In BarcodeMaker, different barcodes feature different parsing options, but broadly speaking, there are two types of special parsing you can control - ASCII parsing and function parsing.
ASCII parsing
you can insert special ASCII characters -such as line breaks - by using a caret (^) followed by a three-digit ASCII code. This allows you to include non-printable or special characters directly in your barcode data.
Example: Encoding a Line Break
To encode a line break (ASCII code 10), enter:
^010
This will insert a line break at that point in the barcode.
Encoding the Caret (^) Character
Because the caret is used to introduce an ASCII code, typing a caret directly will cause BarcodeMaker to expect three following digits.
To encode a literal caret character, use the ASCII code for caret:
^094
This inserts an actual caret (^) in your barcode output.
Function Parsing
There are other special function characters that certain barcodes support. GS1 barcodes support FNC1 - FNC4, each one of which serves a specific purpose. 2D barcodes often support ECI codes to switch between code pages.
Encoding these special characters is done by prepending the caret ^ sign and typing the name of the function, such as ^FNC1 or ^ECI9999999. The specific function characters supported differs by barcode.
Enabling and disabling Parsing options
Some barcode types allow you to turn parsing options on or off. Here's how:
- Open the Parsing category in BarcodeMaker’s settings.
- Select or deselect Enable ASCII Parsing or Enable FNC Parsing
With these options off, BarcodeMaker will treat ^ characters and numbers as regular text.