Open topic with navigation

When using BarTender in a production environment, users commonly use an external application to create and manage data. Then, connecting to that database, BarTender can import the data into objects on a template and use it to print items. You can use one of the following methods to set up such an environment.

Manual Method

A manual, but perfectly functional way to print items using data from an external database is to export the desired data to a supported format, such as a text file, OLE DB, or ODBC database. Running BarTender in a separate window, use the Database Setup dialog to connect to the database. Once the objects on the template are connected to the desired database field, you can print your items directly from BarTender.

Partial Automation

A more automated way to perform this function is to run BarTender from within the other program. In doing so, the other application can first create the file containing the data. It then runs BarTender, telling it the document and data from which to print. Depending on the command line parameters, BarTender can be instructed to exit when the print job is over or be left running.