Change Symbology Based On Data Field Contents
I am using Bartender 10.1.
We run a chain of supermarkets. For the vast majority of our items, a UPC-A barcode will work fine. However, we have a handful of 12 digit item numbers that require an EAN barcode. I need to find a way to display the correct barcode and suppress the incorrect one based off of the item number in the data file. The program that is used to generate the data file actually exports a 13 character field. It is left padded to 11 characters with zeros and then left padded with spaces to 13 characters. All of the item numbers are exported without a check digit.
The only way that I have found to suppress the barcodes that makes sense is based on the value of the number in the data file. I have both barcodes present in the template. I have the UPC-A barcode set to be suppressed if the value is greater than 99999999999. I have the EAN barcode set to be suppressed if the value is less than 100000000000. Since my file contains extra spaces in this field I have tried these suppression formulas with and without spaces. Neither works correctly. What ends up happening most of the time that that if the item number is a 10-digit number (with a leading zero) the UPC-A barcode prints. If the item number is a 12 digit number then the EAN barcode prints. If the item number is an 11-digit number then they both print. That obviously causes a problem.
There has got to be an easier way to do this.
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I think I'm confused. An EAN-13 code with a leading zero is the exact same as a UPC-A barcode without the leading zero. Therefore, unless your source of data is inconsistent, you should only require an EAN code if you have a full 12+1 (Check Digit) value coming in? Which should be easy to filter for?
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Ha. You think you're confused. It seems I need to learn more about barcode symbology. Thanks for the help.
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Guru is right. GS1 understands all product numbers (item, inner pack, case, pallet, etc.) as GTIN (global trade item numbers). Everything has a 14-digit code. Bananas, for example, are only to be sold at one level, the POS level. That gets the last 12 or 13 digits of the GTIN. 12 for UPC, 13 for EAN. The two digits (or one for ean products) are used for the other packaging level. So a bunch of bananas might have upc number of 11223344556X, where X is the check digit. The EAN would likely be 011223344556X and the box of bananas 1011223344556X, and the pallet of bananas 2011223344556X. Scanners that read UPC should read the EAN, so it won't really matter which one gets used. Making sure you have the right "base" GTIN plus the correct check digit is important.
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