MultiLabel 3.0 Help

LICENSE INFORMATION
MultiLabel is a shareware program. You may use this shareware version for a test period not to exceed 30 days. If you continue to use the program after that time, you must register your copy. To register give the OsoSoft Information command in the Help menu. fill out the order form and send it and a check for $20 to the address on the form. Registered users receive the latest version, a printed manual, full support, and upgrade notification. Unregistered users receive only minimal support and are not entitled to telephone support. If you use MultiLabel, register your copy today!

THE MULTILABEL INTERFACE

Editing Text in Multilabel Pro
Multilabel's editing box works like your Windows word processing program. You can simply type your text in the box, pressing <Enter> to move to a new line. To position the cursor in your text, use the cursor keys or click the mouse cursor where you want to type. New text you type always replaces selected text.

When you're entering text, all attributes continue from line to line when you press the <Enter> key. You're limited to 36 lines of text.

LEFT SIDE COMMAND BUTTONS

The Text Group

[Edit] This button returns the cursor to the text editing box.

[Exit] Click this button to leave Multilabel. 

The Label Group

[Update] This button updates the WYSIWYG display. 

[Clear] This button clears your current label from the screen and from memory. 

[New] This button clears your current label and prepares Multilabel for a new label.

[Load] The Load command lets you retrieve an existing label design from your hard disk. 

[Save] Saves the current label with the current filename. 

[Save As] Lets you assign a new name for a label design. If you enter a filename without an extension, Multilabel will use .LAB. 

[Serial #] Inserts a serial number on your label. This serial number will be incremented with each label on the sheet and the last serial number used will be stored in the label file when you save it. Serialization will proceed with the next number when you reprint the same label. You can imbed this code in any text on the label.

The Layout Group

[Grid] This button overlays a grid on the WYSIWYG display, to help you position text and graphics. The grid has divisions of .1-inch, with full inch lines in bold. The grid disappears when you give the command again. 

[Format] Drops down the label style selection menu. You may choose any Avery Laser Label type or create your own custom label format. 

[Margins] This button lets you set customized margins for your label. The default is .1 inch.  

RIGHT SIDE COMMANDS

Text Attributes (Whole Line)

[Line] Displays the current line number, as determined by the position of your cursor in the text editing box.

[Dupe Previous] This button repeats the formatting of the line above the current line. 

[Font] Displays the current font, and allows you to change a line to another font. You'll see a sample of your selected font. 

[Size] Displays the current size for the font used on the current line. Sizes range from 4 to 36 points. 

[Align] This control affects the alignment of the selected line. You can choose left or right aligned, centered, split lines, or set a customized horizontal and vertical position. HINT: When using customized line postions, apply these to lines at the bottom of the label's text to avoid later misalignments in normal lines.

[Style] Four check boxes control text attributes for the entire line. 

[Rev.] This option prints the current line in white type on a black background. 

The Clip Art Group

[AddArt] Opens a dialog box for loading .BMP or .PCX clip art images. Multilabel  supports black and white or color images up to 256 colors. To see a preview, click once on the filename. To load the image, double-click the file or click OK. 

[Delete] Deletes the currently-selected clip art image. 

[Option Buttons] Selects one of the two clip art images. You may select by clicking the button, or by double-clicking on the image itself. You must select an image before acting on it. 

[Sizing Scroll Bar] Use this control to resize a selected clip art image. For small changes, click the arrows. Click between the arrows for larger changes. Avoid moving the thumb to prevent sizing problems.

Moving a Clip Art Image
You can move a clip art image by dragging it around the screen with the mouse. To do this, first select the image.  With the image selected, click the left mouse button somewhere outside of the image. The image will instantly move with its upper, left corner at the position where you clicked. Then, you can drag the image to a new location. 

Scaling a Clip Art Image
To alter the size of a clip art image, select it, then use the scroll bar in the Clip Art group of commands to change the size. Avoid using the thumb to change image sizes, since it may alter the size of the surrounding box containing the image. You can scale images between 10% to 500% of the original size.

