We are testing a barcode font (IDAutomation - Code 39) in LBI and are seeing the following results:

• Barcode only prints correctly on published report if the client has the font installed
• Barcode does not export correctly to PDF

Our current environment is LBI 9.0.0.3 & RAS 10. FYI - Tomcat/RAS were bounced after installing the font, currently waiting on approval to bounce the server.

Has anybody had any experience attempting to implement custom fonts in LBI (or Business Objects/Crystal Enterprise) that would like to share their successes/failures/challanges?

Thanks,
Chris

This would seem reasonable, as the printed output is generated from the local machine rather than the server, as is any Windows-based printed document.

The PDF generation has me a bit befuddled though..

Dave,

Thanks for your response, but I intended to say that...

"Barcode only displays correctly on published report if the client has the font installed"

Sorry for the miscommunication.

what barcode vendor are you using? In previous versions of Crystal (10 and earlier) you had to buy drivers. Im assuming the drivers are installed on the server?

all references on BO Support seem to say the barcode drivers must be on the client machine when using the Crystal Viewer. are the barcodes going to be created dynamically or is there a set number barcodes? if theyre set, you could create an image for each and link to the desired image with a dynamic OLE DB Object.

BO's work around is to write a custom application to drop the drivers on the clients machine when the report is requested. Which is about as realistic as finding an easy going Oracle DBA.

The same would be true for DISPLAY as well as PRINT. It's rendered on the browser on the local machine and therefore must have the font installed to render it. The only option would be if Lawson somehow converted it to a jpeg or png so you could display the graphic (which I don't think is going to happen)

Matt/Dave,

Thanks for the input. For some reason, I've been having trouble with the BO Support Site search tool (any search leads to a blank page).

The vendor is http://idautomation.com. The need is for a dynamic barcode generator. I was directed to download this product and test it out, but further research shows that they do have a different product (Native Barcode Generator for Crystal Reports) that allows you to embed an object in the Crystal report (no fonts or ufls). It's not free like their other Crystal barcode product, but I think this is what I'm looking for.

Thanks again,
Chris

I am going to state upfront that I have not used Lawson's Back Office, and that I will be working my way into LBI (hopefully) this year. But I have been dealing with barcodes and Crystal Reports for several years...

I am confused by the use of the word "drivers". Barcoding is essentially font manipulation. I have developed and maintained barcoded par and inventory reports, both in MS Access and in Crystal Reports.

On the level that the font needs to be installed on the PC that is running and printing the report, that makes sense. I admit that I never considered the ramifications of "translating" the barcode through a Crystal PDF, but I have had other fonts and font characteristics altered by the pdf.

I guess I am not adding much to this conversation, but it seems to me that a "dynamic barcode generator" is a nothing more than a routine: it identifies the "word", puts an asterix (*) fore and aft, and prints in the "3 of 9" font of choice. (And it loves the Precious.)

By the by, I use Waspware. You could buy a barcode generator as well, but if you have a moderate level of MS Access abilty, you should be able to generate any barcode you need without it.

rw

Thanks for your input.

Fyi - after applying the lates service pack for RAS (and making a related registry change which prevents the export from reducing the barcode font size), the report exports cleanly to pdf