Ladies and Gentlemen...
I require expert help.

I've been asked to search for an OCR reading software, which will allow us to enter a number, it can then graphically search a list of jpgs for the corresponding barcode. The barcode will be stand alone, with nothing referring to it.

Can anyone please help me? I have half an hour to give a yes or no answer!
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:16, 13 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

I reckon
That you could just get a camera, and a two pens, and a ruler.

You can draw any barcode with a thin pen, a thick pen, and a ruler.

Sorry, can't help you on this.
( Cawl, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:18, Reply)

Not too sure what you're asking
Is it searching the barcodes, or the numbers under them? Can't quite make out whether you want software that reads barcodes, or software that reads standard letters/numbers.
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:20, Reply)

I want a software..
that we enter a number into, it will then search the image for the corresponding barcode, not the numbers.

So it will need a number-barcode converter, and an image search utility.

Please help?
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:21, Reply)

I'm
not sure I really understand this.

Do you have control over the jpgs?

Are they in a directory you can search?

If the answer to both is YES then I might be able to help you.

Oh - and coudl you give me an example jpg

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:22, Reply)

Legless is on a fucking roll today!
:)
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:26, Reply)

Sorry, it's difficult to explain.
We'll have lots of images in one folder, forms that have been scanned.

In the future, if we want to look up a person, we want to enter a number into a program. It will then search for the relevant barcode, and bring us up the image.

We will have control over the images, yes.
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:28, Reply)

Rather than searching by image
It's surely better to convert all the barcodes you have to their numerical equivalent using some sort of barcode-number conversion, then search the number table via a simple database query. Less potential for error than matching images I think. Have you just got the barcodes as images, or are they numbers written with a barcode font?

Do you know what standard you're using for the barcodes? I'll look for some software to convert them to numbers, we write our own in house so I may even be able to rip that off and knock you something up, although it sounds like you're after something subtly different...

PS - @ Legless - someone of your IT fu should surely know that the correct format should be .png, or at a stretch .gif, not .jpg! :P

Edit: Just seen your reply posted at the same time as mine, I will have a bit of a think now I've got more info.
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:29, Reply)

Have a look at these, one of these will surely do what you're after
Most of them seem to be paid for software unfortunately:

www.download.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=barcode+reader&tag=srch&searchtype=downloads&filterName=platform%3DWindows&filter=platform%3DWindows

I reckon that reading the barcodes and outputting the text as a string to a database then searching that is definitely the way to go.
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:32, Reply)

You're using a
sledgehammer to crack a nut.

I suggest you have someone go through the scanned forms and rename the jpgs to match the number on the barcode.

Jobs done.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:34, Reply)

Or...
I could use phps GD graphics library to isolate the barcode using x y co-ordinates and then produce a thumbnail of the barcode.

Then I *think* I could write a rough image matching program that would match the image.

Or I just name the thumbnails the same as teh original jpg but save them as PNG and then any standard barcode software code read them and spit out the right filename.

Hell - there's loads of ways to do this...
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:44, Reply)

The potential for error is larger if you use pure image matching, that's the only thing
If you scan the image with a barcode reading utility it will use the checking algorithm and the last digit (the algorithm varies per barcode standard, but they're all fairly trivial mathematically) to make sure it's read the code correctly, and spit out an error if it hasn't.

Using image matching means you're not using this handy feature of barcodes, hence the increased error potential. You definitely want to be summing the check digit as you read the barcode, and barcode software will do this for you.

/2p (I've done a LOT of work on barcodes recently, although sadly it's been more converting part numbers to barcodes for printing, so the other way round!)
(Son of Sam-i-am We're all as mad as hatters here, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:47, Reply)

OOh!
Someone's written a barcode reader class for PHP!

Excellent. This makes the job a lot easier.

webscripts.softpedia.com/script/E-Commerce/Barcode-PHP-35499.html

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 11:55, Reply)

Thanks to all for help!
It's been taken out of my hands, we'll be using this software - www.datacapture.co.uk/kofax/kofax-transform_image.htm

Well, we hope.
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 12:03, Reply)