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The following describes some of BarTender's latest features. For a more general discussion of
BarTender's overall capabilities, including a variety of informative graphics and illustrations, see our On-Line
Brochure.
It's one thing for software to make it easier to get your work done. But BarTender has done work for you , with a library of predefined label components and literally thousands of commonly used label stock sizes–all ready to use. And, if you need to define your own, you can easily reuse them in future label designs, so your work is never wasted. New Toolbox Speeds Many Functions, Including Database Linking One of the most exciting feature additions is BarTender's new "Toolbox," which greatly speeds up the bar code creation and database linking process. Predefined and Reusable Toolbox Components Ever use part of an existing spreadsheet or letter when starting a new one? Sure, it gives you a head start, but you still have to "cut and paste." BarTender components redefine this concept so that it is modular and much more convenient, giving you common, predefined building blocks ready for immediate insertion into your labels. Simply "drag" them from BarTender's toolbox and "drop" them into your label designs. You may also want to reuse portions of your own completed label designs. For example, if you have carefully positioned a particular size and type of bar code next to a certain style of text in a specific place, BarTender lets you easily combine these objects into a reusable component. Huge, Expandable Label Stock Database There's more to label design than just placing objects on a label. You also need to match the dimensions of your label (including the number of labels on a "page") to the actual label stock you will be using. BarTender greatly simplifies this task with literally thousands of label sizes in a huge, conveniently organized label stock database. And, if you do specify your label dimensions manually, you can easily add this information to your label stock database for future reuse. High Precision On-Screen Display Capabilities Other new features include a "print preview" mode that even reads your external data sources, so it can display exactly how your labels are going to look before you print them. This means users don't have to print and waste real labels to ensure that their print job is properly set up and formatted. Also new are on-screen text editing, "rich text" (mixed text style) formatting, and object rotation in 1 degree increments. Basic Edition: BarTender 6.1 is now available in a "Basic" Edition. Designed for users who don't need the full capabilities provided by the "Professional" Edition, Basic is intended for users who just need BarTender's essential label-design features. Professional Edition: This edition of BarTender contains the features needed by most labeling professionals without sacrificing the ease-of-use needed by first-time label designers. Delivers a very wide range of capabilities, including all the data sourcing most users will ever need. Enterprise Edition: Our most powerful edition includes a certified SAP interface, support for ActiveX Automation and the Commander software utility, all of which simplify integration with other software. This edition of BarTender is particularly helpful for label design and printing on larger networks, including those running a mix of Windows and non-Windows platforms. Direct Interface to SAP Until now, users of label printing software needing to read label data from SAP had to perform a complex sequence of data conversions, possibly including custom SAP programming. Now, users of 6.1 can greatly reduce the complexity of their software integrations by directly accessing the standard IDoc data generated by SAP's R/3 software package. Commander Integration Utility The Commander software utility simplifies the task of getting two or more applications to work cooperatively, even thought they may not have been designed to work together. Although Commander is Windows-based, it can monitor output from non-Windows programs and platforms, such as UNIX, SAP or AS/400, as long as they are visible on the network. Commander does this by waiting for certain data or commands to be output by a "source" application and then initiating a custom response in one of more target applications. Password Protection One of our newest features is password protection, so you can control which users have what rights inside of BarTender. Seagull Drivers All drivers have been updated. Also, new models were added to cab, Brady, Datamax, Datasouth, Intermec, Eltron, Meto, Paxar Monarch, Pitney Bowes, TEC, and Zebra. Language Support: On-demand switching is now available for ten more languages including: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish and Thai.
