The Code 39 (3 of 9) bar code format is one of the bar code formats most commonly used with OnBase. Code 39 bar codes can be processed in one of two ways:
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Standard Code 39 Bar Code Processing. Standard characters (numerals, uppercase letters, and a limited set of special characters) are recognized.
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Extended Code 39 Bar Code Processing. All standard characters, as well as lowercase letters and an expanded set of special characters, are recognized.
For more information on the differences between Standard and Extended Code 39 bar code processing, see Technical Knowledge Base Article #1683.
In order to represent this expanded character set, Extended Code 39 bar codes use control characters. When a control character is followed immediately by an alphanumeric character, the two characters together are interpreted as a single character from the extended character set (similar to using the Shift key on your keyboard in combination with a numeric key to type a special character, such as a $ or &).
By default, OnBase attempts to process every Code 39 bar code as an Extended 39 bar code. This allows you to have greater flexibility in the characters that can be contained in a Keyword Value represented by a bar code, but it can cause problems if the Keyword Value represented by the bar code needs to contain one of the Extended 39 bar code character set's control characters and your bar code is not formatted correctly.
If your OnBase solution will process Code 39 bar codes, it is considered a best practice that you familiarize yourself with the Code 39 bar code standard before you attempt to configure a bar code process.