Using barcodes in an inventory application is extremely simple. The
only thing that you need to do is to make sure that each data record
for each inventory item has a unique "ID" field (typically the primary
key field). The ID field would then be used to perform lookups or
whatever other database operations that you want to do with your data
and you would then encode the ID field data in bar code labels that
you would stick on the items that you want to keep track of.
You would then design your user input forms for any data entry or data
lookups so that you could enter the ID numbers for the items.
Most bar code scanners can be purchased with a "keyboard wedge"
interface so that the bar code scanner behaves like a second keyboard
attached to your PC. When you want to enter a bar code number into a
textbox on a form, all you need to do is to scan the bar code and the
scanner will enter the data into the textbox exactly as if it were
typed in on the keyboard. One advantage of this is that if a bar code
becomes unreadable, you can always type in the bar code number.
For printing bar codes from an Access database, the best way to do
things is to purchase a good bar code ActiveX control and use it in a
label report. The best bar code ActiveX control on the market is from
TAL Technologies and you can download a fully functional demo version
of it from the following web page:
http://www.taltech.com/products/activex_barcodes.html
The demo version of the TALtech bar code ActiveX control comes with a
sample Access database containing label reports that demonstrate how
to use it. Basically it works exactly like the textbox tool in the
report designer toolbox except that it display a high resolution image
of your bar codes and it has its own "properties" that determine the
type and size of the bar codes that are produced.
You may also want to read the articles on the following page for a
good "introduction to bar coding":
http://www.taltech.com/resources/intro_to_bc/