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LABEL MAGIC<TM>
(Shareware Release 1)
Graphic Label Program Documentation
Copyright (C) 1989 Joseph Albanese - All rights reserved
DATE: 06/11/89
SOFTWARE REGISTRATION
You are granted a 14 day trial period to determine whether or not Label Magic
meets your needs. After that time you must register the software. Refer to
the file called ORDER.FRM to see how to order the commercial version for only
$19.95 + $5 p&h.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright (C) 1989 Joseph M. Albanese. All rights reserved.
You are granted a license to use the software described in this manual. The software may be used or
copied only in accordance with the terms of that license, which is described following this notice.
Label Magic is a trademark of Joseph M. Albanese.
TRADEMARKS
Throughout this manual are commercial names of products made by other manufacturers or developers.
Many of these product names are either registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective
manufacturers or developers. The owners of these trademarks have never expressed any approval or
disapproval of NEOCOM products, nor are they associated with Label Magic, NEOCOM, or Joseph
M. Albanese in any way.
LICENSE AGREEMENT (Shareware Release)
This software is licensed to you as an end user. IT IS NOT SOLD.
The "Shareware Release" of Label Magic is fully copyrighted and may not be
sold. However, as with all shareware, it may be copied freely for evaluation
purposes. As a Label Magic evaluee, you are granted a 14 day trial period in
which to determine its suitability. At the end of the trial period, if you
wish to continue using Label Magic, you must register the software. Refer to
the file called "ORDER.FRM" for registration information.
There are many advantages associated with registering Label Magic. Some (and
certainly not all) of these include:
o Tech support
o Enhanced non-shareware verson of Label Magic
o Complete printed manual
o Eligibility to submit your icon creations
HISTORY:
The Label Magic project began about a year ago when I found the need to produce professional looking
labels for my shareware business. I sat down with my graph paper, a programmer's calculator and my
trusty C.Itoh 8510 dot matrix printer and started to work. Well, after about three hours and a couple of
screaming fits I crunched out the first label. It looked pretty good, too, I might add. The only problem
was that I could only print the labels on my C.Itoh and if I wanted to make any changes I had to get back
down to bitwise binary calculations. Needless to say, the labels remained unchanged.
As time passed, I knew I had to do something better so I decided to make a graphic label program that
would provide me with editing capability. After many months and lots of constructive criticism from my
brother and friends, which I am now grateful for, Label Magic emerged.
CAPABILITIES:
Label Magic turned out to be much more than a great graphic label generator. Here are some of the
many features available to Label Magic users:
1.GRAPHIC LABELS - With Label Magic, you'll be able to produce mailing labels with crisp
2500 dot icons.
2.MAILING LISTS - Generate mailing lists with (or without) graphic icons for batch printing.
3.ENVELOPES - If you have a printer that allows you to insert envelopes (for example: HP
DeskJet, IBM Proprinter), or if you purchase form fed envelopes for other dot matrix printers,
you can use Label Magic to print ICONS, ADDRESSES, either or both, directly on the
envelopes.
4.LETTERHEADS - You can print the very same icons and/or addresses you use for labels as a
letterhead as well. This combination of matching envelopes and letterheads produces a very
professional look.
5.TEXT ICONS - Every copy of Label Magic comes complete with a utility program called
"CONVICON.EXE," which facilitates the conversion of Label Magic icon files (.ICN) to and
from a number of other formats, including ASCII. ASCII icons can be used in text files or word
processed documents.
6.GENERAL PURPOSE ICONS - The 2500 dot icons generated by Label Magic can be
converted, using the utility program mentioned above, to a form accessible to Pascal
programmers. This means you can write your own Pascal routines to manipulate Label Magic
graphic icons. For instance, you could use Label Magic to create single color icons for use in
an animated graphics sequence for a Pascal game.
GRAPHICS SUPPORT:
A wide variety of graphics systems is supported by Label Magic, including:
FULLY SUPPORTED
CGA
MCGA (Model 30)
EGA
AT&T 640x400 HIRES
VGA (color or monochrome)
PRINTER SUPPORT:
Label Magic provides full support for the following printers (and compatibles):
C.Itoh 8510 "Prowriter"
NEC 8023
EPSON FX Series (and others)
EPSON LX
IBM Graphics
IBM Proprinter
HP DeskJet
HP DeskJet Plus
HP LaserJet Series II
HP PaintJet
Printer output may be routed to either of the following: PRN (default), LPT1 or LPT2. Serial printers
are not currently supported.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Label Magic requires an IBM PC, AT, PS/2 (or compatible) computer running IBM or MS DOS 3.x
with at least 512K of RAM, a parallel printer, and *hard disk drive. An MS or compatible mouse is
optionally supported in the icon editor.
NOTE:The computer must be equipped with one of the heretofore mentioned graphics systems.
