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Information about “SIMPLY LABELS III 2 OF 2 (1150 ALSO)”
SIMPLY LABELS is a unique free form label program that lets you design
your own label formats and maintain files containing your labels.
Each label format you create can have its own standard background text,
which can include graphics characters. In this way you can create
labels with blank lines or boxes for data entry. You can also specify
the length of the label and the number of lines each label has. Each
line of the label you create can have a different kind of typeface, such
as normal print, condensed, elite, etc. You can create mailing labels,
tape labels, VCR labels, filing labels, or any kind of label for
whatever you need.
Designated keys can be used to enter commonly used text with a single
keystroke. Labels can be imported into SIMPLY LABELS from a text
file
or dBase III or PC-File database files. Labels are defined by
selecting
database fields from a menu and placing them directly into a label
format.
Several predefined label formats are included in the program, and you
can design up to 25 different label formats. SIMPLY LABELS sends the
labels to the printer, a disk file, or the screen. You can print
single
or multiple copies of labels, and print multiple labels across the
printer. Powerful searching and sorting routines allow you to select
and organize your labels any way you like.
CHANGES.TXT
Simply Labels III
Simply Labels version III is a complete rewrite with many
improvements and new features. The first difference you may
notice is that the program is now in an EXE format and is much
larger. This is due to many new features and partly due to the
new compiler used.
Because of the many changes in this version, the file format has
been changed. To use data files created with version 2.xx they
must first be converted. A utility has been included to do this
for you. See appendix B in the main manual for instructions on
how to convert your files.
NEW FEATURES
- Total user control over all program colors.
- Allows full use of pathnames.
- Many more labels per file. (Over 2100 mailing labels / 640k)
Able to use all available memory for label data.
- Provides a Shell to DOS from any menu.
- Allows Qwik keys for commonly used text. Up to 20 characters
may be entered with one keypress. Qwik keys may be used as
label text or any program input including menu commands.
- Allows custom keyboard definitions for special characters.
Good for other languages or printer codes.
- Much faster loading and saving of label files.
- Allows smaller labels. Sizes down to 16 characters wide.
- Date and Time stamps. A stamp (MM/DD/YYYY or HH:MM:SS)
included in background text will be filled in when label is
printed. Pressing Alt-D or Alt-T while editing label text will
insert the system Date/Time at the cursor position.
- Improved Label Editing
- Insert and Delete line functions
- <Ctrl><Home> moves to start of label
- <Ctrl><End> moves to end of label
- <Home> moves to start of line
- <End> moves to end of text/line
- All printing options now work when using the screen as the
output device.
- Allows non printing lines in your labels. This allows more
information to be included than needs to be printed. For
example a phone number or employee number may be included for
searching or sorting but does not need to be printed.
- Allows printing to different printer ports. (1-3)
- New method of selecting labels to print
- All labels now have flags to tell if they are selected
- Labels may be selected for printing or deleting
- Labels may be selected individually, by whole file, ranges,
or by searching. All selection functions may be used to
Set, Clear or Toggle print flags.
- New Printing Options
- Automatic centering of labels
- Removal of blank lines
- Double strike background text
- Print all copies together or as complete sets
- Multiple copies of a report
- Pause option for envelopes
- Twice as many typeface selections
- Up to 9999 copies of any label, envelope, or report
- New device for printing, called "Label File". Allows
cloning current file with flagged labels only.
- Improved movement through your files
- <PgUp> moves to previous label
- <PgDn> moves to next label
- <Home> moves to first label in file
- <End> moves to last label in file
- <Alt><M> moves directly to any label
- <Ctrl><PgUp> moves to previous flagged label
- <Ctrl><PgDn> moves to next flagged label
- All movement keys work whenever a label is displayed
- Complete searches may use any number of wild (?) characters
- Conditional searches are now selected from a menu and may
specify any part of any line to search including first or last
words.
- Both searches and sorts now use pop up definition screens.
- Reports may have up to 9 columns and you may specify any part
of any line to include in report.
- New file type called link files
- Link files link to and directly read dBase III or PC-File
type database files.
- Allows printing labels directly from database files.
- Assigns a label format to the database file
- Allows placing data into label by field name
- Reads records directly from database. No need to Import
- Does not modify database file in any way
- Full network support
- All Simply Labels print formats and options may be used
- Utility for floppy disk labels (SF.EXE)
- Automatically makes label when floppy disk is read
- User defines format by using background text
- Adds file and dir names from the floppy as label text
- Format may include user input fields for disk titles
- Volume name may be added or changed when disk is read
- Bytes free, disk format, and file count may be added
- Files and dir names may be sorted
- File sizes and dates may optionally be included
- Labels are printed with Simply Labels
FILE1679.TXT
Disk No: 1679
Disk Title: Simply Labels III (1150 also)
PC-SIG Version: S2
Program Title: Simply Labels
Author Version: 3.0
Author Registration: $25.00
Special Requirements: Printer.
SIMPLY LABELS is a unique label program that lets you design your own
labels, any size you want.
Each label format you create can have its own standard background text,
which can include graphics characters. In this way you can create
labels with blank lines or boxes for data entry. You can also specify
the length of the label and the number of lines each label has. Each
line of the label you create can have a different kind of type- face,
such as normal print, condensed, elite, etc. You can create mailing
labels, tape labels, VCR labels, filing labels, or any kind of label for
whatever you need.
Several predefined label formats are included in the program, and you
can design up to 25 different label formats. SIMPLY LABELS sends the
labels to the printer, a disk file, or the screen. You can print single
or multiple copies of labels, and print multiple labels across the
printer. Label entries can be searched, edited, deleted, and sorted.
Labels can be sorted alphabetically by any line in the label. Labels
can also be imported into SIMPLY LABELS from a text file.
PC-SIG
1030D East Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale Ca. 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1989 PC-SIG, Inc.
SL.DOC
S I M P L Y L A B E L S
Users Guide
Version III
SimpleWare
P.O. Box 877
Windsor, NF
Canada, A0H 2H0
Copyright 1987-1989 by Robert E. Pitcher
All Rights Reserved
October 1989 Release
Table of Contents
1.0 - Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.0 - Who May Use This Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How to Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.0 - Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.0 - Program Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.0 - Label Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.1 - Creating New Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.2 - Editing Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Label Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Background Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Typeface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.3 - Deleting a Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.4 - Saving Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6.0 - Using Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6.1 - Creating New Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6.2 - Loading a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6.2.1 - Selecting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
6.3 - Browsing Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.3.1 - Flagging Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.3.2 - Searching for Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Types of Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
6.3.3 - Browsing with Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6.3.4 - Moving Around Your File . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.3.5 - Deleting Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6.4 - Printing Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6.4.1 - Output Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.4.2 - Print Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6.4.3 - Print Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.5 - Adding Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
6.5.1 - The Label Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.5.2 - Importing Labels from Other Files . . . . . . 37
Label Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Column Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Fixed Length Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.6 - Sorting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.7 - Saving Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.8 - Deleting Old Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.0 - Link Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.1 - Editing Link Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.2 - Searching with Link Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7.3 - Limitations of Link Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
8.0 - Other Features
8.1 - Non Printing Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8.2 - Date and Time Stamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
8.3 - DOS Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
8.4 - Qwik Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
9.0 - Setting Program Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
9.1 - Selecting Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
9.2 - Keyboard Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
9.3 - Printer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
9.4 - General Program Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10.0 - Potential Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Appendix A - Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Appendix B - Converting Older Files . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Appendix C - Simply Floppies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Appendix D - Simply Labels Command Keys . . . . . . . . . . 67
Appendix E - Simply Labels Menu Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Appendix F - Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
SimpleWare would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. William Hiltz,
Sysop Foxnet BBS, for his help in supporting and promoting this
product.
dBase and dBase III are registered trademarks of Ashton-Tate
PC-File is a registered trademark of ButtonWare, Inc.
ii
1.0 Introduction
Welcome to Simply Labels. While it is not necessary to read all
of this manual, it is recommended that you read at least to the
end of section 4 that covers program conventions and getting the
program started. The documentation for Simply Labels is best
used as a reference. If you have problems while using the
program, just find the topic causing the problems in the table of
contents and then read the section on that topic.
This version has many new or improved features and the speed of
almost every operation has been improved. For users of previous
versions, please read the file called CHANGES.TXT on the program
disk for a list of the new features. Because of the many changes
it was necessary to change the format for data files so please
read Appendix B if you wish to use your data files from version
2.xx.
Many people have a very narrow view of what makes a label. Of
course the most common type of label is the mailing label and
this program handles them with ease. But Simply Labels is
capable of so much more. Instead of using a database approach to
printing labels this program allows you to enter labels in a free
form manner. This free form approach allows very flexible label
designs. No longer will you be forced to use a program that
won't accept information the way you want to enter it. In Simply
Labels a label is a rectangular area which contains text,
(background or normal) and instructions on how to print any text
contained in the label. This information is combined to create
what is called a label format. There are several formats
included with this program but you can design your own if you
need a special type of label.
Simply Labels will create and maintain data files containing
labels that use your formats. It has many advanced features such
as searching and sorting your files in many different ways,
importing labels from text files, full label editing, date & time
stamps, Qwik keys for commonly used text, printing to the screen,
printer or a disk file, printing multiple copies with multiple
labels per line, background label text, graphic characters in
your labels and the ability to use all of your printer's
capabilities. The information in your label files can also be
printed in other formats. Instead of the standard label format
you can also print your data files in an Envelope or Report
format.
New in this version is a very powerful feature for people who
have their information stored in database files. This feature is
a new file type called Link Files. With link files you assign a
label format to a database file and provide instructions on how
to build a label from a record in the database. This is done by
1
placing database fields directly into the label by field name.
Simply Labels supports two of the most popular types of database
files. It can link to, and directly read dBase III or PC-File
type data files.
Also included is a nice utility (SF.EXE) that will read the
directories of floppy disks and build very fancy user defined
disk labels. Some things that may be included in the labels are
Volume name, bytes free, disk format, file and directory names
and others. This program is described in appendix C.
Simply Labels is powerful enough to meet the needs of most small
business and flexible enough for the many uses at home. When
used for standard mailing labels it can handle over 2100 labels
per file (640K memory) with no limit on the number of files
allowed (Link files allow many more). It can transfer
information between label files even if the files use different
formats. With the ability to use graphic characters and
background text you can design custom labels to meet most of your
needs.
Some types of labels that may be created with Simply Labels:
Mailing Labels Book Reports Labels
Recipe Cards Labels for Preserves
Disk Labels Packing Labels
Name Tags Inventory Cards
Cassette Jackets VCR Labels
Post Cards File Holder Labels
Specialty Labels 3 x 5 Index Cards
These are only sample ideas and you may find you have other types
of labels in mine. As a matter of fact labels don't have to be
the stick on kind. You can print many types of labels on regular
paper. If you currently use several programs to handle different
types of labels you may be surprised that one program is capable
of meeting all your label needs.
2.0 Who May Use This Software
This software is not free and it is not in the public domain. It
is copyright 1987-1989 by Robert E. Pitcher and SimpleWare and
all rights are reserved. This software is distributed by the
"ShareWare" method. The ShareWare method of distribution allows
you to try a program before you buy it so you never waste your
money on programs that you don't use.
2
If you use this program you should support the author by
registering your copy. Non-registered users of Simply Labels are
permitted to use the program on a trial basis only, for the sole
purpose of determining whether or not it meets their needs. ANY
AND ALL other use after a trial period of three weeks requires
registration. Use of non-registered copies of Simply Labels
beyond the trial period is strictly prohibited.
Simply Labels may be copied and distributed to others as long as
the following conditions are met.
Simply Labels must be distributed in a complete and
unmodified form including the following files.
READ.ME - Basic instructions
SL.EXE - Main program
SL.DOC - Documentation for the program
PRINT.BAT - Batch file to print documentation
CODES.DOC - Keyboard codes for graphic mode
CHANGES.TXT - Describes latest version
SL.CNF - Program configuration file
SL.DEF - Label definition file
SF.EXE - Simply Floppies
SL2TO3.EXE - File conversion utility
????.LAB - Sample Label files
????.LNK - Sample link files
????.DBF - Sample dBase files
????.HDR - Sample header files
????.DTA - Sample data files
No charge, other than a maximum disk copying fee of
$5.00, may be charged for Simply Labels.
Simply Labels may not be distributed as part of any
other product without written permission from
SimpleWare.
Bulletin board system operators (Sysops) may make Simply Labels
available to their users for downloading as long as all above
conditions are met.
Commercial Distributors of Public Domain, ShareWare, or User
Supported software may distribute Simply Labels but only after
sending in a registration form, for the purpose of receiving
update notifications.
The copy of the program you have is not limited in any way and is
fully functional. Why then should you register when you already
3
have the complete program and documentation. There are several.
When you register your copy of Simply Labels you will
receive notification of all major upgrades by mail.
You will receive support directly from the author by
mail or through the Foxnet BBS. This bulletin board is
available, for support, free of charge to registered
users of Simply Labels.
You will receive a unique registration number that when
entered will modify the program to remove shareware
notices and display your name as the registered owner.
You will help shape future versions of this program.
This is the third shareware release of Simply Labels and
most improvements are a direct result of user
suggestions. Without registered users this program
would not exist.
How to Register
There are two methods of registering Simply Labels. First you
can send a completed registration form (See appendix F) along
with your payment to SimpleWare.
You can also register on line at the Foxnet BBS. To register on
line you must have a valid Visa card. After you log on the
Foxnet BBS you have to open the registration door, answer several
questions and give your Visa card number and expiry date. After
this is done you will receive your unique registration number.
