Uso

3.1. To Create a New Label or Card

To create a new label or business card, choose File ▸ New to display the New Label or Card dialog. Select the media type and orientation for the new document, then click OK. A new document is displayed in the display area of the gLabels window.

If your particular media type is missing from this dialog, see Sección 3.6: To Create a Custom Template

3.2. Abrir un archivo

To open a file, choose File ▸ Open to display the Open File dialog. Select the file that you want to open, then click OK. The file is displayed in the display area of the gLabels window.

You can also open multiple files in gLabels. The application creates a separate application window for each open file.

The application records the paths and filenames of the most recent files that you have edited and displays the files as menu items on the File ▸ Recent Files menu.

3.3. To Open Multiple Files from a Command Line

You can run gLabels from a command line and open a single file or multiple files. To open multiple files from a command line, type the following command, then press Return:

glabels file1.glabels file2.glabels file3.glabels

When the application starts, the files that you specify are displayed in separate gLabels windows.

3.4. Guardar un archivo

Puede guardar archivos de cualquiera de estas maneras:

  • Para guardar los cambios a un archivo existente, elija Archivo ▸ Guardar.
  • To save a new file or to save an existing file under a new filename, choose File ▸ Save As. Enter a name for the file in the Save As dialog box, then click OK.

3.5. Cambiar las propiedades de una etiqueta

To change the media type and/or orientation of a label, choose File ▸ Properties to display the Label properties dialog. Select the new media type and orientation for the document, then click OK.

3.6. To Create a Custom Template

To create a new custom template, choose File ▸ Template Designer ... to display the Template Designer dialog. This dialog will assist you in creating a custom template for most types of label or card stationery that you may encounter.

If you prefer, you can create your templates manually. For this option see Sección 6: Manually Creating New Templates

3.7. Cerrar un archivo

To close the current document, choose File ▸ Close to close the application window. If the current document is modified, a confirmation dialog will be presented, allowing you to save the document or cancel the command. If the window being closed is the only open window, gLabels will exit.

3.8. To Quit gLabels

To quit gLabels, choose File ▸ Quit. This is equivalent to closing all open windows. See Sección 3.7: Cerrar un archivo.

3.9. To Print Labels or Cards

To print labels or cards, choose File ▸ Print to display the Print dialog. Once print options have been selected, click Print to print the labels or cards. To simply preview the results, click Print Preview instead.

The Print dialog allows you to specify the following print options:

3.9.1. The Labels Tab of the Print Dialog

Print control (Simple)

For simple labels or cards (no document merge), the labels tabbed section contains the following copy controls.

Figura 2Print Copy Controls

The number of copies of the label can be selected by choosing the number of full sheets to print, or a specific subset of labels on a single sheet.

The mini-preview can also be used to graphically select the subset of labels by clicking the first label on the mini-preview and dragging to the last label.

Print control (Merge)

For labels or cards using the document merge (also known as "mail merge") capability, the labels tabbed section contains the following merge controls instead of copy controls.

Figura 3Print Document Merge Controls

The total number of labels or cards printed is the product of the number of records in the merge source and the number of copies selected. If multiple copies are selected, these can be either collated (copies of the same record grouped together) or un-collated (one copy each record is printed before next copy).

Printing can begin on any label on the first sheet. This can be selected with the Start on label spinbutton.

The mini-preview can also be used to graphically select this first label, by clicking on the desired label in the mini-preview.

Opciones

The following options can also be selected.

  • print outlines

    Print outlines of labels. This option is useful for dry-runs, to test printer alignment.

  • print in reverse

    Prints the labels as mirror images. This option is useful for printing on clear labels that will be viewed from the reverse side (e.g. in a car window).

  • print crop marks

    Prints crop marks along the edge of the sheet. This option is useful for printing on blank stock, to be cut after printing. This option does not work well with all templates.

3.10. To Create New Objects

Objects are created by choosing the appropriate selection under the Objects ▸ Create Object submenu or the Drawing Toolbar. This will place the display area into object creation mode as indicated by its cursor. To return to the default object selection mode without creating an object, choose Objects ▸ Select Mode. This will return the display area's cursor to the default selection arrow.