No monochrome systems (i.e Herc), other than those which emulate color systems, are
supported.
* Label Magic may work on a floppy system where density is sufficient.
THE MAIN MENU:
The first thing you will see when you run Label Magic is the MAIN MENU.
┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ L A B E L M A G I C Version 1.10 │
└───────────────────────────────────────┘
Copyright (C) 1989 by Joseph Albanese - All rights reserved
A product of NEOCOM
MAIN MENU
┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ O : : O │
│ : 1. LABEL MAINTENANCE : │
│ O : 2. ICON EDITOR : O │
│ :-------------------------------: │
│ O : 3 CONFIGURATION : O │
│ : 4. QUIT : │
│ O : : O │
│ :-------------------------------: │
│ O : Press the number of your : O │
│ : selection. : │
│ O : : O │
│ :-------------------------------: │
│ O : : O │
As implied by the numbering, there are four MAIN MENU options. The first time you use Label
Magic, and occasionally thereafter, you should choose the CONFIGURATION option ("3"). It may
seem strange to you at this point that the first thing you should do is select the third menu option; however,
it will become clear to you later that these options are numbered in the order that they are most frequently
accessed. Needless to say, our discussion will not necessarily follow this pattern.
CONFIGURATION:
To configure Label Magic to work correctly with your computer system, choose option three by pressing
the "3" key. It is not necessary to follow the key press with an ENTER.
┌────────────────[ CONFIGURATION ]───────────────┐
│ │
│ PRINTER: IBM Graphics Printer │
│ OUTPUT: PRN │
│ │
│ SOUND: OFF │
│ GRAPHICS MODE: VGA │
│ │
│ OPTIONS: P:PRINTER O:OUTPUT S:SOUND G:GRAPHICS │
│ │
└─────[ Press ENTER to SAVE or ESC to ABORT ]────┘
│ O : Press the number of your : O │
│ : selection. : │
│ O : : O │
│ :-------------------------------: │
│ O : : O │
The configuration control window will pop up in front of the upper portion of the main menu. As with the
main menu, the configuration menu has four options:
P.PRINTER - You must configure Label Magic's graphics to be compatible with your printer.
This is accomplished by repeatedly pressing "P" until the correct printer type is displayed.
NOTE:It is recommended that you scan the entire printer list, even if the one you want
is already selected, to ensure that the printer driver is properly installed.
O.OUTPUT - In addition to telling Label Magic what type of printer you have, you must also tell
how it is connected. There are three OUTPUT devices available:
LPT1 and LPT2
"LPT1" should work for most applications; however, if you do need to change this setting, do so
by repeatedly pressing the "O" key on your computer keyboard.
S.SOUND - Pressing "S" will toggle the SOUND option between "ON" and "OFF." If "OFF" is
selected, most sounds generated by Label Magic will be suppressed.
G.GRAPHICS MODE - Use the "G" key to select the graphics mode which is the best your system
can support. In order of resolution they are:
CGA, EGA, AT&T, MCGA (Model 30) and VGA, where VGA has the highest resolution and
CGA the lowest.
When you have made all necessary changes and are ready to save those settings, press ENTER. This will
store all configuration settings and return you to the main menu.
If you decide that you do NOT wish to keep the changes, simply press ESC to return to the main menu.
The LABEL MAINTENANCE option is selected from the main menu by pressing the "1" key. You will
undoubtedly spend the majority of your time in this option while using Label Magic. Here is a list of
the kinds of things you can do in LABEL MAINTENANCE:
Label Editing
Label List Management
Icon/Label Browse
Label Preview
Label/Letterhead/Envelope Printing
View File List
DOS Shell
Let's take a look at the LABEL MAINTENANCE screen.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LABEL MAGIC Label Maintenance Copyright (C) 1989 by Joseph Albanese │
├─────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▌ │ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▌ │
│█ DIRECTORY ▌ │ █ MENU ▌ │
│█──────────────▌ │ █──────────────────────────────────────────────────────▌ │
│█ COMPUTER.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█ DISK.ICN ▌ │ █ 1. CREATE/EDIT LABELS ▌ │
│█ FLOWERS.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█ IBM.ICN ▌ │ █ 2. CREATE/EDIT LISTS ▌ │
│█ MONEY.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█ BASSETT.ICN ▌ │ █ 3. BROWSE ▌ │
│█ NEOCOM.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█ PATTERNS.ICN ▌ │ █ 4. PRINTING ▌ │
│█ TELEPHON.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█ HEART.ICN ▌ │ █ 5. DOS SHELL ▌ │
│█ BHEART.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█ HOUSE.ICN ▌ │ █ 6. DIRECTORY OPTIONS ▌ │
│█ NEO3.ICN ▌ │ █ ▌ │
│█──────────────▌ │ █──────────────────────────────────────────────────────▌ │
│█ ▌ │ █ Choose an option (1-6), or press ESC to return ▌ │
│█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▌ │ █▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▌ │
├─────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ PATH: C:\LM DISK USAGE: 92.5% DATE: 05/20/89 │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
STATUS LINE:
At the bottom of the screen you should see a status line containing three fields. First, on the left, the drive
letter and path of where you were at the time you ran Label Magic is displayed. Second, in the middle,
is the percentage of disk space currently used up. And finally, on the right, the current system date is
shown.
