PDF417 barcode API

What PDF417 is for

PDF417 stacks rows of bars into a rectangle that a laser or camera scanner can read, and holds hundreds of characters. It is the code on US and Canadian driving licences, airline boarding passes and many carrier labels.

Make one from a URL

Send the text and get the image back. Your API key goes in a header.

curl "https://barcode.fmdeploy.com/v2/barcode/pdf417?text=Hello%20from%20FileMaker" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer bc_live_your_key" -o pdf417.png

Add &output=svg for a vector image that stays sharp at any print size.

From FileMaker

Insert from URL [ Select ; With dialog: Off ; Target: Items::Barcode ;
  "https://barcode.fmdeploy.com/v2/barcode/pdf417?text=" & GetAsURLEncoded ( Items::Code ) ;
  cURL options: "--header \"Authorization: Bearer " & $$BARCODE_KEY & "\"" ]

What it accepts

Any text, up to 4,000 characters here. Use POST for long content. Example: Hello from FileMaker

If the text can’t be encoded, the API answers with a clear message instead of a broken image.

Options

Set the module size with scale, the error-correction level with errorlevel (0 to 8) and the number of data columns with columns. Compact PDF417, the quiet zone, rotation and SVG output are available too. The documentation lists every parameter and its default.

Related formats