Bar Code Placement?

[Douglas McElvein]

Hello,

I'm using Microsoft Office Word 2003.

When I use:

Tools
Letters and Mailings
Envelopes and Labels

and add a bar code for zip codes the code is added above the mailing
address. How can I make it appear below the address?

Thanks,

Dbm

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Only by setting up your own template. There is no option to do this through
the Envelopes and Labels dialog.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Uncle Joe]

I don't know how to make the bar code appear below the
address, but I printed 36 Christmas card envelopes last
year and the bar code printed above all addresses. This fact
didn't bother the U.S. Postal Service since all cards were
delivered promptly.

Personally, I wouldn't lose sleep over the issue. Mail gets to
its destination regardless of the bar code's location.

If you do discover the answer for forcing the bar code below
the address, please post it in this newsgroup.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, I should have added that postal regulations do not require the bar
code to be at the bottom, but users who want them at the bottom are rarely
influenced by this information.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi Douglas,

Select the barcode. Ctrl+X to cut it. Click where you want it. Ctrl+V
to paste it.

I'm using Microsoft Office Word 2003.

When I use:

Tools
Letters and Mailings
Envelopes and Labels

and add a bar code for zip codes the code is added above the mailing
address. How can I make it appear below the address?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question
or reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This won't help if Douglas is using the Envelopes and Labels dialog because
(a) the dialog does not display the bar code, so there is nothing to cut and
paste, and (b) very likely Douglas wants the bar code at the bottom of the
envelope, not just below the address. Even if Douglas uses Add to Document
to create an editable envelope, cut and paste will not be easy because the
delivery address is in a frame, and the bar code would have to be pasted
outside the frame (which by default would put it immediately below the
return address).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Douglas McElvein]

I must admit this is fascinating stuff.

Yes, I am interested in placing the bar code below the address because of
personal preference.

So, I suppose fooling around with a template may be the way to go for now.

Thanks for one and all for the imput.

Dbm

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

To do this you'll need to put the BARCODE field in another frame (you can
set the vertical position as Bottom Relative to Margin if you define the
bottom margin correctly). It will need to reference a bookmark that
encompasses the Envelope Address frame.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Way, way too much trouble for appearance's sake, methinks. How many of us
spend more than two seconds admiring an envelope when it arrives in the mail?

Everyone is different. Suppose that's why the Microsoft Word Gods created
templates--so that each of us can go off into a corner and beat our brains out
trying to accomplish something unique...even if our achievement makes not one
whit of difference to the world or to the Postal Service. Somehow, I suspect
that the Microsoft Word Gods spoke to the U.S. Postal Service about the
placement of the bar code before they hard-coded the bar code's printing.

Go for it, Douglas. Let us know how you made out. Suggest you add the following
text to the front of your envelope: "Please admire this envelope's bar code because
I worked like a possessed fiend to relocate it to the bottom." (Grin.)

Good luck!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I think Douglas, like many other users, has noted that the USPS itself
prints bar codes across the bottom of the envelope (which must be left free
for that purpose, with the exception that bar codes can be printed there).
In fact, if you print a bar code there, you'll often find that your envelope
arrives with a (slightly different) bar code printed across the bottom of
the back side. Recent versions of Word, I understand, are not actually able
to print an 11-digit bar code (in any position) that conforms to USPS
requirements for bulk mail.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Douglas McElvein]

For heaven's sake why not?

Not to sound cranky but isn't the software supposed to work for you (easily)
instead one having to wrestle it to the ground just to get something on an
envelope the entire world uses?

Cheers!

Dbm

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

It depends on what you mean by "an envelope the entire world uses." First of
all, POSTNET bar codes are used only in the United States. That's hardly the
"entire world" no matter how parochial your view. Second, Word puts a bar
code in a perfectly acceptable place. There is no requirement to put a bar
code on First Class letter mail at all; this is purely a whim of the user.
The only requirement is to put bar codes on bulk mail, and above the address
is perfectly acceptable to the USPS. The fact that the bar code Word
currently creates is not fully CASS-compliant is a problem, I admit.


--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Douglas,

The barcode/postnet feature is pretty much unchanged since Word 6,
if I recall when it was introduced, That's 11 years ago <g>.
While gov't agencies do not always move very quickly, the US Postal
Service (USPS) has made *some* changes/improvements since then.

