Creating Your Own Barcodes

In some instances, you may want to have the ability to create your own barcodes. Examples of this could be coupons, merchandise tags (for products you keep locked away), or even custom kits. Creating these barcodes is very simple, as long as you have the correct files and the patience to do so. Following the steps below will both setup your system for the creation of barcodes and show you how to do it on your own.
 
Downloading the Font
 
Normally, a basic Windows installation does not have the tools to be able to create a barcode. There are many websites online that offer a barcode font for a fee and even some that offer it for free. The best/easiest I found was found on a website created by BarcodesInc. The font itself was created by Matthew Welch. The file is a .zip file and should be easily opened by a basic Windows installation. You can download the file by clicking the following link: free3of9
Note: Make sure you remember/write down where you saved the file
 
Once the file has been downloaded (should take no longer than a minute as the file is very small), you can begin the installation process.
 
Installing the Font
 
To begin the installation process, double left click on the file you downloaded above. Once opened, you will see three files located inside the ZIP file.
 
You can see in the "Type" column that two of the files are font files and one is a text document. The text document offers helpful tips that will be included on this page. To install these two font files, left click drag a box around the two files until they are both highlighted. Right click the highlighted items and left click "Copy" to copy these files (temporarily) to your Windows clipboard.
Note: You may also left click drag the highlighted files to the desired location. This will automatically copy-paste the files to the designated location.
 
The next step is to navigate to the C:\ on your workstation. You can do this multiple ways (depending on your system). To get to C:\, you can:
1. Click the Start button/orb in the lower left corner of your screen and click Computer. From here, double left click on Local Disk (C:).
2. Right click the Start button/orb in the lower left corner and click Open Windows Explorer. Depending on your system, left click Local Disk (C:) on the left or type in "C:\" in the top url field and press Enter.
3. If your system has it, double left click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop and double left click on Local Disk (C:).
 
Once you have located your main hard drive, double left click on the Windows folder and, once inside, double left click on the Fonts folder. This is the folder your system stores all fonts for Windows programs. Right click in the blank space of the following window and click Paste. This will install the fonts you previously copied. The installation process may take a minute or two. Once the installation process is complete, the barcode fonts can be used.
 
Using the Font
 
To create barcodes, the best program to use is WordPad. WordPad comes with a basic Windows installation and is located in the Start menu > All Programs > Accessories. WordPad is very similar to Microsoft Word, but is a free program with Windows and eliminates some of the formatting that may mess with proper barcode creation. Follow the steps below to create a barcode:
 
Step 1
Change the font to the installed barcode font. Do this by left clicking the drop down menu next to the default font and locating the long looking barcode font (near the top of the "B" titled fonts).
 
Step 2
Change the size of the font. In the drop down menu next to the font selection is the size. Select a size larger than 24 for the best results.
 
Step 3
Create the barcode by entering an asterisk (*) before and after the number you want to use. A normal UPC is 14 numbers. You can create something shorter, but you will have to set it up differently in the next section. In the image below, you can see how *12345* looks in the barcode font (at size 24).
 
Step 4
Note: This step is optional and depending on what you are wanting to accomplish with the barcode
You can create the print out within WordPad or use an external program if you want. If you use an external program, make sure you highlight the barcode in WordPad, right click Copy, and right click Paste it into the new program.
 
Setting Up TransActPOS to Recognize Created Barcode
 
Now that a barcode has been created, you must establish the UPC number you created as a Lookup By number for the item. Once TransActPOS is opened, click IC | Inventory File. Locate the item number you want or create a new item by clicking the Add button (click here for more information). Once the item is setup properly, click the Lookup By tab. Depending on the item, there may be a couple of entries in the Lookup By list or there could be none. Either way, click the Add button to create a new number. The type of Reference Number you are creating will depend heavily on the type of item and type of barcode you created.
  • If there was no prior Lookup By numbers in the list and this is the first one created (and the barcode created is 14 characters long), you will select the "Primary UPC Code." Once selected (should be default), enter the number you used to create the barcode (without the *)
  • If there were other Lookup By numbers in the list and the barcode created is 14 characters long, select the "UPC Code." Just like before, enter the number used to create the barcode (without the *)
  • Regardless if there were Lookup By numbers in the list, if the barcode you created was less than 14 characters long, select the "Short Barcode." Enter the number you used to create the barcode (without the *)
 
Once the Reference number has been entered and the type of number is selected, click OK to save the changes made.
 
Now, when that barcode is scanned, the item you created the Lookup number for will automatically come up.