Data Matrix

The Data Matrix barcode is a matrix symbol which allows efficient encoding of data into a square barcode. It includes data correction:

0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

From the 2D Barcode Action dialog box, select Properties:

The DataMatrix Properties dialog box will display:

Options

Encoding Mode
The data represented in the symbol may be encoded using one of the following modes:

The ASCII option encodes data that contains ASCII characters (0-127), such as text that includes uppercase and lowercase letters, with or without numbers and
punctuation.

The C40 option encodes data that holds only numeric values and uppercase characters.

The Text option encodes data that contains numeric values and lowercase characters.

The BASE256 option can encode images, double-byte characters, binary data and 8-bit values.

The default mode is the First character of data option, which compresses (encodes) the data based upon the the first character of the selected string being a single digit. This first character will not be a part of the barcode.

Resolution
The density of the barcode. 96 dpi (dots-per-inch) is low resolution, while 600 dpi is high resolution. The default is 96 dpi.

Format
There are 31 formats, which refer to the sizing of the DataMatrix barcode in relation to its data capacity. The default format is Automatic, which adopts the barcode format based upon the numeric, alphanumeric and binary capacity of the amount of data encoded. The other 30 format sizes have various capacity requirements. An internet search for the maximum data capacity for the different symbol sizes will yield multiple results. A helpful table can be found at the following URL:
http://www.idautomation.com/barcode-faq/2d/data-matrix/#DataMatrix_Formats

Margin
The quiet zone border. The quiet zone border is the blank border of a barcode that indicates the barcode boundaries. The default is 1.71 decipoints. 1 pixel = 7.5 decipoints.

NOTE: Characters, text, numeric values and bytes of data can be encoded in a Data Matrix barcode. A two-dimensional imaging device such as a CCD camera is necessary to scan the symbology.