Creating label templates is easy in [i] Merchant. There is a Label Designer program, where you can design as many label templates as needed, both for product labels and Customer Order labels. The principles that drive the Label Designer are similar to those that drive the Screen Designer. The work screen of the Label Designer, for example, can be altered or updated or filled in using a Palette of choices.
To access the Label Designer:
From the Main Menu, select Tools-Administration-Designers. From here, select the Label Designer you want--Product Barcode Label, Customer Order Label, Multi-Store Item Barcode Label, or Shipping Box Label.
Let's look at how to set up a label template in Label Designer. The principles used to set up Product Barcode Labels mirror those used to set up the other labels. If you understand the basics for one, you will be able to do the others. For simplicity, let's create a Product Barcode Label.
The first thing to do, of course, is select the Product Barcode Label menu choice from the Label Designer submenu. Upon selecting that, the Label Design window opens.
There are two fields in this window: Label Name and Label Stock. If you're creating a new label, you can ignore these fields right now.
Click on the New icon at the top of the Label Design window. The New Label window opens. This is where you name the label, design it, and set its label stock.
The first thing to do is name the label:
In the Enter Label Name field, simply key in the name you want to use for the label template you are creating.
The "Use Default Design" field underneath this is a checkbox field. If you check this field, the system will use a default design for the label. However, since you are creating your own new label here, you will probably want to design the label yourself. Therefore, you will probably want to uncheck this field. (We will discuss how to design the label momentarily.)
The "Label Stock" field is where you choose which Label Stock code you want to use for the label you are creating. Label stock is essentially the size and/or color of the stock used for the label (i.e., 1.5 x 2.5 inches, yellow color, etc.).
To choose a specific label stock:
Either key in the Label Stock code, or click on the icon to the right of the field to access the Find Label Stock parameter screen. From there, highlight the Label Stock code you want, then click on the Select button, or simply press Enter. You will be brought back to the New Label window, and the Label Stock field will be filled in with your selection. (While at the Find Label Stock parameter screen, you can create a new Label Stock code, if needed. For information on how to create a new basic parameter, click here.
Please keep in mind, a Label Stock code, in and of itself, does nothing. It merely is informational. You can name a Label Stock code "HC" for "hardcover," for example. This would mean that this is the stock you want to use for your hardcover labels. You still need to make sure you have the correct stock in your printer, etc. In other words, the Label Stock field is nothing more than an indicator, a reminder to you, serving to let you know which stock is needed for a particular label.
Once you have named the new label and chosen its label stock, click on the Apply button in the upper left corner of the window. This saves the name of the label template to the system and opens up the Label Designer screen. This is where you design the actual label itself.
The Label Designer window and the Palette appear. The Palette has a list of fields you can drag and drop onto the Label Designer window. When you design the label, be aware of the dimensions of the label stock. If it's 1 by 3 inches, keep that in mind as you drag and drop fields into the Designer window. You need to work within the parameters of the stock size.
Note:
One field in the Palette that may need some explanation is "You Saved: MSRP - Retail". This will list the "you saved" amount on the label, that is, the difference between the MSRP price and your Retail price. If the MSRP is not greater than the Retail price, this value will not be applicable and therefore will not print on the label.
Note:
Near the top of the Designer window, there is a Default icon. If you would like to display the name of the fields you place in the Designer window (from the Palette), this is the tool to use. For example, if you choose Retail Price from the Palette, the retail price will appear on the label. But do you want the label to say the words "Retail Price"? If so, you would use the Default icon.
When you click on the Default icon, the Display Options window appears, where you are given four choices: Create the display name (or "label") on the right, left, or top of the field. The fourth choice is not to use a descriptive comment field. Whatever you choose here becomes the default for all Palette selections. So if you choose to display the field name to the left, a comments field will appear to the left of the fields you drag in from the Palette.
If you want to change this for a specific field in the Designer window (i.e., go against the Designer window Default selection), right-click on the field, and choose "Display" from the menu that appears. This will call up the Display Options window as well, but in this case, the window will only apply to the specific field on which you right-clicked. The same four choices will appear, and you can choose any of them.
Note:
When you drag a field in to the Designer window from the Palette, do you want the field's full description or code to appear? For example, let's say you drag the Bindings field into the Designer window. Do you want the Bindings field to display the name of the Binding (for example, "Hardcover"); or do you want it to display the code (for example, "HC")? You can decide this on a field-by-field basis. . .
Right-click on the desired field. A menu appears. Select "Display." This calls up the Display Options window. In addition to giving you the four choices regarding whether (and where) to display the name of the field (as described in the above note), there is a section at the bottom that will dictate whether the field will display the description or code.
Under "Choose Description Display," there are two choices: "Display Code" and "Display Description". Click on the circle to the left of the choice you want.
Only fields that can display either a code or a description will showcase the "Choose Description Display" portion of the Display Options window. If a field has no code attached to it, the "Choose Description Display" portion of the window will not appear.
Drag and drop the fields you want into the Designer window. If you want more detailed instructions on how to work with a Palette and how some of the fields inside of the Palette operate, please click here.
Once you have designed the Designer window the way you want it, click on the Save button at the top left of the window, then "x" out of the window. (If you click on Cancel, the selections you made in the Designer window will not be saved.)
After closing out of the Designer window, you will be returned to the Label Design window. Here, the Label Name field and Label Stock field will be filled in with what you selected earlier.
That's it. You have created a new label.
To access an existing label:
From the Label Design window, click on the arrow at the right of the Label Name field. A dropdown menu appears. Simply select the label name you want from the menu, then click on the Design icon at the top of the window. The Label Designer window will open for the selected label, and if you want to redesign it using the Palette, you can.
If you want to change the label stock code for an existing label:
With the Designer window open for the selected label, select Edit-Change Stock from the menu at the top of the screen. A Label Stock window opens, and from there you can change the Label Stock code.
If you want to delete a label template from the system:
With the Designer window open for the selected label, select Edit-Delete from the menu at the top of the screen. You will be taken back to the Label Design window, and the label will have been deleted from the system.
Customer Order labels are created the same exact way. You can create as many Product labels and as many Customer Order labels as you want.