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With
labels and cards, what does WordPerfect consider to be a "page"?
[Note that "label" as used here
can mean a label, card, or any other one-page item that you want to duplicate.]
Users frequently ask:
"When I print, why do I get 10 pages
of labels with one label on each page, instead of one page with
10 labels on it?"
Here's why:
When you select a label definition
with Format, Labels (generally when in a new, empty document window),
WordPerfect internally defines the size and margins for each
label and their location on the physical printout sheet.
However, when you create the first label on
screen, it is really a "logical" page. WordPerfect's
Help defines a logical page this way:
"Logical page:
A defined area inside a physical page (the
sheet of paper you print on). You can have several logical pages
on one physical page. For instance, if you are printing labels,
the sheet or roll of labels is called the physical page; each
individual label is called a logical page."
At the very end of the first label's text
and codes, if you add a hard page break with <Ctrl+Enter>,
you'll see the second (blank) label appear onscreen -- right
next to the first one. (Look at the status bar at the bottom
of the WP window: It should say "Pg 2." It really
means "Logical Pg 2, Physical Pg 1.") If
you were to print at this point, and print just one copy of
the current page, you would get a single physical page with
two labels on it.
Therefore, you should not set the "Number
of copies" in File,
Print to anything other than "1"
unless you truly want to print more than one copy of the physical
page(s).
LABLCOPY makes all this much easier. Just
create the first label or card onscreen (see the Instructions
in the next column), then play LABLCOPY.
You can even use a built-in WordPerfect Project
to design and create the first "master" label or card
(but see the Notes in the next column about how to do this).
LABLCOPY will create duplicates of the label,
card, or full-size page -- with a mouseclick! |
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Use it to make identical copies of
- return address labels,
- business cards,
- shipping labels,
- tickets,
- inventory tags,
- numbered log sheets,
- etc.
Just create (or load from disk) a single "master"
copy of one of these items. Then play the macro, select the number
of copies, and press Enter (or click OK).
That's it!
[Tip: Are there other methods of creating identical
labels or cards? Yes ... but you may want to read
this first.]
Instructions / Tutorial
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First, you need to (1) download the LABLCOPY.ZIP file and then (2) extract
the LablCopy.wcm macro stored inside it. Generally you should
place the macro in either your default or supplemental macro folder;
the included reference guide (LablCopy guide.pdf) can be placed in any
convenient folder or your Windows desktop. (You can then delete the
.ZIP file.)
See downloading instructions here if you need help with this.
There are three basic steps
to using LABLCOPY, described in the following tutorial. They are easier to do than a quick reading of these instructions might imply.
Step 1Create
a single "master" copy of your label, business card, or other
card-stock or one-page item, following the procedure below.The master copy becomes the model
that LABLCOPY will use to create the desired number of identical
copies -- all with a mouse click. Tips Start this tutorial by creating a simple master label or business card
-- that is, a line or two of plain text -- so that you can see how the
macro works. Then you can create more complex master labels or cards.
So
that you don't waste label or card stock, LABLCOPY always produces its
copies in a WordPerfect document window, not on the actual sheet of
labels or cards. You then print this document directly on the Avery (or
similar) sheet when you are satisfied with the results. (You can also
save the document for future use.)
For letter-size or envelope-size pages you wish to duplicate,
rather than perforated labels or cards (i.e., multiple items on single
sheets), you can simply create the new one-page master document (or
open an existing document), then go directly to Step 2. Here's how to create the master copy:
- First, to be sure you will be able to see
all labels or cards on screen in their correct layout, set the
View menu choice to Page (not Draft).
Then -
- (a) Open a new blank document with File,
New.
- (b) Click Format, Labels and choose a
label or card size from the list.
- (c) Click on Select. A small, single "page"
appears on screen -- this is the master. (Please be sure
to read the sidebar on this web page for more information about
what WordPerfect considers to be a "page" in this context.)
- (d) Adjust margins, select a font, etc., and
create your first label or card on the page.
- Use just one label, card, or page as your
master copy.
- Remove any hard or soft page breaks (i.e., [HPg] or [SPg] codes)
at the bottom of the master copy, since these codes would create a second, unwanted page.
- See the box below for more tips.
- See a screen
shot of a sample -- although highly formatted -- business
card before the macro is played (which is done in Step 2).
- (e) Save your work with File, Save.
- (f) Leave the document on screen (or open it if you closed it) for Step 2.
