Barcode Generator in Excel add in Freeware

How to create UPC-A barcodes with check digit in Excel? No font, formula

How to generate, display, print GTIN, UPC-A barcodes with check digit calculator in Excel without using font, formula. Free download.

Barcode Generator for Excel add-in > How to generate barcode in Excel? > Create UPC-A barcodes in Excel

Support UPC-A barcode generation in Microsoft Office Excel 365 on Windows and Excel 2021, 2019 and early versions
Compatible with related GS1 specifications for UPC-A to ensure image scannability
Generate and embed UPC-A, UPC-A+2 & UPC-A+5 barcodes in Microsoft Excel worksheets
Easily adjust UPC-A barcode image settings in the barcode setting panel
Calculate and add checksum digit for UPC-A barcodes in Excel automatically
Automatically add quiet zones with advanced calculation specified in GS1 standard

UPC-A barcodes are essential for product identification and inventory management across retail and logistics.

With the KeepAutomation Excel Barcode Add-in, you can easily create, customize, and manage UPC-A barcodes directly in your Excel workbooks.

This guide uses a structured, guided approach to walk you through every process, with clear explanations and practical tips to ensure success.

Create a Single UPC-A Barcode in Excel

UPC-A (Universal Product Code Version A) is a 12-digit numeric barcode used to identify retail products (think of it as a unique "product ID" for store checkout). Creating a single UPC-A barcode is a simple process. You can follow the procedures below to create, print a UPC-A barcode in Excel file.

Select cell B2 by clicking it. You will see a blue border around the cell when it is selected.
In the "Barcode Settings" pane (right side of the window), ensure the "Basic Settings" tab is selected (it is the first tab).
Locate the "Barcode Type" dropdown menu (near the top of the "Basic Settings" tab).
Click the dropdown menu and select "UPC-A" from the list of available barcode types.
Find the "Data" text box directly below the "Barcode Type" dropdown.
Delete any default text in the "Data" text box, then enter =LINK(A2). The =LINK function links the barcode to cell A2, similar to how a formula updates when its referenced cell changes.
Locate the "Generate" button at the bottom of the "Barcode Settings" pane. It is a green button with white text, positioned between the "Update" and "Delete" buttons.
Click the "Generate" button to create the UPC-A barcode.

Note: If the "Generate" button is grayed out, double-check two things:

Ensure cell B2 is selected (it should have a blue border).
Confirm "UPC-A" is selected in the "Barcode Type" dropdown.

Confirm the UPC-A Barcode is Correct

Check cell B2. You should see a UPC-A barcode image inserted in the cell.
The barcode should fit neatly within cell B2. If not, you can resize the cell by dragging the edge between cell headers (e.g. drag the line between B and C to adjust width).
Confirm the barcode links to cell A2: Try changing the data in A2 (e.g., to "12345678902"). The barcode in B2 should update automatically (if the "Barcode Settings" pane is open).

Customize UPC-A Barcodes in Excel

The KeepAutomation Add-in offers over 30 customizable options for UPC-A barcodes, allowing you to adjust their appearance to meet your needs.

Below is a guided process to customize an existing UPC-A barcode, using bar color as an example.

Adjust Customization Settings

In the "Barcode Settings" pane, click the "Barcode Size" tab. It is the second tab, next to "Basic Settings".
Locate the "Color" group near the bottom of the "Barcode Size" tab.
Find the "Fore color" dropdown menu (this controls the color of the barcode's bars).
Click the dropdown menu and select a new color (e.g., "Red") from the list.
Locate the "Update" button in the "Barcode Settings" pane. It is a gray button positioned between "Generate" and "Delete".
Click the "Update" button to apply the color change.

Note: You can customize other settings using the same process:

To adjust barcode size: Use the "Image Width" and "Image Height" sliders in the "Barcode Size" tab.
To modify text display: Use the "HRI Settings" in the "1D Barcode" tab.

