How can I include the postal barcode on envelopes I print?

Anonymous
2010-08-19T21:58:15+00:00

I've been using word for years.  I occassionally print envelopes including the postal barcode.  I haven't figured it out yet in office 2010.  I hope that some one can help me.  Thanks in advance.

Lee Warren

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2012-01-13T23:40:07+00:00

As explained in  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/897290 the POSTNET barcode that Word can create is now obsolete, so it was removed from the Envelope dialog starting in Word 2007.

If you really want to put in a POSTNET barcode, you can go to Insert > Quick Parts > Field and insert a BarCode field (which is how the option in the Envelopes dialog used to do its work). The syntax

of the field code is explained here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-in/word-help/field-codes-barcode-field-HP005186205.aspx

Jay Freedman

MS Word MVP  FAQ: http://word.mvps.org

Hello everyone!   I too was very frustrated by this.  When I used the "add field" under the quick parts menu in Word 2010 and added "barcode", I would always get "Invalid Zip" as the response.  After some investigating, I found the fix:  if you go to the USPS website at https://ribbs.usps.gov/onecodesolution/download.cfm and download uspsEncoderMsOffice-1.3.0.zip, you can install it in seconds.

Once you install, all you have to do is the following: I went back to the "mailings" menu, selected "envelopes", then went to the address field and clicked "insert", then clicked "quick parts", selected "bar code" and clicked "is US address" and entered the zip code.  This worked perfectly for me in Word 2010. 

Hope this helps!!

Was this answer helpful?

9 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2013-10-30T10:58:10+00:00

The download you want for a 64-bit Windows system running 32-bit Office software is uspsEncoderMsOffice-1.3.1.  Looks similar except the MsOffice part.

The solution referenced requires more operator intervention than I would like each time one wishes to insert a bar code on an envelope.  Hopefully, that will be a fix in the future.

Was this answer helpful?

3 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2010-08-20T01:37:37+00:00

As explained in  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/897290 the POSTNET barcode that Word can create is now obsolete, so it was removed from the Envelope dialog starting in Word 2007.

If you really want to put in a POSTNET barcode, you can go to Insert > Quick Parts > Field and insert a BarCode field (which is how the option in the Envelopes dialog used to do its work). The syntax

of the field code is explained here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-in/word-help/field-codes-barcode-field-HP005186205.aspx

Jay Freedman

MS Word MVP  FAQ: http://word.mvps.org

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

41 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2014-02-04T14:45:19+00:00

    Thank you for this very helpful information.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-03T18:43:23+00:00

    Ms Barnhill,

    It took me a while to figure out what you were asking - sorry - I'm certainly no expert at all this. But I believe the answer is "no" it does not! By visual inspection, the barcode I generated "looks" like the older version where all the bars of the barcode are aligned even or flush across the bottom.  Unlike the newer IM barcode that is irregular across the top and bottom. When you say the barcode I generated "will not be compliant," does that mean its a waste of time and ink to print it on the envelope? I've read just a bit about the newer IM barcode and it's vastly improved information capability (tracking, house ID, postman's route, etc) but does that mean a non-IM postal barcode is no longer usable for just mailing a card to a friend? Additionally, I've lookd at several pieces of mail I received latey with the new IM barcode and NONE of them appear to be the same barcode!! How does that work? Anyway it is not a big deal for me - I probably don't mail 10 letters a year, but more curious now! Thanks for the reply and I'd appreciate your response to this also.

    And while I'm here, if the old barcodes are in fact useless, is there a "free" way to generate the new IM barcodes? I've seen the programs that costs around $300 that will print all kind of barcodes; I do not need that!

    Again, thanks for the help!

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

    Just as I posted the above, I got a call from the USPS business office. The man said the "old" barcodes are useless and if put it on an envelope, they have to cover them over at the post office mail center and put the new IM barcode on with a sticker or print it directly on to the envelope. Bottom line: unless one is mailing several thousand pieces of mail a year, just put the numeric zip or zip+4 on the envelope and forget trying to print a barcode!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments