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- POWER LABEL v. 1.00 -
Starvector Software
205 N. 41st Ave.
Yakima, WA 98908
Jan. '90 release (c) 1990
_____________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION -
POWER LABEL is a powerful and versatile program that allows the printing
of custom-designed labels, envelopes and index cards in the two most popular
sizes of each. For printing jobs where the size of the item is unusual,
there is also an "All-purpose" mode, which has no restrictions on dimensions
or spacing, and can be customized to the user's specifications.
POWER LABEL is designed for use with Epson FX-compatible dot matrix
printers, but most near-compatible printers should work with most of Power
Label's features.
- use Pg Up, Pg Dn, and arrow keys to read through text -
As well as being able to print labels, envelopes, cards, and "whatever",
Power Label allows you to control print spacing, and also gives you a choice
of several printing styles for each line. You can select from "tight",
"normal", or "double" spacing, as well as the following printing styles:
Draft, Elite, Compressed, Horizontally expanded, Vertically expanded, Sub-
script, Italics, Underlined, Emphasized, Doublestrike, Letter quality, and
Proportional printing. These print styles can be used individually, or can
be used in any combination to produce the desired results, and can be changed
from one line to the next.
Once you've configured your printing styles, spacing, and entered the
lines of text as you want them, you're given the option to print what you've
created, and in whatever quantity you desire. If something isn't quite right,
you can change the text and/or line settings of any line, or even add new
lines quickly and easily. When everything is set, you can save it to disk to
reload, and edit or print later.
An added feature that many printing programs do not offer is our "mem-
ory resident" option upon exiting the program. When you select "Exit to DOS"
from the main menu, you are given the option of keeping the program in mem-
ory. This is extremely handy if you want to go format a disk, or jump to a
word-processor for a second, or carry out any number of tasks that you norm-
mally wouldn't be able to do without terminating the program. After finish-
ing up with whatever you need to do, simply type "Exit", and you'll return
to Power Label, and find everything exactly as you left it. If you left a
particular item on the screen, it will be there when you get back, with all
settings intact.
Most settings are made using the cursor keys to move a highlighter
around the screen. The program was designed to be as easy and self-explana-
tory as possible, so as to appeal to a wide range of users.
In short, if you've got a printing job that could use that "custom" look,
or if you just want to print up a bunch of plain-vanilla labels, Power Label
can handle the job.
_____________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -
POWER LABEL will operate on any IBM-PC/XT/AT or compatible with an
Epson FX-compatible dot-matrix printer, and at least:
- 256K of memory
- one disk drive
- monochrome monitor (but color is recommended)
_____________________________________________________________________________
FUNDAMENTALS -
To load Power Label, type: PL or GO at your drive prompt. You
will see an introduction screen. Please read this information! At this
point, you can opt to read more about registration by entering "R", or to
start the program by pressing any key.
* REGISTRATION ROUTINE - Upon selecting this option, you will be shown
a few pages of text, which describe the registration procedure, and
then you will come to a crossroads, where you can either procede or
go directly to the main program. If you have not yet run the regi-
stration routine, you should enter "P" to proceed. If you have al-
ready run this routine, you should exit to the main program by press-
ing any key. By proceeding, you should make sure that your program
disk (with all files) is in the same drive in which it was loaded, and
press the "Enter" key. This will provide you with your disk serial
number, which should be included when you register. At that point,
you can print out the registration form on your printer by pressing
"P", or you can return to the main program by pressing any key.
* GOING TO MAIN PROGRAM - Upon selecting this option, you will see the
"POWER LABEL" logo in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and
the main menu in the lower left portion of the screen. To select a
certain function, simply move the highlighter down the menu using
your up and down arrow keys, and press [Enter] when you get to what
you want. You will then make further selections, based on what
option was selected. (Please note that only "Load", "Create", and
"Exit" options will work initially. The other options come into
effect when there is something displayed in the upper portion of the
screen)
_____________________________________________________________________________
MAIN MENU OPTIONS -
* LOAD - This option allows you to load a label, envelope, card, or all-
purpose file that has already been created and saved. When selecting
"Load", you will be asked to input the name of the file you wish to
work with. This filename will have been assigned to the file when it
was first created and saved, and will consist only of the first part
of the filename, without the default ".POW" extension that Power Label
assigns all data files. If you enter a filename with the ".POW" ex-
tension, or a filename that is longer than eight characters, you will
receive an error message, and you will have to re-enter it.