Tips and alternatives
for master label/cards
- Sources for your "master copy":
- You can either open a previously created label
or business card;
- or -
- you can create a new master business card
with a predefined, automated WordPerfect Project by clicking
File, New from Project (see the note
below about using Projects);
- or -
- you can create a custom master business
card from scratch. See the 4-page BizCards.pdf document, "How to Create Business Cards Manually in
WordPerfect - Without Using a Template Project." It
contains a sample business card
created using nothing more than WordPerfect formatting commands
and a piece of WordPerfect clip art. The document gives simple,
step-by-step instructions on how to create a similar card for
your own purposes. This is a good way to create custom business
cards.
- Use just one label, card, or page as your
master copy. If you use a previously
created label or card for the master, be sure there is only one
label or card on screen. Remove any additional labels or cards,
as well as any hard or soft page breaks ([HPg] or [SPg] codes)
at the bottom of the master copy. The macro checks to see
if more than one page exists (see sidebar
about what WordPerfect considers to be a "page"); if
there is more than one page, it will pop a warning message.
- Increase the Zoom
with View, Zoom or by rotating the mouse wheel while holding
down the <Ctrl> key. This gives finer control over text
and graphics placement.
- See also the Tips
section below for other formatting ideas.
Especially note the information about setting label and card
margins (which are different from page margins) in WordPerfect
9 and later versions.
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Step 2
Play the LABLCOPY.WCM macro with Tools, Macro, Play.
- On the menu
that pops up, enter the total number of duplicate copies
(e.g., enter "10" to fill up one sheet of business
cards, etc.).
- Normally, the copies are created in a new,
temporary document window. You can uncheck (disable) the
"Use separate document" box to add the copies to the
master in the current document window, which may work better
with some masters that use tables or full-page text boxes. [You
can always use File, Save As to save the resulting document with
a different filename to preserve the original (single-label)
master file.]
- Press <Enter> or click OK.
Step 3
Print the document with File, Print.
- On the "Print to" dialog, choose
"Current page" if you need just one physical sheet
of labels or cards. Choose "Full document" if you want
the entire set of physical sheets printed.
- Set the Number of Copies to "1"
unless you actually want multiple sets of labels or cards.
(See the sidebar column on the left for an explanation of logical
pages vs. physical pages.)
- Tip: Print
a test copy of the current page on a blank sheet of paper rather
than on the label or card stock. You can place the printout on
top of (or underneath) a piece of the label or card stock and
hold both up to a strong light source to check for proper alignment.
When you are satisfied with the results, insert your Avery stock
and print the labels or cards.
- See more Tips below.
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Notes
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1. A note about WordPerfect's
Projects -- i.e., those items listed under File, New from
Project (or under File, New in earlier versions of WordPerfect):
Even though WordPerfect 9 and later versions
come with built-in "Labels" and "Business Card"
projects (WP10 users can download from Corel's
FTP site), these projects are not as reliable -- in terms
of duplicating the first card -- as the LABLCOPY macro is, especially
if you change the formatting somewhere on the master label or
card.
It appears the Project code in WordPerfect
makes use of the "merge method," which has been shown
to be unreliable in producing all but the simplest form of labels
or cards. (Click here for
a page that shows a comparison of the various methods of producing
repeating labels, cards, or other items.)
Do not use a
label or card Project and then play LABLCOPY on the resulting
project document. WordPerfect Projects and LABLCOPY are two
different processes. Use one or the other.
[You can, however, use a Project to design
the first card, then carefully select and copy the card into
a new document (use the Reveal Codes window to ensure the accuracy
of your selection), and then play LABLCOPY on the copied card
to produce duplicates.]
2. To print a single label or card
on blank label stock starting anywhere on the sheet, see
the LABLPRNT macro. To print specific
labels from a sheet of pre-addressed labels, see the Tips
section below.
3. LABLCOPY can make duplicates of any
single-page document. (In this case, you would not use Format,
Labels since the page has already been formatted). This is a
fast way to create consecutively numbered log sheets, etc. (See
the Tips section below.)
4. If you need to copy (replicate) a row
of different labels (e.g., three labels, each with different
text or graphics on the first row of an Avery 5160 form), you
cannot use LABLCOPY to do it. See the Tips section below
for an alternative method.
5. Are other methods of creating duplicate
labels, cards, etc., any better than LABLCOPY?
Click here
for a simple test that shows that LABLCOPY is more reliable than
merging items (which, in any case, is limited to creating a maximum
of 255 identical items) or using copy-and-paste.
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Tips
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 To
see all labels on screen in their correct layout, be sure
to set View to "Page" and not "Draft."
Use
borderless tables to help line up text and graphics into
rows and columns on the master card or label. Setting the table's
row and column margins to a minimum amount may help. Text boxes
or columns can also help position items on the label.