New Database Features Database Setup Wizard Instead of having to pick and choose which dialog options need to be filled out, the Database Setup Wizard presents you with the minimum possible number of questions and options and then fills out the rest of the Database Setup dialog for you. Our usability tests have shown that even low-level administrative personnel are now able to easily select their desired database table, configure the connection and define which fields to read from. New Record-Picking Capabilities In addition to vastly expanded reporting capabilities, BarTender 6.0 also gives you an easy way to select individual records from a database table. With our "record picker," you simply scroll through an on-screen list of any or all of the records in your database and "click" on the ones you want labels for. You can select multiple individual records, ranges of records, and even specify a different number of copies for each individual record. Multiple Table Support BarTender´s improved query capabilities make it easy to get your label data from multiple tables, regardless of how the are "related." You can even "join" tables to tables that are already joined to other tables, and so on. Read Multiple Databases BarTender isn´t limited simply to multiple tables in a single database. You can simultaneously access different tables located in different databases in different locations on your network. So you can (for example), query an Oracle database on a UNIX server, a dBase table on an NT server, and a straight text file on a local system – all at the same time. On-Screen Browse of Databases, Tables and Fields No more browsing with other tools to examine your data. Although BarTender previously had the ability to "preview" all records selected for printing, now you can browse all fields in all records in all tables in all databases on your network. This makes it much easier to specify the right query for selecting the label data you want to print. Read Field Name Headers from Text Files If you have a plain text file and the first record of the text file contains the names of your fields, BarTender can now strip out that first line of text and automatically use the contents to name your fields. Custom Delimitation of Text Files Now you can go beyond just "quote and comma" and "tab" delimitation and specify your own custom delimiters. Define Queries with Data Entry and Validation at Print Time Earlier versions of the BarTender allowed you to specify at print time the data for a single field to search on. Alternative, you could define in advance the complete search criteria for a complex query. Now, BarTender 6.0 not only lets you define a complex query, but it can also pop up a data entry screen at print time that allows users to enter in the search data for the query, rather than requiring that it be defined in advance as part of the query. Combined with BarTender´s existing Data Validation capabilities, you can even specify rules to keep your users from entering in invalid data. User-Definability of Entire SQL Statements If you choose to define your own SQL statements (instead of using BarTender´s query options), you can still have BarTender define the field selection criteria for you automatically, leaving just the "where" clause for you to define. Now, if you prefer, you have the option of defining the entire SQL statement yourself. Enhancements to BarTender´s ActiveX Automation is a Microsoft standard that allows applications that support it to be controlled directly from within other Windows applications. By expanding our ActiveX Automation interface, an even wider range of BarTender´s capabilities can be easily accessed from within other ActiveX-capable applications. Single ActiveX Call for Writing Data to BarTender Label Objects "Named substrings" were originally added to BarTender as a convenient way for more than one label object to share the exact same data source. Now, a single ActiveX call can be made to read the entire list of named substrings. Another Active call can be made to specify new data for the entire list. You can even read the existing label data, right out of BarTender. For developers in full control of another program, this greatly simplifies the task of controlling BarTender, because you can quickly read and write data from and to BarTender without having to send your label data to an intermediary database or text file. Access to New Database Features Several of BarTender´s new database features can be controlled using ActiveX Automation from within other applications. This includes selecting text files to read from, specifying the delimitation method, specifying SQL commands, and specifying the data for a prompted query. Extraction of Graphic Images of Labels BarTender has long had advanced image export capabilities, with the ability to output individual label objects or the entire label to most industry-standard graphic formats. Now, with a single ActiveX call, a controlling application can import a bitmap of the current label image directly from BarTender (at either screen or printer resolution). This is great for previewing what a label will look like from inside other applications, as well as creating archives of various label formats using outside tools. New Bar Code Symbology Support for the "KIX" Postal Code This is a 4-state postal code, similar to the Royal and Australian Postal Codes. It is used in Germany and a number of other European countries.
