A barcode is a small image of lines and spaces that is affixed to retail store items, identification cards, and postal mail to identify a particular product number, person, or location. Barcodes are used in various industries for identification, inventory management, and tracking purposes. However, integrating barcode support into a SQL Server database can be challenging without the right software.

Neodynamic has developed Barcode Professional for Microsoft SQL Server Report Services, a powerful tool that allows businesses to easily generate and display barcodes in their SQL Server reports. In this article, we will review the features and capabilities of Neodynamic Barcode Professional and discuss its suitability for barcode integration in SQL Server.

Version and Configuration

For this review, we used the following software and hardware configuration:

• Windows XP Professional version 2002 service pack 2
• SQL Server: Version 2005 Standard RTM
• Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Designers Version 9.00.1399.00
• Neodynamic Barcode Professional for Microsoft SQL Server Report Services 2.0.2000.0
• Processor: AMD Athlon ™ 1 GHz
• Memory: 256 MB

System requirements for Neodynamic Barcode Professional include Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 or greater, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. It is worth noting that Barcode Professional also supports Reporting Services 2000.

Product Overview

Neodynamic Barcode Professional supports a wide range of barcode standards, including Bookland, Codabar, Code 11, Code 128, Code 16k, Code 39, Code 93, Data Matrix, EAN, Industrial 2 of 5, Interleaved 2 of 5, ISSN barcode, JAN, Maxicode, MICR, OCR-A, OCR-B, PDF417, Planet, POSTNET, and Uniform Product Code (UPC). This comprehensive support ensures that businesses can choose the appropriate barcode symbology for their specific needs.

Integrating Barcode Professional into a SQL Server report is straightforward. Simply open a report service project, drag and drop the Barcode Professional tool from the toolbox to the desired location in the report, or include the Neodynamic.ReportingServices.Barcode.dll if the tool is not available in the toolbox. The software provides a user-friendly interface to configure barcode properties, such as symbology, value to encode, additional text, bar height, bar weight, bar ratio, font, format, and colors.

Barcode Professional supports all export file formats in Reporting Services, including Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Excel (XLS), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), and Web archive MIME HTML (MHTML). This ensures that barcode-enabled reports can be easily shared and distributed in various formats.

Performance

In terms of performance, generating barcode-enabled reports may take slightly longer compared to regular reports. However, this delay is negligible as barcodes are not typically featured in day-to-day reports. During our testing, a simple report with barcodes took around nine seconds to display, while a report without barcodes took only 1-2 seconds.

Support

Neodynamic provides excellent support for Barcode Professional. Users can reach out to the support team via email or visit the company’s website for assistance. The product installation also includes offline support in CHM format, which can be accessed anytime.

Review Summary

Based on our evaluation, Neodynamic Barcode Professional for Microsoft SQL Server Report Services is a highly reliable and feature-rich tool for integrating barcode support into SQL Server reports. It offers easy installation and configuration, comprehensive documentation, excellent product stability, and a wide range of barcode standards. The slight delay in generating barcode-enabled reports is outweighed by the tool’s usability and value for developers.

If you are in need of barcode support in your SQL Server database, we highly recommend downloading the trial version of Neodynamic Barcode Professional for Reporting Services. The trial version is fully functional and has no expiry date, allowing you to evaluate the software before making a purchase decision.

Product Information

For more information about Neodynamic Barcode Professional for Reporting Services, please visit the company’s website:

• Company Website: www.neodynamic.com
• Product Info: http://www.neodynamic.com/Products/BCRS/BarcodeRS.aspx?tabid=78&prodid=7
• Download Evaluation: http://www.neodynamic.com/ND/Downloads.aspx?tabid=79&prodid=7
• Pricing: http://www.neodynamic.com/ND/Buys.aspx?tabid=80&prodid=7
• Support: www.neodynamic.com/support
• Step-by-Step Guide: http://www.neodynamic.com/ND/faqstipstricks.aspx?tabid=66&prodid=7&sid=31
• Demo: http://www.neodynamic.com/Products/Demos/Demos.aspx?tabid=81&prodid=7

Give your SQL Server reports a professional touch with barcode integration using Neodynamic Barcode Professional!