oftek Barcode Toolkit Version 6.07 Release Notes
=================================================

1. Splitting of TIF Files into sub-files

A bug has been fixed in the splitting of TIF files into sub-files, based on 
the position of barcodes in the master image. It was found that it was 
possible, in certain situations, for barcodes to be repeated. This has been 
fixed.

2. Default size of the Quiet Zone

The default size of the quiet zone has been reduced slightly to accommodate the
quiet zone found between barcodes on products (e.g EAN-13 barcodes on magazines)


oftek Barcode Toolkit Version 6.03 Release Notes
=================================================

1. Code 39 barcodes with length less than 4 characters would not read.

Solution: The toolkit will now read Code 39 barcodes of any length. Remember 
though that the purpose of the MinLength setting is to cut down on the chance 
of a false positive reading.


Changes for Version 6.01
========================

The main change to the barcode toolkit for version 6 is the ability to work in a
multi-threaded environment. 

The algorithms for the Code 3 of 9 and Code 2 of 5 Interleaved barcode types 
have been re-written to provide a better success rate with low resolution 
images.

It's also worth noting why version 5 was never released. Just as version 5 got 
to the pre-release stage, the need for a thread safe version of the toolkit was
identified and was given top priority. 

Summary of changes:


1. Support for the Codabar symbology.

The toolkit now supports recognition of the Codabar barcode type. The 
ST_READ_CODABAR setting has been added, with a default value of True.


2. Improved recognition algorithms for Code 3 of 9 and Code 2 of 5 Interleaved.

Both of the algorithms for detecting Code 3 of 9 and Code 2 of 5 Interleaved 
barcodes have been improved. This particularly applies to low resolution images
where there may only be minor differences between the wide and narrow bars.


3. UPC-E to EAN-13 Conversion

UPC-E is a zero suppressed version of UPC-A/EAN-13 and the default in version 4
was to restore the suppressed zero's. The option has been added in version 6 to
leave the barcode as it is printed, via the CONVERT_UPCE_TO_EAN13 setting. The 
default value is True - which means that the zero's will be restored (the 
behaviour in version 4).


4. Retrieve the Direction of a Barcode in an Image

A new function has been added to retrieve the orientation of a barcode. The 
STGetBarCodeDirection function returns a value that, if used for the 
ST_ORIENTATION_MASK setting, would detect the barcode. Some barcodes can be 
read from left to right or right to left. In these cases the direction returned
is the first match found. 


5. 45 degree angle scanning
   
4 new scan directions are available in the toolkit. The default value for the 
ST_ORIENTATION_MASK is still set to 15, which covers left-right and top-down 
directions. Please refer to the C_API for full details of the new values for 
the mask.


6 TIF Split Mode

The way in which a multi-page TIF file can be split into smaller files is now
more flexible. The TIFF_SPLIT_MODE setting allows for the barcode to be on
either the first or the last page of each of the new files.


Changes for Version 5.01pre2
============================

1. This version of the toolkit can scan images at angles of 45 degrees and the
following mask values are available through the -d flag:

16 = Top Left to Bottom Right
32 = Top Right to Bottom Left
64 = Bottom Right to Top Left
128 = Bottom Left to Top Right.

2. Codabar barcodes are now recognised and can be checked for using the 
"-t codabar" option.

3. The Mimumum and Maximum lengths for barcodes can be specified using the -c
and -C flags respectively. Check digits are included in the length.

e.g -c 10 -C 15 will look for barcodes of length 10 to 15 inclusive.



Changes for Version 4.04
========================

1. Improved recognition of Code 2 of 5 (Interleaved) barcodes.
2. Added -P flag to bardecode command to show page numbers.

Changes for Version 4.02
========================

1. Fixed bug in loading of jpeg images.
2. Added support for image "over sampling". The value of a pixel is worked out
   from the average value of itself, the pixel n rows above and the pixel n rows
   below. Where n is determined by the value passed with the -L flag. This 
   method is reasonably fast and tends to remove the effect of speckles in an 
   image. The bardecode command implements this as the -O flag.
3. Previous versions of the toolkit have only scanned for a barcode in one
   orientation or rotation. This version can check for barcode in any direction
   in a single call to the barcode reader. The directions to use are specified
   in a mask built up from the values 1 for Left to Right, 2 for Top to Bottom,
   4 for Right To Left and 8 for Bottom to Top. The default value if 15.
4. An option of advanced noise reduction has been added. It works in the same
   way as normal noise reduction but removes white speckles as well as black.
   Turn on advanced noise reduction with the -N flag.

Changes for Version 3.07
========================

1. Fixed bug in Code 128 barcodes.
2. Increased size of default quiet zone to 0.1 inch
3. Support added for patch codes in toolkit (though not in demo code yet)
4. Support for TIF LZW images added.
5. Fixed bug that stopped recognition of barcodes at extreme edges of an image.

Changes for Version 3.02
========================

1. Support for Code 128 barcode
2. The toolkit now handles monochrome JPEG files correctly.


Changes for Version 3.01 
========================

1. Support for Jpeg format.

2. Support for UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8 and EAN-13 barcode formats added.


Changes for Version 2.07 Alpha
==============================

1. Splitting Multi-Page TIF Files on Pages Containing Barcodes

A new feature has been added to the toolkit that will split multi-page TIF files
on pages containing barcodes.

e.g. If the 10 page file multipage.tif contains barcodes on pages 2 6 and 7
then the command:

./code39trial -m -S output%d.tif multipage.tif

will produce files:

output1.tif     containing pages 2, 3, 4 and 5
output2.tif     with page 6
output3.tif     with pages 7, 8, 9 and 10


Changes for Version 2.06
========================

1. Support for color RGB TIFF images.

2. Multi-page Image Support

Default behaviour changed to examine all pages in an image for a barcode -
rather than just the first page.

e.g. 

A. If a TIF file called multi.tif contains 2 pages with barcodes "AAAA" and
"BBBB" then:

./code39trial multi.tif        will output "AAAA"
./code39trial multi.tif -m     will output "AAAA" and "BBBB"

The previous version would only have checked page 1 and so found no barcode.

./code39trial multi.tif -i 2   will output "BBBB"

B. If a TIF file called multi.tif contains 2 pages with one barcode "BBBB" 
on page 2 then:

./code39trial multi.tif        will output "BBBB"

The previous version would only have checked page 1 and so found no barcode.

Changes for V2.05
=================

1. C Programmers API

Included the C programmers API. For more details see the C_API folder.

2. Variable Quiet Zone Sizes

Added -q flag to code39trial command to allow the use of non-standard quiet
zones around barcodes. For example:

./code39trial -q 3 file.tif

...specifies a quiet zone of 3 pixels around the barcode. i.e. There has to be 
at least 3 white pixels surrounding the barcode.

