Read Data Matrix Barcode (G Dataflow)

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Last Modified: June 25, 2019

Locates and reads the value encoded in a Data Matrix barcode.

You can compare the decoded data to a reference string or check whether the data contains a specific pattern. Many of the options of this node allow for automatic detection of Data Matrix barcode properties or determine which methods the node should use to locate and decode the Data Matrix barcode. Selecting specific properties and methods for these options will increase the performance of the node.

Inputs/Outputs
Compatibility

search options

Cluster containing the options to use when searching for Data Matrix codes in the image.

rotation mode

Amount of Data Matrix code rotation the node should allow.

Name	Description
unlimited	The node allows for unlimited rotation.
0 degrees	The node allows for 0 degrees of rotation.
90 degrees	The node allows for 90 degrees of rotation.
180 degrees	The node allows for 180 degrees of rotation.
270 degrees	The node allows for 270 degrees of rotation.

skip location?

Boolean that specifies if the node assumes that the Data Matrix code occupies the entire image, or the entire search region.

If TRUE, the node skips the location phase, moving immediately to extraction and decoding.

TRUE	Data Matrix code occupies the entire image or the entire search region.
FALSE	No assumptions made about the percentage of the image occupied by the Data Matrix code.

Default: FALSE

edge threshold

Minimum contrast a pixel must have in order to be considered part of a matrix cell edge.

The lower this value, the more potential edge candidates the node will examine during the location phase. Setting this value too low will decrease the performance of the node because the node will examine too many potential edge candidates. Setting this value too high may also decrease the performance of the node by removing valid edge candidates, making location more difficult. Setting this value too high may also cause the node to fail to identify a Data Matrix barcode because all edge candidates are eliminated.

demodulation mode

Mode the node should use to demodulate, or determine which cells are ON and which cells are OFF, within the Data Matrix code.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	(Default) The node tries each demodulation mode and use the one which decodes the Data Matrix code within the fewest iterations and utilizing the least amount of error correction.
histogram	0	The node uses a histogram of all of the cells to calculate a threshold. This threshold determines if a cell is on or off. This is the fastest method, but it requires images with consistent levels of contrast in the matrix.
local contrast	1	The node examines each of the cell's neighbors to determine if the cell is on or off. This method is slower, but works with images that have inconsistent levels of contrast.
combination	2	The node uses the histogram of the cells to calculate a threshold. For cells with pixel values that are sufficiently below or above this threshold, the node will use the threshold to determine if the cell is on or off. If the cell pixel values are close to the threshold, the node will use the local contrast method to determine if the cell is on or off. This method is slower, but works with Data Matrix codes that have extremely low cell fill percentages or gross print growth errors.
all	3	The node tries histogram, local contrast, and combination, stopping once one mode is successful.

cell sample size

Sample size, in pixels, to take to determine if each cell is ON or OFF.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	(Default) The node tries each sample size and use the one which decodes the Data Matrix code within the fewest iterations and utilizing the least amount of error correction.
1×1	1	The node will use a 1×1 sized sample from each cell.
2×2	2	The node will use a 2×2 sized sample from each cell.
3×3	3	The node will use a 3×3 sized sample from each cell.
4×4	4	The node will use a 4×4 sized sample from each cell.
5×5	5	The node will use a 5×5 sized sample from each cell.
6×6	6	The node will use a 6×6 sized sample from each cell.
7×7	7	The node will use a 7×7 sized sample from each cell.

cell filter mode

Mode to use to determine the pixel value for each cell.

If cell sample size is 1×1, then the value of the sample pixel determines the pixel value for the cell.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	The node tries all filter modes and uses the one that decodes the Data Matrix code within the fewest iterations and utilizing the least amount of error correction.
average	0	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the average of the sampled pixels.
median	1	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the median of the sampled pixels.
central average	2	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the average of the pixels in the center of the cell sample.
high average	3	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the average value of the half of the sampled pixels with the highest pixel values.
low average	4	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the average value of the half of the sampled pixels with the lowest pixel values.
very high average	5	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the average value of the ninth of the sampled pixels with the highest pixel values.
very low average	6	The node sets the pixel value for the cell to the average value of the ninth of the sampled pixels with the lowest pixel values.
all filters	8	The node tries each filter mode, starting with average and ending with very low average, stopping once a filter mode decodes correctly.

skew degrees allowed

Amount of skew in the code to allow.

Default: 5

maximum iterations

Maximum number of iterations before the node stops looking for the code.

Default: 500

initial search vector width

Number of pixels to average together to determine the location of an edge.

You may need to increase this value when the Data Matrix code has cells with a low fill percentage.

Default: 5

description options

Cluster that contains the Data Matrix code description options to use when searching for Data Matrix codes in the image.

aspect ratio

Ratio of the width of a cell of the Data Matrix code, in pixels, divided by the height of a cell of the Data Matrix code, in pixels.

Set this value to 0 to indicate that the node should determine the aspect ratio.

Default: 0

rows

Number of rows in the Data Matrix code.

Set this value to 0 to indicate that the node should determine the number of rows.

Default: 0

columns

Number of columns in the Data Matrix code.

Set this value to 0 to indicate that the node should determine the number of columns.

Default: 0

rectangle

Boolean that specifies if the Data Matrix code is square or rectangular.

If both rows and columns are non-zero, the node ignores this setting.

