A quick guide:
How to generate barcodes in Google Sheets:
1) Add Libre barcode family fonts from the More fonts section
2) Select the data values to convert them into barcodes
3) Change its font to a Libre barcode font, eg. Libre barcode 39.
Get the sample of the spreadsheet here
At times it can get frustrating to make redundant and repetitive entries in Google Sheets. Redundancy and repetitiveness can take a huge toll on time and productivity. To improve the efficiency of data entry one can switch to barcodes (║█║▌║█║▌│║▌║▌█║) which makes the job a lot simpler and faster.
Numbers and strings can be represented visually with barcodes. In most cases, they refer to records in databases containing valuable information about products. They can be scanned easily using barcode scanners and this cuts a lot of human effort as one doesn’t need to make redundant entries again and again.
Let’s understand the utility of barcodes by pondering over the following WHAT IFs:
- What if during checking out from a retail store, the cashier makes the entry of every product by manually entering the data in Google Sheets?
We would be stuck forever in queues!!!
- What if all the shipments stopped using barcodes for logistics and tracking purposes?
Our package might end up at the wrong address!!!
There is no doubt that barcodes save a lot of time and effort, as well as minimize human error. That’s why it’s essential to adopt smarter ways of data entry. In this tutorial, we will learn about how to generate barcodes in Google Sheets.
Before we start the actual process, we need to make sure that we have relevant fonts to generate barcodes in Google Sheets.
Adding Barcode fonts
There are numerous barcode fonts available over the internet. In this tutorial, we will be discussing those that are generally used and are free. The objective is to learn how to create barcodes in Google Sheets on our own and that too for free.
There are three barcode font families available in Google Sheets. They are as follows:
- Libre barcode 39: A Code 39 barcode encodes 39 characters in total. However, in its most recent version, the character set has been increased to 43. They are commonly used as labels in the industry.
- Libre barcode 128: A Code 128 barcode can encode a full 128 characters in total. To encode all 128 characters, Code 128 consists of three subsets A, B, and C. These are used extensively in packaging and the shipping industry.
- Libre barcode EAN13: A code EAN13 barcode can encode 13 characters in total. They are widely used in retail stores all over the world.
We will now see the step-by-step process of adding these fonts in Google Sheets. The steps are as follows:
- Click on the fonts section and select the More fonts option
- Search for “Libre barcode” and check all the available options and click OK
We have added these fonts successfully. We will proceed with the part where we generate barcodes in Google Sheets.
Generating barcodes in Google Sheets – Method #1
There are multiple ways of generating barcodes in Google Sheets and we will discuss all of them. In the following example, we have a dataset about a product along with its product ID.
The objective is to generate a barcode against the product ID. The step-by-step procedure is as follows:
- Select the entire product ID and copy it under the Barcode header
- Go to the fonts section and search for any of the barcode fonts that we have added
- Apply the font and the result should look similar to the following image
We have successfully been able to generate barcodes in Google Sheets.
Generating barcodes in Google Sheets – Method #2
There is one more technique to generate barcodes in Google Sheets. It’s formula oriented and simple to implement. The step-by-step procedure is as follows:
- Select the empty cell under the Barcode header
- Type in the following formula and press Enter:
="*"&B4&"*"
# B4 is the address of the Product ID 
- The barcode gets generated for “iPhone 14”. Drag down the formula to fill in the column completely
We were successfully able to generate barcodes in Google Sheets using the formula-driven approach. It shows that generating barcodes is a lot simpler than one can actually imagine.
Conclusion
We were successfully able to generate barcodes in Google Sheets. We have also understood how barcodes save us a lot of time, minimize human error and boost productivity. Now you are all set to use these methods to your advantage.
See Also
Are you interested in learning more about how much you can succeed with Google Sheets? With so many powerful features of Google Sheets, you save time and effort.
We have several tutorials that cover tricks and tips in Google Sheets. You can discover them here.
Here are some articles you might be interested in:
https://blog.tryamigo.com/how-to-generate-qr-codes-in-google-sheets/
https://blog.tryamigo.com/sort-query-using-order-by-in-google-sheets/
https://blog.tryamigo.com/introduction-to-date-function-in-google-sheets/