The following describes the object creation mode for each object type:

Texto

Click the desired location of the upper left corner of the text object. New text objects are initialized with the string "Text." To change this text, or other properties, see Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties.

Caja

Click the desired location of the upper left corner of the box object and drag to the desired location of the lower right corner. If you simply click in a single location, a square box will be created. To change properties of the box object, see Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties.

Línea

Click the desired location of one end of the line object and drag to the desired location of the other end. If you simply click in a single location, a diagonal line will be created. To change properties of the line object, see Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties.

Elipse

Click the desired location of the upper left corner of the ellipse object and drag to the desired location of the lower right corner. If you simply click in a single location, a circle will be created. To change properties of the ellipse object, see Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties.

Imagen

Click the desired location of the upper left corner of the image object and drag to the desired location of the lower right corner. If you simply click in a single location, a square will be created. New image objects are initialized with a simple checkerboard image. To change this image, or other properties of the image object, see Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties.

Barcode

Click the desired location of the upper left corner of the barcode object. New barcode objects are initialized to a POSTNET barcode with representative data. To change data and properties of the barcode object, see Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties.

3.11. To Select Objects

A prerequisite for performing operations on objects is the selection of individual objects or groups of objects. The display area must be in the object selection mode to create new selections, as indicated by an arrow cursor. The object selection mode is selected by the Objects ▸ Select Mode menu item, or the corresponding command on the Drawing Toolbar.

Selecting a single object

A single object can be selected simply by clicking on the desired object in the display area. Once selected the object will be highlighted with a set of resizing handles.

Aggregate object selections

Multiple objects can be selected by first selecting the first object as above and then by holding the Ctrl key while selecting additional objects. Individual objects can be added to an existing selection at any time by holding the Ctrl key while selecting the desired objects. All objects can also be selected by using the Edit ▸ Select All menu item. All objects in an aggregate object selection will be highlighted.

Area selections

Multiple objects can also be selected by clicking an empty area and dragging to form a rectangular area. When released, all objects contained in the area will form an aggregate selection. An area selection can be used to add to an existing selection by holding the Ctrl key while performing the selection.

Unselecting objects

Individual objects can be removed from an existing selection by holding the Ctrl key while clicking on a previously selected object. An entire selection can be dismissed by using the Edit ▸ Un-select All menu item or by simply clicking any empty space in the display area. Once an object is unselected its highlight is removed.

3.12. Clipboard Commands

Object selections can be manipulated using the standard clipboard operations Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete.

Cortar ( Ctrl+X )

Moves selected objects to the clipboard. The objects are then available for pasting back into the current document or another document.

Copiar ( Ctrl+C )

Copies selected objects to the clipboard without deleting them. The objects are then available for pasting back into the current document or another document.

Pegar ( Ctrl+V )

Pastes objects from the clipboard into the current document. gLabels can only paste objects from another gLabels document.

Borrar ( Borrar )

Deletes selected objects without placing them on the clipboard.

3.13. To Edit Object Properties

Most object properties can be modified through the object editor sidebar, illustrated below. To use the object editor, a single object must first be selected. See Sección 3.11: To Select Objects.

Figura 4Object Editor Sidebar

The object editor will contain a subset of the following tabbed sections, depending on object type:

3.13.1. Text Tabbed Section (Text objects)

This section contains a small editor for changing the content of a text object. It also contains a dropdown menu of available document merge keys, that can be inserted into text.

3.13.2. Image Tabbed Section (Image objecs)

This section contains a file entry with preview to select image files. The browse button can be used to easily locate image files. Alternatively, a document merge key can be used instead to provide a filename at print time.

3.13.3. Data Tabbed Section (Barcode objecs)

This section contains a text entry to enter literal barcode data. Alternatively, a document merge key can be used to provide this data at print time.

3.13.4. Style Tabbed Section (Text objects)

This section contains controls to select text properties, including font family, font size, font weight, color, and text justification.

