataMode.Numeric (3)
PDF417DataMode.Customer (4)

Property: ECL
URL: ECL

Type: PDF417ECL
Default: PDF417ECL.Level_2 (2)

Error correction level, values are from PDF417ECL.Level_0 to PDF417ECL.Level_8, default is PDF417ECL.Level_2.

Property: RowCount
URL: ROW-COUNT

Type: int
Default: 3

The number of rows for PDF417. The value range is from 3 to 90. The default is 3.

Property: ColumnCount
URL: COLUMN-COUNT

Type: int
Default: 5

Number of columns. The value range is from 1 to 30. The default is 5. Increase this value, if your data size is large.

Property: Truncated
URL: TRUNCATED

Type: bool
Default: false

truncated PDF417 may be used where space considerations are a primary concern and symbol damage is unlikely.

Property: Macro
URL: MACRO

Type: bool
Default: false

Set isMacro property to true, then Macro PDF417 is enabled.

Property: MacroSegmentIndex
URL: MACRO-SEGMENT-INDEX

Type: int
Default: 0

the position of current symbol in the secuence (Start with 0).

Property: MacroSegmentCount
URL: MACRO-SEGMENT-COUNT

Type: int
Default: 0

the number of total symbols which make the sequence.

Property: MacroFileIndex
URL: MACRO-FILE-INDEX

Type: int
Default: 0

be identified to the same file

Barcode
Size
Related

Property: AutoResize
URL: AUTO-RESIZE

Type: bool
Default: false

Auto resize the generated barcode image.

Property: BarAlignment
URL: BAR-ALIGNMENT

Type: int
Default: 1 (center)

Barcode horizontal alignment inside the image. 0: left, 1: center, 2: right.

Property: UOM
URL: UOM

Type: UnitOfMeasure
Default: PIXEL (0)

Unit of meature for all size related settings in the library.

Valid values:

UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL (0)
UnitOfMeasure.CM (1)
UnitOfMeasure.INCH (2)

Property: X
URL: X

Type: float
Default: 2

Barcode bar module width, default is 3 pixel.

Property: XtoYRatio
URL: X-Y-RATIO

Type: float
Default: 0.3333333f

Bar width vs bar height ratio

Property: BarcodeWidth
URL: BARCODE-WIDTH

Type: float
Default: 0

Barcode image width.

If BarcodeWidth setting is smaller than the barcode required minimum width, the library will automatically reset to barcode minimum width.

Property: BarcodeHeight
URL: BARCODE-HEIGHT

Type: float
Default: 0

Barcode image height.

If BarcodeHeight setting is smaller than the barcode required minimum height, the library will automatically reset to barcode minimum height.

Property: LeftMargin
URL: LEFT-MARGIN

Type: float
Default: 0

Barcode image left margin size.

Property: RightMargin
URL: RIGHT-MARGIN

Type: float
Default: 0

Barcode image right margin size.

Property: TopMargin
URL: TOP-MARGIN

Type: float
Default: 0

Barcode image top margin size.

Property: BottomMargin
URL: BOTTOM-MARGIN

Type: float
Default: 0

Barcode image bottom margin size.

Property: Resolution
URL: RESOLUTION

Type: int
Default: 72

Barcode image resolution in DPI (Dots per inch).

Property: Rotate
URL: ROTATE

Type: Rotate
Default: Rotate.Rotate0 (0)

Valid values:

Rotate.Rotate0 (0)
Rotate.Rotate90 (1)
Rotate.Rotate180 (2)
Rotate.Rotate270 (3)

Barcode
Colors

Property: BackColor
URL: BACK-COLOR

Type: Color
Default: white

Barcode image background color.

Property: ForeColor
URL: FORE-COLOR

Type: Color
Default: black

Barcode image foreground color.

In WebStream query string, please use int value for Enums, "true" and "false" for bool.

Create PDF-417 Barcodes in C#

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Creating PDF-417 barcode in C# class example:

   using System;
   using System.Collections.Generic;
   using System.Text;
   using OnBarcode.Barcode;
   using System.Drawing.Imaging;
   using System.Drawing;


   PDF417 pdf417 = new PDF417();

   // Barcode data to encode
   pdf417.Data = "OnBarcode";
   // PDF-417 data mode
   pdf417.DataMode = PDF417DataMode.Text;
   // PDF-417 rows & columns
   pdf417.RowCount = 5;
   pdf417.ColumnCount = 5;

   /*
   * Barcode Image Related Settings
   */
   // Unit of meature for all size related setting in the library. 
   pdf417.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL;
   // Bar module width (X), default is 3 pixel;
   pdf417.X = 2;
   // Bar module width vs height
   pdf417.XtoYRatio = 0.3333333f;
   // Barcode image left, right, top, bottom margins. Defaults are 0.
   pdf417.LeftMargin = 0;
   pdf417.RightMargin = 0;
   pdf417.TopMargin = 0;
   pdf417.BottomMargin = 0;
   // Image resolution in dpi, default is 72 dpi.
   pdf417.Resolution = 72;
   // Created barcode orientation. 
   //4 options are: facing left, facing right, facing bottom, and facing top
   pdf417.Rotate = Rotate.Rotate0;

   // Generate PDF-417 and encode barcode to gif format
   pdf417.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Gif;
   pdf417.drawBarcode("C:\\pdf417.gif");
   
   /*
   You can also call other drawing methods to generate barcodes
             
   public void drawBarcode(Graphics graphics);
    
   public void drawBarcode(string filename);
    
   public Bitmap drawBarcode();
    
   public void drawBarcode(Stream stream);
             
   */

More C# Barcode Generation Tutorials for Each Barcode

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Generate 2d barcode PDF-417 images in Visual C# .NET with complete sample C# source code

PDF417 Barcode Data Characters Encoding using C#

PDF417 Valid character set

PDF417 data encoding mode

PDF417 maximum data length

PDF417 Barcode Symbol Size in C#?

How to encode, create non-English text in PDF417 barcode using c#?

How to encode, generate PDF417 barcode with non-printable chars using c#?

How to encode, generate byte array data in PDF417 barcode using c#?

Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) in PDF417 using C#

How to create Compact (Truncated) PDF417 barcodes using C#

How to create Macro PDF417 barcodes using C#

PDF-417 Error detection and correction (ECL)

Creating PDF-417 barcode in C# class example:

Barcode Control for C#.NET - Bar Code Type Generation

Barcode SDK Library

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