DOC-OEMCS9-UG-EN-01/09/09
User Guide
The information contained in this guide is not of a contractual nature and may be subject to change without prior notice. The software described in this guide is sold under a license agreement. The software may be used, copied or reproduced only in accordance with the terms of theagreement. No part of this guide may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means or for any purpose other than the purchaser’s own use without the written permission of Braton Groupe sarl.
Table of contents INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................. 1 WELCOME! ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 PRESENTATION .....................................................................................................................................................
User Guide
About this manual Typographical conventions This manual distinguishes between different types of information using the following conventions: Terms taken from the interface itself, such as commands, appear in bold. Keys appear in small caps. For example: ''Press the SHIFT key''. Numbered lists indicates that there is a procedure to follow. When the conjunction -or- appears next to a paragraph, it means there is the choice of another procedure for carrying out a given task.
Introduction Welcome! Congratulations, you have just acquired the world’s leading automatic identification software package! Presentation This label design software allows you to quickly create and edit complex labels, fast, and is capable of integrating all the electronic data from across your company, guaranteeing the full integrity of all your systems. The application meets all your automatic identification needs, and fits seamlessly into your production process.
User Guide Installation Note: Before installing this software please save your work and close all other programs. Before running the installation program, check the configuration of your PC. 1. Place the CD for the installation in the correct drive. The Installation window appears. If this CD does not start up automatically: 2. Go to Start > Run and then type the letter of the CD-ROM drive followed by the filename index.hta (for example D:\index.hta). 3.
Introduction License protection Your software can be protected using a software key (an activation code) or a hardware key (a dongle). The dongle is a small electronic device that you plug into your PC’s parallel or USB port before launching the software. Without the hardware protection key, the program will run in ’evaluation’ mode. You will not be able to save your labels, 'e' will be replaced with 'x', '0' will be replaced with '5' and images will be crossed when printing.
User Guide USB hardware keys are not supported using Windows 95 and Windows NT4 operating systems. Error messages when launching the software If you are prompted with an error message when launching the software, please check the following items: The administrative rights. You must have local administrative rights on your PC so that the key installation works properly. If you do not have them, you will receive an error message when launching the software. You will have to manually install the drivers.
Introduction Fax activation method 1. Select the Fax activation method. 2. Input your information in the User Registration form. Remember that all fields marked by an asterisk (*) are required. Click Next. 3. Enter the activation code provided with the product and click OK. 4. Click the Create Form... button. An Activation Request Form will be created with all the required user information. This form must be sent by fax or email in order to receive the response code.
Discovering the interface Description of the main window This section presents a general overview of the main interface elements as they appear in the main window at the beginning of a work session. The Menu Bar The Menu bar contains the following options: File, Edit, View, Object, Data Sources, Tools, Window, and Help. To open a menu 1. Select the menu. 2. Choose the command of your choice. Note: To access a command using the keyboard, use the hot keys.
User Guide The Title Bar The Title bar displays the name of the software and the name of the current document, or "documentno." if a new document is created. It allows the workspace window to be moved using the mouse. Text formatting toolbar These tools allow you to modify text and/or paragraph formatting, that is, change the font, character size, style options, text wrap, and so on. To change the formatting: 1. Select an object in your document. 2. Click on the required options.
Discovering the interface Design toolbar The creation toolbar comprises a number of buttons, each one representing a tool for creating and manipulating objects. Button Name of tool Use Selection tool Selects and manipulates objects of all types. Text generation Creates fixed and variable text. Barcode generation Creates fixed and variable barcodes. Image import Inserts images. External object insertion Inserts objects external to the application.
User Guide The up arrow and down arrow keys on your keyboard allow you to move up and down the tree. The + and symbols allow you to expand or shrink the list and display the list of variables associated with each data source or the objects available for each category. About data sources A data source contains a list of variables fed by data from the same source. When you select a data source, you are indicating where the required data is located, and what type of data it is.
Discovering the interface To change the color of an object: 1. Select the required object. 2. Click on a color in the palette with the left mouse button to apply text, line or outline color. 3. Click on a color in the palette with the right mouse button to apply background color. Note: This button X removes the background color from an object. You can also change the color by using the Properties dialog box. 1. Double click on an object. The Properties dialog box appears on the screen. 2.
Setting up the work environment Choice of printer Before starting to create a document, you first need to set up your work environment. The first step consists of selecting the printer on which you wish to print your labels. Not all printers share the same characteristics and, as a result, different options are available according to the model of printer chosen. The second step involves choosing your work environment options, for example, interface language, unit of measurement, and so on.
User Guide The drivers for native and native transfer printers are supplied with the label design software. Printing on these printers is managed directly by the software. To select a printer 1. Choose File > Select printer... You can also click the button or press F5. 2. Select the printer from the list. 3. Click OK. Note: The drivers provided by the application are identified by an icon.
