What Is Barcode In Google Sheets?
The Barcode in Google Sheets feature converts the characters or ID’s entered in a spreadsheet to a machine readable code. The Barcode is a series of black bars of different widths with spaces in-between the bars, where, each bar represents the predefined code for the characters, an alphabet or a number. The Google Sheets Barcode are generated or created by formatting the given data to the required Barcode fonts as per the requirement.
For example, the table below shows a couple of products and their respective codes. In Column C, we have entered the Product IDs to convert them using the Barcode generator in Google Sheets.
Select cells C2 and C3, click the “Font” drop-down and select the “Libre Barcode 39”.
The output is shown above. The moment we select the font, the ID’s convert to their respective barcodes.
Key Takeaways
- A Barcode in Google Sheets consists of a series of bars with slight spaces in-between the bars, with the bars representing encoded characters.
- The bars for different types of barcodes will vary in terms of the width of the bar and any other width in spaces between bars. But it may not be the same as different barcode fonts.
- We can use Code39, Barcode, and Code 128 to generate barcodes in Google Sheets. However, according to our requirements, we can also pick other barcode fonts, such as UPC/EAN, UPC-E, and I2of5.
- Code39 and Code 128 are the fonts typically used to create barcodes that any barcode scanner can scan.
- Barcodes are used in several industrial, retail stores, medical centres, and many others places, playing a key role in quickly scanning products with a certain code.
Download And Install Fonts For Barcode In Google Sheets
- In MS Excel, we must Install Font for Barcode. However, Font for Barcode In Google Sheets is inbuilt.
- In MS Excel, we have three Barcode fonts available, namely,Code 39, Code 128 and EAN barcodes, which inGoogle Sheets are Libre Barcode 39, Libre Barcode 128 and Libre Barcode EAN13, respectively.
- The Code 128 is used in packaging and the shipping industry, Code 39 is used to label inventory, name badges and applications and the EAN barcodes is used in trading or merchandizing.
How To Generate/Create A Barcode In Google Sheets?
We can Generate/Create A Barcode In Google Sheets as follows:
Step 1: Select the cell value for which we must generate or create a Barcode.
Step 2: Click the “Font” option drop-down. It is as shown in the image below.
Step 3: The required Font to convert the ID’s to Barcode. For example, here, “Libre Barcode 128”, will be available in the list, as shown.
Step 4: If the fonts are not available, then, click the “More fonts” option. The “Fonts” window appears, as shown below.
Step 5: Now, type “barcode” in the search box, select all the options available. Click “OK”, as shown below.
Step 6: When we click the “Font” option drop-down, the selected fonts will appear. It is as shown below.
Step 7: Finally, click the required font to generate the Barcode. It is for the selected cell value.
Examples
Let us consider Barcode in Google Sheets examples to generate the Code 39, EAN13 and Code 128 barcodes.
Example #1 – Creating Barcode Using the “Code39” Barcode Font.
We have the data below of subjects and their question paper IDs. Let us create a barcode using the “Code39” barcode Font. We have copied the QP ID’s from Column B already to Column C.
The procedure to generate barcode for QP IDs using the Code 39 is,
Select cells C2 to C6, click the “Font” tool drop-down and select the “Libre Barcode 39” font from the “Recent” section, as shown below.
[Note: If the fonts are not found in the “Recent” section, then, we must scroll down to get the font.]
We get the generated barcodes, as shown below.
Example #2 – Creating Barcode Using the “EAN13” Font.
We have the grocery list and their product id’s. Let us generate a barcode using the “EAN13” Font.
The steps to generate a barcode using the “EAN13” Font are as follows:
Step 1: First, we will copy the product id’s from Column B to Column C using the barcode formula. Select cell C2, enter the formula =“(“&B2”)”, press “Enter” and drag the formula from cells C2 to C6 using the fill handle, as shown below.
Step 2: Now, select cells C2 to C6, click the “Font” tool drop-down, scroll down. Select the “Libre Barcode EAN13 Text” font as it is not found in the “Recent” section, as shown below.
The output is shown below.
[Note: The text part of the IDs are converted to Barcodes; not the numeric part. It is because, we have used the “Libre Barcode EAN13 Text” font. However, is available we can use the “Libre Barcode EAN13” to covert the complete ID.]
Example #3 – Creating Barcode Using the “Code128” Font.
We will generate barcode using the “Code128” Font for the below given HP Laptop details. The Code128 encodes numerical values, text and 128 ASCII characters.
The procedure to generate barcode for the laptops using the Code 128 is,
Select cells B4 to D4, click the “Font” tool drop-down and select the “Libre Barcode 128” font from the “Recent” section, as shown below.
[Note: If the fonts are not found in the “Recent” section, then, we must scroll down to get the font.]
We can see the created barcodes for the laptops below.
Example #4
We have the smartphones data given below and their model code. We will convert to Barcode using the Code 39 Extended font.
The steps to generate a barcode using the “Code 39” Font are as follows:
Step 1: First, we will copy the model id’s from Column B to Column C using the barcode formula. Select cell C2 and enter the formula =“(“&B2”)”, as shown below.
Step 2: Press “Enter” and click the check/tick option in the “Suggested autofill”, as shown below.
Step 3: Now, select cells C2:C5, click the “Font” option drop-down and select the “Libre Barcode 39 Extended” font, as shown below.
Look at the output below.
Important Things To Note
- We can generate a barcode in Google Sheets using the barcode fonts available. However, by default, MS Excel does not provide barcode fonts and we must download them from websites and install them on our computers.
- Code39 barcode which we use frequently, is also called as Code 3 of 9. One can scan it by every barcode scanner. It can encode 26 upper-case letters, 10 digits, and 7 special characters.
- Code 128 barcode consists of data digits, a start character, a check character, and a stop character. It contains 106 different barcode patterns.
- We must remember that each barcode font is different and generates unique barcode. Even if it is the code or its extended version font.
- If we use the “Libre Barcode EAN13 Text” font, then, the barcode will generate only for the text part and not the numeric part. However, is available we can use the “Libre Barcode EAN13” to covert the complete ID.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The uses of generating or creating Barcodes are,
• It helps to find the identify items quickly and easily, to track stock items and develop product lists, ensuring accuracy and cost-effectiveness.
• It helps to create a product catalog with all barcodes, so we can keep track of the items.
Below are the barcode fonts and types we will find on websites. Each font helps us use the barcode in MS Excel or Google feature in specific scenarios.
1. Code 39: The simplest to use and includes strings, numeric and alphanumeric values.
2. Code 128: It uses all the ASCII characters. It finds application in the shipping industry and supply chain.
3. EAN: European Article Numbering, mostly used for store items.
4. UPC/UPC-E: Universal Product Code is twelve or six characters in length, respectively, used for small packages.
5. QR: Quick Response code or QR code is scanned to access apps or websites to pay online.
6. I2of5: I2of5 or Interleaved 2 of 5 is a highly-dense two-row barcode and applies to numeric characters. We will find these on cartons.
7. Postnet: Postal Numeric Encoding Technique used by the U.S. Postal Services to encode numeric values.
8. Intelligent Mail: It encodes a maximum of 65 numeric values used by the U.S. Postal Services.
The formula for barcode in Google Sheets is written as follows, =“(“&cell reference&”)”
• An opening parenthesis in double-quotes, ‘&‘, the text code cell reference, ‘&‘, and a closing parenthesis in double-quotes.
• For example, if the text code is in cell B2, the expression in the target cell will be: =“(“&B2&”)”
Download Template
This article must be helpful to understand the Barcode In Google Sheets, with its formula and examples. You can download the template here to use it instantly.
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