Placing Barcodes into Adobe Illustrator as WMF Vector Graphics

B-Coder can generate barcodes as high resolution vector graphics (as WMF files) or as high quality raster images. When working with Adobe Illustrator, the most desired format is a vector WMF. However, there is a bug in Adobe's software that reflects all fonts on the horizontal axis (flips them upside down) when placing barcodes into a document. The following image demonstrates this behavior:

Since this is a bug in Adobe's software, we cannot directly fix it through modifying B-Coder. However, there are a few quick and easy workarounds that you can use.

Workaround #1: Remove all text from the barcode in B-Coder and use Illustrator's text functionality

Changing a few settings in B-Coder will remove all text from the barcode. Since the barcode itself is always placed perfectly into Illustrator, you can simply use the Text tool in Illustrator to add your barcode comments and message fields. To strip the text in B-Coder, modify the following settings:

  • Uncheck the “Include Text” option under the Preferences menu
  • Uncheck the “Comment Above Barcode” option under the Preferences menu

Workaround #2: Flip the text in Adobe Illustrator (Instructions for CS6)

The image at the top of the page shows the text in Illustrator. To flip it horizontally (reflect it on the horizontal access), simply choose the direct selection tool and directly select the text. Then go to Object > Transform > Reflect and select Horizontal Axis. The barcode text will appear just as it does in B-Coder!

Workaround #3: Flip the barcode in Adobe Illustrator (Instructions for CS6)

In B-Coder, uncheck Preferences > Include Text and change the comment alignment to Center in Preferences > Align Comment. Now type the message in the comment line. Generate the barcode, save it as WMF, and open in Adobe Illustrator. To flip the entire barcode in Illustrator, select the barcode group and go to Object > Transform > Rotate. Type in 180 degrees and click OK. Then go to Object > Transform > Reflect, select Vertical and click OK. The resulting graphic will be a perfect high quality barcode graphic with the encoded data displayed underneath.

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