The single user registration fee is $25.00. This allows you to
register the program in your name and grants a licence for the
continued use of Simply Labels. We assume you have already
obtained the program and documentation elsewhere. The single
user registration fee does not entitle you to diskettes or
printed manuals. For an additional $10.00 ($35.00 total) you
will receive the latest version on disk and a printed manual.
After you register you will receive your unique registration
number. This number is based on the name of the registered user
that you supplied. When you receive this number you register the
program by typing the following.
SL REGISTER
You will be asked to enter the name of the registered user (2
4
lines, 30 characters per line max) and the registration number.
The name must be entered exactly as it was given to SimpleWare.
Upper and lower case and spaces are important. The registration
number must match the name exactly for the program to register
itself. If the information is correct the program will modify
itself to include the registered name and remove all shareware
notices.
If Simply Labels is used in a corporation, government office or
any type of business then registration is mandatory. Quantity
discounts are available in the form of a site licence. For all
site licenses, only one copy of disks and manual are provided and
the customer is responsible for printing the documentation and
copying the disks. The discounts are as follows:
Qty Price
---------------------------
5 - 9 $22.00
10 - 19 $20.00
20 - 49 $18.00
50+ $15.00
All Copies at a site licence will be registered in the same name.
Technical Support
If you have registered the program every effort will be made to
support you in your use of Simply Labels. If you are not a
registered user you may contact the author but there are no
promises. Whenever looking for support please include your name,
telephone number, version number and an exact description of your
problem.
Support will be provided in one of the two following ways. First
you may write to SimpleWare explaining in detail exactly what the
problem is. The second method of getting support is to call The
Foxnet BBS and leave a message to the author or to the Sysop.
The latest version of Simply Labels will always be posted and
available for downloading on the Foxnet BBS.
F o x n e t B B S
PC Board 24 hrs a day / 7 days a week
12/24/9600 baud Hayes V.42
(709) 489-4758
5
Please send any suggestions for improvements you would like to
see to SimpleWare. If enough interest is shown the suggestions
may be included in future versions.
Warranty
SimpleWare makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied, as
to the suitability of this program to perform any particular
purpose or function. SimpleWare shall in no way be liable for
any damages, whether direct, indirect, special or consequential
arising from the use of, or inability to use this program by any
user. In no event will SimpleWare be liable to any user of this
program for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings
or any other damages arising out of your use or inability to use
the program, or for any claim by any other party.
3.0 Getting Started
To use this program you must have the following equipment:
IBM PC/XT/AT/PS2 or True Compatible
MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.0 or higher
Minimum of 256K of memory
A Printer
Setting up Simply Labels is very easy. The first thing you must
do is make a backup of your program disk. If you do not know how
to do this check your DOS manual and look up the DISKCOPY
command. If you use a floppy system you should use the backup
copy and store the original in a safe place.
To install Simply Labels on a hard disk you need to create a
directory to store the files in. Next you must copy all files to
this directory. The following DOS commands may be used to do
this for you. You may use any valid drive or directory name you
wish.
C: <RETURN>
MD\LABELS <RETURN>
COPY A:*.* C:\LABELS <RETURN>
6
If you have problems with this you should refer to your DOS
manuals.
To start the program type the following:
SL
If you wish to load a file from the command line you may do this
by entering the complete path and filename as follows:
SL D:\LABELS\MAILING.LAB
This would load the file called MAILING.LAB stored on D drive in
the directory called LABELS.
If you use DOS version 3.0 or higher you may place Simply Labels
in your PATH statement and start it from anywhere. You may also
rename the program if you wish. If you use an older version of
DOS do not rename the program and you must run it from the
default directory or Simply Labels will not be able to find the
files it needs to run properly.
When you first start the program a title screen will appear
showing a copyright notice and the name of the registered user.
Press any key to continue after reading it. What you see next is
the Main menu and it can be recognized by the words SIMPLY LABELS
printed in big letters in the label window. When you start the
program with a filename on the command line, the file is loaded
and you go straight to the Use menu so the Main menu is not
displayed. See section 6 for information on using your files.
7
4.0 Program Conventions
Throughout this manual you will see references made to parts of
the program screen. To help you identify them a sample screen is
shown below with the major areas marked.
--| <1> |---------------------------------------------------
| <2> |
| |
| ----------------------<3>-- |
| | <4> | |
| | | |
| | Sample Label Text | |
| | | |
| | | |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| <5> | <6> | <7> | <8> |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| F1 Browse F2 Print F3 Add F4 Sort.... <9> |
| Use a file stored on disk <10) |
--------------------------------------------------------------
MESSAGES: <11>
----------------------------------------------------------------
1 - This area will show the name of the file currently
loaded into memory. This will be blank is no file has
been loaded.
2 - This is called the label window and is where your labels
are displayed. This area is also used to enter options.
3 - This is a frame drawn around your label, showing its
size. All editing of label text is done inside this
frame.
4 - Your label text is displayed here.
5 - Areas 5 through 8 are combined to make up what is called
the information area. When a file is loaded these areas
display information about the file. Area 5 will display
the number of labels are currently selected (Flagged) for
printing.
8
6 - This area will give the number of the displayed label
and how many labels are in the current file. It will
also show if the displayed label is selected for printing
or to be deleted. It will look like this:
[ Label# 1 / 1234 ]
With 1 being the number of the displayed label in a file
of 1234 labels.
7 - For label files this area will show how many more labels
may be added to a file before it is full. For link files
it will show the name of the database file used for the
link.
8 - This area will display the name of the current menu and
will help you find your way around the program. See the
menu tree in appendix E.
9 - All menus are displayed on this line and are discussed
below.
10 - This line will always give a description of the
highlighted choice in the menu.
11 - This is the message line and it is used to give
instructions and report errors.
The ESCape key is very popular in this program and will prevent
you from making many mistakes. If you find yourself somewhere in
the program where you don't want to be you can back up by pressing
the ESC key. This will work anywhere including at menus, input
prompts and while printing. If you press it enough times you will
usually end up back at the DOS prompt.
The menus used in this program are very simple and easy to use.
Menus are the wrap around type with all choices displayed on a
single line. There is also a line just below the menu with a
description of the highlighted choice. There are three ways to
make a menu choice. First you may use the cursor keys to
highlight a choice and then press RETURN. This will be the
preferred method until you are familiar with the program because
it will allow you to read the descriptions for each choice. The
second method is to press the function key listed by each choice.
The third and fastest way is to press the key corresponding to the
first letter of the choice you wish to make. One note about the
menus is that the ESCape key is the same as selecting Quit and
usually returns you to the previous menu.
9
All input to the program may be edited by using the keys listed in
appendix D. The only exception to this is when the program is
asking for a single character response. Upper or Lower case may
be used for all input. Depending on the type of input asked for,
some keys may not be active. For example if the program is
looking for a numeric entry you will not be able to type letters.
ESC may be used at any input prompt to exit and usually return you
to a menu.
Most times in this program, when input is required, a default
response will be displayed. This response may be edited or
selected as is by pressing RETURN. If you just start typing, the
program assumes you want to enter a new response and will erase
the default. The default response may be restored at any time by
pressing Alt-R.
Many things in this program are performed by entering key
combinations such as Alt-D or Ctrl-PgUp. To enter these you must
hold down the Alt or Ctrl key and then press the second key.
Many times you will be asked for a yes or no answer and you will
see either (Y/n) or (y/N). The upper case letter is the default
response and may be selected by pressing Return.
When entering file names the program will convert your entry to
upper case characters. Also do not add an extension unless asked
for because the program supplies the proper one.
There are many windows used in this program for setting up the
program, defining searches and sorts and for selecting options.
Whenever a window is displayed you may freely move around the
window with the Up and Down cursor keys changing only the options
you want. Most windows require you to press ESC when you have
finished entering your selections.
Link files are very similar to label files but there are some
differences. For the purpose of this manual all references to
label files will also apply to link files unless stated otherwise.
5.0 Label Formats
Selecting Formats from the Main menu will bring up the Format
menu. From this menu you can create custom label formats which
you will use in your label files. A label file must use one of
the defined formats. If you have special label needs you will
have to design a format for it, otherwise one of the defaults may
meet your needs. A maximum of 25 formats are allowed and 12
standard label formats are provided to get you started. These may
10
be deleted or modified in any way you like.
A label format consists of the size of the label, the spacing
between labels, a description of the label, the background text
for the label as well as instructions on how to print the label.
The sizes allowed for labels are from 16 to 74 characters wide by
2 to 15 lines high. The description is just a name you give to
the format for your own reference. The spacing is the number of
lines skipped between each label and is normally 1 but may be as
many as 99.
The idea of background text may not be familiar to you but is a
very simple idea. Background text is text which will be common to
all labels in the file and cannot be written over. It may or may
not be used depending on the application. For standard mailing
labels you would not want any background text but for cassette
tape labels you would want to design boxes and areas for side A
and B. Background text allows you to create custom fill in the
blank type labels.
Format Menu
F1 New F2 Edit F3 Delete F4 Quit
5.1 Creating New Formats
To create a new label format you select New from the Format menu.
You have to fill out the size window (See the section below on
Label Size for more information) to define the label size and then
you will be asked to enter a description for the label. Next you
will go to the Edit Formats menu where you can work on all parts
of your format and print sample labels on your printer to check
your design. See the section below on Editing Formats.
5.2 Editing Formats
When you select Edit from the Format menu you must select the
format you wish to edit. This is done by pressing the SPACE BAR
to view the different formats on the screen. You may also use the
UP and DOWN cursor keys to cycle through the formats. When the
one you wish to edit is displayed press RETURN to select it. The
Edit Formats menu is then displayed which allows you to change any
part of that label format. The Configure option is included in
this menu to allow you to change your printer definitions as you
work on a label format. See section 9.0 and 9.3 for information
11
on setting program and printer options.
Edit Format Menu
F1 Size F2 Descr F3 Back F4 Print F5 Typeface F6 Configure
Label Size
Selecting Size from the Edit Formats menu will display a window
for you to fill out, allowing you to define the label size and
spacing. This window is shown below.
---| Label Size |----------------------------------------
| |
| |
| Width of the label. (16 - 74) 30 |
| |
| Lines in the label. (2 - 15) 5 |
| |
| Lines in the label to print. 5 |
| |
| Lines between labels. (1 - 66) 1 |
| |
---------------------------------------------------------
The current values for the label are displayed and may be edited
or you may press RETURN to keep the original values. The Width of
the label will determine the number of characters that may be
entered in your labels. The Lines in the label is simply the
number of lines of text in each label.
The Lines in the label to print will normally be the same as the
number of lines in the label but it may be less. This option
allows what is called non printing lines. For example you could
have a label with 7 lines but choose to only print five lines.
This will give you 2 lines that may be used to store other
information. This option may be changed at any time from within
the program so the main thing to remember at this time is to make
the label big enough to hold all information you may need. See
section 8.1 for more information on non-printing lines.
The Lines between labels is the number of lines printed between
each label. After all values have been entered just press Esc and
the label will be redrawn at the new size. One note of caution
12
when making a label smaller. Any background text that no longer
fits in the label will be lost. The size you enter will determine
the amount of text that can be entered into the label. The actual
printed label may look quite a bit different than the label
displayed on the screen because of the different typefaces that
can be used when printing to your printer. A good idea is to make
the label just big enough to hold the text you need and then you
can fit it to your labels by using the spacing and different
typefaces. Remember to check your format design for proper
appearance on your printer before using it in a file.
Description
Allows you to edit the description of the label format. This
description is only for your reference and can be up to 40
characters long. Full editing functions are available when
entering the description.
Background Text
This allows you to edit the background text of the label.
Background text allows your blank labels to contain text and
graphic characters. The background text will be part of all
labels using this format and cannot be edited. This is handy for
a lot of applications. You can design boxes around your labels or
you can design labels with blanks that will be filled in by hand.
Depending on the application you may or may not want to use
background text. If you do not need to use this option you just
have to leave the label blank. Look at the sample file called
CASSETTE.LAB to see a format that makes good use of background
text.
Editing background text is done the same way you would edit label
text. See the section on the Label Editor (6.5.1) for information
on how to edit label text. Press Esc when you have finished
editing and you will be returned to the Edit Formats menu. There
are a couple of differences between editing background text and
editing label text. First if you use the date or time keys (Alt-D
or Alt-T) when editing background text the proper stamp
(MM/DD/YYYY or HH:MM:SS) will be placed into the label instead of
the current date or time. Also there may be times when you would
like to have spaces as part of your background text. Simply
Labels will normally look at a space as not being background text,
so to allow spaces, the tilde character (~) is used. The program
will replace this character with a space and recognize it as valid
background text.
13
Print
This will print a sample of your label format to your printer. It
will let you check all parts of your label format. A series of
"+" signs are printed for each line in your format. This sample
label will use any typeface selections you may have assigned to
your format. This is handy for checking sizes. It is worth the
extra time to print lots of samples to make sure your format fits
your labels. Another good idea is to use regular paper when
checking formats to save on labels.
Typeface
With this option you can assign a typeface to each line of your
label. See the section on Setting Program Options (9.3) for
information on setting up your printer definitions or typefaces.
This is a powerful feature which lets you create all kinds of
special labels. You can use big bold headings or very small print
or any combination you like.
When you select this option you will see a window which displays a
list of all the lines in your label. All you have to do to assign
a typeface is to move the cursor to the line you want and press
RETURN. A menu will pop up and display all typeface selections
you have defined. You can use the up and down arrow keys to move
to the typeface you want and press RETURN to select it for that
line.