You
can easily modify the macro to change its menu defaults.
For example, you can change the default number of copies from
10 to 30:
- Click on Tools, Macro, Edit, to open the
macro. The macro toolbar should also appear, just below the ruler
and property bars (if enabled on the View menu).
- Examine the macro. Below some introductory
comments you will find a redlined User Modification Area. Look
for vNumber:=10 and change it to vNumber:=30 or whatever you
prefer as the menu default.
- Then click on the Save & Compile button
on the macro toolbar (or just File, Save from the top menu).
- Done!
In WordPerfect 9 and
later there is a bug: Label and card margins (not physical
page margins) cannot be set manually. See
Charles Rossiter's Margins
Set.wcm macro on the Other
Authors page (or download directly from here).
It sets margins for pages and labels. As Charles said
in a post
on WordPerfect Universe: "You should not change label
margins in a document [in WP9 and later]. It should only be done
when you are selecting the label definition; then click Edit.
A bug in the margins dialog (since WPWin9) applies the page margins
to the labels." His macro will do the job, though, including
setting label margins to zero.
If
you copy and paste material from another source into your master
label or card, be sure to use Reveal Codes to see if there
are any stray, undesirable codes that were "brought along"
in the copied material, particularly [Delay] codes (which the
macro will detect and notify you about). Delay codes that were
meant to delay an action to page 2 (or later page) of a normal
document may produce strange results in a sheet of identical
labels or cards where there is no "page 2".
Check
for formatting codes that were not turned off before the end
(bottom) of the master page. (See the Q&A column on the
left for a description of "logical pages," to help
you understand how duplicate labels or cards are created. The
master label or card is page 1, which is followed by page 2,
page 3, etc. -- even though they might all appear on screen as
a single "page." The former are logical pages; the
latter is a physical page -- the one you will print.)
For example, if you have set a new value for
line height or line spacing (using Format, Line -- which inserts
either a [Ln Height] or a [Ln Spacing] code in the
document) and you do not reset their values to what they were
at the beginning of the master page, you may get different spacing
between all lines on subsequent labels or cards (i.e.,
pages) that are "downstream" from the master page.
For the purposes of creating duplicate labels,
cards, or pages, think of the master page as a self-contained
structure where formatting codes must be returned to their original
values before the end of the structure is reached so that they
do not "spill over" to the beginning of the next structure.
(The macro will take care of line justification changes and left/right
margin changes, so you need not reset them if you set new values
for them somewhere in the master. However, other formatting that
is not reset before the bottom of the master page could be problematic
on following pages.)
In a similar vein, there is no need to end
the master page with a hard page break (<Ctrl+Enter>).
The macro will see the resulting [HPg] code and warn you about
it, but it is best not to include it on the master in the first
place. Keep everything in one "structure." A hard page
break starts a new page. Let LABLCOPY do that for you, as it
creates the duplicates. [Related tip: Using a text box or graphic
image can cause WordPerfect to add a temporary page break at
the bottom of the label or card, even though it looks lit it
fits inside the label or card on your screen. Reduce the size
of the box or image until the page break code disappears from
the Reveal Codes window.]
Customize
WP's business cards -
As an alternative method of creating the
first (master) business card, you could create a single card
with the Business Card project (File | New [or New from Project]...),
then (using Reveal Codes) select everything on that card with
Edit, Select, All. Press <Ctrl+C> to copy the selected
card to the Windows clipboard. Next, open a new document and
paste it there with <Ctrl+V>, and save it. You can clean
out extraneous codes using Reveal Codes (e.g., [Named Regions]
and [Bookmarks]), since they will no longer be needed.
Add
consecutive numbers to labels or cards - Open a blank
(new) document. Use Format, Labels and select an appropriate
label or card stock size. Add a page number to it (each label
is a logical "page") with Format, Page, Insert Page Number, Insert, Close. This places a [PgNumDisp] code on the label (visible
in the Reveal Codes window); you should see a "1" on
the label at the insertion point. Next, choose a font and font
size for the number (select the code with your mouse and change
the font), and add other body text and formatting. Finally, play
LABLCOPY. You'll get consecutively numbered labels or cards --
as many as you need.
You can adjust the starting number of the
numbered labels or cards with the Value/Adjust button. Go to
the top of the first label or card and click Format, Page, Insert Page Number, Value/Adjust, <set
the new beginning (page) number>, OK.
