Create GS1 DataMatrix barcodes with Brother P-touch Editor

Create GS1 compatible DataMatrix barcodes in P-touch Editor by following these steps:

Insert the DataMatrix barcode

In P-Touch Editor, select Insert > Bar Code from the menu. Switch to the Protocol tab and select the DataMatrix protocol:

DataMatrix Protocol

Add the Function 1 Symbolic Character (FNC1)

This special character is used to differentiate GS1 DataMatrix from other Data Matrix barcodes. Go to the Setup tab and check the Specify Industrial Protocol (FNC1) box:

FNC1

Add the GS1 element strings

You must follow the GS1 rules when encoding data in a GS1 DataMatrix. I highly recommend that you review Chapter 2 (Encoding data) in the GS1 DataMatrix Guideline (PDF). P-touch editor won’t prevent you from making any mistakes!

As an example, I’m going to recreate the GS1 DataMatrix barcode found in TL A-0032 Part 1, Edition 7 (page 12).

It contains both a GTIN-13 (4012345000016) and a serial number (ABC17829). The corresponding GS1 DataMatrix Application Identifiers are 01 (GTIN-13) and 21 (serial no.). The GTIN-13 has to be padded with a leading 0 to match the expected length of 14 characters. Therefore, the concatenated string is  010401234500001621ABC17829:

GS1 DataMatrix data

The resulting barcode matches the example, though it seems that P-touch Editor cannot add the Human readable Interpretation (HRI):

GS1 DataMatrix comparison

You could, of course, add the HRI using the text tool.

For further information, please consult the GS1 DataMatrix Guideline (PDF)!

RS-232 (serial port) and PHP under Windows

Unlike Flash or JavaScript, PHP is not sandboxed and might therefore look like an acceptable choice when trying to communicate over RS-232. After briefly looking into it, I wouldn’t recommend it for production systems. Anyhow, here are the options I found:

1. DIO Direct I/O functions

The DIO functions have not been bundled with PHP for years,  but you can download the DIO Package here (it’s still in beta). The following article contains instructions on how to install and use it: How do I control a serial port using PHP? The required php_dio.dll file is available for PHP up to version 5.6, though the PHP manual says that the DLL is “currently unavailable” (which is true if you’re using PHP 7).

On a Linux system, according to what I’ve read, the DIO extension is probably the best way to use a serial port with PHP.

2. PHP Serial class (a.k.a php_serial)

The current version can be found here. “There is lots of bugs”. On Windows, “it seems to be working for some people, not working for some others.” Good luck.

3. Serial-to-Network Proxies

You’ll find many of these proxies on Arduino Playground, including useful descriptions. They are written in languages better suited for the task (well some of them are) and act as intermediaries between serial and network connections. In PHP, you’d simply connect to the socket provided by the proxy (careful, some are unidirectional). This option might be your best bet on Windows, but obviously makes things more complicated.

This list is not exhaustive, but at this point I decided to abandon the entire idea. Don’t hesitate to post your solution in the comments if you’ve found one that isn’t listed. However, please don’t bother asking me any PHP-and-RS-232 related questions as I won’t be able to answer them.

How to add a URL to the Java Exception Site List file

On one of our computers, the Security Tab in the Java Control Panel sometimes looks like this:
Java Control PanelAs you can see, the part required to manage the exception site list is missing/not accessible. I have no idea why (reinstalling Java did not help).

However, you can also add exceptions by directly editing the exception.sites file. Under Win 7, it is normally found in the C:\Users\*YOUR USERNAME*\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment\security directory. Simply add a new line for each URL (e.g. https://stupdidbank.example.com), save the file, then restart the browser.

See this page or the official Java documentation for further information.