Once a setup is selected it will stay on until it is turned off so
it is not necessary to fill in all lines. For example if you
wanted all lines of your label printed in Near Letter Quality you
would just select N L Q for line 1. The typeface selections are
saved as part of the label format. Any label file you create
using this format will also use the typeface selections. Typeface
selections may be changed at any time, even after a file has been
created.
5.3 Deleting a Format
You will select this option to get rid of formats you no longer
need. First select the format you want to delete. See Editing
Current Formats above on how to select a format. The program will
14
ask if you are sure you want to delete this format. Press "Y" to
delete it. Deleting a format will in no way affect any label
files that already use that format.
5.4 Saving Formats
Simply Labels will know if any changes have been made by editing a
format, deleting a format or by creating a new format and will
automatically save your formats if necessary. Your formats are
stored in the default directory in a file called SL.DEF . If you
delete this file the program will only remember the 12 standard
formats that come as part of the program.
6.0 Using Files
When you first start the program a title screen will appear
showing a copyright notice and the name of the registered user.
Press any key to continue after reading it. What you see next is
the Main menu and it can be recognized by the words SIMPLY LABELS
printed in big letters in the label window.
Main Menu
F1 New F2 Use F3 Delete F4 Configure F5 Formats F6 Quit
There are two main functions or parts in this program. The first
allows you to define label formats and the second lets you create
and work with your files.
Simply Labels is capable of creating and maintaining two different
types of user data files. These are called label and link files
and have the extensions of .LAB and .LNK. These are not text
files but files to be used only by Simply Labels. If you need
your labels in a text file you may print them to a disk file to
get a pure ASCII file. To get familiar with the program you may
want to try several of the sample files that came with the
program.
A label file is a file containing a group of labels that have the
same format. When a label file is first created there are no
labels in the file. You have to Use the file and Add the labels
15
to it. The number of labels allowed in a file will depend on the
label format used for the file and the amount of free memory.
This will be displayed in the information area after the file is
loaded into memory. A label file contains a copy of the label
format used, all typeface selections, all current printing
options, as well as all options entered for envelope and report
formats, and of course all of your label data.
The main difference between label files and link files is that
link files contain no label data. They contain the name of a
database file which provides the label data and instructions on
how the labels are made from the database file. The data for the
labels is read from the database file as needed. Once a link file
has been loaded it is very similar to a label file but there are
some differences. See section 7 for information on using link
files.
Before you can do any work with labels you must first load a file
into memory. File selection is explained below in section 6.2.1
After a file has been loaded the Use Menu will be displayed.
Use Menu
F1 Browse F2 Print F3 Add F4 Sort F5 Configure
This is the only part of the program that uses your files and all
files must be saved before leaving this menu or any changes you
made will be lost. From this menu you can do all work with your
files. You can search, edit, delete, sort, import and print your
labels. When you first come to the Use menu the first label in
the file is displayed on your screen. If there are no labels in
the file a blank label is displayed.
6.1 Creating New Files
The first step in creating a new file is to make sure there is a
label format that meets your needs. If you need a special type of
label you may want to create a format for it. See section 5.1
To create a new file you must select New from the Main menu which
will bring up the New menu. From here you may create a new label
file or a new link file. See section 7 for information on link
files.
16
New Menu
F1 Label F2 dBase III F3 PC-File F4 Quit
Creating a label file is a simple matter of selecting Label from
the New menu and entering a file name. The program will add a
".LAB" extension to your name so do not enter an extension. Next
you have to select the label format you would like to use for this
file. To select a format you just have to press the Space Bar to
view the label formats on the screen and press Return to select
the one you want. After this is done the Use menu will appear.
From here you can add labels and do any work you wish with your
file. A newly created file is not saved until you are finished
using it. See the section on Saving your labels (6.7) for more
information. This was done to allow you to create quick one-time
labels without having to save the file and clutter up your disks.
To create a new link file you select New from the Main menu and
then select either dBase III or PC-File from the New menu,
depending on which type of database file you wish to link with.
You also have to enter a name for your link file and select a
label format. Next you must select the database file to link
with. This file may be located on any drive or in any path.
Simply Labels will remember how to find the database file when it
loads your link file. See section 6.2.1 for information on
selecting files. When this has been done a window called "Edit
Link" will pop up and you will see the Edit menu. It is from this
window that you define the layout of your label. See section 7.2
for information on editing link files. When you leave this menu
you will see your label displayed on the screen and you may use
your new link file in much the same way as a label file. Your
link file will have the extension .LNK but will not be saved until
you choose to save it. See the section on saving your files.
(6.7) If you plan to use link files it is very important to read
section 7.
6.2 Loading a File
From the Main menu you can select Use to work with a file stored
on disk. Before you can use a label file you must load it into
memory. When Use is selected from the Main menu you will be asked
to select the file you wish to use from the Select File window.
This window will display the names of all label and link files for
selection. See the section below on Selecting a file. After a
file is selected it will be loaded into memory and the Use menu
will be displayed. Pressing ESC before selecting a file will
return you to the Main menu. If an error occurs for any reason
17
while loading a file the program will beep and display an error
message and you will be returned to the Main menu.
After a file has been successfully loaded you will see some
information about your file. In the top left corner of the screen
you will see the name of the file you are currently working with.
Just above the menu line you will see four blocks that give you
information about your file. These blocks are called the
information area. The block on the far left will show the number
of labels currently flagged for printing which will be 0 when the
file is first loaded. The next block shows the number of the
label currently displayed on the screen and how many labels are in
the file. In this block you will also see if the displayed label
is flagged to be printed or deleted. The next block on the right
will show how many more labels may be added to this file or in the
case of link files it will show the name of the database file you
are linked to. You should also see the first label in the file
displayed on your screen.
6.2.1 Selecting Files
Any time Simply Labels requests you to select a file a window,
called Select File, will pop up that lists all possible
selections. This is used when selecting label files, link files,
text files, and database files. From within this window you can
access any file on any disk in your system. All file names are
displayed in lower case and directory names are in upper case.
Selections are made by highlighting the proper choice and pressing
RETURN. You may use the four cursor keys, PgUp, PgDn, Home, or
the End key to move around the window. Also you may press any of
the letter keys and the next choice that starts with that letter
will be highlighted.
If you press RETURN on a directory name you will get a list of
files in that directory. If you are not at the root directory the
first choice in the window will be ".. " which when selected
will move you up one directory level towards the root directory.
The current path for the displayed files is always displayed at
the bottom of the window. By pressing Alt-P you can edit this
path name to view any valid drive or directory. If you do not
wish to make a selection you may press Esc to cancel the
operation.
18
6.3 Browsing Around
By selecting Browse from the Use menu you can bring up the Browse
menu. From this menu you can move around your file in many
different ways to edit or delete labels. You may also flag labels
for printing from this menu.
Browse Menu
F1 Flag F2 Toggle F3 Search F4 Move F5 Edit F6 Delete
6.3.1 Flagging Labels
Simply Labels uses a system of flags to determine which labels are
to be printed or deleted. Each label in a file will have two
flags associated with it. One for printing and one for deleting.
When a label is displayed on the screen you can easily see the
status of it's flags by looking at the label number in the
information area. If a label is flagged for printing a check mark
(ASCII 251) will be displayed in front of the label number. If
the label is flagged to be deleted it will have an asterisk (ASCII
42) displayed. If the label is selected to be both printed and
deleted, both characters will be displayed. The total number of
labels flagged for printing is always displayed in the left block
in the information area. Whenever you choose to print your labels
from the Print menu this is the number of labels that will be
printed.
Note that with link files you can't delete labels but if a record
in the database is marked as deleted then the delete flag for it's
label will be set to show that it is a deleted record.
Some very powerful features are included to allow you to set or
clear these flags any way you want. The first two choices in both
the Browse and Print menus are the same and are used to control
the print flags of your labels. These choices are:
F1 Flag F2 Toggle
The Toggle choice will simply change the state of the print flag
for the displayed label. If the label is flagged it will be
cleared and if the label is not selected it will be flagged. The
total number of flagged labels will also be updated.
Selecting Flag from the Browse or Print menus will display the
Flag menu and allow you to work with label print flags in several
ways.
19
Flag Menu
F1 All F2 Range F3 Search F4 Quit
This menu allows you to control label flags in many different
ways. Even after you have selected the labels you want you will
still have to tell the program how you want to flag them. This is
done with the Flag Action menu shown below.
Flag Action Menu
F1 Set F2 Clear F3 Toggle F4 Quit
By using these two menus together you can control the print flags
in any way you want. For example to flag all labels in a file for
printing you would simply select Flag / All / Set. To clear all
print flags you would select Flag / All / Clear.
Any group of consecutive labels in your file is considered a Range
and may be easily flagged. If Range is selected from the Flag
menu a small window will pop up asking you to enter the Range of
labels to flag. It will ask for the first label and the last
label to flag. The defaults for these are the first and last
labels in your file.
---| Define Range |-------------------------------------------
| |
| Select From Label [1 ] To Label [10 ] |
| |
--------------------------------------------------------------
Pressing Esc will close the window and return you to the previous
menu without changing any flags. After you enter the range of
labels to flag you have to select the desired action from the Flag
Action menu. If you wanted to set the flags for the first 10
labels in your file you would enter:
Flag / Range / - enter 1 and 10 - / Set.
The third choice from the Flag menu is called Search. This will
allow very flexible searches to be used to control the print flags
of your labels. See the section below for the complete use of
searches.
20
6.3.2 Searching for Labels
Simply labels includes many different types of searches to help
you find labels in your files. The searches are used throughout
the program to find, delete and flag your labels. Whenever a
search is used the Search menu will be displayed for you to select
the type of search to use.
After you select the type of search to use from the Search menu a
window, called Define Search, will pop up for you to fill out. If
you press Esc before it is filled out, or at any time during a
search, the search will be cancelled. This window will look
slightly different depending on the purpose of the search. If
Search was selected from the Flag menu there will be an extra line
where you select the type of flag action desired for any matches
found. If Search is selected from the Browse menu this option is
not displayed and after each match is found you have the choice of
flagging, editing, deleting, or continuing with the search. This
is explained fully below under browsing with searches.
In all searches the case of the text does not matter. Searching
for "SMITH" will find Smith, SMith or smith. The searches only
check the number of characters you enter for a match. This is
handy if you are not sure of the correct spelling.
--| Define Search |-------------------------------------------
| |
| Search for [Text1 ] - [Text2 ] |
| |
| Search Line # [1 ] using the full line |
| |
| Flag Action: Set Flags |
| |
| Start Searching at Label [1 ] |
| |
--------------------------------------------------------------
The top line in the window is used to enter the text you wish to
search for. In this field you can enter any text including
special or graphic characters that you wish to find. The second
text field on the first line is only used for Range searches which
are explained below.
The second line of the window is used to tell Simply Labels
exactly what line and what part of that line to look at during its
21
search. After entering the line number you wish to search you
have to select which part of the line to use. You will see the
following message displayed in the window, and the Part Line Menu
will be displayed.
"Select Part of line to use from menu"
Part Line Menu
F1 All F2 Part F3 First F4 Last
All - Uses the complete line
Part - Starts at any position and uses rest of line. You
will have to enter the starting position if this
choice is used.
First - Uses only the first word
Last - Used only the last word
This allows you to narrow your searches down to very specific
parts of the label. For example you may easily search your
mailing labels for anyone with the last name of Smith by searching
line 1 using the last word.
After specifying the part of the label to search you have to tell
the program what to do with any matches it may find. If Search
was selected from the Flag menu you will see the following message
and the Flag Action menu will be displayed.
"Select action from menu"
You can choose to Set, Clear or Toggle the flags of any matches
that the search may find.
The last line in the Search window lets you enter the label number
you want to start searching at. This will normally be the first
label but any valid label number may be entered. This is useful
with link files or very large label files.
Types of Searches
The Search menu is always used to select the type of search you
wish to use. Each type of search will have different uses and you
will find that the first two are used the most often. When using
searches to flag labels any number of searches may be combined to
select labels that match very complex conditions. For example to
22
find all people in a mailing list who live in California and have
a last name of Smith you would use two searches. Always use the
broadest searches first which, in the example, would be to select
or Set the flags of all people who live in California. After this
was done you would search and clear the flags of all people who's
last name is Not Equal to Smith. All types of searches are
explained below.
Search Menu
F1 Complete F2 Equal F3 Less F4 Greater F5 Not Eq F6 Range
Complete Searches
The first choice in the Search menu is called a complete search
and it is the simplest type of search in Simply Labels. A
complete search will find any occurrence of your text any place in
your label. The text can be in any position on any line and this
search will find it. When filling out the Search window for a
Complete search you will note that you do not have to specify the
part of the label to search because the complete label is checked
for a match.
All other searches listed in the Search menu are considered to be
conditional searches. This means that some condition must be true
before the label is considered a match. Also conditional searches
must be told exactly what part of the label to check for a match
and do not care what is outside of this area.
Equal Searches
This type of search will find any label that exactly matches the
text you entered. The difference between this search and the
complete search is that you must specify the part of the label you
wish to search. This is a straight forward search that is easy to
use.
There is however, one other feature of this search that makes it
much more flexible. This feature is called a scanning search and
it is used by placing the tilde (~) character in front of your
search text. Whenever Simply Labels does an Equal type search it
checks the first character of your search text for a tilde. If
one is found Simply Labels will scan the part of the label you
specified, looking for a match. For example, an Equal search,
23
searching for ~CA (read as scan for CA) using a full line will
find all labels that have "CA" anywhere in that line. If the
scanning feature was not used the line would have to start with
"CA" to be considered a match. The scanning feature only works
with Equal type searches but it will work with any part of a label
including first and last words.