DIRECTORY:
Occupying about one quarter of the screen and flush against the left side of the screen, you will notice a
window labeled "DIRECTORY." As its name suggests, this is a directory list of all the files currently in
the Label Magic directory. There are several directory options which will be discussed soon, but for
now try using the UP and DOWN arrow keys to scroll back and forth through the entire list of files in the
directory.
MENU:
The remainder of the label maintenance screen is occupied by a MENU box. There are six options
associated with this screen, which we will discuss in order and in detail in the following pages.
DATA FILE TYPES:
Before we talk about these options, we should take a moment to examine the three basic data file types
associated with Label Magic: icons, labels and lists.
ICONS:Graphic icons generated by Label Magic (see ICON EDITOR) are stored in condensed,
individual files which occupy 350 bytes. The file names are specified by the user;
however, they all share the ".ICN" file extension.
There is also a special un-compressed icon file format specifically for Pascal
programmers. To find out more about it, refer to the programmer's section.
LABELS:As with icons, labels also are stored as individual files, but with the ".LBL" file extension.
The label file contains all label information, including the name of the (optional) graphic
icon.
This "separate file" technique has many advantages. For one thing, it is not necessary to
store 350 bytes of an icon in every label file. Rather, only 8 bytes (extension assumed) is
required to store the NAME of the icon.
LISTS:Label Magic label LISTS are nothing more than random access files containing the
name of each label in the list. All other information is gathered dynamically when you are
working with lists.
Analogous to the "separate file" argument above, since lists are only required to store the
name of a label, each element in the list requires only 8 bytes. This technique allows
greater flexibility with lists. For instance, since list files are very small, you may generate
many lists which all draw from one label pool.
CREATE/EDIT LABELS:
This option (No. 1 in LABEL MAINTENANCE) is for creating a new label or for editing an existing one.
The mode, either CREATE or EDIT, is selected automatically depending on whether or not the label
already exists.
To choose this option, press "1" on your keyboard. The MENU will be replaced by a pop-up label editing
screen similar to this one:
┌─────────────────[ CREATE/EDIT LABELS ]─────────────────┐
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ LABEL : ░░░░░░░░ │
│ │
│ ICON : ░░░░░░░░ (Blank=No icon) │
│ │
│ FONT (0-4): 0░ (0=Standard print) │
│ │
│ ADDRESS : │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ │
│ │
└────[ F1:SAVE F2:LOAD F3:PREV F4:CLEAR ESC:QUIT ]───┘
The first thing you should do when creating a label is enter a name for it. Be sure you do not specify a
name which is already in use or the existing label may be erased. Press ENTER to move on to the next
field.
Now enter the name of any (optional) graphic icon for the label. Icons are small graphic symbols created
in the icon editor, and are printed on the left side of the label. If you do not wish to use an icon simply
leave this field blank.
Fonts are also optional. Enter a number (0-4) to select various fonts. We recommend that you start out
by using font "0" and experiment later to achieve the best results. Fonts vary considerably from printer
to printer. In fact, on some printers it may make little or no difference at all. For users of the HP
PaintJet, the font number actually selects a color for the text portion of the label.
The last step in creating a new label is to enter the address (and/or whatever other text) information is
to be printed. Six text lines are provided for each label. It should be noted that six lines are a lot to cram
onto a single label and that normally, unless you don't mind the lines being so close together, you should
double-space. In other words, skip a line between address lines.
Before you save this new label, you may want to take a preview of what the printed product will look like.
The PREVIEW feature is selected by pressing the function key "F3." This is one of the more powerful
features of Label Magic. It provides you with a true WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
(WYSIWYG) view of what a label will look like when it is printed. The only exception to PREVIEW's
accuracy is that font selections are not taken into account. Other function options are listed at the bottom
of the editing screen.
When everything is correct, you are ready to save the newly created label. To SAVE the label, press "F1".
If you receive a warning that the label you are attempting to save "ALREADY EXISTS," then either
change the name in the "LABEL" field or tell Label Magic to overwrite the old one.
At any time during the editing process you may press "ESC" to abort the edit and return to the LABEL
MAINTENANCE menu, or "F4" to clear all fields and start over.
