Offset Dialog

The Offset dialog enables you to apply an offset value to an object’s data source, so that the data source is automatically adjusted to a new time or numeric value. The adjusted value is the final output that will be printed on your items.

You can access this dialog in one of the following ways:

Click next to the transform on the Transforms tab of the Data Sources property page (for template objects).
Click next to Offset on the Data Entry property page (for data entry controls).

The following options are available:

Offset Source: Specifies how BarTender determines where to retrieve the offset value.
- Constant: The offset value will be the same for each item printed.
- Database Field: The offset value will be retrieved from a specified field from the database connected to the document.
- Named Data Source: The offset value is the value specified in the selected named data source.
- Printer Code Template Field: The offset value is the value specified by the Printer Code Template Field.
Offset: Specifies the amount to add or subtract from the current date, time, or numeric value; alternatively, specifies the database field or named data source containing the offset value.
Units: Specifies the unit of measurement for the offset value. Available only when the data type is a date or time.
Apply offset after data entry: When the object is linked to a data entry control, enabling this option specifies that the value shown on the data entry form does not include the offset; the offset is added to the value returned by the form. When disabled (unchecked), the offset is calculated prior to data entry, so the value shown on the form includes the offset.

The default for Apply offset after data entry is unchecked. In a document created in an earlier version of BarTender, this setting may or may not be enabled depending on the behavior previously specified.

Consider the following example: a peanut packaging company prints a single label for each of the products it distributes. Along with the name of the product, each label contains two dates: the manufacturing date and the expiration date. The manufacturing date is the same date as the one on which the label is printed. The expiration date is always exactly two years after the manufacturing date. To do this, create a single text object for the manufacturing date, using the Clock data source type. On the Data Source tab of the Data Sources property page, assign a unique name to the data source. Create a second text object for the expiration date, using Link to an Existing Named Data Source as the data source type. Using the Offset dialog, you can specify that the expiration date is offset by two years for each label printed.