Less Searches
This search will find all labels that are less than the text you
entered. You must specify the part of the label to use for the
search. As an example you could search for all people who have a
last name that is less than Smith by performing a Less than type
of search on line #1 using only the last word.
Greater Searches
This will find labels that are greater than your text. Again you
must specify the part of the label to use.
Not Equal Searches
Find all labels that are not equal to your text. This search will
find a lot of matching labels unless you limit the search to a
very specific part of your label.
Range Searches
A Range search will find all labels that fall within a range that
you specify. If you look at the Define Search window you will
notice a second text field at the right of the first line. This
field is used to specify the upper limit for range searches. In a
Range search a label will be considered a match if it is ">="
Greater than or equal to "Text1" OR "<=" Less than or equal to
"Text2".
6.3.3 Browsing with Searches
When you select Search from the Browse menu the searches are
performed slightly different. The searches are defined in the
same way, with the Define Search window, but you are no longer
24
dealing with print flags so line 3 in the window is blank. After
the search finds a match the Browse Search Menu is displayed to
allow you to work with the matching label. This menu was included
to allow you to edit or delete any group of labels that can be
found with a search. It allows you to see each label that matches
the search before you do any work on the label.
Browse Search Menu
F1 Continue Search F2 Toggle F3 Edit F4 Delete
Selecting Continue Search will just restart the search at the next
label after the match, using the same search definition. Toggle
will allow you to control the print flag of the label found in the
search. Edit will allow you to edit the label text, if you are
using a label file, or allow you to edit the label definition with
link files. By selecting Delete you can control the delete flag
of the label. Note Delete is not allowed with link files.
6.3.4 Moving Around Your Files
This version of Simply Labels makes it very easy to move around
your label files. By pressing Alt-M at any menu you can move to
any label by entering its number. This is the same as selecting
Move from the Browse menu. The Home key will move to the first
label and the End key will move to the last label in your file.
The PgUp key will move to the previous label and the PgDn key will
move to the next label.
You can quickly move between flagged labels in your file. (See
section 6.3.1 for information on flagging labels) Pressing Ctrl-
PgUp will move to the previous flagged label and Ctrl-PgDn will
move to the next flagged label.
All of these move functions will work any time a label is
displayed on your screen. These keys are listed in Appendix D but
you can get a list on your screen at any time by pressing Alt-H.
6.3.5 Deleting Labels
Selecting Delete from the Browse menu will bring up the Delete
menu and allow you to delete labels you no longer need. Deleted
25
labels are just flagged and not actually removed until you save
your file. When you save your file you will be asked to confirm
that you wish to delete the labels.
Delete Menu
F1 Displayed F2 Flagged F3 Clear All
When a label has been flagged for deletion you will see an "*"
displayed in front of the label number in the information area.
From the Delete menu you can select Displayed to toggle the flag
for the displayed label. If the label was already flagged you
will unflag it or clear the delete flag.
Selecting Flagged from the delete menu will allow you to delete
all labels that have been flagged for printing. This means you
can use all of the search features in Simply Labels to delete
labels by first flagging them for printing. See the section on
Searching for Labels (6.3.2) for more information.
The last choice in the Delete Menu is call Clear All and is very
simple. It will clear the delete flags for all labels.
6.4 Printing Labels
All labels are printed from the Print menu which is selected from
the Use menu. Normally the name of the current menu is displayed
in the block on the right in the information area. With the Print
menu you will see the name Print plus a letter. This letter will
be L, E, or R and will tell you the printing format that is
currently selected. "Print L" is for labels, "Print E" for
envelopes, and "Print R" for report format. This menu allows you
to control all printing options and print your labels in a variety
of ways.
Print Menu
F1 Flag F2 Toggle F3 Go F4 Sample F5 Edit F6 Options
Before any labels can be printed they must be flagged (selected)
for printing. This may be done with the first two choices from
the Print menu. See section 6.3.3 for information on flagging
26
labels. After you have flagged the labels you wish to print they
may be printed by selecting Go from the Print Menu. You will have
to select the output device for the labels which is explained
below. If you press any key at any time during printing the
printing will pause. You can then press Esc to return to the
Print menu or any other key to continue the printing. After the
labels are printed you will notice that the print flags have not
changed. This allows you to print the same labels to different
devices or in different formats without having to flag them again.
Selecting Sample from the Print menu will print a sample label on
your printer using the current format and options selected. This
is used to help you align your labels in your printer before
printing your file.
From the Print menu you also have control of the paper in your
printer. By pressing Alt-L the printer will advance one line at a
time. A top of form command may be sent by pressing Alt-P. In
this program Top of Form means one label for Label format, one
envelope for Envelope format, and the normal form feed when using
Report format.
6.4.1 Output Devices
Simply Labels allows you to print your labels to several devices
including the screen, printer, a disk file or a new label file.
Whenever you choose to print labels you will be asked to select an
output device from the Device Menu.
Device Menu
F1 Printer F2 Disk F3 Screen F4 Label File
Printer
When using your printer as the output device the program will
check to make sure your printer is ready to print before sending
any labels to be printed. If your printer is not ready the
program will beep and ask you to check it. At this point you can
fix your printer and continue or press ESC to abort and return to
the Print menu.
When printing labels to the printer, any typefaces selected for
27
that label will be used as the label is printed. Note that these
typefaces are not used when printing to the screen or to a disk
file. Therefore if you print your labels to a disk file and then
later print the disk file on your printer, your labels will not
contain the typefaces selected in your label file.
Disk File
Printing your labels to a disk file is very important when
combined with the Import option because it allows you to transfer
data between files. When you select Disk from the Device menu you
will be asked for a file name for the text file. If a file
already exists with the name you entered you will be asked if you
wish to replace it. No extension is assumed so you must enter an
extension if you want one. The files that Simply Labels prints to
disk are standard ASCII text files and may be read by any program.
For example you can use the search functions in Simply Labels to
select certain mailing labels, print them to a disk file and your
word processor can use the file to create form letters. If any
errors occur during printing to the disk file the printing will
stop and an error message will be displayed.
Screen
The screen is handy for checking to make sure the proper labels
will be printed. When you are sure you have selected the correct
labels you can print the same labels to the printer to get a hard
copy. When printing to the screen, the screen is cleared except
for the message line at the bottom. This line will show the
progress of the printing. See the section on Setting Program
Options (9.4) for information on setting the screen printing
speed. The printing will pause when any key is pressed and you
have the option of continuing or aborting the printing.
Label File
This option does not actually print your labels but rather it will
create a new label file containing only the labels that are
flagged. This new file will be a clone of the file you are using
and will be the same except for the label data. All you have to
do to use this option is select Label File from the Device menu
and enter a file name.
This device is very handy for splitting large label files into
smaller files but its main use is converting link files into label
files. If you use this device when a link file is loaded, all
28
labels that are flagged will be read from the database and saved
in a new label file. Be careful using this option with link files
because it is possible to create label files that are too large to
load back into memory.
6.4.2 Print Options
The last choice in the Print menu is Options and it lets you
change all options used when printing your labels. When this
choice is selected a window is displayed showing all current print
options along with the Options Menu. From the Options Menu you
can select one of three different printing formats to use when
printing your labels, change all print options and make typeface
selections for your label file. All options set from this menu
are saved as part of your label file. If you select a different
format, all options for that format will be in effect just by
selecting that format. This allows you to quickly change between
formats while maintaining all settings.
Print Options Menu
F1 Labels F2 Envelopes F3 Report F4 Other F5 Typeface
From the Print Options menu there is a choice called Other. This
is used to set the other or general printing options. A window
called Other Options will pop up allowing you to set these
options. Press Esc when you have finished entering them.
--| Other Options |-----------------------------
| |
| Number of Copies [1 ] |
| |
| Print All Copies Together (Y/n) [Yes] |
| |
| Double Strike Background Text (Y/n) [Yes] |
| |
| Center Labels (y/N) [No ] |
| |
| Remove Blank Lines (y/N) [No ] |
------------------------------------------------
29
The number of copies will be a number from 1 to 9999 and is the
number of times you want each label printed. The second option
allows you to print all copies of a label together. This is the
normal way labels are printed but you may want copies of a
complete set of labels in which case all selected labels are
printed and then this is repeated for each copy required. Note
that when using the Report format this option will control the
number of reports printed.
Double Striking background text is a way of highlighting any
background text you use in your label. This is done without the
use of any printer codes by first printing the complete line and
then with a second pass printing only the background text. This
works with most print options, including multiple labels per line
and envelopes but does not work when you choose the option of
centering your labels. It is automatically turned off in this
case.
The Center Labels option will center the label text within your
printed label. This works very nice with mailing labels and will
work with any number of labels across. Short address are no
longer printed on the left side but will be centered in the label.
This also works with envelopes.
The last option is used mostly with link files but may be used
with label files as well. When a label is made from fields in a
database it is common to get blank lines in your labels. This
will remove them and move all other lines up to fill in your
label.
Typeface
Selecting Typeface from the Print Options menu will allow you to
select any of the defined typefaces (See Setting Program Options
(9.3) for more information.) for any line in your label. See the
section on Editing Label Formats (5.2) for information on how to
use this option. This option is not used when printing labels in
Report format. With Report formats the typefaces are set in the
report options.
6.4.3 Print Formats
Label Format
Selecting this choice will tell the program to print your file as
standard labels and let you set the options for this format. To
30
set most label options you must select Labels from the Options
Menu. When this is done a window, called Label Options, will be
displayed showing all options that are available with the Label
format and allow you to change them. This window is shown below.
When the options are set the way you like just press ESC to return
to the Options Menu.
--| Label Options |--------------------------------
| |
| Number of Labels Across. (1-5) [ ] |
| |
| Spacing Between Labels. [ ] |
| |
| Lines Between Labels. [ ] |
| |
| Lines in Label to Print. [ ] |
| |
| Left Margin. [ ] |
| |
| |
| Print Sample Label. [ ] |
---------------------------------------------------
Simply labels will allow you to print up to 5 labels across a
page. If you select more than 1 label across you will be able to
enter the spacing between your labels. You may have to experiment
with this value to find the proper spacing. The values for this
option are from 0 to 99 characters. If only one label across is
selected you will not be able to set this option.
The next option is the lines between your labels and it just means
the number of blank lines printed between each row of labels.
This is normally set when the label was first designed but may be
changed in this window. The left margin helps in aligning your
paper.
The Lines in Label to Print option allows you to control the
number of non-printing lines. This option is normally set the
same as the number of lines in your label. Non printing lines may
be used to store information in your files that does not need to
be printed as part of the label. This topic is discussed further
in section 8.1
The next option allows you to print sample labels on your printer.
This is the same as selecting Sample from the Print menu but it
lets you see what your options are set like without leaving the
options screen. To print sample labels just press the space bar
31
when the cursor is at this option.
Envelope Format
By choosing Envelope from the Print Options menu you tell the
program to print your file as envelopes. This format is really
only useful if your file contains mailing labels but there is no
reason it can't be used with any type of label. To change or set
any envelope options you must select Envelopes from the Option
Menu. When this format is selected a window, called Envelope
Options is displayed showing all available options. When you have
finished entering the options just press ESC to return to the
Options menu. Whenever the envelope format is selected all labels
that are printed will be printed as envelopes.
--| Envelope Options |----------------------------------------
| |
| Print Return Address. (Y/n) [Yes] |
| Pause Before Printing Envelopes. (y/N) [No ] |
| |
| --| Return Address |---------------------------------- |
| | Label # [1 ] | |
| | | |
| | [Your Name ] - N L Q | |
| | [Your Address ] - | |
| | [Your City & State ] - | |
| | [ ] - | |
| | [ ] - | |
| ------------------------------------------------------ |
| |
| Envelope Width. (Char) [90 ] Height. (Lines) [25] |
| Starting Line for Address. [10] |
| |
| Print Sample Envelope. [ ] |
--------------------------------------------------------------
The first option on this screen gives you the choice of printing a
return address or not. If "N" is entered for this choice, only
the main address from your label file will be printed and you will
not be able to enter any return address options. Entering "Y"
will display the current return address and allow you to change
it. The return address shown in the Envelope Options window is
32
used with all envelopes printed from the current file.
Inside the Return Address window you are asked for a label number
for the return address. You can enter any label number from your
file and the program will use that label as the return address.
If you don't want to use a label from your file you can just move
down and enter it manually. In either case you may edit the
return address and add any typeface you wish to use with this
address. The typefaces entered here are only used for the return
address and are different from the selections entered for the main
file. The typeface selections made from the Option menu are used
for the main address of the envelope.
There is an option to pause before printing each envelope which
allows single envelopes to be used. This option is normally
turned off.
Simply Labels will print any size envelope you can fit into your
printer. Instead of just allowing one or two envelope sizes you
can define any size you like by entering the width and number of
lines in the envelope.
When entering the size options just remember that the return
address is fixed at the top left and you can position the main
address any where you like. The width option is used to center
the main address. If you want to move the main address to the
right just increase the width number. The height option is the
total lines in the envelope and should be adjusted to move you to
the top of the next envelope. (Tractor feed envelopes) With
single feed envelopes you may find that it is better to stop
printing right after the main address has been printed. This will
prevent paper out error messages. The last option for envelope
size is the Starting Line for Address and it controls which line
in the envelope the main address starts on. To move the main
address up, just decrease this number or to move it down just
increase it.