Rotate UPC-A barcode image in Excel

Using Excel Barcode Generator add-in, you can easily rotate a UPC barcode in Excel file.

Select a barcode image, choose rotation angle in property "Rotate", the barcode add-in will automatically rotate the selected UPC-A barcode image in Excel document.

Update UPC-A Barcodes When Cell Values Change

The KeepAutomation Add-in allows UPC-A barcodes to update automatically or manually when the linked cell data changes.

This ensures your barcodes always reflect the latest product information.

Automatic Update

With the "Barcode Settings" pane open, navigate to the linked data cell (e.g., cell A2).
Modify the data in the cell (e.g., change "12345678901" to "12345678903").
The linked UPC-A barcode (e.g., in cell B2) will update automatically. No extra steps needed.

Manual Update

If you modified the data while the "Barcode Settings" pane was closed, open the pane first (via "Add-Ins" > "KeepAutomation" > "Create Barcode").
Select the UPC-A barcode that needs updating (it will show a blue border).
Click the "Update" button in the "Barcode Settings" pane to refresh the barcode.

Delete UPC-A Barcodes in Excel

If you no longer need a UPC-A barcode, you can delete it using one of two simple methods. Both methods are quick and will not affect other data in your Excel sheet.

Method 1: Using Excel's Built-in Delete Function
1. With the barcode selected, press the "Delete" or "Backspace" key on your keyboard.
2. The barcode will be deleted instantly. This method works even if the "Barcode Settings" pane is closed.
Method 2: Using the KeepAutomation Add-in
1. With the barcode selected, locate the "Delete" button in the "Barcode Settings" pane. The "Delete" button is red, positioned to the right of the "Update" button.
2. Click the "Delete" button. The barcode will be removed from the cell immediately.

Create Multiple UPC-A Barcodes (Bulk Generation)

If you have a list of UPC-A codes (e.g., for multiple products), you can generate barcodes for all of them at once. This saves time compared to creating each barcode individually.

Select the range of cells where you want to insert the bulk barcodes. For example, click cell C5, hold down the left mouse button, and drag your cursor down to cell C7. This highlights the cells in blue.
In the "Barcode Settings" pane, locate the "Duplicate All" button. It is positioned below the "Generate" and "Update" buttons, near the bottom of the pane.
Click the "Duplicate All" button to start generating the bulk barcodes.

Note: Ensure the selected cells (C5-C7) are empty. If they contain existing data, the barcodes will overwrite it. You can move the existing data to another column (e.g., Column D) if needed.

Barcode UPC-A Introduction

The "UPC-A bar code" is by far the most common and well-known symbology, at least in the United States. An UPC-A bar code is the bar code you will find on virtually every consumer good on the shelves of your local supermarket, as well as books, magazines, and newspapers.

UPC-A is a GS1 barcode symbology, which is also named Universal Product Code version A, UPC-A+2, UPC-A Supplement 2 (Two-digit Add-On), UPC-A+5, UPC-A Supplement 5 (Five-digit Add-On), UPC Bar Code, UPC Symbol, GTIN-12 & GS1-12.

UPC-A Data Encoding in Excel

UPC-A supported characters and data length

UPC-A barcode can encode numeric data from 0 through 9.

UPC-A encodes 11 digits of numeric (0 through 9) message data along with a trailing check digit, for a total of 12 digits of bar code data. UPC-A may be accompanied by an add-on symbol (2-digit or 5-digit)

To create UPC-A barcodes in Excel, you need choose barcode type "UPC-A" for standard barcodes, "UPC-A +2" for UPC-A with 2 digits supplemental code; and "UPC-A +5" for UPC-A with 5 digits supplemental code.

UPC-A number system character

The UPC-A number system is a single digit which identifies the product type, if you will, that the following symbol represents.

0: Regular UPC codes
1: Reserved
2: Weight items marked at the store
3: National Drug/Health-related code
4: No format restrictions, in-store use on non-food items
5: Coupons
6: Reserved
7: Regular UPC codes
8: Reserved
9: Reserved

UPC-A check digit calculator in Excel

The UPC-A checksum digit is based on a modulo 10 calculation based on the weighted sum of the values of each of the digits in the number system, manufacturer code, and product code.

