Template Design View

Use the Template Design view to design one or more templates so that you can print items exactly as you see them on the screen. When you design templates, you have access to a large array of design tools, including layers, formatting shortcuts, and more. By default, the Template Design view is displayed each time you start the application or start a new document.

If you are currently in the Data Entry Form view, you can switch to the Template Design view by using one of the following methods:

Main Menu Bar

The main menu bar is the horizontal bar across the top of the screen that you can use to display menus. It includes a list of commands that you can use to configure and use BarTender. The following menus are available:

File: Includes commands that you can use to load, save, and print the documents that you create and modify by using BarTender.
Edit: Includes commands that you can use to cut, copy, or delete one or more controls or objects from the template.
View: Includes commands that you can use to change the size and position at which you view the template, and provides access to the Data Entry Form view.
Create: Includes commands that you can use to add objects to the template, including barcodes, shapes, pictures, text objects, and encoding technologies tags.
Arrange: Includes commands that you can use to organize the layout of controls and objects on the template.
Administer: Includes commands that you can use to set administrative and configuration settings.
Tools: Includes commands that start applications in the BarTender Suite, and provides access to the User Preferences dialog.
Window: Includes commands that you can use to create and switch between additional views of a template or data entry form.
Help: Provides access to help and product information.

Toolbars

The toolbars include the most frequently used commands. The following toolbars are available:

Main toolbar: Provides buttons for many of the most commonly used commands and dialogs in the File and Edit menus.
Object toolbar: Provides buttons that you can use to add objects to your templates.
View toolbar: Provides buttons that you can use to alter the way you view the template.
Arrange toolbar: Provides buttons for the options on the Align and Rotate dialogs.
Text toolbar: Provides buttons for the options on the Font property page.
Line and shape toolbar: Provides buttons that you can use to alter the fill and stroke of line and shape objects.

For more information, refer to Toolbars.

Toolbox

The Toolbox is a set of panes on the left side of the design window from which you can drag reusable objects and data sources to make it easier to design your template. The Toolbox includes the following panes:

Components Pane

The Components pane gives you a place to create and store preconfigured objects and even groups of objects. You can reuse any such component by dragging it from the pane to a template.
Layers Pane

The Layers pane lists all of the available layers, and you can use it to create new layers and modify existing ones.
Data Sources Pane

The Data Sources pane lists all of the data sources that are available for use on your template, including database fields, named data sources, and global data fields.

Record Navigation Bar

The record navigation bar is available at the bottom of the Template Design area after you connect a database file to your document.

This navigation bar provides the following options and information:

Disconnects the database from the document.

Indicates that the database is in a disconnected state. When you click this icon, BarTender tries to reconnect to the database.

Refreshes the record set to include any updates to the database.

Opens a query prompt that was created for the document by using the Query Prompts dialog. The record set that is available for preview in the Template Design area is updated to reflect your query prompt entry. Available only when a query prompt is created for the document.

Opens the Select Records dialog, which you can use to select the specific record that you want to view in the Template Design area.

Record: Indicates the number of items that will be printed. This number is based on the record set that is provided by the database connection and includes any updates to the record set that you requested by using the query prompt or the Select Records dialog. You can preview these items within the Template Design area by using the following control arrows:

Shows the first item.

Shows the previous item.

Shows the next item.

Shows the last item.

Tabs

The tabs at the bottom of the design window provide access to the templates, page template, and data entry forms that are associated with the open document. If you have enabled double-sided printing or are designing multiple templates, multiple tabs along the bottom of the template are available to help you switch between the different templates.

The Template is an editor that you use to design your items. By using the template, you can position and modify objects, access important information about the size and structure of your items, and preview what the item will look like when it is printed. You can name the template tab by using the Rename dialog.
The Data Entry Form is an editor that you use to create forms that enable users to enter data at print time. For more information, refer to Data Entry Form View.
The Page Template is an editor that you use to add elements to your document, such as a header, footer, or watermark. For more information, refer to Creating a Page Template.

To make the Page Template editor available, click to select Enable Page Template on the Page tab of the Page Setup dialog.

Status Bar

The status bar is located at the bottom of the user interface. When no control or object is selected, it displays general information about the document and the template itself. This basic information includes such details as the printer that is currently associated with the document and the size of the form. When a control or object is selected, the status bar displays the name, position, and size of the control or object.

For more detailed information, you can display a tooltip by pointing to the section of the status bar that you want. You can also click a section of the status bar to open the corresponding dialog. For example, when you click the page setup section of the status bar, the Page Setup dialog opens.

When you point to an icon on a toolbar or to a menu item, the basic document information is replaced with a short description of the icon or item. This is useful in determining how a specific tool is used or in identifying the tool that corresponds to a particular icon on the toolbar.

In some cases, you may want the status bar to be hidden. To toggle the visibility of the status bar, use one of the following methods:

On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Status Bar.
Use the secondary mouse button to click a toolbar, and then click Status Bar.