The last option on this screen allows you to print sample
envelopes. When the cursor is on this option just press the space
bar and a sample envelope will be printed on your printer. This
is the same as selecting Sample from the Print Menu but you don't
have to leave the envelope option screen.
The method of entering the envelope size was chosen because it
allows any size envelope to be used and it will allow you to
adjust for special typefaces. For example if the size of the
envelope was fixed and you wanted the main address printed in wide
characters, the main address would be way over on the right side
of the envelope. This way you can center the main address by
adjusting the width option. A good idea is to print out sample
envelopes on normal paper until you get the set up just right.
You won't have to enter these values each time you load your file
because all options are saved as part of your file.
33
Report Format
This choice will tell the program to print your labels in a report
format and allow you to set all available report options. The
Report format consists of a page heading or title and the body of
the report which will be information from your labels. Each label
you print from the Print Menu will make up one line in the report.
This is a good way to get summaries or lists from your label
files. The report can contain up to nine columns, each of which
may be any part of any line in your label and a column containing
the label numbers. You can have two title lines and the report
can be printed on any size page. This format is very useful for
all types of label files. You could use the report format to
print out a list of all parts from a parts file or a list of all
cassettes from a tape file. To use this format all you have to do
is enter or select the options you want and press ESC when you are
finished. Whenever the report format is selected all labels that
are printed will be printed in the report format. All report
options are set in the Report Options window shown below.
--| Report Options |------------------------------------------
| |
| Title 1 - [ ] |
| Title 2 - [ ] |
| |
| Report Contents |
| General Options |
| Column Line# Position Length |
| Repeating Titles (Y/n) [Yes] |
| Title Typeface N L Q 1 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Report Width [78] 2 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Print Date (Y/n) [Yes] 3 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Print Label Numbers [Yes] 4 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Report Typeface Condensed 5 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Page Length [66] 6 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Top Margin [3] 7 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Bottom Margin [3] 8 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
| Left Margin [ ] 9 - [ ] - [ ] - [ ] |
--------------------------------------------------------------
The top part of this screen allows you to enter the report titles.
Two title lines are printed and can be left blank if desired. The
repeating titles option will if selected cause the title lines to
be printed at the top of each new page. If you enter "N" for this
option the title lines are only printed on the first page and two
extra labels are printed on all remaining pages.
34
If you want to print the date as part of your report, just select
that option and the date will be printed as part of the second
title line. The report format does not use any typeface settings
from the main label file but instead allows you to select a
typeface for the title lines and a different typeface for your
labels, or the body of the report. The report width is just used
to center the title lines and should be set accordingly.
The other options allow you to set options that affect the body of
the report. The first option allows you to print the label
numbers as part of the report. If this is selected the label
numbers are printed as the first column in the report. The
typeface for the body of the report will normally be condensed to
allow as much as possible to fit on one line but can be any
typeface you have defined.
The page length, top and bottom margins combine to define the size
of the printed page. The defaults are set for a standard page but
can be set for almost any size page. If you want a continuous
printout without any page breaks just set the page length less
than the top margin plus the bottom margin. Setting it to one
works just fine.
The next set of options will control what is actually printed in
your report. To print data from your labels in your report all
you have to do is put the number of the line you want printed next
to the column you want the line to be printed in. You must also
specify the part of the line to use by entering a starting
position and length. When printing in the report format blank or
empty columns are not printed.
6.5 Adding Labels
Selecting Add from the Use menu will cause the program to display
the Add menu allowing you to add more labels to your label file.
Please note that you cannot add any labels to a link file.
Add Menu
F1 Blank F2 Copy F3 Import F4 Quit
If Blank is selected from the Add menu a blank label is displayed
for you to fill in. If you select Copy instead, you will be asked
for the number of the label you wish to copy. After entering the
label number, that label is displayed and may be edited to create
the new label. The Copy feature is very handy if you have a lot
of labels with similar text. A good use for this feature is when
35
entering a lot of mailing labels that have the same City, State,
and Zip. You could enter the first label and then use the Copy
feature to Copy the rest and edit the name and address.
If you enter or edit any text, the new label will not be added to
your file. This was done to prevent blank or duplicate labels.
See section 6.5.2 for information on importing labels.
6.5.1 The Label Editor
When editing text inside a label you have a full label editor and
what you see on the screen is exactly what the label will contain.
A help screen showing the editing commands is available by
pressing <Alt-H> and these keys are listed in Appendix D which may
be used as a quick reference card.
You can use the cursor keys to move freely around the label. The
HOME key will move to the first position on the current line and
the END key will move to the end of the text on the current line.
Pressing End a second time will move to the end of the current
line. Ctrl-Home will move to the beginning of the label and Ctrl-
End will move to the end of the label. Pressing the RETURN key
will move to the start of the next line, or field if your label
has background text.
The INS key will toggle between Insert and Typeover modes and the
cursor will change shape to show the current mode. The cursor
will be a solid block when in typeover mode and an underscore when
in insert mode. The DEL key will delete the character under the
cursor and move all remaining text on that line to the left. The
BACKSPACE key will delete the character to the left of the cursor
and move all remaining text and the cursor back one position.
When in insert mode all text pushed outside the label is lost.
Pressing Ctrl-Left will move you to the left one word at a time
and Ctrl-Right will move one word to the right. You can center a
line of text within your label by placing the cursor on the line
and pressing the Alt-C keys. An erase to the end of the line
function is provided which will delete all text from the cursor to
the end of the current line. This is done by pressing the Alt-E
keys.
The current system date may be inserted into your label text by
pressing Alt-D and the current time may be inserted with Alt-T.
Simply Labels also allows commonly used text to be entered with
Qwik keys. See section 8.2 Date and Time Stamps or 8.4 Qwik keys
for more information.
36
If your labels do not contain any background text you can insert a
blank line at the cursor position by pressing Alt-I. You can
remove a complete line of text by pressing Alt-R.
When editing labels with background text there are some
differences. First of all the cursor will never rest on any
background text, preventing you from changing it. Background text
breaks your label up into fields. A field is any blank spaces
between background text. The word left and word right functions
also work as field left and field right functions when background
text is used. Also the INS, DEL and BACKSPACE keys will only
affect text in the current field. Any remaining text on that line
will not be affected. Also the center a line and erase to end of
line functions only affect text in the current field. Load a
sample file containing background text and add a few labels to see
how background text works.
Simply Labels allows you to use any character except the Return
character (ASCII code 13) as text in your labels. These
characters may be used for either background text or normal label
text. There are three ways of entering extended characters into
your labels. The first is to use the DOS convention of holding
down the Alt key and typing the ASCII code for the character you
want. The second is to use the special characters defined in
Simply Labels (See section 9.2 for more information).
The third method allows the graphic characters contained in the
extended character set to be easily entered as text in your
labels. These characters may be used for either background text
or normal text and are very useful for making fancy labels with
boxes or logos in them. To use these characters in Simply Labels
you just have to press F1 at any time while editing label text and
you will be switched to graphic mode. A small happy face is
displayed on the menu line to show you that you are in the
graphics mode. Pressing F1 a second time will return you to
normal text mode. All of the graphic characters are represented
by standard ASCII characters and can be entered from the keyboard.
To see which keys represent which graphic characters copy the file
CODES.DOC to your printer. If this file does not print properly
on your printer you should not use graphic characters in your
labels.
6.5.2 Importing Labels From Other Files
The Import option used in Simply Labels is quite flexible and
allows you to import labels from most types of data files. This
has many uses such as transferring information between label
files, creating sub-files containing only parts of the original
37
file, and to transfer information from other application programs
into your label files.
This program can read ASCII text files created by any application
such as a spreadsheet or data base program and pick out the
information you want to include in your labels. The only thing
that is assumed about the text files is that they fit into one of
three broadly defined types. These are called Label type, Column
type or Fixed Length data files and are explained below. To use
the Import option you will have to tell the program the name of
the text file to import from and exactly what text you want to
include in your labels. This information is entered by filling
out the Import window. After you enter this information Simply
Labels will read the file, build a label according to your input
and then display it on the screen. At this point you can add it
to your file or read another label. You may also press "A" to Add
All imported labels. Labels may be added until your label file is
full or the end of the text file is reached. Esc will abort the
import operation and return you to the Import menu.
Import Menu
F1 Label F2 Column F3 Fixed Length F4 Quit
Some notes on importing labels. All labels start out as blank
labels, containing any background text that may be in your label
format. Background text is always preserved during importing and
cannot be written over. If you try to place more text than is
allowed in one line/field of your label the program will clip the
imported text to make it fit.
Label Type Files
Label type files are text files in which the information required
to make a label is contained in 66 lines or less and repeats for
each label required. Some examples of this type of file are the
text files created by Simply Labels when printing labels to a disk
file. Most data base programs will also print this type of file.
It is assumed that if more than one label is to be read that the
information in the text file be repeated every so many lines. If
a data base program prints mailing labels to a disk file, the
first label will take from lines 1 to 6 and the second will be
from lines 7 to 12. This is an example of a repeating label type
38
file. You can even build one label from each page of a report by
setting the lines to 66. When you create text files from your
applications you may want to turn off options such as page
headings which may destroy the repeating nature of the text file.
To import labels from this type of text file you will select Label
from the Import Menu. Next you will be asked to select the file
you wish to import from. This file is selected by using the
Select File window (See Section 6.2.1).
After the file has been selected you have to fill out the Import
window shown below.
--| Import |-------------------------------------------------
| Number of lines to make one label. [ ] |
| |
| ------ Disk File ------ -- Label -- |
| Link Line# Start Length Line Pos |
| 1 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 3 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 4 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 5 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 6 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 7 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 8 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 9 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 10 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
-------------------------------------------------------------
The first information that the program requires is the number of
lines from the text file required to build one label. This can be
from 1 to 66 lines and represents how many lines before the text
file repeats. If you enter a value such as 6 the program will
read 6 lines from the text file, build one label, and then read
the next 6 lines to build the second label.
Once you tell the program how many lines to read from the text
file you have to tell it what text to include from those lines.
You can place up to 10 pieces of information (Links) from the text
file into your label. Each piece of information may be any part
of any line read from the text file. You must specify the line to
use, where to start on that line, the length to use from that
line, and the position in the label for the text. To enter the
label position a blank label is displayed on the screen. Just
move to the desired position and press RETURN.
39
Defaults are used for most of these values and may be selected by
pressing RETURN. The default values for each line in the label
will be the corresponding line in the text file, with a starting
position of 1 and a length equal to the width of your label. Do
not worry about the length unless you only want part of a line.
This value is adjusted as the label is built to make the text fit
into your label. When you have finished entering all values press
Esc to start importing labels.
This method of specifying how to build your label allows the
program to read any text file and arrange the imported text any
way you like in your label. You can even take text from one line
in your text file and use it on several lines in your label.
Column Files
Column type files are text files in which all the information
needed to make a label is contained on a single line. This type
of text file is common with data base and spreadsheet programs (or
the Report format in Simply Labels). When Simply Labels reads
this type of text file a label is built from every line in the
text file.
Sample Column Type Text File:
EMP# Name Age Address City
--------------------------------------------------------------
1999 John Doe 29 P.O. Box 23 St. John's, Nfld.
1234 Janet Smith 34 P.O. Box 1234 Corner Brook, Nfld.
9876 Dick Jones 23 P.O. Box 543 St. John's, Nfld.
Importing labels from this type of text file is done by selecting
Column from the Import menu. Next you have to select the text
file to import from. You have to tell the program how you want to
build your labels by filling out the Import window shown below.
This is very similar to importing from label type text files as
described above.
40
--| Import |-------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| ------ Disk File ------ -- Label -- |
| Link Start Length Line Pos |
| 1 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 3 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 4 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 5 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 6 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 7 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 8 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 9 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 10 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
-------------------------------------------------------------
For each line in your label you must tell the program which part
of the line from the text file to use. For example to make
mailing labels from the sample text file above you would enter the
following values at the Import window.
Link Start Length Line Pos Result
1 8 13 1 1 (Name)
2 26 17 2 1 (Address)
3 43 20 3 1 (City)
4
After the values needed to build your labels are entered the
program will read each line of the text file and display the
resulting label on the screen. You then have the choice of adding
it to your file or pressing "N" to skip that label and display the
next one.
Fixed Length
This file type is used with most database programs. You may be
using a dedicated database program that has its own non-standard
file format. You can easily build labels from this type of file
by selecting Fixed Length from the Import menu. This works the
same way as with the other file types except you must give some
additional information about the file. To import from a fixed
length file Simply Labels needs to know the record length and the
length of any header that may be in the file. The length of the
41
header is called the File Offset and if the file does not contain
a header just enter 0. PC-File database files may be read this
way.
--| Import |-------------------------------------------------
| File OffSet [ ] Record Length [ ] |
| |
| ------ Disk File ------ -- Label -- |
| Link Start Length Line Pos |
| 1 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 3 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 4 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 5 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 6 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 7 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 8 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 9 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
| 10 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] |
-------------------------------------------------------------
When Simply Labels imports from a fixed length file it first skips
over the number of bytes you entered as the File Offset and then
reads a single record. This is the text that is then used to
build the first label. Everything else about importing with fixed
length files is the same as with column type files.