ECC

ECC used for the Data Matrix code.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	(Default) Sets the node to determine the barcode ECC automatically.
ECC 000	0	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 000 only.
ECC 050	50	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 050 only.
ECC 080	80	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 080 only.
ECC 100	10	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 100 only.
ECC 140	14	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 140 only.
ECC 000-140	19	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 000, ECC 050, ECC 080, ECC 100, and ECC 140 only.
ECC 200	20	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes of ECC 200 only.

barcode polarity

Data-to-background contrast for the Data Matrix code.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	(Default) Sets the node to determine the code polarity automatically.
black on white	0	Sets the node to read codes with dark data on a bright background.
white on black	1	Sets the node to read codes with bright data on a dark background.

cell fill percentage

Fill percentage for a cell that is in the ON state.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	(Default) Sets the node to determine the Data Matrix code cell fill percentage automatically.
< 30%	0	Sets the node to read Data Matrix codes with a cell fill percentage of less than 30 percent.
>= 30%	1	sets the node to read Data Matrix codes with a cell fill percentage greater than or equal to 30 percent.

minimum border integrity %

Minimum percentage of the matrix border the node should expect in the Data Matrix code.

During the location phase, the node ignores possible matrix candidates that do not have at least this level of border integrity.

mirror mode

Option that specifies if the Data Matrix code appears normally in the image or if the Data Matrix code appears mirrored in the image.

Name	Value	Description
auto-detect	-2	(Default) Sets the node to automatically determine if the code is mirrored.
normal	0	Sets the node to read codes that appear normally in the image.
mirrored	1	Sets the node to read codes that appear mirrored in the image.

image in

Reference to the source image.

ROI descriptor

Region of interest within which the Data Matrix code is located.

The first contour of the ROI must be a rectangle, rotated rectangle, or convex polygon. If skip location? of the data matrix search options input is TRUE, a convex polygon contour has an additional constraint of being four-sided. If the ROI descriptor is empty or not connected, the entire image is considered to be the region.

global rectangle

Coordinates of the bounding rectangle.

contours

Individual shapes that define an ROI.

ID

Object specifying if contour is the external or internal edge of an ROI.

Type

Shape type of the contour.

Coordinates

Relative position of the contour.

prepare for grading?

Option for specifying if the node should make calculations needed to prepare to grade the Data Matrix code.

Name	Value	Description
do not prepare	0	(Default) Does not make any preparatory calculations. Attempts to grade the Data Matrix code will generate an error.
prepare for AIM grading	1	Prepares the image for grading using the AIM Print Quality metrics.

size options

Cluster that contains the code size options to use when searching for codes in the image.

data matrix size

Size range, in pixels, for the code in the image.

The node ignores potential barcode candidates that are sized outside of this range.

minimum size

Minimum size, in pixels, of the code in the image.

Setting this value to 0 indicates that the node should never exclude a barcode candidate because it is too small.

Default: 0

maximum size

Maximum size, in pixels, of the code in the image.

Setting this value to 0 indicates the node should never exclude a barcode candidate because it is too large.

Default: 0

quiet zone width

Minimum size of the quiet zone, in pixels.

The node ignores barcode candidates whose quiet zones are smaller than this value.

error in

Error conditions that occur before this node runs.

The node responds to this input according to standard error behavior.

Standard Error Behavior

Many nodes provide an error in input and an error out output so that the node can respond to and communicate errors that occur while code is running. The value of error in specifies whether an error occurred before the node runs. Most nodes respond to values of error in in a standard, predictable way.

error in does not contain an error	error in contains an error

If no error occurred before the node runs, the node begins execution normally. If no error occurs while the node runs, it returns no error. If an error does occur while the node runs, it returns that error information as error out.	If an error occurred before the node runs, the node does not execute. Instead, it returns the error in value as error out.

Default: No error

advanced options

Array of advanced options.

option

Option the node uses when reading the data matrix.

line detection (0)	Enables the line detection algorithm. Use line detection if the image has a cluttered background.
highlight filter (1)	Enables the highlight filter. Use the highlight filter if the image is blurry or has low contrast.
aggressive (2)	Enables aggressive reading. aggressive reading returns the decoded code immediately without minimizing detected errors.

value

Value that specifies whether to use the selected option.

A value greater than 0 enables the option.

image out

Reference to the source image.

data matrix report

Cluster of information about the code that the node reads.

found?

Boolean that indicates if a data matrix code is located in the image.

TRUE	Data matrix code was located in the image.
FALSE	Data matrix code was not located in the image.

binary?

Boolean that indicates if the Data Matrix code contains either encoded non-ASCII binary data or ASCII text.

TRUE	Data Matrix code contains encoded non-ASCII binary data.
FALSE	Data Matrix code contains ASCII text.

data

Encoded information that the node reads.

bounding box

Aarray of five points that define the boundary of the Data Matrix code in the image.

errors corrected

Number of erasures corrected using inherent error correction.

erasures corrected

Number of erasures corrected using inherent error correction.

aspect ratio

Aspect ratio of the data matrix code in the image.

rows

Number of rows in the Data Matrix code.

columns

Number of columns in the code.

ecc

Type of the Data Matrix code.

barcode polarity

Polarity of the Data Matrix code.

cell fill percentage

Cell fill percentage of the code.

border integrity

Percentage of the Data Matrix border that appears correctly in the image.

mirrored?

Boolean that indicates if the code appears mirrored or normally in the image.

TRUE	Code appears mirrored in image.
FALSE	Code appears normal in image.