Generate Barcode And QR Code In Xamarin for Android
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Here, I am going to discuss how to generate Barcodes or QR codes in Xamarin for Android. In order to do this, we need to get some information from the user, such as what message they want to convert, the code format they want to use, and their desired bitmap size. There is no default library for this, so we need to install a plugin.
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Just write a few lines of code to generate 1D and 2D code. Barcodes have different formats, but I will demonstrate only a few code formats — Code 39, Code 128, AZTEC, and QR Code. Below is our final output for the project, so you can visualize our end-result throughout the tutorial.
Let’s start.
Step One
Create a Xamarin.Android
application by going to Visual Studio >> New Project >> Android App. Once there, click Next.
Here, let's provide a project name, organization name, app compatibility, and app theme. Then, click Create.
Step Two
After project creation, we need to install a plugin. For this, go to Solution Explorer, right-click Packages, and select Add packages. A new window will appear; at the top-right, search for "ZXing.Net plugin," and add the package.
Step Three
Now, let’s code. First, open content_main.xml
. For that, go to Solution Explorer >> Resource >> Layout and double-click to open content_main.xml
. Add the following code to this file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
app:layout_behavior="@string/appbar_scrolling_view_behavior"
tools:showIn="@layout/activity_main">
<TextView
android:id="@+id/txtChooseStatic"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:text="Choose Encoding Method" />
<Spinner
android:id="@+id/spinner"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_below="@+id/txtChooseStatic"
android:prompt="@string/action_choose"/>
<EditText
android:id="@+id/plain_text_input"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_margin="10dp"
android:layout_below="@+id/spinner"
android:hint="Type Message to Convert"
android:inputType="text"/>
<ImageView
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
android:id="@+id/barcodeImage"
android:layout_below="@+id/plain_text_input"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"/>
<Button
android:id="@+id/generate"
android:background="#000000"
android:textColor="#ffffff"
android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:padding="10dp"
android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
android:layout_below="@+id/barcodeImage"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textSize="15dp"
android:text="Generate Code"/>
</RelativeLayout>
Step Four
Next, open MainActivity.cs
and add the following code to generate the barcode.
using System;
using System.IO;
using Android.App;
using Android.Content.PM;
using Android.Graphics;
using Android.OS;
using Android.Runtime;
using Android.Support.Design.Widget;
using Android.Support.V4.App;
using Android.Support.V4.Content;
using Android.Support.V7.App;
using Android.Views;
using Android.Widget;
using ZXing;
using ZXing.Common;
namespace BarCodeGenerator
{
[Activity(Label = "@string/app_name", Theme = "@style/AppTheme.NoActionBar", MainLauncher = true)]
public class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity
{
private TextView txtMessage;
private string message;
private static int size = 660;
private static int small_size = 264;
private Spinner spinnerValue;
private string CodeType;
protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);
Xamarin.Essentials.Platform.Init(this, savedInstanceState);
SetContentView(Resource.Layout.activity_main);
Android.Support.V7.Widget.Toolbar toolbar = FindViewById<Android.Support.V7.Widget.Toolbar>(Resource.Id.toolbar);
SetSupportActionBar(toolbar);
ImageView image = FindViewById<ImageView>(Resource.Id.barcodeImage);
Button btnGenerate = FindViewById<Button>(Resource.Id.generate);
txtMessage = FindViewById<TextView>(Resource.Id.plain_text_input);
spinnerValue = FindViewById<Spinner>(Resource.Id.spinner);
FloatingActionButton fab = FindViewById<FloatingActionButton>(Resource.Id.fab);
var adapter = ArrayAdapter.CreateFromResource(this, Resource.Array.selected_Code, Android.Resource.Layout.SimpleSpinnerItem);
adapter.SetDropDownViewResource(Android.Resource.Layout.SimpleSpinnerDropDownItem);
spinnerValue.Adapter = adapter;
spinnerValue.ItemSelected += new EventHandler<AdapterView.ItemSelectedEventArgs>(SpinnerItemSelect);
fab.Click += FabOnClick;
btnGenerate.Click += delegate
{
string[] PERMISSIONS =
{
"android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE",
"android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
};
var permission = ContextCompat.CheckSelfPermission(this, "android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE");
var permissionread = ContextCompat.CheckSelfPermission(this, "android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE");
if (permission != Permission.Granted && permissionread != Permission.Granted)
ActivityCompat.RequestPermissions(this, PERMISSIONS, 1);
try
{
if (permission == Permission.Granted && permissionread == Permission.Granted)
{
BitMatrix bitmapMatrix = null;
message = txtMessage.Text.ToString();
switch (CodeType)
{
case "QR Code":
bitmapMatrix = new MultiFormatWriter().encode(message, BarcodeFormat.QR_CODE, size, size);
break;
case "PDF 417":
bitmapMatrix = new MultiFormatWriter().encode(message, BarcodeFormat.PDF_417, size, small_size);
break;
case "CODE 128":
bitmapMatrix = new MultiFormatWriter().encode(message, BarcodeFormat.CODE_128, size, small_size);
break;
case "CODE 39":
bitmapMatrix = new MultiFormatWriter().encode(message, BarcodeFormat.CODE_39, size, small_size);
break;
case "AZTEC":
bitmapMatrix = new MultiFormatWriter().encode(message, BarcodeFormat.AZTEC, size, small_size);
break;
}
var width = bitmapMatrix.Width;
var height = bitmapMatrix.Height;
int[] pixelsImage = new int[width * height];
for (int i = 0; i < height; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < width; j++)
{
if (bitmapMatrix[j, i])
pixelsImage[i * width + j] = (int)Convert.ToInt64(0xff000000);
else
pixelsImage[i * width + j] = (int)Convert.ToInt64(0xffffffff);
}
}
Bitmap bitmap = Bitmap.CreateBitmap(width, height, Bitmap.Config.Argb8888);
bitmap.SetPixels(pixelsImage, 0, width, 0, 0, width, height);
var sdpath = Android.OS.Environment.ExternalStorageDirectory.AbsolutePath;
var path = System.IO.Path.Combine(sdpath, "logeshbarcode.jpg");
var stream = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Create);
bitmap.Compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.Jpeg, 100, stream);
stream.Close();
image.SetImageBitmap(bitmap);
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("No Permission");
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Exception {ex} ");
}
};
}
private void SpinnerItemSelect(object sender, AdapterView.ItemSelectedEventArgs e)
{
Spinner spinner = (Spinner)sender;
CodeType = (string)spinner.GetItemAtPosition(e.Position);
}
public override bool OnCreateOptionsMenu(IMenu menu)
{
MenuInflater.Inflate(Resource.Menu.menu_main, menu);
return true;
}
public override bool OnOptionsItemSelected(IMenuItem item)
{
int id = item.ItemId;
if (id == Resource.Id.action_settings)
{
return true;
}
return base.OnOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
private void FabOnClick(object sender, EventArgs eventArgs)
{
View view = (View)sender;
Snackbar.Make(view, "Replace with your own action", Snackbar.LengthLong)
.SetAction("Action", (Android.Views.View.IOnClickListener)null).Show();
}
public override void OnRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, string[] permissions, [GeneratedEnum] Android.Content.PM.Permission[] grantResults)
{
Xamarin.Essentials.Platform.OnRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
base.OnRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
}
}
}
Step Five
Finally, the application requires storage read and write permissions. For that, go to Solution Explorer >> Properties >> AndroidManifest.xml file. Check the permissions for External Storage Read and Write.
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
Step Six
Now, press F5 to run the application. The output will look like this:
You can get the full source code here.
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