6.6 Sorting Files
Most standard mailing label programs are set up as a data base
type program with fields for Name, Address, City and so on. While
this is fine for mailing labels it severely limits the type of
labels you can generate. Simply Labels takes a free form approach
allowing what you see is what you get type of labels. This allows
much more flexibility in designing label formats but presents a
problem for sorting labels. When using mailing labels the most
basic sort is to sort the file by Last Name. To do this in Simply
Labels the sort routines were written to allow you to sort on any
part of any line. It is possible to sort on the whole line or you
can select a sort biased on only the first or last word in the
line. There is a primary and a secondary sort and both can
specify which part of any line to use. For example you could sort
a mailing label file on the line containing Zip or Postal codes
and then as a secondary sort, sort on the last word in the first
42
line. This would sort your file by Zip codes and by Last Name.
To define the type of sort you want you have to fill out the
define Sort window. This is similar to the Define Search window
and is shown below.
--| Define Sort |------------------------------------------
| |
| Primary Sort: |
| Sort on Line # [1 ] using the last word |
| |
| Secondary Sort: |
| Sort on Line # [0 ] No secondary sort |
| |
| |
| Ascending or Descending [A] Start Sorting [ ] |
-----------------------------------------------------------
You will be asked to enter the line number to use for the primary
sort. Next you have to select which part of the line to use for
the primary sort. This is done by making a selection from the
Part Line menu. See 6.3.2 for information on using parts of a
line. After this is done you have to repeat the above for the
secondary sort. Entering 0 for the line number will disable the
secondary sort. Next you have a choice of an ascending or
descending sort. Press RETURN at the Start Sorting field and the
program will begin sorting your file. If you press Esc any time
in this window the sort is cancelled and you are returned to the
Use menu. The program will beep when the sort is completed. If
you press any key while the program is sorting you have the option
of continuing with the sort or to abort and return to the Use
menu. When you save your files they will be saved in the sorted
order. This way you only have to sort your file when labels are
added or changed.
6.7 Saving Files
There are two ways to save your label files. First any time you
are at a menu with a file loaded into memory you may press F9 or
Alt-S to manually save your file. This is handy when you are
adding a lot of labels and want to save your work. You will be
asked if you want to save your file with its default name. Press
return to save it or you may edit the filename or path or both.
43
This is a very easy way to make backups of your label files. If
you press Esc when the file name is displayed you will be returned
without saving the file.
Whenever you choose to leave the Use menu you will see the save
file message. If you return to the Main menu without saving your
files any changes you made will be lost!! If in doubt save your
files. If you do not want to save your file just press Esc.
When saving a file, if a file already exists you will see the
message Replace [Filename]? (Y/n). If you wish to replace it just
press Return but if you do not want to replace the file on disk
say no and you will be given a chance to enter a new name.
6.8 Deleting Old Files
You can delete label files you no longer need by selecting Delete
from the Main menu. You will have to select the file to delete
from the Select File window. See section 6.2.1 on selecting files
for more information. To delete the file you will have to confirm
that you do indeed want to delete it. Pressing "Y" will delete
the file.
7.0 Link Files
Link files are a powerful new feature of Simply Labels. A link
file allows you to print any kind of labels from information you
have already stored in a database file. They are called link
files because they actually link to the database file to get the
label data. Whenever you load a link file the associated database
is opened and one label is made from each record in the database.
See the section below to see how the labels are made. Simply
Labels can read two types of database files and will understand
the file structure, so you work with your data by field names
only. The two types of database files are dBase files (*.dbf) and
PC-File (*.dta). With dBase files the file structure is contained
in a header in the database file itself. This information is read
when the file is first opened.
With PC-File a separate header file is needed (*.hdr) to get the
file structure. Therefore to link with a PC-File database you
must have both the header file (*.hdr) and the data file (*.dta)
available. The program will show that it is linked to the header
file but it will read data from the data file (*.dta). Other
44
support for PC-File database files includes the ability to
recognize the flip data character (~). Try out the sample link
files included on your program disk.
One major point to remember about link files is that Simply Labels
will never change your database file. This means that you cannot
use any of the delete, add or sort options in Simply Labels.
These operations are best left to the program that created your
database in the first place.
Link files have many advantages over label files. First a link
file can access many more labels. The maximum number of labels
for a link file is 32500. If you have more records than this in
your database they will be ignored. Another advantage is that you
do not have to enter your data into two programs. As you enter
new records into your database they are automatically seen and
available to your link file for printing.
When Simply Labels opens your database file it is opened for
reading only while allowing other programs to share the file at
the same time. This allows Simply Labels to work on a network.
The program has been tested on a small network with no problems.
However any records added to the database after it has been opened
by Simply Labels will not be seen until the link file has been
closed and reopened. This should not be a problem as long as you
are aware of it.
7.1 Editing Link Files
Building labels from your database is a simple matter of telling
Simply Labels how to arrange the fields in your label. Each piece
of information (a field) placed into your label is considered one
link. Up to 18 links may be used to build your label. To do this
a window, called Edit Link is used along with the Edit Link menu.
Both are shown below. Link files may be edited at any time by
choosing Edit from the Browse or Print menus. Any changes made to
your links can be seen in your labels as soon as you leave this
menu.
Edit Link Menu
F1 Add F2 Delete F3 Move F4 Position
45
--| Edit Link |-----------------------------------------------
| |
| Link Field Line Pos Len Link Field Line Pos Len |
| 1 NAME 1 1 30 10 |
| 2 ADDRESS 2 1 30 11 |
| 3 CITY 3 1 30 12 |
| 4 STATE 3 1 3 13 |
| 5 ZIP 3 1 5 14 |
| 6 15 |
| 7 16 |
| 8 17 |
| 9 18 |
| |
| |
--------------------------------------------------------------
When you first create a link file your labels and the Edit Link
window will both be blank. You must add links to this window to
tell the program how to make your labels. When Add is selected
from the Edit Link menu you add a new link to your label. The
first thing you must do is select the name of the field you wish
to use. A menu will pop up showing all fields in the database,
along with their type and length, for you to select one. You can
use the Up, Down, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn keys or press the first
letter in the field name to highlight the field you want. When
the proper field is highlighted just press RETURN to select it.
After a field has been selected you have to position the field in
your label. To do this a blank label is displayed. Move the
cursor to the desired position in the label and press RETURN.
Next you must tell the program how much of the field data to use.
The default for this is the length of data that will fit into the
label and unless you really want less, just press RETURN. If the
field is too big to fit into the label the program will clip it.
Thats all there is to it. Your new link will now be displayed in
the Edit Link window. Add as many as you need to complete your
label and then select Quit to return and see your label displayed
on the screen.
If you want to delete a link just select Delete from the menu and
enter the link number. The Position option in this menu allows
you to reposition any link in the label. Just select Position and
enter the link number. A blank label will be displayed with the
cursor at the old position. Move to the new position and press
RETURN. You will also have to enter the length again and then
your updated link will be displayed in the window.
To understand the Move option you have to know how a label is
built from a series of links. Simply Labels starts with the first
46
link and adds it to the label, remembering the last position used
in that line. Next it tries to add the second link at it's
position. If the position of the second link has been used by any
previous link, the program shifts it right to the last position
used in that line. Of course if the second link is the first one
on the line it will not be shifted.
By building labels this way you can place several fields on a
single line without having to worry about the length of data in
the fields. To place several fields on a single line just give
each link the same position and the program will shift them to the
right as needed. Simply Labels will use the order of the links to
determine which links get added first and which ones get shifted.
This is where the Move option comes in. You can change the order
of the links by selecting Move and entering the number of the link
you want to move. After you select the link to move you just
enter the new number for that link and the window is drawn again
showing the links in their new order.
Look at the sample Edit Link window above and you will notice that
3 links (3,4,5) have the same position. This would result in a
line looking like the one below.
Sunnyvale CA 94086
If the order of the links was changed to the following
3 State 3 1 3
4 Zip 3 1 5
5 City 3 1 30
The new line would look like this
CA 94086 Sunnyvale
You can see that the order of your links in the Edit Link window
can be important. Just remember to order your links in the same
order you would use if you were writing the label out by hand and
your labels will turn out fine.
Some notes on building labels. All background text will be
protected and if necessary field data is clipped to do this. If
it is necessary to shift field data to the right a space is always
left between the two fields.
47
7.2 Searching with Link Files
Searching with link files is performed in the same manner as with
label files (See section 6.3.2) but there are some points to keep
in mind. Simply Labels makes no attempt to use any index files
belonging to your database file so all searches will be
sequential. Searches will be slower than searches with label
files.
With label files a Complete search will find text anywhere in your
label. With link files a Complete search will find your text
anywhere in a record even if the text is not part of your label.
This was done for several reasons. First it is much faster to
check the complete record than to build a label for each record
and check the label text. It also allows more flexible searches.
For example you can find records that match a certain field
without having to include that field in your labels.
All other searches work the same as with label files. Conditional
searches must make a label for each record and then perform the
search on the label text. For this reason these searches are
slower than Complete searches.
7.3 Limitations of Link Files
There are several limitations to keep in mind when using link
files. First of all if your database file has more than 32500
records, Simply Labels will ignore them. The program has a
maximum number of labels of 32500.
If you change the structure of a database file you may have to
create a new link file for that database. When the link file is
loaded you can quickly see if your labels are correct.
Simply Labels cannot change the data contained in your database so
you will not be able to use any Sort, Add or Delete functions.
You will see the message: This operation not allowed with link
files.
48
8.0 Other Features
8.1 Non Printing Lines
This is an option that may be used with any type of file and it is
very handy if you need it. It allows you to mark line in your
label as non printing lines. This allows you to store information
in your files that you don't want printed. For example in a
mailing list you could have a non printing line that contained a
persons phone number or employee number. This information can
then be used for searches or sorts or even in reports but it would
not be printed in a label or envelope.
The number of non printing lines may be changed at any time from
the Print Options menu. All non printing lines will always be on
the bottom of the label and they will always be together. You
can't select for example lines 1 and 4 as non printing lines. If
you enter 2 for the number of non printing lines in a label with 5
lines, then lines 4 and 5 will be the non printing lines. When
you see your label displayed on the screen any non printing lines
will be seen with double lines in the label frame. A sample label
with non printing lines is shown below. When using label files
remember that non printing lines take up memory the same as
printing lines and will reduce the maximum number of labels that
can be in a file. Also remember that non printing lines are not
extra lines added to your label but current lines you do not want
to print.
-----------------------------------
| |
| Label Text |
| |
|| Non printing line ||
|| Non printing line ||
-----------------------------------
This option is even more useful when using link files. Since the
label data is not kept in memory with link files it is a good idea
to always add extra lines to your label format and mark them as
non printing lines. The advantage of this is that you can place
any field from the database in the non printing lines and use this
information in reports and for searches. Remember link files may
be edited on the fly at any time so if you need to search on a
particular field you can just select Edit and Add the field to a
non printing line.
49
8.2 Date and Time Stamps
There are two ways to use time and date information in your labels
and the method you use will depend on the application. The first
method is to enter the current date or time into your label as
text. This can only be done from within the label editor and is
done with the following keys.
Alt-D enters system date as text (MM/DD/YYYY)
Alt-T enters system time as text (HH:MM:SS)
This text may be edited just like any other text after it has been
entered. This method is good if you need to know the date or time
the label was created or edited.
If you have a label that you print on different days and need to
know the date or time that the label was printed, you should use
the stamp method. A stamp is background text that is replaced
with the proper information when a label is printed. The valid
stamps are listed below.
MM/DD/YYYYY - replaced with system date
HH:MM:SS - replaced with system time
HH:MM - replaced with system time (No seconds)
If you press Alt-D or Alt-T while editing background text the
proper stamp is inserted into your label as background text. You
cannot insert the actual system date or time as background text.
8.3 DOS Shell
Simply Labels allows you to exit to DOS any time you are at a
menu. If you press Alt-D you will see the following message:
Shell to DOS? (Y/n). Press "Y" or RETURN to go to DOS. To return
from DOS just type "Exit" and you will be returned exactly where
you were. It is up to you to make sure your system can find a
copy of COMMAND.COM If the command processor cannot be loaded the
shell will fail.
8.4 Qwik Keys
When working with labels there are some things that you seem to be
entering over and over again. It would be nice to be able to
enter these text strings with a single keypress instead of always
50
retyping them. That is exactly what Qwik keys allow you to do.
You can define up to 10 Qwik keys (See section 9.4 for information
on defining Qwik keys) and enter them with a single keypress.
Qwik keys are entered by holding down the ALT key and pressing one
of the number keys. (0-9) In case you can't remember your
definitions you can press Alt-Q and all definitions will be
displayed on the screen.
Qwik keys are handy for things such as the name of your City,
State, Zip code or any other text you enter over and over. Qwik
keys are active at all times and may be used for any program
input. One use that you may not see right away is to use Qwik
keys as macros. For example "FAS" will make the menu choices:
Flag / All / Set and select all labels for printing. The
following Qwik key could be used to print your entire file:
"PFASGP" Print / Flag / All / Set / Go / Printer.
9.0 Setting Program Options
Program configuration may be done from several places in the
program. Any time you see the Configure choice in a menu it will
allow you to set most program options. This can be done from the
Main menu, the Use menu and from the Format menu. Selecting
Configure will bring up the configure menu shown below.
Configure Menu
F1 Screen F2 Keyboard F3 Printer F4 Other F5 Quit
Most options set from this menu will be in effect as soon as they
have been set but they are not saved until you leave this menu.
Before leaving you will see the message: Save current Options?