NEW LABELS:
All you have to do to edit an existing label is enter the name in the "LABEL" field and press "F2" to load
the current label information. Once loaded, everything else is exactly as if you were creating a new one.
DELETING LABELS:
The only way a label can be deleted is to delete the DOS file which contains it. This may be done either
by exiting Label Magic or by choosing the "DOS SHELL" feature to get into DOS, and then using the
DOS "DEL" command to delete the "????????.LBL" file for the given label.
A NOTE ABOUT TEXT EDITING:
All text input routines in Label Magic work identically. Type the information into the selected field,
then press ENTER to move on.
NOTE:There is one exception to this rule. When in the label editor, you may use the
UP/DOWN arrow keys to move from field to field. This makes editing easier; however,
it also means that directory scrolling is not allowed.
To correct a typing mistake, use the BACKSPACE key. And finally, to change a field which already
contains information, simply type over the old text and press ENTER. Whatever is in BOLD PRINT at
the time when you hit the ENTER key replaces what was in the field.
CREATE/EDIT LISTS:
This option (No. 2 in LABEL MAINTENANCE) is for creating a new label list or for editing an existing
one. The mode (CREATE or EDIT), just as with CREATE/EDIT LABELS, is selected automatically
depending on whether or not the list already exists.
To choose this option, press "2" on your keyboard. You will be prompted to enter a list name. The prompt
window looks very much like the one seen below:
┌──────────[ CREATE/EDIT A LIST ]───────────┐
│ │
│ List name? ░░░░░░░░ │
│ │
└───────────────[ ESC=ABORT ]───────────────┘
Whether you're creating a new list or editing an existing one, type the name and press ENTER.
The pop-up list editing screen should now be visible in front of the label maintenance menu. A sample
view is depicted below:
┌──────────────[ EDITING AND EXISTING LIST ]─────────────┐
│ │
│ List : SAMPLE │
│ │
│ Label : LM (16 of 21) │
│ Icon : LM │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ LABEL MAGIC │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ P.O. Box 1157 │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ Bassett, Virginia 24055 │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ F1:NEXT F2:PRIOR F3:MOD F4:ADD F5:DEL │
│ │
└───────────[ Choose a function (or ESC=QUIT) ]──────────┘
Subsequent to an in-depth discussion on the uses and capabilities of Label Magic's list feature, I would
like to take a moment to review its limitations.
LIMITATIONS:
The primary function of Label Magic is to produce mailing labels with graphic icons. It is further
assumed that the primary use for its labels will be for return addresses. However, we simply couldn't
distribute a label program of any kind that had no list capabilities. Moreover, it would not make sense to
require that all labels carry icons. For this reason Label Magic does support non-graphic labels and
does have rudimentary mailing list capabilities.
In short, if you have a $20,000,000.00 company and wish to generate a mailing list with thousands of
addresses, this is not the program you should be using. Nonetheless, if you have a group of from 10 to 300
addresses, then Label Magic will have no trouble handling that.
With that out of the way, let us discuss the operation of Label Magic lists.
The five fields of interest within the editing window are:
LIST:Contains the name of the list currently selected.
LABEL:Contains the name of the label, within the currently selected list, being viewed.
NOTE:This is the only user-modifiable field.
LABEL NUMBER:The label number field, in the form "(xx of xx)," tells which label is currently in
view and how many total labels are in the list.
ICON:The name of the icon (if any) which is associated with the label being viewed.
LABEL BOX:Displays the contents of the address portion of the label being viewed.
A label list may be traversed in four ways. The first two are "NEXT" and "PRIOR," which are selected
by "F1" and "F2," respectively. As implied by their names, "NEXT" means to advance by one label and
"PRIOR" to move backward through the list by one. The other two ways to traverse a list are "HOME"
and "END." Pressing the "HOME" key will place you at the beginning of a list and "END" will put you at
the last label.
ADDING NEW LABELS:
To add a new label (or group of labels, using wildcards) to a new or previously existing list, press "F4" on
your keyboard. This will place the cursor at the beginning of the "LABEL" field. At this point you have
two options:
1.Type the name of a label and press ENTER to add it to the list.
2.Use wildcards, identical to those used by DOS, to add an entire group of labels to the list
automatically.
Option 1 is fairly straightforward. That method simply attaches a single label to the list and is self
explanatory.
Option 2, on the other hand, is a bit more complex and requires greater discussion. If a situation arises
where you have a group of similarly named labels which you would like to add to the list, you may be able
to use wildcards to add the entire group automatically.
For example, if you've created five labels whose names are the same and unique (at least for the first few
characters), you could use a "?" or an "*" to combine them. If the names were LABEL1, LABEL2, ...,
LABEL5, for instance, you could enter "LABEL?" in the label field and all five labels would be appended
to the list. You could also use "LABEL*" to accomplish the same thing. The difference between using "?"
and using "*" is that the "?" is used to replace a single (wild) character, but "*" replaces all characters to
the end of the name. In other words, "LAB*" would work, but "LAB?" would not. Keep in mind also that
if you enter "LAB*" that you may accidentally bring in labels with names such as "LABAMBA." This
brings to mind another very important point.
