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How To Add Barcodes To Your HTML Template

By Leo Liu posted 02-06-2022 18:44

  

It's quite a common requirement to add a barcode in an invoice document. In the new HTML template, you have two options to do this.

  • The built-in merge field function Wp_Barcode
  • Custom JavaScript

Wp_Barcode

We provide a function, Wp_Barcode, to generate barcode images, you can use it in your template as a merge field.

Usage

Here's an example to generate a QR code.

{{#Wp_Barcode}}
QR_CODE,imageWidth=100
Hello QR Code.
{{/Wp_Barcode}}

It will generate an img HTML tag like:

<img width="100" src="data:png;base64,...." />


Note:
 

Wp_Barcode accepts at least two lines of content.

The first line specifies the barcode options, and the other lines are barcode content.

Options

The option line format is: <code_type>[,optionName=optionValue]*.

The supported barcode types are:

  • QR_CODE
  • CODE_128
  • CODE_39
  • CODE_39_EXT
  • AUSTRALIA_POST_CUSTOMER
  • AUSTRALIA_POST_REPLY
  • AUSTRALIA_POST_ROUTING
  • AUSTRALIA_POST_REDIRECT
  • ITF_14
  • USPS_ONE_CODE

The following are the options

Name

Default

Description

imageWidth

300

Integer in pixels, the width of the generated barcode image

imageHeight

300

Integer in pixels, the height of the generated barcode image.

codeTextPosition

BOTTOM

The position of the text along with the barcode image. Options are TOP, BOTTOM, NONE.


Barcode With Merge Fields

You can use merge field as the content of barcode, for example:

{{#Invoice}}
{{#Wp_Barcode}}
CODE_128
*3517{{InvoiceNumber}}80*
{{/Wp_Barcode}}
{{/Invoice}}

 You can also use expressions in the content as well.

{{#Invoice}}
{{#Wp_Barcode}}
CODE_128, imageWidth=200
3617{{Account.AccountNumber}}{{#Wp_Eval}}{{Amount}} * 100|Round(0){{/Wp_Eval}}0
{{/Wp_Barcode}}
{{/Invoice}}

Caveats

  • Don't use it in the Text box
    The Wp_Barcode function accepts multi-lines of text as input, internally, we use \n to separate lines. If you use it in a Text box, the new line is interpreted as an HTML tag, <br/>, so that the Wp_Barcode function will receive a text argument with HTML tags, which is not what you expected.
    You can use an HTML box instead.
  • Image Size/Resolution
    So far, we don't support specifying the image resolution, aka, DPI (dots per inch), if you need higher resolution, one workaround is to generate a bigger image and show it with smaller width and height attributes, for example:
    <style>
      .barcode>img {
        width: 200px!important; # use !important to override the inline style of the generated img tag.
      }
    </style>
    <div class="barcode">
    {{#Wp_Barcode}}
    CODE_128,imageWidth=400
    1234567890
    {{/Wp_Barcode}}
    </div>

JavaScript

Wp_Barcode supports a list of popular barcode types, if your business requires a barcode that is not on the list, you can either submit your idea in Zuora Community, or you can leverage the JavaScript library approach.

Use HTML & JavaScript

Drag and drop to add an HTML box in your template. Copy and paste the following code:

<!-- ① -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bwip-js/3.0.4/bwip-js.min.js"></script>
<!-- ② -->
<canvas id="qrcodeCanvas"></canvas>
<script>
  try {
    // The return value is the canvas element
    let canvas = bwipjs.toCanvas('qrcodeCanvas', {
        bcid:        'qrcode',       // Barcode type
        text:        '{{Invoice.InvoiceNumber}}',    // ③
    });
  } catch (e) {
      // `e` may be a string or Error object
  }
</script>

Preview the template, you will see a QR code like:

How It Works

bwip-js is a Javascript library to generate various barcode images. We just use it for demonstration purposes, you can definitely use your own JS library.


① : to load the bwip-js library when rendering the HTML.