The Graphics Objects Group

[Object] This drop-down list box allows you to select an individual object for editing. Each line, box, or circle gets an object number, which appears near the object. 

[Width] This box controls the width of line drawing elements. If you change the current setting, it will affect the current object, if present, or the next object you draw.

[Draw] This check box enables line drawing. Click it before attempting to create an object.

[Line], [Box], [Circle] These options determine the type of object you want to draw.

Draw [Black] or [White] Options These options control the color of the object you are going to draw, or change the color of an existing object. Black is the default color.

DRAWING AN OBJECT
To draw an object in the WYSIWYG screen, first select the type of object ([Line] [Box] [Circle]), then set the width for the lines used to draw the object. Next click on the [Draw] checkbox. Move the mouse pointer inside the WYSIWYG display. While holding the left button down, drag the mouse pointer to a new location. A rubber-band image of your object will appear as you draw. Draw slowly for best results. When the object is approximately the right size, release the left mouse button to place your object on the screen. A number will appear next to the object to identify it. You can move or size any object later.

[Move], [Size] Options These two options determine whether the scroll bars (see below) move or size the current object.

[Scroll Bars] Horizontal and vertical scroll bars control positioning of graphical elements. Depending on which of the option buttons above is selected, you can move or scale all graphical objects in .005 inch increments. Try the [Grid] command for accuracy.

[Erase Selected] This button erases the current image, as identified in the [Object] list box. This erasure is temporary. 

[Restore] This button restores objects deleted with the 

[Erase All] This button removes all graphical elements from the screen. As with the erase selected button, the image remains in memory, and can be restored with [Restore].

MENU COMMANDS

FILE MENU

[New Label Design] Clears the current label and sets up for a new design. If a label is already on the screen, you'll be prompted to clear it or abort.

[Open Label File] Opens an existing .LAB label design file. For simplicity, store your labels in the MLTLBL directory.

[Save Current Label] Saves the current label with the current filename. The current file will be overwritten without warning. If you're making a different label, use the Save As... command.

[Save Current Label As...] Lets you save the current design under a different filename.

[Insert Graphic File] Lets you select a clip art image for insertion in your design. Multilabel supports up to two clip art images on each label. Same as [AddArt].
[Print Sheet(s) of Labels] This command prints your current labels on the selected label stock. If you're not using the Address Book, you'll get an entire sheet of identical labels. If you are using the Address Book, labels will print until all selected records are printed. NOTE: If you print labels from the Address Book, select the Manual Feed option for your printer before starting MultiLabel, unless your printer can feed labels from a paper tray.

[Print Single Test Label] This command prints a single label, with a border, on plain paper. Use this command for fast checking of your design as it will appear when printed.

NOTE: If you're using serial numbers on your labels, do not print multiple copies in this way. Instead print each sheet separately with the print command.

[Update Font List] MultiLabel handles fonts very well, but there may be times when you need to relist your currently available fonts. This command does that. You probably will never need to use it, since the program rebuilds its font list, if necessary, each time it starts.

[Exit] Quits Multilabel, with a confirmation box. Click [Yes] to save the current label and exit. Click [No] to exit without saving. Click [Cancel] to return to Multilabel.

EDIT MENU
[Cut] Removes selected text from the editing box, then stores it in the clipboard. 

[Copy] Sends a copy of selected text to the Windows Clipboard. 

[Paste] Copies text from the Windows Clipboard to the current cursor location. 

[Edit Current Picture] Starts Windows PaintBrush and loads the picture selected with the option buttons for editing. When you exit PaintBrush, you'll return to Multilabel. To insert the altered image, delete the current image, then use [AddArt] to reload the image from disk.

[Auto-Updating Enabled] This command is normally off. Click it to add a check mark and enable updating whenever you change lines in the text editing box.

LAYOUT MENU
[Show Grid] Like the [Grid] button.