Using UPC-A barcode generator in Excel application, you can input 11 digits data with or without the last check sum digit. The barcode generator software will always ignore your provided check digit, and calculate the check digit based on your code first 11 digits.

UPC-A Supplemental barcodes (2 digits or 5 digits) encode in Excel

EAN/UPC bar codes may be augmented with a two-digit supplemental code to indicate the issue number for a periodical. Five digits supplemental codes are used with the product number to identify paperback books.

To generate UPC-A with 2-digit or 5-digit supplemental code, you could follow the steps below

Choose barcode type as "UPC-A +2" for UPC-A 2-digit supplemental barcode, "UPC-A +5" for UPC-A 5-digit supplemental barcode.
In the data property, use the following format "11 or 12 digits for UPC-A code" + "+" + "2 or 5 digits for supplemental code". For example "12345678901+12".

Customize UPC-A Add-On Barcodes

Select the UPC-A add-on barcode to customize it (blue border will appear).
In the "Barcode Settings" pane, click the "1D Barcode" tab.
Locate the "EAN / UPC" group—here you can adjust two key add-on settings:
- Bar height: A multiplier for the add-on's height (default is 0.8, meaning 80% of the main barcode's height).
- Bar space (in px): The space between the main barcode and the add-on (default is 15 pixels).
Adjust the settings as needed, then click "Update" to apply the changes.

How to create UPC-A barcode using Excel Cell data

To link single UPC-A barcode image or multiple barcode images to cell(s), please follow the steps below.

Generate an UPC-A or choose a created UPC-A image and click "Link Barcode to Cell".
Choose a cell with data and click "Update Barcode".
Now the UPC-A barcode image is linked to the cell successfully.
Multiple images are able to be linked to cells and updated all together.
After revise the data of those linked cells, choose one linked images, and click "Update".

How to generate list of UPC-A barcodes in Office Excel document without font, freeware, VBA, formula

Adding UPC-A barcode list in MS Excel is an easy job in accordance with the free user tutorial below.

Click "Insert Barcode", and a barcode setting panel pops up.
Choose a list of cells with valid data, or select a list of cells and input data.
Select "UPCA" barcode in the "SYMBOLOGY" pull-down menu.
Click "Insert", and the UPC-A barcode list is created immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the definition of a GTIN-12 UPC-A barcode?

GTIN-12 is a 12-digit Global Trade Item Number that's commonly encoded as a UPC-A barcode. This number is 12 digits long, comprising 11 digits of data and one check digit. Using Excel UPC-A barcode generator add-in, you can quickly create and insert UPC-A with GTIN-12 code encoded in Excel cells without any activex, barcode font installed.

What is the key difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A?

UPC-A is traditionally used in North America (including the USA and Canada), the UPC-A barcode is the carrier for a GTIN-12 number. While EAN-13 is used worldwide outside of this region. Using Excel UPC-A barcode add-in freeware, you can generate and print both UPC-A and EAN-13 barcode images in Microsoft Office Excel 365/2024/2021/2019 applications.

What is the key difference between UPC-A and UPC-E?

UPC-A is a standard 12-digit barcode, whereas UPC-E is a compressed 6-digit version. UPC-E is used when there's limited space for the barcode. Using Excel UPC-A barcode add-in freeware, you can encode and insert both UPC-A and UPC-E barcode images into Excel document without any activex, barcode font installed.

What are the size limits (minimum & maximum) for a UPC-A barcode's X-dimension?

The acceptable tolerance for the UPC-A X-dimension is from 0.0104 inches to 0.0260 inches. Using Excel UPC-A barcode add-in freeware, you can print UPC-A barcode images with X-dimension and Y-dimension size customized in Microsoft Office Excel 365/2024/2021/2019 applications.