Overview
The Designer has four main areas:

• Tool Selector - At the top is tool selector, where you can pick your current working tool
• Layer List - The left column contains all the layers you've created
• Design Canvas - The center section is where you actually design and draw your label
• Layer Options - The right column hold the tools and options for your currently selected layer

To start designing, pick a tool, and click (usually click-and-drag) on the design canvas

By default the "Show Keepout Guide" is turned on, overlaying a blue box on your label to help keep you inside the tolerances of most consumer printers. You also have the "Show Rules" and "Show Symmetry" options for further guides

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Tools
Each part of your label is created by a tool, and each tool has different options and capabilities

Line
Draws a straight line. Click and hold, the initial click sets the start, and releasing the mouse button sets the end. Hold the Shift key to draw a straight horizontal or vertical line, depending on how you move your mouse.

Square
Draws a rectangle. Click and hold, the initial click sets the start and releasing the mouse button sets the end.

Text
Creates a text object on the label. Click and hold, you'll see a text object appear as soon as you click down, and dragging lets you more precisely set the location of your text

Move
Move the selected layer by clicking and dragging

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Layer List
The Layer List has every Layer you've created for your label. Layers are drawn in order, with the last layers (lowest on the list), drawn on top of the earlier layers

You can select multiple layers by clicking-and-dragging, or by holding the control key and clicking one layer at a time

Hovering your mouse cursor over a Layer will highlight the drawn elements in red for eash identification

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The Design Canvas
Represents your current label, where you can draw you layers by selecting a tool and clicking. Note that Data Fields aren't previewed on the design canvas, you'll see the Data Field names instead any actual data from your project.

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Layer Options
Options for each layer will be shown here. Some options are universal, while others depend on the type of tool used to create the layer

Nudge (Universal, MultiLayer)
The Nudge tool will slightly move the position of a layer, letting you precisely set the location

This option works on any type of layer, and with multiple layers selected

Duplicate Layer(s) (Universal, MultiLayer)
Create a duplicate copy of the selected layer(s).

By default the duplicates are placed directly below the original, with the edges touching. You can create the duplicates on the right-hand edge instead with the "Create duplicates to the Right" checkbox

This option works on any type of layer, and with multiple layers selected

Rotate 45 Degree (Universal, MultiLayer)
Rotate the selected layer(s) exactly 45 degrees clockwise from it's current rotation. This lets you set rotation in perfect increments of 45 degrees.

This option works on any type of layer, and with multiple layers selected

Move Layer Up/Down
Move the layer up or down in the Layer List. Layers lower on the list (created later) are drawn on top of layers higher on the list (created first). Use this option to rearrange a layer's stacking order

Delete Layer (Universal, MultiLayer)
Delete the selected layer(s)

This option works on any type of layer, and with multiple layers selected

Pen Color (Line, Square)
Sets the color of the Line, or the outline of the Square

You also have an option to set the Pen color to "Use Item Color", which will use the color set for the Equipment Item, or Equipment Case, or inherited from the Project Position

Fill Color (Square, Text)
Sets the filled in color for a Square, or the color of a Text layer

You also have an option to set the Fill color to "Use Item Color", which will use the color set for the Equipment Item, or Equipment Case, or inherited from the Project Position


Rotation Slider (Text, Square)
Sets the rotation (clockwise) of the layer. This allows arbitrary rotation of the layer, instead of locking to 45 degree increments

Line Length (Line)
Set the overall length of the line. The angle is set on creation, but this value will let you extent or shorten a line

Width and Height (Square)
Set the Width and Height of your Rectangle

Opacity (Square)
Set the Opacity, or transparency, of a Square

Full opacity means the fill color of the Square will hide any layers underneath the Square. Empty opacity is completely transparent, any layers under the Square will be visible


Text (Text Layer)
Set the text of your text layer. This is also where you set any Data Field text, which is explained further in the Data Field section

You can have both regular (static) text, and Data Fields in the same Text Layer. Anything inside double square brackets ([[ data field ]]) is treated as a Data Field, and will be replaced with data from your project.