[Label Format] Displays the Label Format list. Select a standard Avery LaserLabel format or create a Custom Design. If you select the Custom Design option, you'll see a series of dialog boxes. Enter the information requested, using a ruler to measure the actual dimensions on your labels. Measurements must be in inches, and in decimal format. (E.G.: 1.5 or 3.125)

[Margins] Sets margins for label text. The default is .1 inch.

[Printer Fudge Factors] This command displays a submenu you can use to alter the dimensions of your printouts slightly. Use it to compensate for slight differences between printers. In the submenu, select the option you want to change, then enter a value in the resulting dialog box. Both positive and negative numbers are allowed, and all measurements should be in decimal inches as in the label format example. Measurements are added to or subtracted from the current settings. Once you get your settings correct for your printer, use the Save Offsets as Defaults command to store them for automatic use.

Special note for HP DeskJet Users: Use the Top Margin Offset command with a value of approximately -.22 to shift your page up .22" if you're having trouble with the last row of labels printing on the next page. 

FORMAT MENU

[Make Current Font Default] This command sets all the lines of a label design to the font currently shown in the font selection list box. Lines already having another font name will not change. This command also sets the font for printing the descriptive lines on layout sheets.

[Left Align All Lines] Sets all lines on a label to the left margin. You can override this setting or any of the other All Lines settings, by using the Align list box.

[Center All Lines] Centers all lines on the label. 

[Right Align All Lines] Sets alignment for all lines to the right margin.

[Insert Formatting Codes] The commands in this submenu insert special codes in your document which allow you to alter the appearance of just part of a line. Whenever possible, use the whole line formatting tools instead.

ADDRESS BOOK MENU

Giving this command opens the MultiLabel Address Book, where you can create, store, and edit address list files for use with the program. See the Using the Address Book section of this manual for details.


[Help with Multilabel <F1>] This command opens a new window. On the left is an index of topics. To get help on a topic, just click on the topic's name. You can scroll through the list or type the first letter of your topic. Once the program finds the topic, the index name will appear highlighted at the top of the screen to the right, with the help information below. In some cases, a topic will have more than one entry. 

[About] Displays information about Multilabel, including the current version number and support information.

[OsoSoft Program Information] OsoSoft offers several other programs which may interest you. This command displays a window that lets you learn about these other programs and lets you order OsoSoft products. To view information on a program, click the [Info] button next to that program's name. To order, enter the quantity desired for each product. Then fill out your name and address information and mark the appropriate disk size box with an X. Click the [Print] button to print the form or the [Cancel] button to return to Multilabel.

Using The Address Book

The Address Book menu command opens a new window in MultiLabel, containing an address book database you can use to store and select addresses for use on your labels. When you first open the address book, you'll see an empty list box. The first time you use the Address Book, there will be no addresses stored there.

Creating Address Book Files
You can store up to 750 addresses in each address book file, but you may have as many address book files as you like. The default file extension for address books is .ADR, and you should stick to that extension, or MultiLabel won't be able to find your files quickly.

To create your first address book file, select the [Edit] or [Add] button, then type in the information you want to enter in the fields that appear. You can type anything you like in each field, but each line is limited to 30 characters. If you type more than 30 characters, the entry will be truncated. Enter the data as you want it to appear on the labels. For best results, fill out the lines in order, avoiding blank lines between two full lines. 

Click the [Add] button to create additional entries. When you've finished entering data, select the [Save] button, then enter a file name. HINT: Just enter the filename without an extension. Address Book will add the .ADR extension automatically.

Using the List View
When you give the Address Book command, the Address Book list is empty. Use the [Open] button to bring up the file selection dialog. After selecting a file, you'll see the List View, with the first field in each record appearing in the list box. The list is unsorted.

To select a record, just click on the line for that record. Most often, you'll want to select multiple records for use on your labels. You can drag the mouse over multiple records, or hold down the <Ctrl> key and click on individual records to select non-adjacent records.

To edit a record, click the [Edit] button to move to the record editing display for the currently selected record. If you have selected multiple records, the record surrounded by the dotted box will appear in the editing fields.