When you are creating labels that you know will be used later in a list, be sure to give
all the labels similar names (those which have identical characters starting from the
left). This will make building the list effortless later.
In addition to adding new labels to a list, two other methods for making modifications to a list exist, MOD
and DEL.
MOD, which stands for "MODIFY," will allow you to change the label that is in the current position (#16
shown previously) in the list to some other label. In other words, if you type in some other label's name
in place of whichever one you are currently viewing, that label will then become label number "16" (in the
previous example). Entering blanks will make label number "16" a blank label such that nothing will be
printed in its place.
The last feature available, "DEL," as its name indicates, allows you to remove a label from the list entirely.
THIS DOES NOT ERASE THE LABEL, but rather it removes the label's name from the current list.
DELETING LISTS:
The only way a list can be deleted is to delete its DOS file, which can only be done from DOS. List files
end with the extension ".LST" and are usually the least common.
BROWSE:
Another great Label Magic feature in the WYSIWYG category is BROWSE. BROWSE is option 3
from the Label Maintenance menu and is selected by pressing the "3" key when the menu is in view.
The two browse options are:
1. Browse Icons
2. Browse Labels
┌────────────────[ BROWSE ]─────────────────┐
│ │
│ Browse ICONS or LABELS (I/L)? │
│ │
└───────────────[ ESC=ABORT ]───────────────┘
When you see the window displayed above, enter either "I" to browse icons, "L" to browse labels, or press
ESC to abort and go back to the maintenance menu.
To "browse" simply means to view (graphically) each icon or label in the Label Magic directory, one
at a time.
This feature, even though graphic oriented, supports all Label Magic graphics modes -- including CGA.
PRINTING:
Option 4, selected by pressing the "4" key from the label maintenance menu, is the option to choose
whenever you wish to print anything. There is one exception to this rule, though. The ICON EDITOR
allows you to print a single icon just to see what it's going to look like (refer to ICON EDITOR section).
The first thing you have to do is select the type of printing you will be doing. A query window, pictured
below, will pop up prompting you to enter your selection.
┌────────────────[ PRINT OPTIONS ]───────────────┐
│ │
│ 1.LABELS 2.LISTS 3.LETTERHEADS 4.FORMFEED │
│ │
└──────────────────[ ESC=ABORT ]─────────────────┘
To make the choice, hit the number key corresponding to your selection. As with most menus, it is NOT
necessary to press the ENTER key.
PRINTING LABELS:
When printing, Label Magic assumes you are using "1-wide" labels. By "1-wide," we mean that there
is only one label across the width of the label sheet. This does not mean that you cannot print "2-wide"
labels; however, it does mean that you won't be able to do it in a single pass. We recommend the following
labels:
For dot matrix printers:
AVERY 4145 3.5" x 15/16" fanfold pressure-sensitive adhesive
TANDY Cat. No. 26-1328 3.5" x 15/16" x 4.25"carrier fanfold adhesive
For LASER/DESKJET printers:
AVERY 5161 8.5" x 11" self-adhesive sheets
Other brands should work as long as the dimensions are the same.
LABELS (one or more copies of a single label):
Option 1 is for printing one or more copies of a single label. To select this option, press "1" on your
keyboard. You will then be asked whether or not to include the address. This might seem like a silly
question, but there are certain to be occasions when you wish only to print the graphic icons. Finally, be
sure the labels are properly aligned, then enter the number of labels which are to be printed. It's a good
idea to print only 1 label at a time until you are sure the paper alignment is correct, and (believe
it or not) to be sure that the printer is turned on. That's it.
2-WIDE LABELS:
If you are using a LASER printer, DeskJet printer with 2-wide labels (such as AVERY 5161) or if you
have 2-wide labels on a dot matrix printer, simply print half of the desired number of labels and then
reinsert the labels so that the remainder of the labels are printed upside down and on the other side.
Another safeguard you might wish to take is to cycle power OFF and back ON on your printer to be sure
that the default settings are restored. Label Magic makes few assumptions regarding the status of the
printer prior to printing.
LISTS (one or more copies of a LIST of labels):
Option 2 is for printing "Label lists," which were discussed in detail in the earlier section,
CREATE/EDIT LISTS. Printing label lists is exactly like printing labels, with one exception. Instead
of specifying the name of a particular label, you indicate the name of a list to be printed. Just as with
printing a label, you must tell whether or not addresses should be included on the printouts. And, you
must indicate the number of times the list should be printed.
LETTERHEADS:
Label Magic allows you to print matching letterheads to go along with those beautiful-looking labels.