Addition of QR-Code Bar Code Symbology This 2D bar code symbology is known for both its encoding and scanning efficiency. Originally designed in Japan, it lagged somewhat behind Data Matrix and Maxicode in terms of when it was introduced into the ever-growing world of 2D symbologies. However, because it is able to encode data more densely than other 2D codes and scanners can read it more quickly, it catching on in a variety of applications and geographic locations. International Postal Code Symbologies BarTender has long supported the Zip and PostNet symbologies popular in the United States. Release 5.42 adds support for a number of somewhat similar bar codes used in postal applications around the world. This includes support for the Australia Post 4-state Customer Code and the Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code. (Coming soon: Support for the Japanese postal code.) New Character Entry Assistant BarTender has always supported the printing of the control characters Ctrl-A through Ctrl-Z, which includes special characters like Tab, Carriage Return and Backspace. However, actually "typing" these characters into a program is not trivial and once it was typed into BarTender, it was displayed on-screen simply as a little, generic black square. The Character Entry Assistant greatly simplifies the task of bar coding normally unprintable and untypable characters by letting you choose from a drop down list of symbolically named characters. Then, once you select one or more, the character is displayed on-screen in its symbolic form, so you know which character it represents. (It will still print out as the actual control character desired.) Forward Compatibility Like any good Windows application, BarTender is fully "backward compatible." That means that a new version of BarTender can read label designs created by older versions. However, it is difficult (almost impossible) to create software that is forward compatible. That would require knowing in advance what capabilities your software is going to have in the future and then somehow taking that into consideration when designing the current version. In the past, this limitation meant that if you were a reseller or MIS manager and you used the very latest version of BarTender to design label formats for customers or other users, they wouldn't be able to read your label designs unless they were also using the latest version of the Bar Tender. Although many software manufacturers try and force you into upgrading all of your software all the time, we understand that this is not always convenient (or financially desirable) for you. The most common solution to this problem, and the one we have now added to the Bar Tender, is to allow the current version to optionally save out new label designs to formats readable by older versions of BarTender. That means that using this and future upgrades of BarTender don't necessarily require that you also upgrade all of your older copies of BarTender just to read the formats. This, and all future versions of BarTender will have the ability to save out to formats as old as version 5.40. Although that won't help you now if you are using 5.2 or 5.3, as time goes by, we will continue to support the saving out to formats as old as version 5.40. So it won't be long before you have all the forward compatibility you need (in addition to the backward compatibility you already have). Not surprisingly, if you create a new label design that uses one or more features specific to a new BarTender version, you will not be able to save those features out to a label format that will be readable by an older version of the BarTender. Don't forget: BarTender has always been backward compatible, meaning that a new version could always load label designs created by an older version of the software. Enhanced Metric Units Support BarTender's support of the metric units system was always in the past done using Centimeters. Version 5.42 adds support for Millimeters as well. European-Style Number Support In the past, only USA-style numbering was supported. This uses commas to separate between each group of three digits and a period to indicate the transitions to the fractional part of the decimal number. For example: $173,240,000.05 Version 5.42 adds support for the European representation of decimal numbers, such that the BarTender could be configured to instead represent the above number as $173.240.000,05 Status Bar Enhancements Various parameters that were previously "display-only" in the status bar at the bottom of the design screen can now be double-clicked on as a short-cut method of bringing up the corresponding dialogs used to edit those parameters. That gives you a new, even quicker way to access and change the selected printer and related printer properties. It also provides yet another way to get at the Modify dialogs that are used to customize any setting for the currently selected label object. New Compliance Label Formats BarTender has long come with a variety of predesigned, ready-to-use "compliance" label formats. We've added two more. These are formats for UPS shipping that incorporate their standard use of the Maxicode symbology. One format is used for shipping within the USA and another format used for international shipments.
This 2D bar code symbology was developed by the United Parcel Service (UPS) for the tracking of packages. Although there have been some other uses, this has continued to be the main application of this symbology.
ActiveX Automation Formerly called "OLE Automation," ActiveX Automation is a Microsoft standard by which Windows programs can communicate with and control each other. With ActiveX Automation, the Bar Tender can operate as the label printing module of numerous Windows programs, without the user even knowing that the Bar Tender is there. Data Detector Data Detector takes a different integration approach than ActiveX Automation. It is an exciting utility that gives non-Windows programs running on just about any operating system the ability to automatically control the Bar Tender. As long as the other program can output a text file to a network location that can be "seen" by your Windows system, then Data Detector can help you print labels. Click here for more details on Data Detector. Automated Printer Selection The new edition also accepts commands to redirect its label output to any printer on a network. This powerful new feature allows a single copy of the Bar Tender to send different labels to different printers via automated external controls. Print Job Logging This feature is for users that need to maintain records of their various label jobs or export data for an EDI transaction. A great variety of useful information can be included in an attractively formatted report. Along with numerous options, such as what label formats were printed, the start and stop time of the print job, and the label run date, the Bar Tender can also record the actual data printed on the labels. Reports can be generated in a simple text format or an attractive HTML format readable using either Netscape or Internet Explorer.