(Y/n) If you choose not to save your options they will remain in
effect as long as the program is running. The next time you run
the program, the options saved on disk will be used. If you
choose to save your options they are written to a file called
SL.CNF. All options are meant to be set from within the program
and this file should not be edited. If this file cannot be found
when you start Simply Labels the program will reset to its default
settings.
51
9.1 Selecting Colors
If you select Screen from the Configure menu the Screen menu is
displayed. The choices in this menu allow you to quickly set the
program to work on a Mono system or choose the Default colors. If
you don't like these you can choose your own colors by selecting
Custom.
Screen Menu
F1 Custom F2 Mono F3 Default F4 Quit
If you choose Custom a screen is displayed allowing you to control
every color used in the program. You can see the effect of your
selections as you make them. Press Esc after you have selected
your colors and don't forget to save them.
9.2 Keyboard Definitions
Simply Labels allows you to use almost the complete character set
as text in your labels. One way you can enter characters that
cannot be entered directly from your keyboard is to define what is
called a special character. With special characters you assign
the character you want to one of the letter keys and enter it into
your label text by holding down the CONTROL key and pressing the
letter key. These characters may be used as any input to the
program including label text, Qwik keys, and for searching or
sorting.
These special characters are very useful for languages that do not
have all their characters on the keyboard. Another use for
special characters is to place printer control codes directly into
your labels. If you find using the graphic mode for drawing boxes
awkward you can assign the box characters to any keys you want.
One caution about using the control characters (below ASCII 32) in
your labels. These codes may cause some printers to act very
strange but should do no harm.
To define your special characters you have to select Keyboard from
the Configure menu and a window will pop up showing the current
definitions. Just press the letter you want to define and use the
Up and Down cursor keys to select the special character for that
letter. Press Esc after you have defined all of your keys and
don't forget to save your options.
52
9.3 Printer Settings
This is a major problem for individuals who write software. Big
software companies have the resources to write drivers for most
brands of printers. There are advantages to the printer driver
method but what happens if your printer is not supported. Tough
Luck!!
A different approach was taken with Simply Labels that lets the
program work with almost any printer. This approach also allows
you to use options that may be unique to your printer. In effect
what the program does is allow you to write a limited driver to
match your printer, which assures that the program will work with
all different brands of printers. One disadvantage of this method
is that it requires you to dig out your printer manual and look up
the codes needed to set up your printer the way you want.
By selecting Printer from the Configure menu you will see a window
pop up that allows you to define your printer.
--| Printer Options |----------------------------------------
| |
| Parallel printer port (1-3) 1 |
| |
| Name Definition |
| 1 - [N L Q ] - [27/@/27/x/1 ] |
| 2 - [N L Q U L ] - [27/@/27/x/1/27/-/1 ] |
| 3 - [Condensed ] - [27/@/27/15 ] |
| 4 - [Condensed U L ] - [27/@/27/15/27/-/1 ] |
| 5 - [Bold Italic ] - [27/@/27/!/24/27/4 ] |
| 6 - [Wide ] - [27/@/27/!/49 ] |
| 7 - [Big and Bold ] - [27/@/27/G/27/E/27/h/01 ] |
| 8 - [Baby Print ] - [27/@/27/S/0/27/3/18/27/M ] |
| 9 - [Normal Print ] - [27/@ ] |
-------------------------------------------------------------
The first option in this window is the printer port you wish to
use for your labels. It would be nice to have a printer always
loaded with labels and hooked to a second port. If you have this
setup the program is capable of using ports 1 through 3. If you
have only one printer leave this set at 1.
The rest of the window allows you to enter up to 18 printer
typefaces for your printer. A typeface definition consists of a
name, which describes the typeface, and the codes needed to set
your printer to print in that typeface. In most cases the codes
can be read directly from a table in your printer manual. There
53
are only 9 definitions shown in the window but if you move the
cursor down past the 9th field, the extra fields will be
displayed.
If you happen to own a Star NX10 printer, then you are in luck
because that is the default printer for the program. Even if you
don't it is a good idea to look at the defaults to see how the
typefaces are entered. Load in the file called PRNDEMO.LAB that
came on your disk and print out the label in that file. You will
then see which of the default typefaces work on your printer.
In any case here is how to enter your own settings. First you
have to decide which features you want to define and then look up
the codes needed to put your printer in that mode. The rules for
entering the codes are very simple: The slash (/) is used as a
separator between the codes to be sent to your printer.
Everything between the slashes will result in one character being
sent to your printer. If there is a single character between the
slashes it is sent to the printer exactly as you typed it. If
there is more than one character between the slashes the program
assumes that you entered an ASCII code and will send the character
that has the ASCII value you entered. The first and last slash do
not need to be entered. For Example:
27/M Will send ESCAPE "M" to your printer
27/77 Will send exactly the same codes to your printer
because 77 is the ASCII code for "M". This will
set most dot matrix printers to Elite pitch.
27/x/1 Will send ESCAPE "x1" to your printer. This will
set most printers to Near Letter Quality
If you cannot type the character needed directly from the keyboard
use the ASCII code for that character. To send the ASCII codes
from 0 to 9 just place a zero in front of the number (00 to 09).
One caution about using your typeface definitions. The
definitions you enter are common to all of your files and if you
change a definition after using it in a label file, that file will
use the new definition and not the original one. The label files
only contain a reference to the definitions and not the
definitions themselves. You should decide what definitions you
want and not change them.
Star NX10
1 - [N L Q ]-[27/@/27/x/1 ]
This is standard Near Letter Quality.
54
2 - [N L Q U L ]-[27/@/27/x/1/27/-/1 ]
This is Near Letter Quality With underline turned on.
3 - [Condensed ]-[27/@/27/15 ]
This is standard condensed pitch.
4 - [Condensed U L ]-[27/@/27/15/27/-/1 ]
This is condensed with underlining.
5 - [Bold Italic ]-[27/@/27/!/24/27/4 ]
This is the Italic font with double strike and Emphasized.
6 - [Wide ]-[27/@/27/!/49 ]
This is double width Elite with double strike.
7 - [Big and Bold ]-[27/@/27/G/27/E/27/h/01 ]
This is double size printing with emphasis and double strike.
8 - [Baby Print ]-[27/@/27/S/0/27/3/18/27/M ]
This is Elite Superscript with line spacing set to 18/216"
Line spacing is set to fit two lines of baby print in one
line of normal text.
9 - [Normal Print ]-[27/@ ]
This is the reset command.
Note that all the typeface definitions start with the code "27/@".
This code is the reset code for the printer and is used to make
sure that all previous typefaces are cancelled. Most printer
options will stay on until they are turned off, so the easiest way
to make sure the printer is set the way you want is to reset it to
the default mode first. You do not have to follow this example
but it makes it easier to get exactly what you want.
Resetting the printer may not work with some brands of printers,
most notably Tandy printers, because they do not support the reset
codes used above. If this is the case with your printer you may
define one code to turn on a typeface and another code to turn it
off again. This would only be a problem when designing fancy
labels using many different typefaces. Remember you don't have to
use any typefaces if you don't want, in which case Simply Labels
will not change the way your printer is set up.
Some Epson printers (FX-80/100) don't seem to have a single code
for near letter quality. With these printers you can get NLQ by
turning on double strike and bold.
55
Star SG-10/15
Because these printers are so popular their codes have been
included in this manual. If you own this printer just enter and
save these codes.
1 - [N L Q ]-[27/@/27/4 ]
2 - [N L Q U L ]-[27/@/27/4/27/-/1 ]
3 - [Condensed ]-[27/@/27/15 ]
4 - [Condensed U L ]-[27/@/27/15/27/-/1 ]
5 - [Bold Italic ]-[27/@/27/!/24/27/I/01 ]
6 - [Wide ]-[27/@/27/W/01/27/G ]
7 - [Big and Bold ]-[Not supported in the SG-XX]
8 - [Baby Print ]-[27/@/27/S/O/27/3/18/27/M ]
9 - [Normal Print ]-[27/@ ]
9.4 General Program Options
Selecting Other from the Configure menu will bring up a window
used to set some general options used in the program. The window
is shown below.
--| Other Options |------------------------------------------
| |
| Screen Printing Speed (1-9) 7 Sound (Y/n) Yes |
| |
| Default Data Path |
| |
| Memory to Reserve for Other Programs (KBytes) 0 |
| |
| Qwik Keys |
| |
| 0 - [ ] 5 - [ ] |
| 1 - [ ] 6 - [ ] |
| 2 - [ ] 7 - [ ] |
| 3 - [ ] 8 - [ ] |
| 4 - [ ] 9 - [ ] |
-------------------------------------------------------------
The first option in this window will control the speed at which
labels are printed to the screen. The higher the number the
faster the printing. Without this option you would never be able
to see your labels. The next option allows you to get rid of all
sound. This option might be best left on until you are familiar
56
with the program.
The default data path is used to tell Simply Labels where you keep
your label files. Whenever the Select File window is displayed
this is the directory that will be read, although you can easily
move to any other directory. If this option is left blank the
default drive and path will be used. Unless you always use a
directory other than the default, to store your files you should
leave this option blank.
The purpose of the next option is to control how Simply Labels
uses memory. Normally when a label file is loaded into memory the
program will reserve all available memory for that label file and
it is not released until you have finished using your file. This
option tells the program to leave some memory for other programs
that you may want to run when you shell out to DOS. Even if you
leave this set to 0 the program will always leave about 50K,
enough for working space and to load the command processor. This
gives you enough memory to perform most of the basic DOS
functions. Changing this option when a file is loaded into memory
will have no effect until you quit Using the current file and load
another.
The rest of this window is used to enter your Qwik key
definitions. See section 8.3 for more information on Qwik keys.
10.0 Potential Problems
Simply Labels was written with the computer novice in mind and
provides traps for most errors. For the most part the problems
you may encounter won't be errors but rather unexpected results
which occur mostly when printing labels to your printer.
Areas which cause the most problems are printing labels or
envelopes that use more than one typeface per label. If you
select typefaces that change the pitch or characters per inch of
your printer you will not get the desired results when printing
multiple labels per line. Remember the pitch is also changed for
the spacing between the labels which causes the different lines in
your labels not to line up. This will also apply when printing
envelopes. If your labels use graphic characters to draw boxes in
your labels you may also run into this problem. The best way
around this problem is to stick to typefaces which don't change
the pitch of the printer when printing envelopes or multiple
labels per line. You can still use settings such as bold, near
letter quality and italics. Remember this is only a problem when
using more than one typeface per label. You can use any typeface
with no problems if that typeface is used for the whole label.
Underlining can also cause some problems because some printers
57
will underline the whole line including all the spaces between the
labels.
Another area which may cause unexpected results is when using
typefaces that change the line spacing of your printer. This may
cause your labels to drift and not to line up on your printer.
This problem can be avoided by careful design of your formats.
When designing label formats check them from the Format menu by
using the Print option to print out sample labels. When entering
printer definitions that change the line spacing it is a good idea
to use multiples of the normal line spacing. For example if your
normal line spacing is 1/6" and you wanted small print you could
set your printer to superscript with 1/12" spacing. This will
allow two lines of small print to fit in one line of normal print.
With this set up you could have 10 lines instead of five in a
standard mailing label. Remember when designing your label
formats that the size of your label only determines the number of
characters that will fit in your label and not the actual printed
size. This will depend on the number of characters per inch and
the line spacing set on your printer and you have full control
over this.
If you have problems setting up your printer you can use Simply
Labels to print labels without using any typeface selections. You
can set up your printer any way you want before running Simply
Labels and as long as you don't use any typeface settings, your
printer setup will not change.
58
APPENDIX A Error Messages
Program Errors:
There are no labels in this file
Some operations in Simply Labels cannot be
performed until you add at least one label to
your file.
Label file is full
This error may occur when adding or importing
labels and means there is not enough memory
for any more labels. You can remove any TSR
programs, change the memory option (Section
9.4) or split your file into smaller ones.
No labels selected for printing
You selected Go to print labels with none
flagged for printing. The left block in the
information area shows how many labels are
currently flagged. See section 6.3.1
No Match found
The search found no labels that matched your
search definition.
No more formats allowed
Simply Labels allows a maximum of 25 formats.
You may delete any you no longer need.
This operation not allowed with link files
When using link files you cannot use the Add,
Delete, or Sort functions.
Not enough memory for label file
Occurs when trying to load a file that is too
large. Remove TSR programs or check memory
option.
Error in file format, cannot load file
You tried to load a file that was not created
by Simply Labels III. To convert files from
other versions see appendix B.
No files found
This will occur in the Select File window if
no files or directories are found. You will
have to edit the path or press Esc.
59
Invalid registration number
Occurs while trying to register the program
and the registration name and number do not
match. Try again, making sure both are typed
exactly as received from SimpleWare.
DOS Errors
Please check your printer / Out of paper
A problem exists with your printer. Fix the
problem and press RETURN. Esc will cancel
printing.
Drive not ready
You tried to access a drive that was not
ready. Make sure a disk is in the drive and
the door is closed.
Write protect violation
Program tried to save a file on a protected
disk. Remove write protect from disk.
Path not found / File not found
This error occurs mostly with link files when
the database program cannot be opened. Edit
the path/name of the database file.
Disk is full
Not enough room on a disk for the file. Save
file on a new disk.
Bad Filename
You entered an invalid file name or path when
creating a new file. See your DOS manual.
Access denied / Sharing conflict
These errors occur with link files on a
network when another program has control of
the database file.
Input past end
The end of file has been reached when
importing labels.