Setting up the work environment Demonstration Adding a Zebra 140 on LPT1 1. Choose File > Select printer. 2. Click Add. 3. In the Model list, select the Zebra group, then the model. 4. Select the LPT1 communication port, clear the Direct access box then click OK. Customizing the work environment Your software offers a number of options for customizing your work environment.
User Guide To change the dialog box display font 1. Choose Tools > Options. 2. Click the Display tab. 3. In the Display font field, click 4. Select the font. 5. Click OK. . To modify the grid scale The grid scale, which is used to align objects, can be modified or disabled. 1. Choose Tools > Options. 2. Click the Grid tab. - or Double-click on the vertical ruler to access the Grid tab directly. 3. Select the required grid scale. 4. Select the Display option. 5. Click OK.
Setting up the work environment Document page setup Formatting a document Document templates are created and modified in the Page setup dialog box. Formatting a document consists of setting the page size, its orientation, the number of labels per row and per column, document size, margins, and distance between labels. You can create your own document templates and save them for future use.
User Guide 5. Click the Page tab and select the following values: 6. Click on the Margins tab and enter the following values: 7. 8. Page sizing: Automatic, Margins: Left: 10, Top: 10, Gap: Between rows: 5, Between columns: 5. Click the Stock tab and enter the following values: Type: Family, Name: Layout1. Click OK then save the label as C:\CSL1\WORK\TEST1.LAB. Designing a CD sleeve: page setup and creating a customized stock 1.
Setting up the work environment 8. 9. Click on the Stock tab and enter the following values: Type: Jaquette, Name: CDx2. Click OK. Note: The printer used in this example is a Windows™ printer. If you wish to use a native printer, it is possible for error messages to appear during page setup. You will therefore need to modify the values suggested in the example because, as we have already seen, the choice of printer affects certain settings.
Creating a document using fixed object Creating and manipulating objects Creating fixed objects involves inserting objects such as text, barcodes, images, lines, rectangles, and circles into your document. Creating objects You can quickly and simply create an object in your document (bar code, image, text, drawing, etc.) using: The Creation toolbar, - or - The Object menu. Note: Each object created is automatically given a name by the application.
User Guide To create a text object A Text object can be one character, one word or an entire paragraph. Character style and paragraph format can be defined using the Text formatting toolbar or the Text dialog box. To create a Text object: 1. On the Creation toolbar, click the Writing tool. - or Choose Object > Text. 2. Click inside the workspace or on the text to be modified. - or Click and drag out a frame in the workspace. 3. Enter your text.
Creating a document using fixed object 4. Select the two text objects and click on the Lock button. Unicode can be used to create labels using a variety of linguistic characters. To use Unicode, just select a Unicode font for your text by going to the Character tab available in the Properties of your text object. To create a barcode object Your software offers a wide range of symbologies adapted to the requirements of the industry, as well as the option of creating 2D barcodes.
User Guide Creating a shape object Example: Drawing a line Your software comes complete with a range of tools to help you design perfect labels. You can draw a line, a circle, a rectangle, etc. using the same process described below. To draw a line: 1. Click the Line drawing tool. - or Choose Object > Shape > Line. 2. Click inside the workspace. 3. Move the mouse while holding the left button down. Demonstration: Creating a CD sleeve: drawing a circle 1. Click the Circle or ellipse drawing tool.
Creating a document using variable objects About data sources A data source contains a list of variables fed by data of the same origin. When you select a data source, you are indicating where the data you are interested in is found, and what type of data you require. The data can be of internal origin (formula, date, counter) or external to the application (database, direct entry, ActiveX).
User Guide The data source created is displayed automatically under the selected data source. The application gives the data source a default name. Note: Brackets {} cannot be used in a variable name. This procedure applies to all data sources, except variables from the Database data source. To create a database variable, you need to create a query. The Database data source Command: Data source > Database > Create/Modify query.
Creating a document using variable objects Click SQL Query Builder to access the Query Builder. This provides an easy-to-use interface for building SQL database queries. You can create new requests graphically or represent existing requests graphically in your applications. 4. Click to view the result. The data sources created carry the field names of the database. The navigation bar is displayed in your workspace. Click OK when you have finished.
User Guide Note: To create a new data source, click the New data source button. This gives you the option of using the Wizard or choosing between an ODBC or OLEDB data source. 2. By default, Standard creation mode is activated. However to carry out a table lookup, you can use Advanced creation mode: SQL. Standard creation mode 3. In the Select table list, select a table where the search is to be carried out. 4.
Creating a document using variable objects 5. Click the Test button to display the result in the Query dialog box. The Date data source Command: Data source > Date > Add The Date data source contains a list of data sources created. These data sources are fed by the computer's date system or by the printer. It allows you to display the date and time in the format previously defined. The values are updated automatically at the start of each print session.