Select this option (print option 3) by pressing "3" on your keyboard, from the PRINT OPTIONS pop-up
menu.
As with printing labels and lists, the options associated with printing letterheads are the same. You
specify which label, whether or not to include the address, and the number of letterheads (or pages).
There is one additional option, though, and that is whether a letterhead dividing line should be printed.
A dividing line is exactly what its name indicates, a line between the letterhead and the body of a future
document.
FORM FEED (particularly important for LASER users):
That last print option, number 4, provides you with a way to make your printer do a form feed (advance
one sheet) without leaving your desk chair.
If you are using Label Magic in conjunction with a LASER printer, you may find it necessary to initiate
a form feed after sending other printing instructions, before the printer actually begins to print. We found
in our testing that many LASER printers only begin printing once a form feed character is received. We
preferred not to hard-code form feeds since there are many instances where one doesn't wish to feed the
paper until a series of labels have been printed on a particular page. In this way you could manually send
label print commands for a number of labels and then send the form feed to instruct the print to send the
sheet through.
Getting back to the LABEL MAINTENANCE menu, we will now discuss the last two menu options "5"
and "6," which are "DOS SHELL" and "DIRECTORY OPTIONS," respectively.
DOS SHELL:
"DOS SHELL" provides a quick way to get into and out of DOS without ever actually leaving Label
Magic. To enter a DOS SHELL, simply press "5" on your keyboard and there you'll be. Remember to
type "EXIT" and press ENTER as soon as you have completed your work in DOS, to get back into Label
Magic. This is important since it is easy to forget you are in a shell.
The DOS SHELL is quite handy for deleting an icon, a label, a list or a group of any of those using
standard DOS "DEL" commands.
DIRECTORY OPTIONS:
As you know by now the label maintenance screen contains a directory listing, to the left. When you first
come into label maintenance ALL files in the Label Magic directory are displayed. You should also
know by now that pressing the UP/DOWN arrow keys allows you to scroll up or down through the entire
file list.
This would be fine, but you don't always care to see all the files in the Label Magic directory. This is
the reason for option 6, DIRECTORY OPTIONS. Press "6" from the label maintenance menu and you
will be presented with the following directory options:
┌───────────[ DIRECTORY OPTIONS ]───────────┐
│ │
│ 1. SHOW ICONS 2. SHOW LABELS │
│ 3. SHOW LISTS 4. SHOW ALL │
│ │
└───────────────[ ESC=ABORT ]───────────────┘
Press a "1" now and only icon (.ICN) files will be visible in the directory window. Press a "2" and only label
(.LBL) files are shown. Press a "3" and only list (.LST) files are apparent. Directory option "4" will cause
all files to, again, be displayed.
These options are very helpful when invoked just prior to label or list editing. For example, if you are
going to work on a list, it is very helpful if only labels are visible. It is even more important when editing
labels, because UP/DOWN directory scrolling is temporarily disabled.
The most powerful feature of Label Magic is its ability to produce professional labels with graphic
icons. All sample icons you may have already seen were created using the ICON EDITOR.
To invoke the editor, press "2" from the MAIN MENU.
There are four primary fields of interest, which we will discuss in detail,
within the editor screen:
1. Options List - left
2. Status Area - lower left
3. Editor Box - center
4. Preview Box - right center
NOTE TO MOUSE USERS:
Label Magic supports MS (or compatible) mice and drivers. If you have any difficulty getting a mouse
or driver working, be sure you have the most recent version of the driver. If everything goes well you
should be able to see a small arrow inside the icon box which moves with the mouse.
But getting back to the icon editor screen, as we said, there are four primary areas.
OPTION LIST:This is the list of options on the left side of the editor screen. There are twenty
editor options, all of which we will soon discuss.
STATUS AREA:In the lower left corner of the screen you will see messages telling of the status
of various features. For instance, "SILENT" displayed means that the sound
effects are being suppressed. Other status messages include: "DRAW," "ERASE"
and "CIRCLE."
EDITOR BOX:The square (or rectangular, depending on aspect ratio) box in the middle of the
screen is known as the "EDITOR BOX." This box is the area where icon editing
actually takes place.
If you are using a mouse, you have likely noticed by now that the mouse cursor's
movement is limited to the confines of the editor box. Hence, even if you use a
mouse for icon editing, editor options must still be selected from the keyboard.
PREVIEW BOX:On the right side of the editor screen, about half way from the top, you will see
a small box labeled "PREVIEW." It is a miniature version of the editor box,
whose purpose it is to allow you to see (approximately) what the icon will look
like when printed.