Version 5.3 added support for curving a line of text in a circular or arc shape. While this has a number of interesting uses, one of the most important is for curving text around the edge of an image to be printed on a CD. Similarly, it can be very useful on circular labels of any size if you want to curve the text around the perimeter of the label. Of course, you can always add some curved text to rectangular labels too. Version 5.3 was only released in the "International" editions. The circular text features weren´t available in the "Domestic" (USA and Canada) editions until version 5.4 (see below).
BarTender can now check to see that label data obeys certain rules. The most common use is to prevent invalid data from being entered from the keyboard at print time. However, data being read in from a data file can be checked just as easily. Functions include:
Rules need not apply to the entire data string but can optionally be applied to individual character positions. Minimum and Maximum String Length Functions You can limit the amount of data allowed for a label object by setting a maximum length. You can also specify a required minimum length. If the minimum requirement is not met, you can define a character to "pad" the data up to the required size. Data Trimming and Truncation Functions Specify any number of characters to be removed from the beginning or end of a data string. You can also specify that leading and trailing spaces get automatically filtered out. Improved, Easier-to-Use Visual Basic Scripting Version 5.2 lets you continue to use BarTender's easy-to-use Data Source dialog to specify where label data is to be read from and also process that data using a Visual Basic Script. (If you wanted to write a Visual Basic Script using the earlier version 5.1 of BarTender, you had to specify Visual Basic Script as the data source and then specify where the source of the data from within the script.) New Easier, More Flexible Data Sourcing With the addition of all these new functions, we simplified the design of the Data Source dialog to keep from overwhelming new users with all of these advanced capabilities. Accordingly, these functions have been organized into attractive, easy-to-understand tabbed dialogs that are accessed using a "More Options" button.
User-Designable Data Entry Forms (Prompt Dialogs) Prior to version 5.1, a "Prompt at Print-Time" could only be done one data item at a time. So, if you were going to prompt for data for more than one label object, say for a weight and a quantity, or a name and an address, each individual prompt popped up on a separate dialog. That meant that you had to click Ok after each entered item in order to display the next prompt. In version 5.1, BarTender displays all of your prompts in a single "all-in-one" prompt dialog. What's more, all you have to do is specify which objects you want to prompt you for data at print time and the Bar Tender will automatically design the ideal size prompt dialog for you. Of course, you can always enter into "Prompt Design View" and make any custom changes you desired. This design mode works almost exactly the same way as the bar Tender's standard label design mode. So, as long as you know how to design labels with BarTender, you already know how to customize a prompt dialog. Using BarTender's multiple document interface (MDI), you can even display your label and prompt dialog designs on the screen at the same time, each in its own "window." Visual Basic Scripting This is one of the most powerful and remarkable new features of BarTender 5.1. Similar to the "Visual Basic for Applications" capability now incorporated into MS-Word, Excel, and may other Microsoft applications, the Bar Tender now supports Visual Basic Scripting. One of the most exciting things about this new capability is that it lets you add your own features to meet special requirements. For example, suppose that you need to make a special modification to data read in from a database, generate a custom check digit, output a custom message to the screen under certain circumstances, or perhaps log some information to a data file in response certain events. Whatever the case, BarTender's Visual Basic Scripting provides limitless options and solutions when you might otherwise be at a dead end. There's even a "Script Assistant" to help non-technical people generate Visual Basic Scripts without learning how to program. Prompting for all Data Source Types In previous versions of BarTender, "Prompt at Print-Time" was a separate data source type (just like screen data, system time, and input file data are each a separate data source type). Now "Prompt at Print-time" has been expanded from its own data source type into an option for each of the other data source types. This allows the default data that is displayed at print time to come from any of your other data sources. For example, the default data displayed when prompting for a field could be the system time or date, or a value read out of a data file. You can then keep this value or overwrite it with alternate data as you prefer. White on Black Printing White on black printing (also called "reverse text") can now be enabled with the simple click of a toolbar button (as easily as you would request bold or italics). And, with most Seagull printer drivers, the text is output using the printer's built-in reverse text capability, which is much faster than outputting the text as a white on black bitmap graphic. Improved Font WYSIWYG Most Seagull printer drivers now include more detailed and accurate information on the fonts built into the various supported thermal printers. New versions of BarTender use this information to display and position the built-in printer fonts more accurately. Automatic Restart of Print Jobs In previous versions of the Bar Tender, when doing a "Search on Field"
or "Prompt at Print Time," you were asked at the end of each print job if you wanted to start a new print job. The extra required mouse click
could be cumbersome when controlling your print jobs from a bar code reader. If you prefer the new approach, you can have BarTender
automatically display the "Search on Field" or "Prompt at Print Time" dialog for the next print job. Then, if your previous print job was
indeed the last one that you needed, you can just click on Cancel. (For backward compatibility, the default setting is still click on Ok for each print job that you do want, rather than to press Cancel when you
get to a print job that you don't want). Data-Sourced Graphics Graphic images imported into BarTender used to be "static" for the entire label job. Now graphics can change from label to label within a job. One of the most common uses is printing out parts labels, each with its own picture or other representation of the part. You can include graphic file names in one of the fields of your database, allowing BarTender to read in each graphic name of while importing the rest of the data for your labels. New Types of Serialization Previous versions of BarTender supported either Alpha or Numeric serialization, but not both at the same time. We now support a greater variety of serialization sequences, as listed below, and even allow you to design your own custom sequences. Auto Alpha or Numeric. Corresponds to BarTender's preexisting scheme. If the right-most character to be incremented starts out as a number, the serialization will be numeric (base 10). If the right-most character to be incremented starts out as a capital letter, the serialization will be alphabetic (base 26). Alpha. Forces alphabetic (base 26) serialization. Numeric. Forces numeric (base 10) serialization. Alpha Numeric. A base 36 character set consisting of all the numerals 0 through 9 and all the capital letters A through Z. Hexadecimal. A base 16 character set consisting of all the numerals 0 through 9 and the capital letters A through F. Alpha Numeric (without I and O). A base 34 character set consisting of all the numerals 0 through 9 and all the capital letters except for I and O (which some people avoid since they look a lot like 1 and 0). Custom. Lets you define your own totally custom character set for serialization. Print Wizard Over the years, BarTender has supported more and more features that could result in a dialog "popping up" at print time. For example, each of the "Search on Field" and "Prompt at Print Time" dialogs. If you are also printing to a data file instead of your printer, there is also a "Print to File" dialog. However many dialogs would have popped up for your print job (anywhere between zero and five), they are now all incorporated into a print "wizard" that makes the dialogs cleaner and easier to understand. Status Bar A line of helpful status information at the bottom of the screen. Shows you important data at a glance, so you don't always have to bring up a dialog to find out certain information. Non-Printing Label Objects Users can now request that certain label objects not print. One use is to place objects on the label that represent information already preprinted on your labels. Other times you may just want to make a note to yourself about something on your label. Comments for Label Objects You can you store any comments you want "behind the scene" for any object on your label.