User Guide Demonstration: Creating the counter 1. Open a label. 2. Create a counter and name it namcd. 3. Select it, then choose Properties in the context menu. 4. Select Decimal as the type of counter. 5. Enter ''1'' in the Increment box. 6. Enter ''1'' in the Initial value box. 7. Click OK. 8. Select the counter then drag and drop it into the workspace. Select Text in the context menu. 9. Right-click on it and choose Properties in the context menu. 10.
Creating a document using variable objects Demonstration: Creating a simple formula Displaying the price of a product The production label must show the price of the product as a function of its weight and the price per kilogram. 1. Open a label. Two variables have to created: WEIGHT and PRICEPERKG. 2. For the WEIGHT variable: Enter 788 (the weight of the product being 788 g) as the Local value, and enter ''Please enter the weight in g'' in the Prefix box, then click OK. 3.
User Guide Command: Data source > Form > Add The Form data source contains a list of variables you have created. These data sources are populated by entering data directly into the Form using the keyboard. To display the form The Form lets you enter data during design or, most commonly, before printing. To display the form: 1. Open a label containing a Form variable. 2. Click the button in the toolbar. By default, the workspace lets you view the label and its form separately.
Creating a document using variable objects 4. Click the number of the field you want to appear first in the form. The number changes to green when validated. 5. Repeat step 4 to continue ordering. 6. To confirm your selection, right-click and select Validate tab ordering. The order of the fields will be automatically validated when the first field is validated. The numbering then disappears from the form. Note: You can also cancel any changes. Right-click the form and select Abort tab ordering.
User Guide - or If you have chosen the From a file, select the required file. 2. In the Output tab, you can define an output format, maximum length, suffix and prefix. 3. Click OK. Demonstration: Creating a Free data source 1. Open label. 2. Create a Free data source and name it ''ref''. 3. Insert the data source into the label in text format. 4. In order that this data source does not appear when printing, select it and click on in the Object toolbar.
Creating a document using variable objects 5. Select the variable you want to assign to your object. - or - Guided mode creation (according to your requirements): 1. Click the menu button for your object. A submenu is displayed showing the actions you can take. 2.
User Guide - or - Select Wizard: This will guide you step-by-step through the variable object creation process. 3. Click the location where you want to place the label. Note: The creation wizard is enabled by default. To disable it, select Tools > Options > Wizards.
Printing A powerful print engine Your software is both a powerful, user-friendly creation tool and a print engine, bringing together the widest possible range of printers (native, thermal transfer and inkjet), which were never before available on the automatic identification market. Whether printing a single label, series of labels, or multiple copies of the same label, all print commands are grouped together in one place the Print dialog box.
User Guide Type Increment +1 Min value 0 The first counter, called NumLabel, identifies a particular label, whereas the ISO counter counts the total number of labels printed. Labels in the series In this example, we are going to print a series of 10 labels: 1. Enter the following values in the Print dialog box: Labels : 10. This means that there are 10 different labels in the series. 2. Click Print.
Printing 5. Go to File > Page setup or click . The Page setup dialog box appears. The preview gives you an idea of how the page will look when it is printed. 6. Close the dialog box. 7. Click . 8. Enter the following values: 9. Labels: 8 Copies of each page: 2 Click Print. The result will be: Practical Workshop 2 - Print Merge Print Merge is only available if your label is linked to a database (ASCII or ODBC). The Merge function prints all the records contained in the database.
User Guide Printing using the form 1. Go to File > Print... or click or press the F6 key. 2. Enter ''2'' in the Labels field. 3. Launch printing. The form is displayed, and you are invited to enter the data to be printed. 4. Enter ''Smith'' and ''51'', for example, then click OK. Once the first label is printed, the form is displayed again. 5. Enter ''Mullang'' and ''52'', for example, then click OK. Note: The Form is displayed for each label contained in the series.
Printing Optimizing printing speed As we have already seen in the introduction, there is no universal configuration for optimizing printing speed, but rather a range of different settings that come into play. In the next example we will look at each of these in turn, hopefully giving you a better understanding of your own configuration, and thus enabling you to find the best settings for optimized printing.
User Guide For printing images For example, your company logo, not a printer object, must be transferred to the printer. The more images you send to the printer, the slower printing becomes, especially if you are using a serial connection. The solution is to send the image in question just once, when printing of the label series is first launched. The majority of printers allow this operation.
Printing print media has been inserted the wrong way (the print head is heating the wrong side of the paper). For thermal transfer printing: The Check the ribbon and refit if necessary (refer to ribbon has not been inserted, or the manufacturer’s handbook). was inserted incorrectly. The required print mode has not Check that the print mode (native or thermal been selected on the printer.