EDITOR OPTIONS:
F1:DIRECTORY
Pressing the function key "F1" will take you temporarily out of the graphics-based icon editor and into a
directory utility. The utility allows you to scroll through the entire Label Magic directory, enabling
you to check for existing icons, etc. Notice that all icon files (those ending in .ICN) are highlighted. This
will help you sift through a long list for a particular icon file. To abort the directory utility, simply press
"ESC" and you will find yourself right back inside the editor.
F2:CLEAR
The purpose of the "clear" option is to erase the contents of the editor and preview boxes.
F3:TOGGLE
Pressing "F3" will cause whichever tiny block the square cursor is on at the time to be toggled "ON" or
"OFF." For example, if the block is ON at the time you press F3, then it will be toggled back OFF.
F4:COMPLEMENT
This option might have been more appropriately named "INVERSE." I say this because the effect of
hitting "F4" is that the entire contents of the editor box is converted to inverse video. That is to say, all
"ON" blocks are turned off and all "OFF" blocks are turned on. People familiar with the binary
compliment will understand why it is so named.
F5:ROTATE
Choosing this option will cause the entire contents of the editor box to be rotated, in a clockwise direction,
by 90 degrees. Press F5 four times and the image will be back to its original attitude.
F6:CIRCLE
To really appreciate this option, try making a large circle manually sometime. The way it works is that
you position the cursor on a block that is to be the center of the resulting circle, then press F6. The word
"CIRCLE" should appear down in the status area now. Label Magic is now waiting for you to press a
number key in the range 1-9.
The number represents, approximately, the length of the radius of the circle (in blocks). Play around with
this feature for awhile to get a good feel for the size of the circles relative to the numbers.
F7:DRAW
Use this option when you wish to create a series of connecting blocks, a line for example. Hit F7 and the
message "DRAW" will appear in the status area. This will stay on until F7 is again pressed to toggle it back
off.
Pressing any of the (Home,PgUp,UP,DOWN, etc.) keys will move the block cursor, leaving a trail of
highlighted blocks.
NOTE:Do not use this feature when you use a mouse for drawing.
F8:ERASE
This does exactly the opposite of what DRAW does. F8 toggles between ERASE "ON" and ERASE
"OFF." Cursor movement, by means of the keyboard, will leave a trail of "OFF" blocks.
Pressing any of the (Home,PgUp,UP,DOWN, etc.) direction keys will move the block cursor, leaving a
trail of blank blocks.
NOTE:Again, do not use this option when you are drawing using a mouse.
F9:SILENT
You will find that there are a number of beeps, bells and whistles which help enhance Label Magic's user
interface. F9 allows you to silence the sound effects, except for some warnings, for those times when
you simply don't wish to hear them. Press F9 again to turn the sound effects back on.
^P:PRINT
The key combination CTRL-P (CTRL key and P key held simultaneously), which is represented here by
"^P", permits you to send the current icon image to your printer for review. This is particularly helpful
for users with EGA graphics systems, since the screen image is distorted by an elongated aspect ratio.
U:SHIFT UP
This feature allows you to shift the entire icon image up one pixel row. Portions of the icon that are
shifted off the top are wrapped back to the bottom row.
D:SHIFT DOWN
Exactly the same as "SHIFT UP," except that the icon is shifted downward and that portions of the icon
that are shifted off the bottom are wrapped back to the top row.
L:SHIFT LEFT
Similar to U and D, except that icons are shifted to the left and that portions shifted off the left side are
wrapped back to the right side.
R:SHIFT RIGHT
Exactly like L, except that icons are shifted to the right.
^V:FLIP VERT
If you want to turn the icon completely upside down, press CTRL-V.
^H:FLIP HORIZ
To flip an image sideways press CTRL-H, producing a mirror image of the original.
^B:BROWSE
"BROWSE" lets you skim through all the icons in the Label Magic directory. The icon images are
shown inside the preview box. As we mentioned earlier, the preview box is the small box on the right side
of the screen that looks like a small framed picture. Notice that during the browse cycle the word
"PREVIEW" is replaced by "BROWSE."
As each icon is displayed, so too is its name. The name is displayed immediately below the preview box.
To load an icon directly into Label Magic, type "L" while it is in view inside the BROWSE box. This
subroutine will take you temporarily out the graphics mode and wait for you to type in the icon name to
be loaded.
^S:SAVE
The CTRL-S key combination allows you to save the currently selected icon work for later printing. Be
sure you do not give the new file the same name as an existing one or all the information on the original
will be replaced by what is on the new one.
^L:LOAD
Use CTRL-L to load a pre-existing icon. Keep in mind that the icon currently in view will be lost when
you load a different one.
ESC=EXIT
Use the ESC key at any time to exit the editor. Save your work!
PITFALLS:
DON'T(S): The following are examples of things you should NOT do while editing icons.
o DON'T LOAD ANOTHER ICON PRIOR TO SAVING YOUR CURRENT ONE.
o DON'T DRAW USING THE KEYBOARD WHEN THE MOUSE WILL DO THE JOB BETTER.
o DON'T USE A MOUSE WHEN THE KEYBOARD MIGHT BE EASIER.
