Technical FAQs
On July 12, 2022, Accusoft announced the latest update to PrizmDoc, its industry-leading document processing integration. The PrizmDoc 13.21 update improves existing features and adds key functionality related to format support, redaction capabilities, content conversion, and more, allowing developers to offer enhanced functionality within their applications.
One of the main improvements in this release is to PrizmDoc’s Content Conversion Service (CCS). PrizmDoc now provides the ability to convert PDF documents to MS Word (DOCX) documents, making shared collaboration easier than ever before.
Other features and updates in this release include:
- High-Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF, HEIC) support for viewing, redaction, and conversion to JPG/JPEG, PDF, PNG, SVG and TIFF.
- PrizmDoc Viewer Markup Burner API now provides the ability to burn in redaction reason text for transparent (draft mode) redactions and provides the ability to remove PDF AcroForm fields.
- Improved performance of the PAS GET MarkupLayers API when using AWS S3 storage, which significantly reduces network traffic between PAS and S3.
PrizmDoc provides customizable document processing to help developers deliver in-browser document creation, editing, and collaboration functionality, to enhance their software applications.
For more information about PrizmDoc or to download a free trial, please visit our website.
About Accusoft:
Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in document processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.
TAMPA, Fla. September 9, 2020 – In August, Tampa Bay Tech’s Software CEO Council (TBSC) met to tackle what so many CEOs and founders are experiencing right now as the country continues to reopen. The outlook was optimistic amongst the group as all attendees reported that their businesses were maintaining financial stability and growing headcount.
During this quarterly meeting, TBSC usually gathers to discuss business ideas, philanthropic efforts, and community involvement. This meeting was a little different considering the effects that COVID-19 has had on the market.
“It’s important for TBSC to keep our meetings going, especially during a pandemic,” states Seng Sun, CEO of SunView Software. “We can rely on each other to share feedback and ideas regarding the management of new COVID-19 protocols.”
Prior to the meeting, the members participated in a brief survey about the impact that the pandemic had on their businesses.
“Across the board our CEOs reported challenges in the past several months, but I was encouraged by the optimism for not only ending the year in a positive place, but heading into 2021 with solid strategies to grow,” reported Jill St Thomas, Tampa Bay Tech’s Executive Director. “The commitment of these leaders to support one another absolutely embodies our mission of building a radically connected tech community in Tampa Bay.”
“We need to understand the way the pandemic has influenced not only our own business plans and strategies, but how it will affect the technology landscape in Tampa Bay,” states Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft. “We have light-hearted meetings, but we do discuss serious subjects. I took over a page of notes on ideas my peers shared, and I’m interested in implementing them across my teams.”
Members of the group in attendance included: Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft, Kevin Coppins, CEO of Spirion, Seng Sun, CEO of SunView Software, Ed Holmes, CEO of FairWarning, Gregory Ross-Munro, CEO of Sourcetoad, Paul Toomey, CEO of Geographic Solutions, Chris Karlo, CEO of Mercury New Media, Jody Haneke, CEO of Haneke Designs, and moderator, Jill St. Thomas, Executive Director of Tampa Bay Tech.
For more information about TBSC, visit the group’s website at https://www.tampasoftwareceos.com/.
About Tampa Bay Tech
Tampa Bay Tech is a 501(c)6 non-profit technology council that has been engaging and uniting the local technology community for 20 years. With over 100 companies representing thousands of tech employees – as well as thousands of students within the area’s colleges and universities – Tampa Bay Tech provides programming and initiatives to support all those in the technology space. Through their membership and partnerships, their mission is to build a radically connected, flourishing tech hub where opportunity is abundant for all. Join the TBTech community at tampabay.tech and follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and Twitter.
About Accusoft
Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.
Barcodes remain the basis for product identification and tracking, improving both operational insight and the end-user experience. From common applications in grocery stores to more advanced deployments in warehouses, legal firms, and even post-secondary schools, barcodes are the ubiquitous bridge between digital and physical environments.
As noted by Forbes, emerging pandemic pressures have precipitated the return of a familiar code framework, the QR code. Now used by retail stores and restaurants to enable touchless product identification and payment, this rapid code renaissance is a stark reminder that codes remain a key driver of long-term operational success. However, not all barcode reader tools are created equal. Some struggle to handle damaged or deformed barcodes, others limit the type and nature of the codes they scan, and many full-featured solutions come with significant complexity around installation, integration, and ease-of-use.
Barcode Xpress offers the best of both worlds. Here’s what developers need to know.
What is Barcode Xpress?
