Scripting in BarTender

The topics in this section refer to using Visual Basic Script (VBScript) within the BarTender user interface. To automate BarTender from an external application, you must use the BarTender ActiveX Automation interface or install the BarTender .NET SDK. For more information, refer to Automating BarTender.

You can perform most of the BarTender functions directly in the application, but the BarTender scripting capability provides more advanced functionality to the application and provides a way for you to customize the data and objects by using a text editor if you want.

The BarTender internal scripting engine helps you with the following tasks:

Providing the data for a data source or object: When VBScript is used as a data source type, text, encoder, and barcode objects receive data directly from a custom VBScript. This means that you can fulfill special input requirements, such as modifying imported data and combining multiple pieces of information. By offering Microsoft Visual Basic Script as a data source type, BarTender makes it possible for you to process and combine the data for objects on a template in many ways. For more information, refer to VBScript as a Data Source Type.
Performing special validation or other processing on data from another data source, such as a database or the keyboard: Sometimes, your data must be validated or processed in an unusual way before it is printed. By using the VBScript transform, you can modify the data and control data source input. For more information, refer to Using the VBScript Transform.
Altering the data or object formatting at certain times: Use BarTender document-level events and regular events to customize the behavior of your document and template design at specified times, such as at print time or when a document is opened. For more information, refer to Document-Level Events.

VBScript can be complex enough to be considered a program, but sometimes a single line of VBScript can prove quite useful. Still, scripting is typically a technique for "power users" and is not ideal for computer novices. Whatever your computer skills are, you should always make sure that BarTender doesn’t already offer a solution to your challenge before you try a script-based solution.

In This Section

Procedures

Describes the various types of procedures, how to share script between objects, and how to define global variables.
Document-Level Events

Describes how to enable Visual Basic scripting for document-level events, and describes the document event scripts that are included with BarTender.
VBScript Data Source Type

Explains how to set the data source type, and describes the different types of scripts that are available.
VBScript Transform

Describes how to use the VB Script transform for data processing and validation.