3.13.5. Style Tabbed Section (Barcode objecs)

This section contains controls to select barcode properties, including barcode style, color, whether to print text, and whether to include a checksum digit.

3.13.6. Line Tabbed Section

This section contains controls to select properties of lines and outlines. These properties include line width and color.

3.13.7. Fill Tabbed Section

This section contains controls to select fill properties of box and ellipse objects. Currently the only fill property is fill color.

3.13.8. Size Tabbed Section (All except line objects)

This section contains controls to select the width and height of an object. A checkbox is provided, so that the current aspect ratio can be locked while manipulating the width and height controls. Image objects also provide a button to reset the size to the image's natural size (Assumes 72DPI).

3.13.9. Size Tabbed Section (Line objects)

This section contains controls to select the length and angle of a line object.

3.13.10. Position Tabbed Section

This section contains controls to change the position of an object.

3.13.11. Shadow Tabbed Section (All except image and barcode objects)

This section contains controls to add a shadow to an object.

3.14. Other Manipulations of Objects

Objects can also be manipulated in the following ways.

3.14.1. Moving and Resizing Objects

Objects can be moved by simply clicking on a selected object and dragging the object to its new location. If the object is part of an aggregate selection, all objects in the selection will move with the object being dragged, maintaining their relative positions to one another. If no object is selected, clicking on an object will create a new selection containing that object. See Sección 3.11: To Select Objects.

A selected object can be resized by clicking one of its resize handle and dragging it to obtain the new size.

3.14.2. Changing Stacking Order

Stacking order refers to relative position in the z-axis of objects. That is when objects overlap, which object will appear on top of the other. By default, newer objects will appear above older objects. To change this order, select one or more objects and choose Objects ▸ Order ▸ Bring to Front to raise the selection to the top of the stacking order, or choose Objects ▸ Order ▸ Send to Back to lower the selection to the bottom of the stacking order. These menuitems are also available by right-clicking the display area when there is a non-empty selection.

3.14.3. Rotating and Flipping Objects

Objects can be rotated 90 degrees in either direction, or flipped horizontally or vertically, by choosing the appropriate menuitem in the Objects ▸ Rotate/Flip sub-menu. These menuitems are also available by right-clicking the display area when there is a non-empty selection.

3.14.4. Aligning Objects

Objects can be aligned horizontally or vertically, relative to one another, or relative to the center line of the label, by choosing the appropriate menuitem from the Objects ▸ Align Horizontal or Objects ▸ Align Horizontal sub-menus. These menuitems are also available by right-clicking the display area when there is a non-empty selection.

3.14.5. Using the Property Bar

The property bar can be used to change some common properties of objects en-masse. These properties include font family, font size, font weight, text alignment, text color, fill color, line or outline color, and line width. The property bar also controls the defaults for these properties for any newly created objects.

3.15. Performing a Document Merge

Document Merge (sometimes called "Mail Merge") is a powerful feature that allows a unique label or card to be printed for each record in an external data source.

The first step to performing a document merge is to prepare a source document that contains your merge data. This data could be mailing addresses or any other data that you wish to create unique labels or cards for. Currently back-ends only exist for text files and the evolution data server -- others are planned. The currently supported text-file format is very simple: each line is a record; fields are delimited by commas (CSV), tabs, or colons; and newlines can be embedded into fields by using the "\n" entity. This file could be created using any text editor or could be created by another program or script. A common way of creating CSV files is to export them from a spreadsheet program.

A label must then be configured to "point at" this data file. To configure the merge properties of a document, choose Objects ▸ Merge Properties menu item to display the merge properties dialog. This dialog is used to select the exact data file format and file name (location) of the merge data.

Finally, once the label has been configured for a data file, field keys can be inserted into text objects and used as source or data for barcode objects and image filenames for image objects. See Sección 3.13: To Edit Object Properties for more information on using merge data for these object types.

Now that your label is configured, gLabels will print a unique label for each record in your source document -- substituting fields from each record for field keys in the all text, barcode, and image objects.

See Sección 5: Document Merge Tutorial for a detailed tutorial on the document merge feature.