devexpress/agent-skills/devexpress-office-file-api-barcode

DevExpress Barcode Generation API

The Barcode Generation API is a non-visual .NET library for generating barcode images programmatically. It supports over 30 barcode symbologies — 1D and 2D — and can export barcode images to PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, and PDF formats. The primary namespace is DevExpress.Docs.Barcode; a legacy namespace DevExpress.BarCodes is also available but is not recommended for new development.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Generate QR Code images from URLs, text, or binary data
• Generate Data Matrix barcodes for product labeling or manufacturing
• Generate PDF417 barcodes for transport, ID cards, and inventory
• Generate Aztec Code barcodes for ticketing and logistics
• Generate EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, or UPC-E barcodes for retail
• Generate GS1 QR Code or GS1 Data Matrix for GS1-compliant workflows
• Generate EPC QR Codes for SEPA credit transfers
• Generate Code 128, Code 39, or Code 93 linear barcodes
• Export barcode images to PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, or PDF
• Customize barcode appearance (colors, module size, DPI, quiet zone, border)
• Display or embed barcodes in ASP.NET, Blazor, WinForms, WPF, or MAUI apps

Prerequisites & Installation

NuGet Packages

.NET (8/9/10+)

# Full Office File API (recommended if you also use Word, Excel, or PDF)
dotnet add package DevExpress.Document.Processor
 
# Barcode-only (smaller footprint)
dotnet add package DevExpress.Docs.Barcode

.NET Framework (4.6.2+)

Install-Package DevExpress.Document.Processor
# or for barcode-only:
Install-Package DevExpress.Docs.Barcode

Important: All DevExpress packages in a project must share the same version number. A valid DevExpress license is required.

Non-Windows Development (Linux, macOS, Docker, Cloud)

Barcode image export (ExportToImage, DXImage) uses the same platform-specific drawing engine as the rest of Office File API: GDI+ on Windows, SkiaSharp elsewhere. The SkiaSharp-based engine is enabled automatically on non-Windows platforms.

See references/getting-started.md for the full non-Windows setup and troubleshooting guide.

Before You Start — Ask the Developer

If the host agent has a structured question-asking tool available, use it to ask these questions one at a time with clear options — for example, Claude Code's AskUserQuestion tool or GitHub Copilot's askQuestions tool. If no such tool is available, ask the questions directly in the chat response before generating code.

Before generating code, ask these questions to avoid rework:

General Questions

1. Target framework: Are you using .NET 8+ or .NET Framework 4.x?
2. New or existing project?: Are you creating a new project or adding to an existing one?
3. Hosting model: Console app, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, MAUI, WinForms, WPF, or something else?

Barcode-Specific Questions

1. Barcode type: QR Code / Data Matrix / Code 128 / EAN-13 / UPC-A / PDF417 / Aztec / GS1 / other?
2. Output format: Save as PNG/BMP/JPEG/TIFF image file / get as Stream / embed in Word/Excel/PDF document?
3. Special requirements: GS1 encoding / EPC QR Code / quiet zone size / module size / colors / human-readable text?

Rule: If the developer's answer is ambiguous or missing, ask before generating code. Do not guess.

Component Overview

The Barcode Generation API provides:

• Barcode creation: Instantiate BarcodeGenerator with a symbology-specific options object (QRCodeOptions, Code128Options, DataMatrixOptions, etc.)
• Common options: Configure appearance and layout via BarcodeOptions properties (colors, DPI, module size, rotation, border, text)
• Symbology-specific options: Each barcode type exposes its own options class with symbology-specific properties
• Export: Write to Stream as image or PDF, or get a DXImage object, via BarcodeGenerator.Export(), ExportToImage(), ExportToPdf()
• Fluent API: Some symbologies expose XxxOptionsBuilder classes for a builder-style configuration pattern — check barcode-options.md for confirmed availability per type

Core Entry Point

using DevExpress.Docs.Barcode;
using DevExpress.Drawing;
using System.IO;
 
// 1. Choose symbology and configure options
var options = new QRCodeOptions();
options.Dpi = 96;
options.ModuleSize = 2f;
options.ShowText = false;
options.ErrorCorrectionLevel = QRCodeErrorCorrectionLevel.Q;
 
// 2. Generate and export
using var stream = new FileStream("qrcode.png", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
using var generator = new BarcodeGenerator(options);
generator.Export("https://www.devexpress.com", stream, DXImageFormat.Png);

Documentation & Navigation Guide

Getting Started

Refer to references/getting-started.md

When you need to:

• Set up the Barcode Generation API for the first time
• Install and configure the NuGet package
• Generate your first QR Code barcode image
• See a complete step-by-step working example

Barcode Types

Refer to references/barcode-types.md

When you need to:

• Choose the right barcode symbology for your use case
• See all supported 1D and 2D barcode types
• Find the options class name for a specific barcode type
• See code examples for QR Code, Data Matrix, PDF417, Code 128
• Understand GS1, EPC, and postal barcode specifics

Barcode Options & Export

Refer to references/barcode-options.md

When you need to:

• Configure colors, module size, DPI, rotation, border, quiet zone
• Show or hide human-readable text below/above the barcode
• Save a barcode as a PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, or PDF file
• Get a barcode as a Stream or DXImage
• Embed a barcode image in a Word Processing, Spreadsheet, or Presentation document
• Understand the difference between ExportToImage() and Export(stream)
• Understand all configurable BarcodeOptions properties

New Barcode API, Fluent Builder & Async Export (v26.1+)

Refer to references/new-barcode-api.md

When you need to:

• Use the fluent XxxOptionsBuilder.Create()...Build() pattern for type-safe configuration
• Export barcodes asynchronously (ExportAsync, ExportToImageAsync)
• Use Micro QR Code (MicroQRCodeOptions, MicroQRCodeOptionsBuilder)
• Migrate from the legacy DevExpress.BarCodes namespace
• Use a standalone DevExpress.Docs.Barcode NuGet package without the full Office File API

Quick Start Example

A complete example — generate a QR Code and save it as PNG:

using DevExpress.Docs.Barcode;
using DevExpress.Drawing;
using System.IO;
 
// Configure QR Code options
var qrOptions = new QRCodeOptions();
qrOptions.Dpi = 96;
qrOptions.ModuleSize = 2f;
qrOptions.ShowText = false;
qrOptions.CompactionMode = QRCodeCompactionMode.Byte;
qrOptions.ErrorCorrectionLevel = QRCodeErrorCorrectionLevel.Q;
 
// Export to PNG
using var output = new FileStream("qrcode.png", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
using var generator = new BarcodeGenerator(qrOptions);
generator.Export("https://www.devexpress.com", output, DXImageFormat.Png);

What This Does

Creates a QR Code encoding the URL https://www.devexpress.com and saves it as qrcode.png in the working directory. The ModuleSize controls the size of each QR module in pixels; ErrorCorrectionLevel.Q provides 25% error correction capacity.

Key Properties & API Surface

BarcodeGenerator

BarcodeOptions (common properties, all symbologies)

QRCodeOptions (symbology-specific)

Common Patterns

Save Barcode to File (PNG)

using var stream = new FileStream("barcode.png", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
using var generator = new BarcodeGenerator(options);
generator.Export("data to encode", stream, DXImageFormat.Png);

Get Barcode as DXImage (in-memory)

using var generator = new BarcodeGenerator(options);
DXImage image = generator.ExportToImage("data to encode", DXImageFormat.Png);
// Use image in your application (e.g., display in UI or embed in a document)

Export Barcode to PDF

using var pdfStream = new FileStream("barcode.pdf", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
using var generator = new BarcodeGenerator(options);
generator.ExportToPdf("data to encode", pdfStream);

Customize Colors and Border

var options = new QRCodeOptions();
options.BackColor = DXColor.LightGray;
options.ForeColor = Color.DarkGreen;
options.BorderColor = DXColor.DarkCyan;
options.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.Center;
options.BorderDashStyle = BorderDashStyle.DashDot;
options.BorderWidth = 2f;
options.Dpi = 96;
options.ModuleSize = 3f;
options.ShowText = true;
options.TextFont = new DXFont("Segoe UI", 12f);

Configure Options — Direct Assignment

var options = new QRCodeOptions();
options.ErrorCorrectionLevel = QRCodeErrorCorrectionLevel.H;
options.CompactionMode = QRCodeCompactionMode.Auto;
options.ModuleSize = 3f;
options.Dpi = 96;
options.ShowText = false;
 
using var stream = new FileStream("qrcode.png", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write);
using var generator = new BarcodeGenerator(options);
generator.Export("https://example.com", stream, DXImageFormat.Png);

Configure Options — Fluent Builder (v26.1+)

Many symbologies now also expose an XxxOptionsBuilder for a chainable builder pattern. See references/new-barcode-api.md for confirmed per-type availability and examples.

Version-Specific Notes