TABLE OF CONTENTS
The farmerswife Media Library module contains a powerful solution for creating, managing and printing media labels.
To create labels enter the Label Designer by selecting Labels under the Report icon at the bottom of the Edit Media window.
On the left hand window there are two sections: Labels and Elements. The selected Label appears in the main window. Below it, there are various options for modifying and formatting the layout of the label.
The Warn On Modify in the top right corner of the window will, if ticked, give a warning to save changes before closing the Label Print Designer window.
Labels
There are three Default Labels to choose from as templates when starting to work with the Label designer. They appear in the top left corner.
New Label
To create a new Label template, select any of the existing Label Templates and click on the Save As button in the lower right corner (sufficient user permissions needed). Type A Name for the new label. Once done, it will appear blue in the available list of labels in the top left of the window.
To add an element to the label, tick the checkbox from the list. If adding images in the label templates, it is necessary to set up two separate templates for Windows and Mac, because image printing is handled differently by each of these operating systems.
To change the location of an element on the label, simply drag and reposition the yellow square. Element attributes such as text size, colour can also be changed.
To edit the elements on the label, either click on the element on the label or click on the element name from the list. When the element can be edited the name is shown in a yellow colour and the element is displayed on the label along with a yellow edit square.
Label Options
The menu icon next to Labels contains the following options:
- Rebuild Default Labels: To reset the layout of all Labels to the default settings.
- Rebuild Images: When the Server starts up, it looks for images in the label_images folder in the Server folder structure. If an image is added or modified directly from this location instead of through the farmerswife Client, the system will not read it until the next restart. The Rebuild Images option reads the changes performed in the Server without requiring a Server restart.
- Clean Labels: To remove those Custom Fields variables from the Elements section that have been removed from the Media Library configuration.
- Import: To import Label templates click on Import. Select the template file to import.
- Export: To export Label templates click on Export, save the template on your system (file extension *.liblabel).
Elements
These are all the options that can be displayed on the Label. To display or hide data click on the checkbox to the left of the Element name.
The list of Elements consists of multiple sections:
- Imports: This section lists all the dynamic fields that will vary according to the Media from which the label is generated. The sub-sections are:
- From Media: To pull data from the Media.
- From Media Custom: To pull data from Custom Fields at Media level.
- From Entry: To pull data from the Entry.
- From Entry Custom: To pull data from Custom Fields at Entry level.
- From Server: To display data such as the Company Name or any other information from the Company details as configured in the General tab of the Server Setup (for more details refer to the Server Setup Manual).
- Texts: To create new text click on the green plus icon.
- Rectangles: Click on the green plus icon to create rectangles.
- Lines: Click on the green plus icon to create lines.
- Images: This section lists all the images uploaded to the label_images folder in the Server Setup folder structure.
- Barcode related Elements (under Imports > From Media)
- Number (Barcode WIFE): This option displays the Media Number with * character and “X…Y” characters around it.
- Number (Barcode Clean): This option displays the Media Number, ready for barcode: it has * character around it, but no “X…Y” characters. When this option is added to a label and then printed out, you can put the cursor in the Number search field of the Advanced Library Search and then swipe the barcode to find the Media.
- Barcode: String: The Barcode String is configured in the Server Setup (see under the Library Configuration chapter). This option will display the Barcode String in a barcode-ready format.
- Barcode: String (As Text): If a Barcode String has been configured in the Server Setup (see above), this option will show it in a readable format.
- Barcode: WIFE Id: This option will display the internal farmerswife ID for the Media, with * character and “X…Y” characters around it.
Entry Loop for Elements
To the right of each Element there is a checkbox for the Entry Loop. Check the box of an Element to create a loop. This allows the display of multiple lines of data, for example the Entry Title, if there are multiple Entries in the selected Media. If un-ticked, farmerswife will only display the lines from the Entry selected under.
Set Increment Value: Set the quantity of pixels for the line height, which in this case is the separation between an Element and each Loop.
Set Max Loops: This option defines the quantity of loops to be displayed in the Label when selecting an Element in the Loop column. This option is mainly used for showing Elements related to Entries, e.g. Title or Duration. Therefore if a Media contains 8 Entries and all Titles are to be displayed in the Label, the Set Max Loops will be set to 8. Alternatively, leave the Max Loops at a high number to make sure all the Entries lines are always included.
Editing Element options
To edit the Elements on the Label, either click on the Element on the Label or on the Element name from the list to display the yellow Edit square, which marks the Element as being in Edit mode.