② : Create a canvas element to draw the barcode image

③ : Keep in mind that the merge field substitution happens before the HTML rendering, so the qrcode content will be replaced into something like "INV00000028".


bwip-js supports various barcode types, see the
full list and symbologies reference.

Use Your Own Fonts

The bwip-js library allows you to specify the font for the barcode text. To do that,  you need to get the font file, base64 encode it, 

$ base64 your_font.ttf


Note: `base64` is a CLI tool to base64 encodes the font file. You can also use
online tool to do that.

And call:

    bwipjs.loadFont("MICR", "<base64 encoded content of the font>");


before rendering the barcode, then you can specify the textfont option to use that font.

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bwip-js/3.0.4/bwip-js.min.js"></script>
<canvas id="barcodeCanvas"></canvas>      
<script>
    bwipjs.loadFont("MICR", "<base64 encoded content of the font here>");
  try {
    // The return value is the canvas element
    let canvas = bwipjs.toCanvas('barcodeCanvas', {
        bcid:        'onecode',       // Barcode type
        text:        '12345678901234567890',
        scale:       3,
        height:      10,
        includetext: true,
        textfont:    "MICR",
        textxalign:  'center',
        textsize:    8
    });
  } catch (e) {
      // `e` may be a string or Error object
  }
</script>​

You will see an Intelligent Mail barcode like below:

Swiss QR

Here's another sample script to generate Swiss QR code:

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bwip-js/3.0.4/bwip-js.min.js"></script>
<canvas id="barcodeCanvas" style="width:46mm;height:46mm;"></canvas>       
<script>    
  try {
    // The return value is the canvas element
    let canvas = bwipjs.toCanvas('barcodeCanvas', {
        bcid:        'swissqrcode',
        text:        `SPC
0200
1
CH5800791123000889012
S
Robert Schneider AG
Rue du Lac
1268
2501
Biel
CH







199.95
CHF
K
Pia-Maria Rutschmann-Schnyder
Grosse Marktgasse 28
9400 Rorschach


CH
SCOR
RF18539007547034

EPD`,
      scale: 2
    });
  } catch (e) {
      // `e` may be a string or Error object
  }
</script>

You can definitely replace the hard-coded text with merge fields. Preview the template, you will see an image like:

Note: Swiss QR Code specifies that the image shall be 46mm x 46mm (excluding quiet zone). Due to the difference between print and screen resolution, you will need to adjust the `scale` parameter to generate an image with the right size. Alternatively, you can use CSS style to specify the canvas size, for example:

<canvas id="barcodeCanvas" style="width:46mm;height:46mm;"></canvas>

QR Code Styling

You can also use the JavaScript approach to generate a styled QR Code. For example, add a company logo in the center of the QR Code image, or change the bar/dot styles.
In the following example, we use another 3rd-party library named qr-code-styling

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://unpkg.com/qr-code-styling@1.5.0/lib/qr-code-styling.js"></script>
<div id="canvas"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">

    const qrCode = new QRCodeStyling({
        width: 300,
        height: 300,
        type: "svg",
        data: "https://www.zuora.com/",
        image: "data:image/png;base64,<base64 encoded content>",
        dotsOptions: {
            color: "#0022DD",
            type: "dots"
        },
        backgroundOptions: {
            color: "#e9ebee",
        },
        imageOptions: {
            crossOrigin: "anonymous",
            margin: 20
        }
    });

    qrCode.append(document.getElementById("canvas"));
    qrCode.download({ name: "qr", extension: "svg" });
</script>​


Preview, you will see a styled QR code image like:

Disclaimer


The 3rd-party JavaScript library or script you use is not part of Zuora product, it's your own responsibility to implement, test, and maintain it.

Comparison

  • Wp_Barcode and JavaScript approach work in different stages.

The Wp_Barcode, like other functions, is executed at the merge field binding step before HTML rendering, and the JS script works in the HTML rendering stage.

  • Wp_Barcode has better performance than JS script

The HTML rendering engine needs to load the external JS library, the asset loading could be slow in case of bad network conditions. 

  • JS approach supports more types of barcodes than Wp_Barcode.
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