Printing Code 128 Bar Codes in Excel
When you need to add Code 128 barcodes to your Excel project, all you need is Azalea C128Tools and our plug-in for Excel. Azalea’s plugin calculates the check digit, makes the guard bars for you, and it maps output into our fonts' character set. Our plug-in supports all three Code 128 code sets: A, B, and C.
Our C128Tools installer automatically places the files in the appropriate folders, but if you’d rather download it manually, place AzaleaBarCodes.xla into your XLSTART directory (Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\XLSTART or OFFICE12\XLSTART). You’ll then need to put barcode.dll into either your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 or \WINNT\SYSTEM32 directory.
Open your Excel spreadsheet with the data you want to convert into Code 128 bar codes.
Enter your data into the cells that you want to encode into bar codes. In this example, our “input data” column is Column A.
Choose the cell you want to contain the bar code symbol; in our case, we’ll use cell B1. Type the equal sign “=”.
The drop-down list with your available functions will become active (black arrow above A1 cell). You can also do this by going to the menu and choosing “Insert” and then “Function.”
Choose “More functions” and another window will pop open. Choose “User defined” (meaning, in this sample, the list of available functions within your XLSTART directory add-in’s). Azalea’s Code 128 functions appear. Select “AzaleaCode128A”, “AzaleaCode128B”, or “AzaleaCode128C” depending on which code set your data requires.
Click the OK button.
You’ll get a “Function Arguments” window. This just means the cell you mean to translate into an Azalea Code 128 barcode. In this sample, we’re using cell A1. Click the OK button.
Choose B1, where there’s a string of text. Go to the “Format” menu, choose “Cell” then click the “Font” tab. Select a Code 128 font and point size.
You should center the barcode, too; to do so, click the “Alignment” tab and choose Center for both horizontal and vertical.
...select Edit/Fill/Down or press Ctrl+Enter to copy the formula to all the cells underneath.
Select A1-A4 and B1-B4; choose File, Print and then Preview. Your print preview willcome up and it should look like this. Once you’re ready to print your barcodes, press “Print.” If the output result differs or you see boxes or odd characters in the preview, please send a screenshot to technicalsupport at azalea dot com and we’ll be happy to help you get it sorted out.