When loading a previously saved file, you must be sure that the
disk containing the file is in the same drive that was used to load
Power Label. The easiest method if you're not keeping a large number
of working data files, is to save them onto the disk that contains
Power Label. This way, you will never have to change disks when load-
ing and saving files. Of course, the main program file and its accomp-
anying files take up quite a large portion of available disk space, so
you may eventually run out of room on the original disk if you plan on
keeping quite a few files stored. There should be enough room on a
standard 360K disk to hold Power Label, all its accompanying files,
and approximately 180 stored data files. If you need to store more
than 180, you'll have to keep them on a seperate diskette. A blank,
360K disk will hold approximately 350 Power Label data files. Just be
sure that the data diskette, if different from your working program
disk, is in the correct drive. For instance, if you loaded Power
Label from drive B:, and you want to load a Power Label file stored on
another disk, you must remove the Power Label program disk, and insert
the data disk into drive B:, before attempting to load the file. You
will not be able to load it if the disk is in another drive. Of
course, if you are operating Power Label from your hard drive, you
needn't worry about any of these restrictions.
Once the filename has been entered, Power Label will search for
it and if found, will display it in the upper box on your screen. If
you mis-entered the filename, you will receive a "File not found" mes-
sage, at which point it will have to be re-entered.
After the file has been successfully loaded, you will notice in
the upper, left-hand corner of the screen the name you have given the
file, along with the size (if applicable) and type. You will also see
it displayed in the upper box, just as it was when last saved. You
can then proceed to make changes using the "Edit" or "Settings" op-
tions, or print it out using the "Print" option.
If a load is attempted while an unsaved file is displayed, you
will be prompted as to whether you would like to save the current file
first, thus minimizing the chance of mistakenly losing a file that has
just been created or edited.
* CREATE - Using this option, you can create any one of four different
items, three of those in the two most popular sizes. After selecting
"Create" from the main menu, you will be given a choice of creating
labels, envelopes, cards, or all-purpose mode. At the bottom will be
an "ESCAPE" option, which will return you to the main menu.
If you choose labels, you will then need to choose either the
3-1/2 x 15/16 size, or 4 x 1-7/16 size. Upon choosing envelopes, you
will then select between the #6 regular, or the #10 long size. The
card option will allow you to choose between the standard 3x5, or the
larger 4x6 sized index cards. When choosing the all-purpose mode, no
restrictions or limitations are made regarding width, length or dimen-
sions of any kind, therefore allowing you to create a data file that
is specifically custom-designed by you for whatever printing applica-
tion you have in mind.
After the file type and size have been selected, you will then
choose the printing styles for the first line. Move the highlighter
using the arrow keys, and select which printing styles you want by
pressing the "Enter" key when the highlighter is on that print style.
You can combine print styles to create whatever result you desire,
the only restrictions being that some FX-compatible printers may not
support all the modes that are shown in the print-style menu. Two in
particular that are not always supported are "Letter quality", and
"Vertically-expanded" print. "Italic" print is not always supported,
although it is more common than LQ, or Vertical print. If your print-
er does not support these modes, selecting these settings may produce
unwanted characters on your printout. Also, the "Vertically-expanded"
option does not apply to envelopes.
After choosing your printing styles, you may decide that you
want to delete one, a few, or all of the selections and start over.
To "undo" a style that you've already selected, simply move the high-
lighter back to that style, and press "Enter" again. It will now be
shown normally, without the white arrows on both sides, and without
the red highlighter and yellow text (if you have a color monitor),
indicating that this particular print mode is not in effect for the
current line. To reset everything, and return back to the default
"draft" mode, move the highlighter to the upper left, "RESET" option,
and press "Enter". Every printing mode will now be turned off.