Although Intel's 386, 486 and all Pentium versions are all "32-bit" processors, Windows 3.1 was written using mostly older and slower 16-bit instructions. In contrast, Windows 95, 98 and NT were designed to take advantage of more current 32-bit technology. Furthermore, while Microsoft was developing their new operating systems, they took the opportunity to incorporate a wide variety of new features. This includes visual enhancements to make software more attractive and easier to use, as well as powerful "low-level" improvements that make it faster and more reliable. The thing is, just because you're running on Windows 95, 98 or NT doesn't mean that you are taking advantage those new features. Because the newer "32-bit" versions of Windows are "backward compatible" with most programs written for Windows 3.1, those older programs will still run. However, they won't take advantage of the available increased performance and upgraded user-interface. The Bar Tender is a true 32-bit application, rewritten from the ground up to take advantage of the performance, visual improvements and increased reliability available under Windows 95, 98 and NT. (Note: When used on Windows NT, the 32-bit Bar Tender requires NT version 4.0 or higher.) Faster Design and Printing 32-bit software provides the fastest execution available under Windows. And the great variety of new features and improved dialogs make label design easier than ever. Unlimited Undo/Redo Command Not your simple garden-variety Undo. Our undo remembers every action you've taken since you loaded your label design. So, whether you just deleted a label object by accident, or made an a bad design decision over an hour ago, you can undo your actions step-by-step all the way back to the beginning of your design session. More Powerful, Easier Page Setup It is now much easier to specify the number of label rows and columns on your page, which is particularly helpful when designing layouts for laser printers. To further simplify layout of your labels, related categories of Page Setup information have been organized into their own "tabbed" property sheets. Right-Button Menus Simplify Tasks BarTender fully supports the "right-mouse-button" actions popularized in Windows 95. Often used for quick access to an object's "properties," a variety of actions are performed quickly and more easily using the right mouse button. Tool Bars Can Be Moved/Reshaped All toolbars start out in a "default" location along the top and left-hand edge of your screen. However, they can now be moved anywhere on your screen, or disabled altogether. (See Standard Product Brochure for visual example.) Tool "Tips" Provide Instant Hints If you're ever not sure of what the little picture on a toolbar button means, simply hold your mouse pointer over it for a second and a "tool tip" will pop up with an explanation of the button's function. (See Standard Product Brochure for visual example.) Three Toolbars Instead of One Until version 5.0, BarTender had just a single toolbar along the top (now called the "main" toolbar). Two more tool bars have been added. The "font" toolbar, which defaults to the top of the screen (just below the main toolbar), provides helpful shortcuts for customizing the appearance of text. The "arrange" toolbar, which defaults to the left edge of the screen, allows for a variety of positioning and organizing shortcuts, including the ability to easily form rows and columns of objects. (See Standard Product Brochure for visual example.) Real-Time On-Screen Resizing Instead of showing just a dotted line representing the new dimensions of a resized object, the Bar Tender now resizes the object in "real time." This allows you to more easily see what an object will look like at any given size, without your first having to release your mouse button to take a peek. 32-Bit ODBC Database Support BarTender now supports all the latest 32-bit ODBC driver standard. (The ODBC drivers included with Microsoft's Office 97 suite are included free with BarTender.) Object-Oriented Data-Field Setup Specifying a label object that gets its data from more than one data source is now easier than ever. An easy-to-understand list indicates each substring type with both an icon and descriptive text. And the order of the substrings can now be easily changed, just by dragging a substring into a different position in the list. Multiple Concurrent Design Sessions The Bar Tender fully supports the "Multiple Document Interface" (or "MDI") popularized by Microsoft's Office applications. Now you can view multiple label designs at the same time, or just zoom in on different locations of the same label. (See Standard Product Brochure for visual example.) Easier Cut and Paste Between Labels New toolbar buttons in combination with BarTender's Multiple Document Interface make it easier than ever to "cut and paste" between different label formats. Thumbnail Previews of Saved Labels Have a long list of label formats that you haven't looked at in a while? Curious about Seagull's predesigned sample formats? No need to load each format in search of a particular label design. Simply click on a label format in your Format File Open dialog and a "preview" window quickly summarizes what that label design looks like. Tracking of Laser Label Start Position Have labels left over from the last job you ran on your laser printer? BarTender can now automatically track your ending position and automatically use it as the starting position for your next job. Hundreds of New Help-System Links Our on-line documentation is better and more thorough than ever.
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