365 business Barcode

365 business Barcode encodes values as barcode images and reads barcodes back out of images, in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Eighteen symbologies are supported, from Code 128 and EAN-13 to QR Code, Data Matrix and PDF417.

This page is the entry point for using the app from your own extension.

You want to	Start here
Generate or read a barcode from your own code	Barcode
Move code off the predecessor codeunit	Barcode API (obsolete)

Dependency

Add a dependency to the 365 business Barcode app in the dependencies node of your app.json:

Code
    {
      "id": "9aca19d9-d261-4fa0-88fd-121ad0daa0f7",
      "name": "365 business Barcode",
      "publisher": "365 business development",
      "version": "18.2.0.0"
    }

Which version you need

The bdev.Barcode codeunit has been introduced with 18.2, which replaced the former bdev.Barcode API. On an older version only bdev.Barcode API is available.

The public objects

The objects below are the supported surface of the app. Everything else is Access = Internal or an implementation detail that may change without notice, even where AL leaves it public.

Object	Type	What it is for
`bdev.Barcode`	Codeunit (`5523960`)	Encode and decode barcodes, and encode a contact as a vCard barcode.
`bdev.Barcode Settings`	Table (`5523582`)	A named set of barcode properties: symbology, colors, height, margin, whether the value is printed below the code, and the symbology-specific options. Maintained by the user in `Barcode Settings`.
`bdev.Barcode Symbology`	Enum (`5523582`), not extensible	The supported symbologies.
`bdev.Barcode`	Table (`5523583`), temporary	The settings of a single barcode, without a `Barcode Settings` record behind them.
`bdev.Barcode API`	Codeunit (`5523581`)	The predecessor of `bdev.Barcode`. Obsolete since 18.2.

Supported symbologies

Value	Symbology	Value	Symbology
`0`	Aztec Barcode	`9`	MSI
`1`	CODABAR	`10`	PDF417
`2`	Code 39	`11`	Plessey
`3`	Code 93	`12`	QR Code
`4`	Code 128	`13`	UPC-A
`5`	Data Matrix	`14`	UPC-E
`6`	EAN-8	`15`	ITF-14 (SCC-14)
`7`	EAN-13	`112`	vCard QR Code
`8`	ITF (Interleaved Two of Five)

Not every symbology can do both

Each symbology states for itself whether encoding and decoding are supported, and which of the Barcode Settings properties it accepts - a QR code has an error correction level, a linear code has a height. Setting a property the symbology does not accept has no effect. The Barcode Settings page shows only the properties of the chosen symbology, which is the quickest way to find out what applies.

The enum is not extensible: a symbology of your own cannot be added, because the encoding happens in the 365 business service rather than in AL.

No extensibility events

The app publishes no events. It is a library you call, not a process you take part in - there is nothing in it that happens on its own and could be intercepted.

Expect the service and the license

Encoding and decoding are performed by the 365 business Barcode service over HTTP. A call fails when the feature is not licensed for the tenant, or when outgoing HTTP calls are not allowed for the app - off by default in a sandbox.