Create a New Barcode

5 Minutes to read

Print
Share
Dark
Light

Article summary

Did you find this summary helpful?

Thank you for your feedback

Goal

To create a new barcode with the Barcode Generator.

Prerequisites

The Coupon Manager is a billable feature that must be activated for your system. The Barcode Generator is included in the Coupon Manager feature for no additional charge. To activate the Coupon Manager, contact your customer service representative.
Permissions 172: View and edit all barcodes or 170: View and edit own barcodes.

Background Information

Engage supports creation of many different kinds of barcodes. The type of barcode selected depends on its intended use (see Supported Barcode Types).

Procedure

In the Main Navigation , click Content > Voucher Manager > Barcode.
⇒ The Barcodes Overview window opens.
Click the New Barcode button.
⇒ The Create New Barcode window opens.
In the Basic Settings area, enter a name for the barcode in the Name input field.
The name identifies the barcode within the system. Each barcode must have a unique name.
In the optional Description input field, enter a description for the barcode.
Descriptions help to identify the barcode. Descriptions are recommended if multiple barcodes are in use on an Engage system.
In the Barcode Type drop-down list, select the type of barcode generated (see Supported Barcode Types).
⇒ The window adjusts according to the type of barcode selected.
In the Domain drop-down list select a domain.
This option only displays if more than one domain is available on the system.
In the Content area, select the source of the data encoded from the Data Source drop-down list. The following options are available:
- Coupon List: Select this option to display a drop-down list of available coupon lists in the Data to Encode area. The barcodes are generated based on the codes that are available in the selected coupon list.
  Select a coupon list or click the symbol to search for a coupon list by Name, ID, Description, Owner or a range of dates in which the list was Last Updated . Click the symbol to select the desired list from the search results.
  In the optional Alternative Barcode input field, enter data inserted as an alternative barcode when there are no more coupon codes to convert in the list.
  Leave the Alternative Barcode field empty to let the Insufficient Number of Coupons settings of the selected coupon list define what happens when there are no coupon codes to convert (see Create New Coupon List (window)).
- Custom Attribute: Select this option to display a drop-down list of available custom attributes in the Data to Encode area. The barcodes are generated based on the value that is available for each recipient in the selected custom attribute.
  Select a custom attribute or click the symbol to search for an attribute by name. Click the symbol to select the desired attribute from the search results.
  In the optional Alternative Barcode input field, enter data that is inserted as an alternative barcode if the selected custom attribute is empty for a recipient.
  Leave the Alternative Barcode field empty to skip recipients who do not have a value in the selected custom attribute during sendout. The skipped recipients do not receive a message.
- Input: Select this option to manually enter the data that is encoded as a barcode on the user interface. The Data to Encode area adjusts to display an input field for manual data entry. A single barcode is created, which can be added to messages. The barcode is not based on individual recipient data nor does it provide the tracking advantages of barcodes that are generated from a coupon list. Barcodes generated from manually input data can be saved to the Barcodes Overview window or as a Content Store Element (see Barcodes Overview (window) or Use a Content Element in an Email).
In the Text Style area, define settings for human-readable text in the Display Text drop-down list. This area only displays if the chosen barcode type supports text.
- None: Select this option to suppress human-readable text. When this option is selected, no additional text formatting options display.
- Top: Select this option to display the human-readable text above the barcode.
- Bottom: Select this option to display human-readable text below the barcode.
In the Font Size drop-down list, select a font size for the text of 8 pixels to 20 pixels.
In the Font drop-down list, select a font for the text.
In the Layout area, define the layout settings for the barcode. The settings displayed depend on the selected barcode type.
- Bar Height: Enter the maximum height in pixels of an individual bar within a linear barcode. The minimum height is 1 pixel.
- Bar Width: Enter the maximum width in pixels of an individual bar within a linear barcode. The minimum width is 1 pixel.
- Bar Ratio: Enter the desired proportion of short bars to tall bars in a barcode. The standard setting is 0.4.
  For example, a POSTNET barcode with a bar height of 10 pixels and a bar ratio of 0.7 generates a barcode image that contains tall bars with a height of 10 pixels and short bars with a height of 7px (10px x 0.7).
- Quiet Zone: Enter the amount of blank margin area around the barcode. The quiet zone appears before the first bar and after the last bar of a linear (1D) barcode. The quiet zone appears on all sides of a 2D barcode. The minimum margin is 1 pixel. The default is 5 pixels.
Format: Select the image file format of the barcode from the drop-down list. The default format is GIF.
- GIF: Select Graphics Interchange Format to generate a bitmap barcode image with lossless data compression.
- JPG: Select JPG to generate a barcode image with lossy data compression.
- PNG: Select Portable Network Graphic to generate a raster barcode graphic with lossless data compression.
Module Size: Enter the size of the individual small squares that make up the image in a two-dimensional barcode. The minimum size per square is 1 pixel.
Click the Save button.
⇒ The barcode displays in the Barcodes Overview window (see Barcodes Overview (window)). The barcode can be added to a message with a Mapp Engage Variable (see Add a Barcode to a Message).
-or-
To save a barcode generated from data manually input on the user interface as a Content Store Element, click the Save as Content Element button. This option is not available for barcodes generated from a coupon list or custom attribute.
In this case, the barcode displays in the Content Store Overview window and is added to a message as a Content Element (see Use a Content Element in an Email).