Skip to main content
ExLibris
  • Subscribe by RSS
    • Back
    Aleph
    Ex Libris Knowledge Center

    With Windows 7: can't print barcode image ... just barcode numbers

    1. Last updated
    2. Save as PDF
    • Article Type: General
    • Product: Aleph
    • Product Version: 20

    Description:
    [From Eric Loehr, Smith College Libraries, on ALEPH500-DISCUSS-L:]

    We've just installed two staff PC's with Windows 7, and both have this problem: when printing pull slips neither PC will print the barcode - - instead it prints the barcode number. The Win 7 PC's are using the same template (hold-request-slip.xsl) as our Windows XP PC's (which do print the barcodes).

    There's document (How to make the Barcode font Scannable) attached to KB# 30158 which indicates that Aleph (we're running v.19) is looking for the CarolinaBar-B39 font to print barcodes, which is apparently not native to Windows 7. The only source we've found for that font is http://www.carolinabarcode.com/10002-p-621.html (a site license costs $199).

    I guess $199 for a site license isn't all that bad, but I'm not wild about having one more thing to remember to include on our PC images.

    Has anyone installed the Aleph client on Windows 7 PC's and discovered problems like this? Or better yet, found a different solution? If anyone using Aleph on Win 7 has discovered other problems (with or without solutions) I'd be very interested in hearing about those as well.

    The fonts are in C:\WINDOWS\Fonts

    Resolution:
    [From Christine Moulen, MIT:]

    I thought Ex Libris distributed those barcode fonts with Aleph, as well as the Arial-Unicode-MS. Did you run the Aleph installer to get the client onto those PCs? Or did you copy it, as we'd had to do when we got the first Vista machines and the installer didn't work.

    If I was mistaken, you can find your own barcode font and change the font specified in the ./form_eng XSL templates:

    funcs-free.xsl: <td
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">*<xsl:value-of
    select="$value"/>*</td>

    funcs-free.xsl: <td
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">*<xsl:value-of
    select="$value"/>*</td>

    funcs-grid-style.xsl: <td align="center"
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">*<br/><xsl:value-of
    select="$value"/>*</td>

    funcs-grid.xsl: <td width="35%" align="center"
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">*<xsl:value-of
    select="$value"/>*<br/></td>

    funcs-split.xsl: <td
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">

    funcs-split.xsl: <td
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">

    funcs-style.xsl: <td
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">*<xsl:value-of
    select="$value"/>*</td>

    funcs-style.xsl: <td
    STYLE="font-family=CarolinaBar-B39-2.5-22x158x720;">*<xsl:value-of
    select="$value"/>*</td>

    [From Jan Jourdain, Amherst College:]

    I'm in Five Colleges with Eric and confirmed his findings on our 1st
    (test) Win7 installation. Our HTMLPrint is v5.24. The only barcode font delivered with Win7 is 3_of_9_Barcode_regular. My inclination is to acquire CarolinaBar-E39, rather than change Aleph config files (to avoid, I hope, future Aleph version change headaches). If there's a better solution, though, I'm open to it.

    [From Liz Best, Ex Libris Support;]

    I've looked on a Windows XP machine that has Aleph installed and it has the CarolineBar fonts installed. I've also looked on a Windows XP machine that does not have Aleph installed and it does not have the CarolinaBar fonts installed. In looking at the Microsoft site for fonts supplied with Windows 7
    (http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/product.aspx?PID=161) and Windows XP SP2
    (http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/product.aspx?PID=145) it does not appear as though C:\WINDOWS\system32\ has the files CarBarN.ttf as a default for either and some other application is installing them.

    [From Mathias Weyland, ETH Z?rich:]

    To clarify, setup.exe most definitely should include the carolina bar fonts. We never implemented version 19, but I just checked and both version 18 as well as version 20 ship with the fonts.

    $:~$ wine setup.exe /x foo
    $:~$ ls foo/
    ariag.ttf CarBar12.ttf CarBar17.ttf CarBar21.ttf CarBar3.ttf
    CarBar8.ttf fix_a.fon kerberos.dll Msflxgrd.ocx UniCType.dll
    axcontrol.ocx CarBar13.ttf CarBar18.ttf CarBar22.ttf CarBar4.ttf
    CarBar9.ttf fix_egpt.fon krb5_32.dll msvcirt.dll unwise32.exe
    CALISZC.ocx CarBar14.ttf CarBar19.ttf CarBar23.ttf CarBar5.ttf
    comerr32.dll HTMLPrint.exe Log2Vis.dll msvcrt.dll xlfixh.fon
    CarBar10.ttf CarBar15.ttf CarBar1.ttf CarBar24.ttf CarBar6.ttf
    coucyr.ttf HTMLPrint.ini mfc42.dll Roboex32.dll xlheb2.ttf
    CarBar11.ttf CarBar16.ttf CarBar20.ttf CarBar2.ttf CarBar7.ttf
    courg.ttf ijl15.dll mfco42d.dll Shdocvw.dll

    I'm sorry I don't have Windows ready at hand but the /x switch should work there, too. I have no idea whether the installer is supposed to
    *install* the fonts on Win7, even though it appears reasonable to do so.
    I also don't know about how ExLibris licensed the font and under what conditions we are allowed to use it.

    [From Jan Jourdain, Amherst College:]

    Pulling a copy of the CarBar.ttf set (24 files) from a working WinXP Aleph client and installing it on a Win7 client worked here.

    • Article last edited: 10/8/2013