To edit the text in an Element, double click on the yellow Edit square.
The coordinates next to the yellow edit square indicate the position of the Element on the Label in pixels. By default, when selecting an Element, it will be displayed in the 0, 0 coordinates (horizontal and vertical position). To change the position of the Elements drag the Element by the yellow square to the new position.
Depending on the section the selected Element belongs to, the following options will vary:
Editing Elements from the Imports and Texts sections:
- Import/Text: If the selected Element belongs to the Imports section, this option will be called Import. If the Element belongs to the Texts section, it will be called Text.
- Size: Select the Size of font by clicking on this tab.
- Bold: Select Yes to make the text bold.
- Color: By default the Elements are black. By clicking on the black bar the Colour window opens to select a different colour.
- Anchor: The Anchor means the centering of the element and is indicated by the position of the yellow Edit square: c, to the centre; n, to the north (top); e, to the east (left); s, to the south (bottom); w, to the west (right).
- Split On Space: (only available for Elements belonging to the Imports section) This option can be used if the Element contains more than one word. If set to Yes, a line break will be entered after each space. Further Yes Options indicate the minimum number of characters per line, before searching for the next space to break the line. For Text Elements the line break can be manually added in the Edit window.
- Angle: This option is available on Windows OS only and will set the Element at an angle. By default the Angle is set to 0. The rest of the options will rotate the Element 90º, 180º or 270º clockwise.
- Reset Element: To set the Element back to its initial position, font size and colour.
- Create Copy Of Element: To copy Elements from the Imports/Texts section.
- Delete Element: To delete an Element.
Editing Elements from the Rectangles and Lines sections
- Color: By default the Elements are black. By clicking on the black bar, the Color window opens to select a different color.
- Reset Element: To set the Element back to its initial position, font size and color.
- Delete Element: To delete an Element.
- Editing Elements from the Images section
- Image: The image name will display here.
- Reset Element: To set the Element back to its initial position.
- Create Copy Of Element: To copy Elements from the Images section.
- Delete Element: To delete an Element.
Import From Entry
This option is located in the bottom left corner. The information selected under Elements > From Entry and From Entry Customs will belong to the Entry selected here (unless Entry loop is being used). The drop-down list shows the Entry Title and the In time-code.
Format the Labels
Clicking on Format will open a window where various default settings can be specified for the label. Most of these settings only take effect when printing the label - the preview of the label does not show the changes.
Width/ Height: Define the width and height of the label which will be reflected as the white space in the preview area.
The Width and Height must be entered in number of pixels.
With the Printing Designer Ruler, it is possible to measure the size of the label and 'read' the amount of pixels that have to be set in WIFE as width/height. In farmerswife Label Designer templates with a Resolution Width/Height of '0' 80 pixels are approx. 1cm [~0,394 in].
Resolution Width/Height: Changing the resolution will either stretch or condense the whole outcome of the label, including images but not the data/text fields. It is recommended to modify these values only when printing the label because a change in the resolution width/height will not affect the preview seen in the Preview area. By default these values are set to '0' [zero].
The default resolution in the Printing Designer on Mac is 212 dpi. On Windows the default resolution is 96 dpi.
Offset X/Offset Y: Changing the Offset Coordinates will move the location of the 0/0 Position together with all elements in the label to either the right/left (Offset X +/-) or up/down (Offset Y +/-). Modify these values only when printing the label. The printed output is not corresponding to the preview seen in the Preview area. To measure how the offset will be in the printed label, use the Printing Designer Ruler.
Font Scale: Modifying the Font Scale will only affect the printed outcome. The scale goes from -49 to +50. The position (coordinates) of the data/text fields and rectangles will remain the same. If choosing a bigger font scale the data/text fields can overlap in the print out. By modifying the Font Scale it will apply to all data/text fields instead of needing to select a larger font in each Edit window of all data/text fields. The font scaler will multiply all fonts by 10 meaning if you choose a font size of 20 in WIFE, on the printed label the font size will be 30pt.
Image Scale: For enlarging and adjusting the size of the printed output of an image in the label with a scale from -9 to +99. The preview area will not show any difference. The calculation of the image is:
If image scale is 1 to 9 then the printed image size = size * (1 + (scale / 10)). Example: Image Scale = 5 means the printed image will be enlarged by +50%.