Once you are satisfied with the printing styles you've selected,
move the highlighter to the "ACCEPT" option, and press "Enter". At
that point, the print style menu will disappear, and you will be
asked to input the line spacing you would like for your item. For
labels, cards, and all-purpose, enter "T" for tight spacing, (7 lines
per inch for normal-height text) "N" or "Enter" for normal spacing,
(6 lines per inch) or "D" for double spacing. (3 lines per inch) For
envelopes, you are only offered "tight" or "normal" spacing. The
spacing that you enter will affect the entire item being created, so
that all lines will be spaced the same.
Once the line spacing and print styles for the first line have
been entered, you are now ready to type in the text as you would like
it to appear for line 1. You will notice a blue line after the "Line
1" pr*ompt in the upper box. (If you have a color monitor) This is
where you will print the text. The length of the line will vary,
depending on the print style(s) chosen, and the end of the line is
your outside border for inputing text. This is to control the number
of characters that are typed in, so they don't exceed the maximum
length of the item they will be printed on. For instance, the line
will be shorter for a small label than it will be for a 4x6 card,
because the label will not take as many characters. By the same
token, a line will be shorter when "Horizontally-expanded" print is
selected, because the characters take up more room than normal char-
acters do.
When typing in the line, if you make a mistake and want to back
up, use your backspace key. (usually found just above the enter key)
Pressing the left arrow key will cause the cursor to move forward,
just as any arrow key, or the spacebar will. Once the line has been
entered to your satisfaction, press "Enter" to go to the next line.
You will then see the print style menu again, and will enter the
print styles you want for line 2. You will repeat this series of
events until you've typed in everything you want, or Print Label has
determined that you are out of room, and cannot print any more lines.
The maximum number of lines will depend on the size of the item being
created, the height of the characters selected, and the spacing used.
If you've completed entering the text, and wish to return to the
main menu while the print style menu is up, go to "MAIN MENU" with
the highlighter and press "Enter". This will return you to the main
menu, where you can proceed to save, edit, or print your item.
* PRINT - Once you have an item displayed in the upper box, you may print
it using the "Print" option. Once this has been selected, you will
be asked how many you would like to print. You can print any quan-
tity from 1 to 99 at one time. If you're printing continuous labels,
the program will continue printing until all are done. If you're
printing multiple quantities of anything else, the program will stop
after each item has been printed, and ask you to press "Enter" when
ready to print the next one, giving you time to remove the card or
envelope from your printer, and insert a new one.
If the printed results are different from what you selected
through the print style menu, it most likely means your printer does
not support a particular print mode. You should make a note of it,
and remember not to select that mode in the future, as it may disrupt
the printing operation.
* SAVE - After an item has been created, you may want to use it later on.
to do this, it must first be saved to disk. If the item is newly
created, you will be asked to enter a filename for later retrieval of
your file. The filename can be any name that might help you remember
what the file is about, but cannot be more than eight characters long,
and cannot contain certain characters, among them: ["], [:], [;], [/],
[\], [?], [*], [.], and a few others. Generally speaking, your file-
names should only consist of letters and/or numbers, and maybe hyphens
to keep them as easy as possible to remember. As an example of how to
name files so as to be able to remember them later, let's say you've
created an envelope with your landlord's name and address on it, so
you can print it every month to pay your rent. You might name the
file something like "EN-RENT" to help you remember what it is later
on.
Also, do not include any sort of extension in the filename when
you are asked to enter one, and DO NOT use any spaces, either in
front of the filename, or anywhere in the middle of the filename! If
any illegal characters or spaces are used, error messages will result,
and the filename will have to be re-entered.
If you have loaded a previously created file in order to change
it somehow, you will naturally want to save it afterwards to keep the
changes. Upon choosing the "Save" option with a file that has already
been named, as in this case, you will not be prompted to enter a file-
name because the file has already been named, and this is the name it
will always be referred to as.
Of course, as with the loading routine described earlier, make
sure the disk on which you wish to store the file is in the same drive
that was used to load the program.
* EDIT - You can edit the text of a loaded or newly-created file using
this option. You can also add lines to a file using the "Edit" option,
if space permits.
After selecting "Edit" from the main menu, you will be asked
which line you want to edit. If you want to change the text from a
line that has already been created, simply key in the appropriate line
number, and press "Enter". You will then be prompted to enter the new
line in the middle section of the screen, between the upper and lower
boxes. After completing the line, press "Enter", and you will see your
new line replace the old one in the upper display.