Using "Fixture Number: [[ Fixture Number ]]" is a Text Layer is perfectly acceptable and will combine your text and the data field

Text Size (Text Layer)
Sets the font size of your Text Layer (depending on the following two options

Keep Text Inside the Nearest Rectangle Layer (Text Layer)
Link the nearest Rectangle Layer (above the current layer) to the Text Layer. The Text Layer is centered in the Rectangle, and the Text Size is as big as possible, while still fitting inside the Rectangle

Moving the Rectangle will also move the Text, and resizing the Rectangle will resize the Text

This is the preferred way to cleanly place text on your label, constraining it to specific areas and not letting it grow too big no matter whats in the Data Field

Use 'Text Size' as the max font-size when linked to Nearest Rectangle (Text Layer)
When used with the previous two options, this option limits the Text Layer font size to a certain max size, when linked to a Rectangle layer. Useful when a Text Layer font-size is too variable, or too close to it's boundries for the Label Design

Font (Text Layer)
The font for your Text Layer. Enter the name of a font installed on your computer and accessible to whatever web browser you're working with

Justify Text (Text Layer)
Justify the Text in your Text Layer: Left, Center, or Right. Note that Center is the default, and when linking a text layer to a rectangle layer, anything other than Center will have unexpected consequences

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Data Fields
Data Fields are text items you can add to your labels to from the assorted data you've created in your Project. Things like Fixture Numbers, Position Names, and Position Names are available to add to your label

Data Fields can be added manually, or added via a list. They can be by themselves, or mixed with normal text

Adding a Data Field
Create a standard Text Layer by selecting the Text Tool and clicking on the Design Canvas. The Layer Options column on the right side will show the options for your new Text Layer, including the "Text" option

Next to the "Text" Layer Option is a link to "Add a Data Field", which will open the Label Text Editor dialog

At the top of the dialog is you "Current Text" textbox, which holds the Text your layer will display

At the bottom of the dialog is a list of every Data Field you can add to your Text Layer, which is basaed on your Label Basis

Clicking a Data Field in the list will add the Data Field to your "Current Text"

Note that the Data Field is surrounded by double square brackets "[[ ]]". Any text surrounded by square brackets will be treated as a data field, you don't need to use the Label Text Editor to add a Data Field, you can write "[[ Fixture Number ]]" yourself to add the Fixture Number to the Text Layer. If the Data Field can't be found, you'll see "<NODATA>"

Anything outside the double square brackets is treated as normal text. You can mix your text will Data Fields by simply writing your text before or after the Data Field

Sometimes one of the items in your project will have no information for a particular Data Field. If you make a Text Layer with "Note: [[ Cable Note ]]", but not all your cables have notes added to them, then the labels for those particular cables will hide the entire Text Layer. Instead of seeing "Note: " with no note, the "Note: " portion is hidden also

To remove a Data Field from the Text Layer, simply delete the text

Manual Ranges
In the middle of the Label Text Editor dialog is an option to "Add a Manual Range". Enter a range of values using commas and dashes ("1-5, Apple, Banana, 11-20") and clicking "Add" will add a Manual Data Field to the Current Text

Manual Data Fields are added on top of the data in your project. For each label your Project, an additional label will be printed for every item in your manual fields

For example, if you have Fixture 101 thru 110 added to your project, you would normally get 10 Fixture Labels in the Label Maker

If you added a Manual Data Field of "[[ Manual Copy A, Copy B]]", you would get 20 Fixture Labels: 101 Copy A, 101 Copy B, 102 Copy A, 102 Copy B, etc

A common example of Manual Data Fields is adding Case Counting Labels to a position. If you want to track "Case 1 out of 20", you can add a Text Layer with "Case [[Manual 1 - 20]] out of 20" to your label