60
APPENDIX B Converting Files From Other Versions
If you used an older version of Simply Labels you will have to
convert your files before you can use them with version III. A
file conversion program (SL2TO3.EXE) is included to do this for
you.
To convert your files just run this utility and enter the path
for the version 2.xx files. Just press RETURN if they are in the
default directory. You also have to enter the path for the new
version III files. If you want them stored in the default
directory just press RETURN. If you enter the same path for both
the program will ask you if you want to backup your version 2.xx
files. It does this by renaming them files with an extension of
.BAK before creating the new version of the file.
The program will read all label files it can find and prompt you
before converting each file. You can answer with Yes/No/All.
Selecting All will convert all valid version 2.xx label files
without asking.
Your files will now be ready for use with Simply Labels
version III.
61
APPENDIX C Simply Floppies
Simply Floppies is a utility to help print labels for your floppy
disks. This program will load a Simply Labels label file and add
one label to the file for each floppy disk that is read. After
the disks have been read into the label file you may use Simply
Labels to print the file like you would any other label file.
Simply Floppies is capable of using any label file that was
created with Simply Labels III but it cannot create new files.
The program is used only to add labels to an existing file.
This program is very flexible because it allows you to design
your own formats and place information from your disks anywhere
you want in your labels. Several sample files are included on
your program disk for you to try. If one of these meet your
needs, then by all means use it so you won't have to worry about
designing a format. If you keep any collection of floppy disks
at all you will find that by using this utility you can very
easily print professional labels for your whole library.
When you run Simply Floppies you will be shown a list of the
label files in the current directory and asked to enter the name
of the file you wish to use. You may enter one of the files
displayed or any file from another drive or directory by entering
the full path for the file. Entering no name will return you to
DOS. After the name is entered the label file is loaded into
memory and the background text for the file is displayed on the
screen. If any errors occur while loading the file a message is
displayed and you will be asked for another name. After the file
has been loaded you are asked to confirm that this is the correct
file. If you answer with "N" you will be asked for a new name.
Once you have confirmed that the file is the correct one you will
be asked to enter the letter of the drive you wish to read.
Enter the letter of a valid diskette drive. Hard drives are not
allowed. You may now insert the disk you wish to read into the
drive and press any key to continue. Simply Floppies will now
analyze the disk and read the directory. Note that the program
will only read the root directory of the disk. Next it will make
a label from this information and display it on the screen. You
will be asked if you want to add this label to your file. After
you answer this you will be asked if you wish to read another
disk. You may read as many disks as you want until the label
file is full. When you have finished reading all your disks just
answer with a "N".
You will now be asked if you wish to save your file. Answer with
"Y" if you want to keep the labels you added. If your label file
was in the drive you used to read diskettes you will be asked to
insert the disk containing your label file. If any errors occur
62
during saving, a message is displayed and you will be given the
chance to try again. The most likely error will be a full disk
so you can change disks and try again. After the file is
successfully saved you will be returned to DOS.
How a Label is Made
This program looks at the information contained in the background
text for instructions on how to make your label. There is
certain text that, when entered as background text in the label
format, Simply Floppies will understand and replace with the
desired information. These are called functions in this program.
Functions for Simply Floppies are the "@" symbol followed by the
name of the function. Some functions do not add any text to the
label but control options that are used when making your labels.
Any background text that is not understood as a function will be
considered normal background text and will be left untouched as
the label is built. This allows fancy boxes or company names or
any other common text to be part of your labels. All functions
valid in Simply Floppies are listed below.
The program makes the assumption that you want to add file names
to your labels and has several rules it uses for placing the file
names into your labels. First of all a file name will never
overwrite background text or text placed into the label by any
functions. After a directory has been read Simply Floppies
starts at the beginning line (See @Start) in the label and looks
for a blank space big enough for a file name. For a normal file
or directory name a blank of 13 spaces is needed (See @Full). If
it can find a place in the line it will insert the name and move
to the right of the name and look again. After the line is full
it will move to the next line and continue adding names until the
last line is full (See @End). A space will be added after each
name to keep them from running together. The list of file names
is added to the label from the top to bottom but you have a lot
of control over how the list will look. (See @Dir, @Sort, @Full,
and @Ext). Note that directory names are shown in upper case and
file names are shown in lower case.
It is important to know how the program adds names to your labels
because the width of your label format will control how many
columns of file names there will be. It is also important to
note that the sample files on your program disk use a typeface
called Condensed Baby. If these labels were printed with any
normal size typeface, the label would never fit on your disks.
63
List of Functions
@Volume - This function will place the volume name for the
disk into your label. When the program sees this
function it will display the current volume name
for the diskette and ask you if you want to change
it. Type the new volume name or just press enter
for no change. Simply Floppies will write the new
name to disk and place the volume name in your
label, replacing the name of the function.
@Input - This function will pause the program to allow
you to enter any text you want. This may be used
to enter a title or any instructions on how to run
a program on the floppy. When Simply Floppies
finds this function it will display the message
"User input requested on line xx at position xx".
The length of the text you enter is controlled by
the background text on that line or the end of the
label. You can type as many characters as you
want but the program will only use as many as it
can fit into the label. Remember you can't
overwrite background text. You may use this
function as often as you want and at any location
in your label. When your file is loaded back into
Simply Labels for printing you may edit the labels
like you would edit any other file. This option
just allows you to enter text while you are
handling your disks so you don't have to worry
about which label is for which disk.
@Free - This function will insert the number of free bytes
remaining on the disk.
@Date - This function will place the system date into your
label.
@Format - This function will show the format of the
diskette. Only standard DOS formats are supported
and one of the following will be inserted into
your label depending on the way the disk was
formatted.
160K , 180k , 320k , 360k , 720k , 1.2M , 1.44M
64
@Count - This will insert the number of files on the disk.
If you choose to include directory names (See
@Dir) they will be added to this number.
@Dir - This function does not place any text directly
into your labels but it tells Simply Floppies to
include any directory names it finds in your
label.
@Sort - This tells the program to sort all file and
directory names before inserting them into your
label.
@Full - Normally Simply Floppies will only insert the file
names (and directory names) into your labels but
if you place this function into your label you
tell the program to also include the file size and
date. If this option is used a blank space of at
least 30 characters is needed for a file name.
@Ext - This function stands for extension. There will be
times when there are too many files on a disk to
fit into your label. This function will try to
filter out the unimportant files and include only
those that are meaningful. It does this by only
including files with the following extensions:
BAT, EXE, COM, ARC, ZIP. This function does not
need to be included in your background text to be
used but you may do so if you wish. When the
program reads a directory, if there are too many
files to fit into your label it will tell you and
offer you the option of turning on this function
for the current label. If you select to turn on
the function the directory is read again and a new
label is made using this function. Even with this
option it is still possible that all files will
not fit into your label. Any files that do not
fit are just ignored but they are still included
in the @Count function.
@Start/@End - These functions are used to control where the file
and directory names are placed in your label. The
@Start function is placed in the first line that
you want to contain names and the @End function is
used to tell the program where to stop adding file
65
names. If these functions are not used the
program will assume the defaults of the first and
last lines in the label.
Look at the sample files included on your program disk to get a
better idea of how all this fits together to print labels for
your floppies. All sample files for Simply Floppies start with
FLOP.
66
APPENDIX D Command Summary for Simply Labels Ver III
Moving Around the Label File (When labels are displayed)
<PgUp> - Moves one label towards beginning of file
<PgDn> - Moves one Label towards end of file
<Ctrl><PgUp> - Moves to Previous flagged label
<Ctrl><PgDn> - Moves to Next flagged label
<Home> - Moves to first label in file
<End> - Moves to last label in file
<Alt><M> - Moves to any label
Editing Label Text
<Up> - Moves up one line
<Down> - Moves down one line
<Left> - Moves left one character
<Right> - Moves right one character
<Ctrl><Left> - Moves left one word or field
<Ctrl><Right> - Moves right one word or field
<Home> - Moves to beginning of line
<End> - Moves to end of line
<Ctrl><Home> - Moves to beginning of label
<Ctrl><End> - Moves to end of label
<Backspace> - Deletes character to left of the cursor
<Del> - Deletes character under cursor
<Ins> - Toggles between insert and typeover modes
<Alt><C> - Centers a line or field
<Atl><E> - Erases to the end of the line or field
+ <Alt><T> - Places current date at cursor position
+ <Alt><D> - Places current time at cursor position
* <Alt><I> - Inserts a blank line
* <Alt><R> - Removes a line of text
<Alt><H> - Help / lists these keys
<F1> - Toggles graphic mode on or off
<Escape> - Ends editing label text
* - These functions only work in labels that do not contain
any background text.
+ - If these are used when editing background text they will
insert the proper stamp, to be filled in during printing.
67
Command Summary for Simply Labels Ver III (Cont)
Editing Program Input
<Home> - Moves to start of input field
<End> - Moves to end of input text
<Backspace> - Deletes character to left of the cursor
<Del> - Deletes character under cursor
<Ins> - Toggles between insert and typeover modes
<Left> - Moves left one character
<Right> - Moves right one character
<Ctrl><Left> - Moves left one word
<Ctrl><Right> - Moves right one word
<Atl><C> - Clears all input text
<Alt><E> - Clears input text from cursor to end of field
<Alt><R> - Restores original input text
<Escape> - Cancels operation or quits editing
<Up> or <Down> - will move to another field
Other Keys
<Alt><Q> - Displays a list of Qwik key definitions
<Alt><0-9> - Enters Qwik key definition assigned by user
<Alt><D> - Shell to DOS / Type EXIT to return
<Alt><H> - Summary of Command keys
68
APPENDIX E Menu Tree for Simply Labels Ver III
Main Menu
| .. Input required
|--New..------. -># Goto menu number
| (File) |- Label..----------.->1 < Return to previous menu
| |- dBase III Link --| * Only with link files
| |- PC-File Link..---'
| `- Quit <
|
|
| <1> (Use Menu) <2> (Search Menu)
|- Use..----|- Browse --. |
| | |- Flag --------------------. |- Complete
| | |- Toggle | |- Equal
| | |- Search..->2-. | |- Less
| | | |- Continue | |- Greater
| | |- Move.. |- Toggle | |- Not Eq
| | | |- Edit.. | |- Range
| | | |- Delete | `- Quit <
| | |- Edit..->3* `- Quit < |
| | | |
| | |- Delete -----.- Displayed |
| | `- Quit < |- Flagged |
| | |- Clear All |
| | `- Quit < |
| |- Print ---. |
| | |- Flag ------------------->|
| | |- Toggle |
| | |- Go --------. |- All --------.
| | | |- Printer |- Range..-----|
| | |- Sample |- Disk.. |- Search..->2-|
| | | |- Screen `- Quit < |
| | |- Edit..->3* |- Label File.. |- Set
| | | `- Quit < |- Clear
| | |- Options ----. |- Toggle
| | `- Quit < |- Labels.. `- Quit <
| | |- Envelopes..
| |- Add -----. |- Report..
| | |- Blank.. |- Other..
| | |- Copy.. |- Typeface..
| | |- Import --. `- Quit <
| | `- Quit < `--.
| | |- Label.. *
|- Delete.. | |- Column.. <3> (Edit Link)
| (File) |- Sort.. |- Fixed Length.. |
| | `- Quit < |- Add
| | |- Delete
| |- Configure -> 4 |- Move
| | |- Position
V `- Quit..< `- Quit
69
Simply Labels Ver III Menu Tree (Cont)
|
|
|
| <4> (Configure Menu)
|- Configure ---------------|
| |- Screen ----.
| |- KeyBoard.. |- Custom..
| |- Printer.. |- Mono
|- Formats ---. |- Other.. |- Default
| |- New.. `- Quit.. < `- Quit <
| |- Edit ..---.
| | |- Size..
| | |- Descr..
`- Quit.. |- Delete.. |- Back..
(DOS) | |- Print
`- Quit < |- Typeface..
|- Configure ->4
`- Quit <
Keys Active at Menus
------------------------------
F9/Alt S - Save File
Alt D - Shell to DOS
Alt H - Help Screen
Alt P - Page Eject (Form Feed) Print Menu
Alt L - Line Feed Only
70
APPENDIX F Registration Form. Send completed form To:
SimpleWare / P.O. Box 877 / Windsor, NF / Canada A0H 2H0
Qty. Description Amount
____ Single user Registration (Ver III) $25.00 ____________
____ Printed Manual and Disk $10.00 ____________
(Can only be ordered with
Registration above)
Total: ____________
Payment: [ ] Check [ ] Visa
Orders outside Canada and the USA Please Add $5.00
----------------------------------------------------------------
Text to place in Registered Program (Maximum 30 Chars/line)
Line#1: [_________________________________] Please
Print
Line#2: [_________________________________]
Name: __________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________
City: ______________________ State:____ Zip:__________
Phone: (____) ____________
Visa #: ___________________________ Expiry Date:_________
Signature of Cardholder:___________________________________
Type of Computer: ________________________________________
Type of Printer: ________________________________________
Where did you
Obtain your Copy: ________________________________________
Comments: ________________________________________________
71
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #1679
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
CHANGES TXT 5758 10-29-89 12:00p
READ ME 4217 10-29-89 12:00p
PRINT BAT 378 10-29-89 12:00p
SL DOC 190823 10-29-89 12:00p
CODES DOC 2176 10-29-89 12:00p
PC-SIG 4086 11-21-89 12:23a
GO BAT 334 11-21-89 12:17a
FILE1679 TXT 2517 12-08-89 4:55p
8 file(s) 210289 bytes
107520 bytes free