If image scale is >10 then the printed image size = size * (scale / 10). Example: Image Scale = 20 means the printed image size = size * (20 / 10) = size * 2 which means the printed image will be 200% of the original image size.
It is not recommended to use an image scale bigger than 9 because the quality of the printed picture will go down. Therefore we recommend to import a larger image with higher resolution to the farmerswife Server and restart the Server instead of scaling the image to a large extend. Ideally the correct picture size with the correct tested resolution is imported and selected per template. For detailed information see chapter.
Resolution (Mac Only): Change the default value to adjust the resolution of the selected template on a Mac. By default this value is set to 212. Min. value to be set is 10. Changing this value to a higher/lower number will result in a minimisation/magnification of the printed output. The difference will only be reflected when printing the label from Mac - the preview area will not show any difference
Landscape (Hori.): This setting gives the possibility to print the label in landscape (horizontal) style. Select Yes in the pop-up window Adjust The Page Size And Page Breaks to actually also see the Preview in Landscape.
Font: Select the default font for the text fields on the label. The font will apply to all text fields on the label except the barcode fields which will be shown as barcode strings if a barcode font has been set up on the machine and assigned in farmerswife.
Default Printer: Set the Default Printer for the label template here. If no printer has been predefined, the general printer extension window of the operating system will be displayed to select one every time the label is printed out.
Using a shared label printer as Default Printer for a label (OSX): If there is a label printer called 'printer_name' shared from Mac A, when adding it to the list of printers on Mac B, the name will display 'printer_name@Mac_A'. The' @Mac_A' part can be removed, but DO NOT change the name of the printer ('printer_name'). This way, if Mac B chooses this printer as the default printer for a label, then Mac A and any other computer will be able to print out this label.
Test: The Test option directly opens the printer extension window to make a test print from the Format window, instead of needing to go out and to select Print from the Labels Designer window. It is possible to e.g print the label on a PDF to see how the label will look like.
Default: Clicking on Default will open a pop-up window to choose between 3 default label setups with predefined width and height: Beta Horizontal, Beta Vertical and VHS. The label elements previously chosen will remain, but depending on the layout that is chosen, they will have to be rearranged to fit the label.
Ok: Click 'OK' to save the changes and exit the Format window.
Cancel: Click 'Cancel' to exit the Format window without saving the changes.
Multi Labels
Multi-label printing enables the building of templates with a certain layout using different labels from the existing list that can be printed on pre-fabricated special multi-label page.
You can access the setup from the Reports icon at the bottom of the Edit Media window.
In the central top part of the window, under Current, you can Modify the Default or add a New template:
New: Create a new template. Type a name for the template and press OK.
Save: Save changes to a template. As soon as you "Save" the grey label will have the content of the media window.
Modify Setup: To set/modify the Orientation: Landscape or Portrait.
Next you have to define the Page Size In Points. Please see here for an overview on page sizes in points.
The page border will be marked in bright yellow.
Delete: To delete a template.
Sort By Name: To sort template names alphabetically.
Now click on the menu icon at the top left corner and add the labels that you want to print on the multi-label page and arrange on the page:
Add Label: Add a label to be included in the multi-label print template. Once selected it appears as grey box and you can move to the correct position on the page.
Delete Selected Labels: Select on one or more labels by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on them. Then select this option to delete them from the current template.
Select All: To highlight all labels from the current template.
Clear All Sources: This option will clear the Media information on all labels on the current template.
Show Label Name: Toggle this option on/off to view/hide the label names from the current template.
Show Coordinates: Toggle this option on/off to view/hide the label coordinates from the current template.
Lock View Port: Toggle this option on to turn the auto-zooming off.
At the bottom of the Multi Label Printing window, there are three buttons:
Save As PDF: To print the template you can save as PDF and then print from the Preview document.
Print: From 7.0 you can also directly print to one of the default printers setup/connected.
Print Marked: One or more Labels can be selected by Ctrl-clicking on them in order to only print out the marked ones.
Close: Close the window.
Label Printer
There are no known restrictions in the use of label printers. The following list consists of recommendations of label printers which are used by our customers:
- Smart Label 2
- Seiko Smart Label Print 100 (SII SLP100)
- Seiko Smart Label Print 200 (SII SLP200)
- HP Deskjet 5150
- HP Laser Jet 3390
- Primera Disc Burner/Labeller
- Seiko SLP
- Dymo LabelWriter 400
- Dymo LabelWriter 550
- Brother VC 500W
- Citizen CL-S631