About Data Entered at Print Time

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About Data Entered at Print Time

There are several types of data sources that allow you to set up a field on a label and enter the value for
that field on the Quick Printing dialog box at print time. This is useful for entering information that
changes from label to label, such as the customer and purchase order data on shipping labels.

The When Printed data source allows you to enter a value for a field at the time the label is
printed.
For Picture fields with a When Printed data source, at print time you can click the browse
button to display the Select Picture File dialog box. Here you can select an existing picture file
from a drop-down list of files (the files residing in the program's Picture directory) and view a
preview of the picture file.
For Paragraph fields with a When Printed data source, at print time you can click the browse
button to display the Select Text File dialog box. Here you can click the Select a Text File option
and select an existing .TXT file (containing your paragraph text) from a drop-down list of files
(the files residing in the program's TXT directory). If desired, you can then click the Preview
button on the Quick Printing dialog box to view the paragraph text. If you want to type the
paragraph at print time instead of pulling it from an existing file, click the Enter Text option on
the Select Text File dialog box and type the text in the box provided (the typed text will be saved
in a temporary file for printing purposes).
For RichTextField fields with a When Printed data source, at print time you can click the browse
button to display the Select RTF File dialog box. Here you can click the Select an RTF File
option and select an existing .RTF file (containing your RichTextField text) from a drop-down list
of files (the files residing in the program's TXT directory). If desired, you can then click the
Preview button on the Quick Printing dialog box to view the RichTextField text. If you want to
type the RTF text at print time instead of pulling it from an existing file, click the Enter RTF
Text option on the Select RTF File dialog box, and then click Edit text to display the
RichTextField Input dialog box. You can then proceed to type and format your RTF text (the
typed text will be saved in a temporary file for printing purposes).

The Pick List data source allows you to specify a list of valid choices, so that at print time you can
enter a value by selecting it from a list. You can limit user input to the Pick List, or allow other
entries besides those on the list.

The Data Dictionary data source (a GOLD edition feature) is a method for defining a data source
and providing a drop-down list of fields from which the label designer can choose. The use of a
data dictionary helps ensure that the label designer uses only field names that exactly match the
database field names. The selected field then acts the same as a When Printed data source, by
prompting the user for input at print time.

The database data sources (dBase, ODBC DB and OLE DB) also allow you to specify data at print
time to print a particular record.
For Paragraph fields with a database data source, you can click the browse
Data Grid and select the desired record to supply your paragraph text.

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button to display the

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Note: A value entered at print time applies to the entire print job. If you print multiple quantities, you
will not be prompted to enter values for each label. All the labels in the print job will have the same
When Printed or Pick List value.

Sorting Prompts
If your label contains several fields that require input at print time, you can sort the prompts for those
fields to appear in any particular order.

To sort the prompts that appear at print time

1. On the Edit menu, click Sort Prompts.
2. Click a prompt to select it.
3. Use the arrow buttons to move the selected prompt to the first, previous, next, or last position.
4. When finished arranging prompts, click OK to return to the design window.

Adding a When Printed Field

To set up the When Printed data source, you must define all the properties of the field except its value,
which will be entered at print time.

To add a field for which the value will be entered at print time
1. Add a text, paragraph, bar code, 2D bar code, or picture field to your label by clicking the
appropriate button on the Drawtools Bar.
2. In the Data Source box, click When Printed.
Note: For paragraphs and 2D bar codes, the When Printed data source can only be used to populate the
field from an external controlling program (Visual Basic, command files, etc.).
3. If you want to limit the number of characters that the user is allowed to type in this field at print
time, enter the maximum number of characters in the String Length box.
4. In the Prompt box, enter a message (e.g., Enter part number:) to provide a prompt for the user at
print time.
5. Click the Options tab and if desired, set the following When Printed options:
Required: If Yes, the user must enter a value for this field before proceeding with the print job. If No,
the user can leave the field blank and still print the label.

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Must Fill: If Yes, the user must enter a data string that has the same number of characters as that
specified for the length of this field. If No, the user can enter a value shorter than the specified length.
Clear After Print: If Yes, the field is cleared after the label prints. If No, the field retains the last value
entered.
6. Click OK and place the field in a blank area of the label.

Creating a Pick List File

A Pick List (.pkl) file contains the values from which a user can select at print time.

To create or edit a Pick List file

1. On the Options menu, click Pick List Setup.
2. Click New, or select an existing file and click Edit.
3. Choose from the following options:
New: Allows you to enter a new value to appear in the Pick List.
Edit: Displays a text box for editing the selected value.
Delete: Deletes the selected value from the list.
As Default: Retains the selected value as the default value for the field.
Sort: Arranges the values in alphabetical order.
String Length: The maximum number of characters allowed in the field.
Force data to come from list: Prevents the user from entering a value other than one available in the Pick
List.
Allow update at print time: Allows the user to update (edit) the Pick List at print time.
Arrow buttons: Moves the selected value to the top, previous, next or bottom position in the list,
respectively.
4. Once you have created/modified the Pick List file, click OK.
5. If this is a new Pick List file, enter a file name (up to 255 characters long) and click OK to save
the file.
6. Click Exit to return to the design window.

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Note: The Pick List (.pkl) files are stored in the location defined for Pick List files on the Directories
dialog box.

Configuring a Data Dictionary

This is a GOLD edition feature.
Data Dictionary allows you to define a data source and provide a drop-down list of fields from which the
label designer can choose. The selected field then acts the same as a When Printed data source, by
prompting the user for input at print time.
The use of a Data Dictionary helps ensure that the label designer uses only field names that exactly
match the database field names. This exact match is required by third-party integrators using command
files or DDE routines.
To use the Data Dictionary, you need to create two new filesa program (.ini) file and the Data
Dictionary (.dd) file itself. You create the files using a simple text editor, such as Notepad.

The program file defines the name of the data source.

The Data Dictionary file defines the name of the data file, and the fields and field lengths
associated with that data file.

When you create a text or bar code field for your label, and select a Data Dictionary data source and file,
a drop-down list is provided for selecting the field name. The listderived from the Data Dictionary
ensures that only the exact field names and lengths are used.
View example of how to define the program (.ini) file...
View example of how to define the Data Dictionary (.dd) file...

Adding a Data Dictionary Field

This is a GOLD edition feature.
A Data Dictionary allows you to define a data source and provide a drop-down list of fields from which
the label designer can choose. The selected field then acts the same as a When Printed data source, by
prompting the user for input at print time. The use of a Data Dictionary helps ensure that the label
designer uses only field names that exactly match the database field names. This exact match is required
by third-party integrators using command files or DDE routines.
Once you have configured a data dictionary, you can use it to populate a field on your label.

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1. Add a text or bar code field by clicking the appropriate button on the Drawtools Bar.
2. In the Data Source box, select the data dictionary alias you previously assigned when creating the
DATADICT.INI file.
3. In the Data Files box, select the name of the data dictionary (.dd file) to use.
4. In the Description box, select the appropriate database field.
Note: The Description box presents a drop-down list of the fields defined in the data dictionary. When
the label is printed, the field you select appears as a prompt (similar to a When Printed field) that
requires user input.

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