How to add Barcode to Local Reports (RDLC) before report rendering stage using Bytescout BarCode SDK

Prerequisites:

• Bytescout Barcode SDK
• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (or greater)
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 (or greater) or Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition (or greater)
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (any version) or greater with Adventure Works sample database installed

In the following guide we'll create a local report (RDLC file) which features barcoding capabilities by using Bytescout Barcode SDK.

Follow these steps:

1. Open Visual Studio and create a new ASP.NET Website naming it “RDLCExampleWithBarcode”.

2. Add new DataSet item to the project and name it “AdventureWorks.xsd”

   

   Click Add button. You will be asked if you want to place the AdventureWorks.xsd file in the App_Code directory. Answer yes.
   
   VS2005: After that, the TableAdapter Configuration Wizard is automatically launched so please follow its steps.
   
   VS2008 and later: Right click the design surface and select Add > TableAdapter…

   

   This will also run TableAdapter Configuration Wizard. Follow its steps.
   
   In the first step create a connection to the AdventureWorks SQL Server Database sample and click Next. In the second step, choose "Use SQL statements" and click Next. After that, please enter the following SQL Statement:
   
   SELECT ProductID, Name, ProductModel FROM Production.vProductAndDescription WHERE (CultureID = N'en')

   

   Click Finish to close the wizard dialog box.

3. Add a new custom Column to the DataTable just created and name it “Barcode”.

   

4. Change the data type of the Barcode column to System.Byte[] (Array of Byte). If the System.Byte[] data type is not listed you must type it manually.

   

   Save the AdventureWorks.xsd file.

5. Now add a new Report item to the project and name it BarcodeReport.rdlc.

   

   The data source for the report should look like the following figure. NOTE: You can display Data Sources Window by selecting Data menu and then Show Data Sources (Shift+Alt+D).

   

6. Please design the report so it looks like the following figure.

   

   The report features a Table item with 3 columns: Product ID, Product Name and Barcode. Barcode column holds an image. Drag & drop an Image item into it and set its properties as is shown in the following figure. Notice that Value property of the Image item is bound to the Barcode column.

   

   Save the report.

7. Create/Open an ASP.NET WebForm at design time and drag & drop a ReportViewer control onto it. NOTE: DO NOT select any report to display. We'll set up it by code next.
8. Now, from the Solution Explorer, add a reference to Bytescout Barcode SDK assembly (Bytescout.BarCode.dll). Look for it in the installation directory.

9. Write the following code in the Page_Load event procedure:
   
   C#:

   using System;
    
   using Bytescout.BarCode;
   using Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms;
    
   public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page 
   {
    
       protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
       {
    
       // Fill the datasource from DB
       AdventureWorksTableAdapters.vProductAndDescriptionTableAdapter ta = 
           new AdventureWorksTableAdapters.vProductAndDescriptionTableAdapter();
    
       AdventureWorks.vProductAndDescriptionDataTable dt = 
           new AdventureWorks.vProductAndDescriptionDataTable();
       ta.Fill(dt);
    
       // Create and setup an instance of Bytescout Barcode SDK
       Barcode bc = new Barcode(SymbologyType.Code128);
    
       bc.RegistrationName = "demo";
       bc.RegistrationKey = "demo";
    
           bc.DrawCaption = false;
    
       // Update DataTable with barcode image
       foreach (AdventureWorks.vProductAndDescriptionRow row in dt.Rows)
    
       {
           // Set the value to encode
           bc.Value = row.ProductID.ToString();
    
           // Generate the barcode image and store it into the Barcode Column
           row.Barcode = bc.GetImageBytesPNG();
       }
    
       // Create Report Data Source
       Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportDataSource rptDataSource = 
           new ReportDataSource("AdventureWorks_vProductAndDescription", dt);
    
       ReportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(rptDataSource);
       ReportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportPath = Server.MapPath("BarcodeReport.rdlc");
    
       ReportViewer1.LocalReport.Refresh();
       }
   }

   
   Visual Basic

   Imports Bytescout.BarCode
    
   Partial Class _Default
       Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
    
       Protected Sub form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles form1.Load
    
           ' Fill the datasource from DB
    
           Dim ta As New AdventureWorksTableAdapters.vProductAndDescriptionTableAdapter()
           Dim dt As New AdventureWorks.vProductAndDescriptionDataTable()
    
           ta.Fill(dt)
    
           ' Create and setup an instance of Bytescout Barcode SDK
           Dim bc As New Barcode(SymbologyType.Code128)
    
           bc.RegistrationName = "demo"
           bc.RegistrationKey = "demo"
           bc.DrawCaption = False
    
    
           ' Update DataTable with barcode image
           Dim row As AdventureWorks.vProductAndDescriptionRow
    
           For Each row In dt.Rows
               ' Set the value to encode
    
               bc.Value = row.ProductID.ToString()
               'Generate the barcode image and store it into the Barcode Column
    
               row.Barcode = bc.GetImageBytesPNG()
           Next
    
           'Create Report Data Source
    
           Dim rptDataSource As New Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms.ReportDataSource("AdventureWorks_vProductAndDescription", dt)
    
           Me.ReportViewer1.LocalReport.DataSources.Add(rptDataSource)
           Me.ReportViewer1.LocalReport.ReportPath = Server.MapPath("BarcodeReport.rdlc")
    
           Me.ReportViewer1.LocalReport.Refresh()
       End Sub
   End Class

10. Run your application. You should get the barcode images displayed in the report.

    

    ReportViewer control lets you to export the displayed report to Acrobat PDF as well as Microsoft Excel XLS. In both cases the barcode images are maintained.