The string for the barcodes is likely to be easy - the hard part is getting a graphic that corresponds to that string. If Word can create the barcode graphic then it is an obvious way to go unless you have an alternative method to generate large numbers of barcodes - you said you didn't want to buy a Visio tool for that and I didn't seen any freebies in a quick web search.

It is relatively straight forward to get the strings of text from Access to Visio but it will require VBA coding unless you have Visio Professional instead of Visio Standard. Which version of Visio do you have?

If you can explain how you are automating the generation of the barcode GRAPHICS then it will give us a chance to devise a solution. Since Word can do this with a field code, it provides a non-coding option for a critical component of the task.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia