Barcodes

Barcodes are additional pieces of data that can be attached to individual assets in the Storage. Each barcode field consists of a barcode name and a value.

TNI supports both linear and two-dimensional barcodes, including the following types: EAN-8, EAN-13, 2/5 Interleaved, Code 39, Code 93, Code 128, QR, Datamatrix, and PDF417.

Creating and managing barcodes

Barcode functionality is similar to that of Common fields.

To create and manage barcodes, open the Barcodes mode.

Use the left column to specify the barcode name and type, then enter its value in the right column.

To create a new barcode, clickAdd.

If you hover over any barcode field, the  button to delete the item appears on the right.

To rename a barcode, double-click its name.

You can select several nodes in the Network tree to change their barcode values simultaneously. If multiple nodes are selected and their values for the same barcode are different, a Different values label will appear in place of the value. To replace these values with the same value, click this label and set a new, common value.

An unlimited number of barcodes can be assigned to a single device.

Asset barcodes can also be added automatically, generated from a template. This functionality is similar to the Inventory number generator.

Open Storage properties and create your own template, following the instructions provided there. Barcodes will be automatically generated for new devices after activating the appropriate setting.

Printing and exporting barcodes

TNI provides several ways to print and export barcodes:

  • Open the Barcodes tab. Hover over a barcode value and click the arrow with the drop-down menu. This allows you to view the selected barcode and export it to PNG.
  • The context menu in the network tree allows you to quickly export all barcodes for a group or selected asset to PNG.
  • The Viewer and reports mode allows you not only to export barcodes but also to print them or their values (select the Full or Brief printable report). Export to various formats is available.

Searching for assets by barcode

The main purpose of barcodes is to identify assets quickly in the network tree. A dedicated search mode is available for this purpose.

To change the search mode, click the small arrow button on the left side of the search field above the network tree.

You can enter the barcode value manually or speed up the process by using an external hardware or software barcode scanner.

When searching, assets can be either simply highlighted or immediately selected in the network tree for further actions. You can select the preferred behavior in Options Barcodes . Here, you can also assign a hotkey for a quick search.

General information on barcodes and their limitations

EAN-8

Allowed characters: digits only (0-9)
Length: 7
Features: cannot be shorter than 7 characters, missing digits are padded with zeros; when generated, an additional check character is added

EAN-13
Allowed characters: digits only (0-9)
Length: 13
Features: cannot be shorter than 13 characters, missing digits are padded with zeros; when generated, an additional check character is added

2 of 5 Interleaved

Allowed characters: digits only (0-9)
Length: 32
Features: if the number of digits is odd, a leading zero is added

Code 39
Allowed characters: digits (0-9); uppercase Latin characters (A-Z); a few other symbols ( – . $ / + %) and space
Length: 24

Code 93
Allowed characters: digits (0-9); uppercase Latin characters (A-Z); a few other symbols ( – . $ / + %) and space
Length: 37

Code 128
Allowed characters: digits (0-9); Latin characters (A-Z; a-z); special symbols ( ! ” # $ % & ‘ ( ) * + , – . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ` { | } ~ )
Length: 64

QR
Allowed characters: any UTF-8 characters
Length: 1024

Data Matrix
Allowed characters: any UTF-8 characters
Length: 512

PDF417
Allowed characters: any UTF-8 characters
Length: 512

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