Printing labels and envelopes has changed a lot since iData Pro 1.0. We have tried to make the interface simpler and more powerful. You can now open a label or envelope template directly without having to switch views in iData. Just as several datafiles can be open at once in iData, several templates can now be open at the same time.
Each template that contains an Address Block or Field object has a datafile associated with it. You will set the datafile for the template in a popup menu on the template window the first time you open a template. You can change which datafile is associated with a given template at any time.
Before opening a template for the first time, it is best to set up the Address Block in Datafile Settings... for the datafile you wish to use with this template. (See Datafile Settings - Address Block for information on setting up the Address Block.)
Opening Templates
To open a template, select the name of the template in the Templates menu. If there is a datafile associated with the template, the datafile will open as well.
Creating a New Template
Select either New Envelope... or New Label... in the Templates menu. The template window will open
with, along with a dialog that asks you to select a datafile to be
associated with the template. This dialog includes a pull-down menu
that will let you select a datafile, or "None" if the label is not
going to have an address block or field elements.
Associating a Datafile with a Template
A template can use data from a datafile
in an
Address Block or a Field object. For this to happen, the datafile can
be set when the new template is created, as explained above, or it can
be
set (or changed) in the Select Datafile
popup menu on the template. The template will remember this datafile
and open it whenever the template is opened.
Specifying the Template Page Layout
After
you have selected the associated dataile, the Edit Page and Page
Setup dialogs will open. (See
the
chapters on editing the template page layout for envelopes and for labels.)
Designing the Individual Label or Envelope
Once the page layout is done, it's time to add design elements, such as an address block, field blocks, static text, graphic images, etc. to the label. (See the chapter on the Edit Design procedure.)
Saving Templates
After creating a new template, you will want to save it. There is a specific folder you should use for saving templates so they will appear in the Templates menu. The folder name is iData Pro Templates and it is located here:
Users
<your
user name>
Documents
iData
iData Pro Templates
or said another way: ~/Documents/iData/iData Pro Templates
Any template in this folder will appear in the Templates menu. If a template is not in this location, you would have to open it through the Open command in the File menu, or by double-clicking it in the Finder.
You can create sub-menus in the Templates menu by creating a folder inside the iData Pro Templates folder and putting one or more templates into it. You may want to move seldom used templates into a sub-folder to make the Templates menu easier to use.
Removing Templates from the Templates Menu
If there are templates in the Templates menu that you never use, you can remove them from the menu by removing them from the iData Pro Templates folder. (See Saving Templates above for the location of this folder). The templates you remove can be stored in another folder or dragged to the Trash.
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