To add a record, click the [Add] button. The Address Book will find the first blank record in the file and move to the record editing field. If records have been deleted, leaving blank spaces in the list box, you'll be adding the first blank record.

To delete a record, click the [Delete] button. After you confirm your decision, that record will be removed. If multiple records are selected, the record surrounded by the dotted box will be deleted.

To search for text, select the [Find] button. Enter the text to find in the dialog box and click [OK]. Only the first field is searched, and the search is not case-sensitive, so "bob" will locate "BOB" or "Bob." To find the next occurrence of a search, select [Find Next].

Using the Edit View
When you give the [Add] or [Edit] command, you move to the edit view, with the six fields for a label displayed. Press <Tab> or <Enter> to move to the next field, and <Shift>-<Tab> to move backward. Normal Windows text editing procedures apply to the fields.

Three new buttons appear in this view, under the field display. Select [Return to List View] to return to the list view after editing. Select [Next] or [Previous] to scroll through the records, one at a time. The current record number always appears at the top right of the window.
While in this view, you can use the [Add] button as well. 

The [Delete] button also works, but does not clear your current fields. It does, however, remove the current record from the list. All other buttons also work in this view, including the [Find] button. 

Selecting Records for Use in Labels
Record selection must be done in the Address Book's List View. Use the selection techniques described above, with click and drag, or <Ctrl>-click to select the records you want to include on your labels. You can clear your selections by clicking on a single record. When all records are selected, click [Return] to return to the main MultiLabel window.

You'll see a dialog box asking if you want to save your data, if you've made any changes. Next, you'll be asked if you want to use the data in your labels. Answer [Yes] to use the data, [No] to return to the main window, or [Cancel] to return to the Address Book.

Using Address List Data in Labels
After using the Address Book database, click the [Return] button to resume working in the main MultiLabel Window. When you return, you'll see two new items on the main menu, Insert Data Field and Preview. You'll use those two menus to create a label which uses mail-merge techniques to insert different information on each label you print.

Start with a blank label. If you already have a label on the screen, use the[New[ or [Clear] commands to clear the label. Then you're ready to create a label template, using the two new menu items.

[Insert Data Field] When you click this menu item, you'll see a sub-menu used to insert field codes in the text editing box. Click any of these entries, or press the associated function key to insert the appropriate code, which will look like: {Line1}, {Line2}, and so on. Don't put any other text on a line containing a field code; It will be ignored when you print.

These codes represent the lines in your database. You can align them any way you like, apply formatting like boldfacing, italics, etc., and choose fonts and font sizes. You can also use the automatic formatting options in the Format menu to center lines or make them all left or right aligned. The codes will appear in the text editing box and in the WYSIWYG display.

While you can't put other text on the lines containing the fields, you can include any other text you wish on other lines. This lets you customize your labels. You can also include clip art images on labels which use address book data.


[Preview] You'll want to see what a typical label will look like when printed. To do this, select the View Sample Label command in the Preview menu. You'll see your label with the data from the first record in the Address Book database. 
This can help you with alignment. To return to the field display, choode the Restore to Normal command in the Preview menu. If you start printing, you'll automatically return to the normal, field code display.

Printing Address List Labels
Once you are satisfied with your label, just use the normal print command to print all the labels you selected. If you've selected less addresses than will fit on a label sheet, the remaining labels will be blank. If you've selected more addresses than will fit on one sheet, additional sheets will print. Make note of how many addresses you've selected and be sure you have enough label stock loaded to avoid printing on blank paper.

Returning to Normal Label Printing
To return to normal duplicate label printing, give the Address Book command again, then select [Return] and answer [No] when asked if you want to use the data in labels. As long as the Insert Data Field and Preview menus are visible, you can't print duplicate labels.

DISCLAIMER
OsoSoft is not responsible for defective video and printer drivers. If you experienced unexplained crashes while using this program, make sure you have the most recent driver versions before blaming MultiLabel.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

MultiLabel and its documentation are Copyright, 1991, 1992, 1993, by OsoSoft and George Campbell. All rights reserved.