DO(S): The following are examples of things you SHOULD do while editing icons.
o DO SAVE WORK FREQUENTLY, THUS REDUCING DAMAGE CAUSED BY DON'T(S).
o DO USE A MOUSE, IF YOU HAVE ONE.
o DO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL EDITOR OPTIONS TO SAVE YOURSELF WORK.
TURBO PASCAL PROGRAMMERS:
This file contains the [Turbo] Pascal data and file structure
for Label Magic unpacked icons. Label Magic icons are normally stored packed
and must be converted to unpacked (using CONVICON.EXE, mentioned below) so
that they may be used with the following structure.
CONST
MaxX = 50;
MaxY = 50;
TYPE
{ UnPacked Icon DATA TYPE }
Icon_Type = ARRAY[1..MaxX,1..MaxY] OF BOOLEAN;
VAR
Icon : Icon_Type;
IconF : FILE OF Icon_Type; { Random access file type }
COMMENTS:
Icons are stored as record #0 in the random access file, IconF.
Your programs may shell into the conversion program (CONVICON.EXE), using the
appropriate parameters, to UNPACK the 350 byte icons. Packed (350 byte) icons
may be converted either to "unpacked" (shown above), "TEXT" ('*' and ' ') or
ASCII ('█', '▄', '▀', or ' ').
SIMPLE PROGRAMMING EXAMPLE:
{$M 16000,0,0}
PROGRAM Load_Icon;
USES
Dos;
TYPE
Icon_Type = ARRAY[1..50,1..50] OF BOOLEAN;
VAR
Icon : Icon_Type;
IconF : FILE OF Icon_Type;
BEGIN
EXEC( 'CONVICON.EXE',' U LM.ICN LM.ICN' ); { UnPack ICON }
ASSIGN( IconF,'LM.ICN' );
RESET( IconF );
READ(IconF,Icon);
CLOSE(IconF);
.
.
.
.
.
.
Do graphics whatever.
.
.
.
EXEC( 'CONVICON.EXE',' P LM.ICN LM.ICN' ); { Pack ICON }
END.
CONVICON.EXE Information (as seen from the DOS command line):
CONVICON Version 1.0 - Copyright (C)1989 NEOCOM by Joseph M. Albanese
Label Magic Icon Utility
SYNTAX: C>convicon [OPTION] <infile.ext> <outfile.ext>
OPTIONS: T - Convert a packed icon (350 byte) to a text icon
I - Convert a text icon to a packed icon (350 byte)
A - Convert a packed icon (350 byte) to an ASCII icon
B - Convert an ASCII icon BACK to a packed icon
U - Convert a packed icon (350 byte) to an UNpacked icon (2500 byte)
P - Convert an unpacked icon (2500 byte) to a PACKed icon (350 byte)
EXAMPLES: C>convicon t lm.icn lm.txt
C>convicon a lm.icn lm.asc
C>convicon b lm.asc lm.icn
ONE FINAL NOTE:
The unpacked icons, produced in label magic, do not necessarily have
to be stored one-per-file. A random access file of many [unpacked] icons could
be used to store an animation sequence of single-color objects to be used
in a game, for instance.
Label Magic is a product of NEOCOM, P.O. Box 1157, Bassett, Virginia 24055
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEOCOM Registration Form
SEND THIS FORM TO:
LABEL MAGIC REGISTRATION
c/o NEOCOM MicroSpecialists
P.O. Box 1157
Bassett, VA 24055
What you get by registering:
1. The latest, enhanced, non-shareware version of LABEL MAGIC which
includes at least the following improvements:
o Multiple label printing
o Label list printing
2. Complete printed documentation, containing detailed and more
in-depth discussion of many of Label Magic's features. The shareware
documentation is only an excerpt from the complete manual.
3. Telephone VOICE/BBS technical support.
Please make checks ($19.95 + $5 p&h US funds only) payable to :
NEOCOM
P.O. Box 1157
Bassett, VA 24055
Send your check, along with the following registration form:
Your name _______________________________ Phone: ( )___-_____
Address ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
City _________________________ State _________ Zip Code ________
Computer Type _________________________________
Program name (i.e. LABEL MAGIC) ______________ Version ______
Preferred diskette type: ___ 3.5" ___ 5.25"
We would also appreciate any input you would care to give concerning
NEOCOM products. If you have any ideas or comments that would make
them better programs please let us know. Are you ever confused as
to what to do next at any point in the program?
We are working hard to make our products the best, most useful, and
affordable in their classes on the market today. With your input we
will be well on our way to achieving that goal.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Don't forget to include the registration/handling fee.