If you wish to add lines to the displayed item, key in the next
successive line number relative to the last line displayed. For in-
stance, if you have a label displayed on the screen, and the last line
is line 3, you would enter "4" when asked which line to edit. You can
only add lines one at a time in successive order; you cannot jump
ahead and add say, line 5 to a display where the last line is 3. But
you can add line 4 (make it blank if you want) and then go back and
repeat the procedure with line 5, and so on. You will be able to keep
adding lines until Power Label determines that you are out of space.
When adding new lines, you will select the new print styles you
want for that line as well, using the same procedures as described
earlier with the "Create" option.
* SETTINGS - Using the "Edit" and "Settings" options, you can totally
rearrange a particular file to suit your needs. Unlike "Edit", which
only lets you change text, the "Settings" option will allow you to
change print styles for each line, and line spacing as well. You can
also use it to simply view the current settings of a line or lines, or
to check the spacing, if you happen to forget.
After selecting "Settings" from the main menu, you will be asked
whether to check "Line settings", or "Spacing". Enter "L" for line
settings, or "S" for spacing. Upon entering "L", you will then input
which line to check, and press "Enter". The current settings for
that line will be displayed in the lower box. If you wish to change
them, enter "C" at the prompt. You can then move the highlighter
around, deleting old settings, and/or making new ones as you wish.
The one restriction here is that your new line settings may not regi-
ster if the text for that certain line is too long. For example, if
you have a fairly long line of "compressed" characters, and you would
like to go in and change the line to "horizontally-expanded" print,
or some other mode that would take up more room than the line would
allow, you'll receive a message telling you that there isn't enough
room left. At that point you'll either have to use the "Edit" option
to shorten the line, or use a different combination of settings. If
there is enough room for your new settings, you will see the length of
the blue input line change accordingly when you press the "Enter" key.
After changing the settings of a certain line, you then will in-
put "A" to check another line, "C" to change the line again, or "M" to
return to the main menu. It should be noted here that as with the
"Create" option, you cannot select "Vertically-enlarged" print when
working with envelopes.
If you select "S" from the initial prompt to check line spacing,
the current spacing will be displayed. You are then asked to enter
the new spacing you desire, whether it be tight, normal, or double,
or just tight or normal for envelopes. Enter "T" for tight, "N", or
"Enter" for normal, or "D" for double. The program will then calcu-
late the remaining available space, and will either accept the new
spacing, or refuse it depending on how much space is left. If you
cannot use the new setting because of space limitations, or you just
wanted to check the spacing without making any changes, simply key in
the appropriate letter for the current spacing, and it will be un-
changed.
* CLEAR - If you've just finished printing a file, or just saved one, or
maybe just created one, but want to start with a clean slate, use the
"Clear" option from the main menu.
As with "Load", "Create", and "Exit", if the file has not yet
been saved, you will be given an option to save it or not, thereby
lessening the chances of accidentally losing something that you might
not want to lose. If you choose not to save it, or if it has already
been saved, the current display will be wiped off the screen, allowing
you to load or create something new, or exit if you wish.
* EXIT - The exit option can be used two ways. First, obviously is to
quit the program and return to DOS, which is the way you most likely
will normally use it. However, when this option is selected, any-
thing remaining in the upper display box will be lost if you choose
not to save it first.
The second way to use the "Exit" option, involves keeping the
program in memory using a DOS "shell". This is extremely handy if
you're working with a particular file, and need to go to DOS to per-
form a task, but don't want to go to the trouble of saving and reload-
ing the file later. Simply enter "Y" when asked if you want to keep
the program memory-resident, and you will then see the screen clear,
and your familiar DOS drive prompt back on the screen. You can then
go format a disk, or use your word-processor, or delete files, or
whatever it is you need to do, afterwhich you can return to the pro-
gram, with everything just as you left it, simply by typing "EXIT" at
your DOS prompt. One possible use for this feature is in loading old
files that you may have forgotten the names to. If you're prompted
for a filename to load, and can't remember it, exit using the memory-
residence option, and type "DIR *.POW" to see all the Power Label data
files currently on the disk. When you see the file(s) you want, type
"EXIT", and you're right back where you left off, with the file you
want fresh in your memory!