Add
consecutive numbers to log sheets, Purchase Order, etc., to create
multiple numbered copies -
- Step 1. Open your existing document. Check
to ensure it is on one page and doesn't have a [HPg] code (i.e.,
a page break) at the end of page 1. This is the "Master"
that is referred to in the above instructions for LABLCOPY.
- Step 2. Place the cursor where you want the
consecutive numbers to appear.
- Step 3. Add a page number at that location
with Format, Page, Insert
Page Number, Insert, Close. This places
a [PgNumDisp] code on the label (visible in the Reveal Codes
window); you should see a "1" on the document at the
insertion point.
- TIP: You can choose a font and font size
for the number (select the code with your mouse and change the
font), and add other body text and formatting.
- Step 4. Play LABLCOPY to obtain as many copies
as you desire. Each will be numbered consecutively. You can adjust
the starting number by placing your cursor at the very top of
this document and click Format,
Page, Insert Page Number, Value/Adjust.
Set the page number to whatever beginning value you desire, such
as "1001". Click OK (or Apply, then OK). Then click
Close to close the "Insert Page Number" dialog and
return to the document.
- TIP: This step inserts a code at the top
of the document, such as [Pg Num Set: 1001]. You can
re-use this document In the future with different numbers by
simply deleting this code and repeating step 4 with a new starting
value. (Or simply double click the code in Reveal Codes to bring
up the Values dialog.)
See also BATES
- Macros that create sequential, fixed-width "Bates"
numbers (e.g., 00001, 00002, etc.), with or without preceding/following
text material.
To
create vertical business cards (i.e., cards rotated 90 degrees),
see "Creating vertically
formatted business cards or labels...," which shows
how to use a rotated text box to create the vertical card or
label. [Note: If you use LABLCOPY to make duplicates of the master
vertical card or label created with that method, uncheck
(disable) the box on LABLCOPY's main menu ("Use separate
document'). This will make all copies in the same (original)
document, not in a new document window. For cards that use full-size
text boxes, an apparent small bug in WordPerfect causes the first
box copied to shift slightly if a new document window is used
for the cards or labels.]
To
create duplicate copies of a row of labels (not just
the first label), try this alternative method that does not
use LABLCOPY.
Assuming you have created the first row of
labels -- with each label ending in a hard page break (<Ctrl+Enter>)
-- you should have several labels in the first row, and one empty
label in the second row.
- Open Reveal Codes, place your cursor just
after the [Labels Form][Paper Sz/Typ] codes at the
top of the document. Select everything from that point to just
after the last [HPg] code. (It is sometimes easier to make selections
if you hold down the <Shift> key while you move the cursor
with the <RightArrow> key.)
- Copy the selection to the Windows clipboard
with <Ctrl+C>.
- Click inside the empty label on the second
row to place your insertion cursor after all graphics and codes.
- Paste the copied row of labels with <Ctrl+V>
as many times as needed to fill up the sheet. (Tip: You can use
Edit, Repeat Next Action... before pasting to automatically execute
the paste command "x" times.)
This worked fine in a test using three labels
on an Avery 5160 form with nothing but a small graphic image
in each of them. If you have more complex formatting, this method
may or may not work for you.
Test
your printout with ordinary paper, not label or card stock.
When you are satisfied with the final draft, insert your Avery
stock and print your labels or cards.
You
can print specific labels or cards on the sheet after you play
LABLCOPY. This may help save label or card stock by allowing
you to reuse the same physical sheet whenever you need just one
or a few labels or cards -- especially if you begin printing
each time from the bottom of the sheet. As Jack Waananen
(Corel C_Tech) says:
"Each label is a 'logical page'. So just
print the 'pages' you want after generating the full page [i.e.,
sheet] of labels.
In other words, if your label page is three
columns by ten rows and you have already used the first 17 labels,
just print pages '18-' (no need to specify the 30 since the last
page is assumed if no number is specified).
To print the fifth row of the above labels,
print pages 13-15."
Important:
The author has used this method successfully
with a Hewlett Packard LaserJet 4P printer and Avery label stock,
reusing the same physical sheet of stock several times until
most (or all) labels were printed from it, with no ill effects.
The stock was stored in its original box between print runs to
keep it from curling or other damage, thus minimizing the possibility
of paper jams. In his opinion, you should always store and handle
label stock carefully, and always print from the bottom of the
sheet if you intend to reuse it. Loose labels or torn paper backing,
or exposed glue at the top of a partially used sheet, might cause
it to jam in the printer.
However, before you use this macro or try
to print multiple times on the same sheet of stock you should
be aware of this site's disclaimer.
If you do not agree
with the disclaimer, do not use this macro and simply delete
it from your computer.
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