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How to add a barcode to your flipbook

Add scannable barcodes to your Flipsnack pages. Type a code in yourself, or let your product feed fill them in.

Table of contents

Overview

The Barcode element puts a real, scannable barcode on your page.

You can type a code in yourself. Or, if you build catalogs from a product feed, you can point the element at a column in that feed. Then every product page gets its own barcode.

No more making barcodes in another tool, saving them as images, and pasting them in one by one.

Key benefits

  • It really scans: the barcode is generated, not pasted in as a picture
  • It works with automation: link it to your feed and each product gets the right code
  • It prints well: barcodes stay scannable in your PDF export
  • It behaves like any element: move it, resize it, rotate it, copy it, delete it

What you need

Plan: nothing extra to buy. If you can use Elements and automation, you can use barcodes.

Product feed: only needed for automatic barcodes. You can type codes by hand without one.

Add a barcode

Open your flipbook in Design Studio. In the Elements panel, look under Graphics for Barcode.

Barcode element in the Elements panel under Graphics in Flipsnack Design Studio

Click it to drop a barcode on your page. It starts out empty and says Enter a code to generate. Drag it into place and resize it.

Empty barcode element placed on a flipbook page showing the Enter a code to generate placeholder

The barcode keeps its shape as you resize. That is on purpose. A squashed barcode stops scanning.

Now select it and click Edit in the toolbar. The Barcode panel opens. Type or paste your code into the Code box, and watch the barcode appear as you type.

Barcode panel with a code typed in and the live barcode rendered on the page

Pick a barcode type

Code 128 is picked for you. It takes letters, numbers and symbols, so it covers most catalogs.

Need a different standard? Choose it from the Barcode type dropdown.

You can pick from Code 128, Code 39, Code 93, EAN-13, EAN-8, EAN-5, EAN-2, UPC-A, UPC-E, ITF, ITF-14, MSI, Pharmacode and Codabar.

Every type has its own rules about how long a code can be and which characters it allows. The panel tells you the rules for the type you picked. EAN-13, for example, needs a valid check digit.

If your code breaks those rules, you will see an error instead of a barcode.

Note: This element does not make QR codes. To share a flipbook as a QR code, see the link at the end of this article.

Barcodes from a product feed

Building your catalog from a product feed? You do not have to type a code for every product. Place a barcode inside your grouped elements, connect it to the column holding your codes, and each product page gets its own.

The steps live with the rest of the catalog setup: How to create product catalogs from scratch using a product feed.

What readers see

Design Studio is more forgiving than your published flipbook, on purpose.

While you are editing:

  • Good code: you see the barcode, with the digits printed underneath
  • No code yet: you see the Enter a code to generate placeholder
  • Bad code: you see an error, so you can fix it

Scannable barcode displayed on a published flipbook page in the Flipsnack player

Once published, empty and broken codes simply do not show up. A bad row in your feed leaves a gap instead of a barcode nobody can scan.

Additional tips / FAQs

Can I make a QR code with this?

No. This element only makes standard bar-style codes. Flipsnack has a separate QR code feature for sharing a flipbook.

Will it scan off a printed page?

Yes. Barcodes come through in your PDF and print export at the right proportions.

Can the feed choose the barcode type?

Not right now. You set the type on the element, and it applies to every product in that layout.

What if a product has no code in the feed?

Nothing shows for that product. The rest of the page is fine.

Common use-cases

  • Wholesale catalogs that buyers can scan to order
  • Parts and manufacturing catalogs where every item has a number
  • Retail catalogs that need shelf-ready codes
  • Printed stock lists for counting inventory

Troubleshooting

I see an error instead of a barcode

Your code does not fit the type you picked. Check the length and the characters. EAN-13 and UPC-A also need a valid check digit.

Some product pages have no barcode

Those rows are probably empty or wrong in your feed. Published pages skip them rather than show something broken. Check the column you mapped.

My barcode did not change after I updated the feed

Sync the feed. If the flipbook is already published, publish it again.

My scanner will not read it

It may be too small, with the bars running into each other. Print a test at real size before a big run.

Next steps

Useful resources

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