The one thing you want to keep in mind when using the memory-
resident option, is that your computer's total effective memory will
be reduced because some of it is being used on Power Label. There-
fore, any programs that use an amount of memory close to your
system's limit, may not run with Power Label in memory-resident mode.
Also, when using this option, it is important to have a "system" disk
(one with DOS on it) in your default, or "boot" drive. If you boot
from a hard disk, you needn't worry about this, but if you boot from
a floppy drive, (usually drive A:) you need to be certain that a DOS
disk is in that drive before you exit in the memory-resident mode.
_____________________________________________________________________________
REGISTRATION -
If you use Power Label and like it, you are encouraged to register your
copy with us. But even if you don't necessarily use it a great deal, or don't
particularly care for it, (heaven forbid!) you still may want to consider reg-
istering, because under our payback program, you will receive a $5.00 payment
for every registration we receive that can be traced back to you. We do this
with a disk serial-numbering system that not only identifies the current user,
but tells us where the disk originated. So even though we own the copyright
to the program, we are granting users of this program a license to copy and
distribute as many copies as they want, as long as the conditions disclosed
upon program startup are upheld.
Our registration fee is $20.00, and not only will it provide you with
monthly commission checks from us with all subsequent registrations, but you
will receive the following as well:
1. A 20-program shareware package of hot new arrivals.
2. A free copy of our commercial venture, "LOTTO-BUSTER
'89", which uses data analysis and proven wheeling
techniques to increase your chances of winning Lotto
by as much as 500%, and it DOES work!
3. Free updates of this program when they become avail-
able.
4. A free copy of our "POWER PRINT", printer setup pro-
gram, which will allow you to set your printer to the
many various print styles that Power Label offers,
plus a few more. Power Print allows you to print
entire documents using custom print styles, or just
a few lines at a time using the onboard "typewriter"
mode. It has many other nice features as well.
5. A current copy of our shareware catalog.
6. Discount coupons good towards purchases from the cat-
alog.
7. And, a free mystery gift!!! We know you'll want to
register to find out what this is, if for no other
reason right?
But I really think the biggest reason for registering is the unique
payback plan we've set up. To give you an idea of how it might work, consider
the following scenario: You receive Power Label, run the registration routine
and send in the registration form with your exclusive serial number. Now you
make, let's say, five copies of the program and give a them to friends, co-
workers, local bulletin boards, etc. Anyone you can think of who might find
a use for Power Label. You tell them about the program, and they each give
out five copies. After only three levels of this, your potential earnings
would be $775.00! And that's starting with a conservative figure of only five
disks! As you can see, the more disks that are out there, the more you stand
to gain. If we increase the number of disks by only one, to six instead of
five, the figure would increase from $775.00 to $1290.00! The amount of pay-
back is only limited by how many disks you care to copy and distribute, and
when those monthly checks start coming in, it can indeed be very exciting.
The registrations are already starting to come in from our "Power Print" pro-
gram, so you'll want to be sure not to miss out on this unique opportunity!
By the way, if you have a modem, and belong to a computer bulletin
board where software is uploaded and downloaded, this is an excellent way to
get the program out into the shareware arena, because it gets tremendous ex-
posure. Uploading to a popular bulletin board could easily net you 50 or
more registration payments in a relatively short period of time.
But in addition to all this, by registering your program with us,
you will be encouraging us to continually develop more new and exciting soft-
ware on a regular basis, and as a registered user, you'll be the first to
know about any new developments!
-- To assign yourself a disk serial number, enter [R] when
you see the program introduction --
Thanks,
enjoy the program!
Mike Shannon, author
STARVECTOR SOFTWARE
P.O. BOX 8160
205 N. 41ST AVE.
YAKIMA, WA 98908
___________________________________________________________________________
│ │
│ Power Label v. 1.00 carries no warranty, either expressed or implied, │
│ against any defects in design or content. Starvector Software will not │
│ be responsible in the event of any system damage or data loss that may │
│ occur through the direct or indirect use of this program. │
│___________________________________________________________________________│