Accusoft’s Barcode Xpress makes it easy for users to read, write, and detect over 30 different barcodes with a single software development kit (SDK). Barcode Xpress supports:
- 1D Barcodes — Including Add-2, Add-5, Code 39, GS1 and UCC
- 2D Barcodes — Such as Aztec, Data Matrix, PDF417 and QR codes
- Postal Codes — From PLANET and PostNet to Royal Mail and the Australia Post 4-State Code
- Patch Codes — Including Patch 1, 2, 3, 4 (Toggle), 6 and Transfer
Barcode Xpress also reports confidence values for detected codes, reads supported barcodes in any orientation in milliseconds, and can intelligently handle poorly-printed, damaged, or badly-scanned barcode images. This SDK is also available in six development environments, including:
- .NET
- .NET Core
- ActiveX
- Java
- Linux
- Node.js
Basic Barcode Requirements
Deployment environments for Barcode Xpress must leverage one of the following x64 Windows versions:
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 10 Version 1607 and later
- Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and later
- Windows Server 2012, 2016 or 2019
The SDK can also be deployed on x64 Linux operating systems including:
- Ubuntu 18.04 or 16.04
- CentOS 8 or 7
- Debian 9 or 10
When it comes to Barcode Xpress development environments, requirements include Microsoft .NET Core 2.1 or later along with Java Runtime Environment 1.8 or later for License Manager and Server Licensing Utilities, along with Visual Studio 2017 or later (optional).
Ease of Installation
To streamline installation, Barcode Xpress .NET Core can be deployed via NuGet package or using a zip file provided by Accusoft. In both cases, developers require a valid license to use the SDK. Explore the different license types here.
Evaluation licenses allow your team to explore Barcode Xpress features bounded by timeouts and watermarks. Toolkit licenses remove pop-ups, time outs, and watermarks to enable in-depth development, while Runtime licenses are required to distribute your application.
Navigating NuGet
The simplest way to deploy Barcode Xpress is using the NuGet package manager for Microsoft development platform in Visual Studio. All of Accusoft’s NuGet packages can be found at nuget.org. Find the NuGet Barcode Express .NET package here.
To install the NuGet package, follow these steps:
- Open the NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio.
- In the newly-opened window, ensure the Package Source is set to nuget.org and select the Barcode Xpress package.
- After selection and installation, look for the newly-added assemblies in your References folder.
- Add using [namespace] to any CS/VB file you’d like to reference these NuGet libraries.
Need more help? Check out the official NuGet tutorials.
Creating a Command Line
Ready to tackle your first project in Barcode Xpress? Here’s a step-by-step guide to building a complete C# application that analyzes 1D barcodes using Visual Studio.
1.Create a new Console App project in .NET core:
2. Add the Barcode Xpress SDK:
3. Add any required Microsoft dlls for the project. In this case, look for System.Drawing.Common at nuget.org, or add them locally if they’re already present as references in your development environment.
4. Add using statements to your generated Program.cs:Program.cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSdk;
namespace MyProject
{
...
5. Create any necessary instances of Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSDK.BarcodeXpress and System.Drawing.BitmapProgram.cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSdk;
namespace MyProject
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
BarcodeXpress barcodeXpress = new BarcodeXpress();
System.Drawing.Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap("barcode.bmp");
}
}
}
6. Pass this bitmap to Barcode Xpress and access the returned resultsProgram.cs
…
namespace MyProject
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
BarcodeXpress barcodeXpress = new BarcodeXpress();
System.Drawing.Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap("barcode.bmp");
Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSdk.Result[] results = barcodeXpress.reader.Analyze(bitmap);
if (results.Length > 0)
{
foreach (Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSdk.Result result in results)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} : {1}", result.BarcodeType.ToString(), result.BarcodeValue);
}
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("No Barcodes Found.");
}
}
}
7. Finally, clean up your code by using the Dispose() methodProgram.cs
…
namespace MyProject
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
BarcodeXpress barcodeXpress = new BarcodeXpress();
System.Drawing.Bitmap bitmap = new Bitmap("barcode.bmp");
Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSdk.Result[] results = barcodeXpress.reader.Analyze(bitmap);
if (results.Length > 0)
{
foreach (Accusoft.BarcodeXpressSdk.Result result in results)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} : {1}", result.BarcodeType.ToString(), result.BarcodeValue);
}
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("No Barcodes Found.");
}
barcodeXpress.Dispose();
}
}Ongoing Improvements
Barcode Xpress isn’t a new offering — it’s been part of the Accusoft SDK lineup for more than 15 years. However, John Reynolds, Principal Engineer for Barcode Xpress, recently took a look at the code to improve its functionality. In his whitepaper, Refactoring Legacy Code for Speed in Barcode Xpress, he found that when repeatedly scanning a barcode in a particular direction, the count length of black/white runs in the same direction.
As a result, continually calculating the mask and data pointers for each coordinate is cumbersome, but also allows for potential shortcuts, such as keeping a running tally of the mask across the image. Applied in depth, this and other code legacy code changes have helped improve 1D barcode analysis times from 5% to 60%, depending on the image.
Barcode Xpress offers comprehensive code recognition that’s easy to implement and customize, while ongoing improvements help streamline SDK deployment, enhance operational speed, and empower software engineers in various markets. Discover the benefits of Barcode Xpress. Download a free trial or try an online demo today.