To insert a bar code into a Microsoft Word document follow these steps: Switch to the Add-Ins tab. Open the TBarCode Panel. Select the barcode type (e.g. Enter your barcode data. Adjust the size of the barcode (width, height, module width etc). Click the button Insert Barcode.
Barcodes are universal numerical codes that allow manufacturers, retailers and consumers to identify a specific product. In the past, barcodes were generally only used by retailers, but with the rise of the Internet, consumers can now more easily access barcode information from their home computers. If you have an item with no labels but a barcode, using barcode finders will allow you to determine the exact name of the product and the manufacturer that created it.
Identifying the Item Through a Database
Navigate your Web browser to one of the many websites that look up products by their Universal Product Code (UPC) digits. There are several sites that provide this service for free.
Type the barcode of the product in question into the search box of the UPC finder website. Each website is slightly different, but most require every number from left to right to be entered in order to get the correct product.
Press the search button. This action should take you to a new screen that either shows the product name and manufacturer or explains that the UPC could not be identified. If this occurs, check to make sure you put the correct numbers in sequence into the search box. If you are still unable to get any results, the alternative would be to use a search engine.
Identifying the Item Through a Search Engine
Navigate your wWeb browser to a reputable search engine website. The more popular engines will most likely yield better search results.
Type the UPC numbers into the search box. The number should be written from left to right exactly as it appears below the barcode.
Press the search button. Your search may yield results from the manufacturer itself or a website that sells the item. This alternative covers any other websites that may contain the UPC in text.
Video of the Day
Brought to you by Techwalla
- BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
More Articles
Learn about the final digit. The final digit is called the 'check digit,' and is automatically determined by putting the previous 11 digits through a mathematical formula. The purpose of this is to catch printing errors. While fake UPC barcodes do exist, usually created by companies who don't understand that they need to apply for one, it would be easy to include the correct check digit, so this is likely not a reliable method of finding fakes. (For that purpose, look it up in the official database instead.) If you're curious or enjoy doing math for fun, you can enter your barcode into a GTIN-12 check digit calculator, or follow the checking formula yourself:- Add all the digits in the odd positions together (the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th digits).
- Multiply the result by 3.
- Add to this the sum of the even-positioned digits (the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th) - do not include the check digit itself.
- 'Chop off' everything except the final digit of your answer, the number in the ones place.
- If that number is 0, that is the check digit.
- If that number is any other digit, subtract it from 10, and the result is the check digit. For example, if the previous step resulted in an answer of 8, you would calculate 10-8=2. This answer should be the same as the final 12th digit of the barcode.