MS didn't update the algorithm to match using Word.
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;897290&spid=2530&sid=251
Word may not be used quite as much these days to be the 'bulk mailer'
address generator of choice.

For positioning the Postnet code above or below the address, MS seems
to have retired it's Word 6/7/97 article on it, possibly because though
the instructions will likely still work, the part about it being
USPS approved may no longer be true. But, if you care to look at it
Google has squirrled it away for you at
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:U_9zcO4SWicJ:support.microsoft.com/kb/105576/EN-US/

=======
For heaven's sake why not?

Not to sound cranky but isn't the software supposed to work for you (easily)
instead one having to wrestle it to the ground just to get something on an
envelope the entire world uses?

Cheers!

Dbm >>

--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

For Everyday MS Office tips to "use right away" -
http://microsoft.com/events/series/administrativetipsandtricks.mspx

 

[Graham Mayor]

You may not have noticed, but the United States is by no means 'the entire
world' - or even the largest part of it.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi Douglas,

So, I suppose fooling around with a template may be the way to go for now.

Set up a page the same size as the envelope you want to use

Now go to the dialog box for envelopes and instead of printing, choose to
add it to the document.

Make sure you have the non-printing characters displayed so that you can see
the "New page section break" Word inserts on the envelope you just added.
Delete this, and the second page should disappear, leaving the envelope.

Now you can cut and paste that barcode without having to go through all the
contorsions of creating the field from scratch.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or
reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[Douglas McElvein]

Thanks to all for your suggestions and thoughts.

Dbm


------30------

 

[Chuck Davis]

Thanks to all for your suggestions and thoughts.

Dbm


------30------

If you are considering Bulk mail rates, I suggest that you ask at your local
Post Office for Domestic Mail Manual 200 Series.
It will explain the entire process, including checking your mailing list.

I'm sure that a Mail Service Provider will be the most cost effective way to
go. CASS-certified software is expensive, but required. It usually has an
annual fee attached due to the necessity of the software to be regularly
updated to add, change and delete addresses.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Hi Douglas,

Now you can cut and paste that barcode without having to go through all the
contorsions of creating the field from scratch.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)

I'm certainly no expert on barcodes--other than having let Word print barcodes above
the addresses on my envelopes--but wouldn't the barcode change based on the
address of the recipient? Wouldn't that render the cut 'n paste method unusually
tedious (especially for +10 or more envelopes) and invalid at the same time? A
barcode generated for an address in Spokane would be different than a barcode
generated for an address in Miami, right?

Or, is the barcode based on the sender's address? Then it might make sense to cut
'n paste it for each envelope. Sure seems like a huge amount of trouble to endure
just for a personal preference. With a large family, I'd like an SUV with eight doors.
I don't understand why Microsoft won't make one for me. Their job is to adapt to
my needs, not make me adapt to their specifications, right? (Smile.)

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The bar code is generated by a BARCODE field based on a bookmark; you put
that field in your template and it is updated for each (bookmarked) address.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Joe,

The 'postnet' barcode and FIM codes are created by Word
fields (Insert=>Field) that 'read' the address. As mentioned
earlier the field coding to create the bar codes was created
before the current US Postal Service (DPMS) system with particular
subcoding for individual units in multi-unit dwellings was in
existence and hasn't been updated.

=============
I'm certainly no expert on barcodes--other than having let Word print barcodes above
the addresses on my envelopes--but wouldn't the barcode change based on the
address of the recipient? Wouldn't that render the cut 'n paste method unusually
tedious (especially for +10 or more envelopes) and invalid at the same time? A
barcode generated for an address in Spokane would be different than a barcode
generated for an address in Miami, right?

Or, is the barcode based on the sender's address? Then it might make sense to cut
'n paste it for each envelope. Sure seems like a huge amount of trouble to endure
just for a personal preference. With a large family, I'd like an SUV with eight doors.
I don't understand why Microsoft won't make one for me. Their job is to adapt to
my needs, not make me adapt to their specifications, right? (Smile.) >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

For Everyday MS Office tips to "use right away" -
http://microsoft.com/events/series/administrativetipsandtricks.mspx