Copyright: ® Peter L. A. Savas, SavageWare


Help Contents
Contents

Overview

Introduction

Getting Started

Unpacking and moving in

Your first sheet

Going from soft to hard-copy

Navigating

Using the menus

License Information

Unregistered version

Registered version

Miscellaneous

Technical Support

Feature suggestions

Network/multiple-copy orders


Introduction

Long ago, in the era of dot-matrix printers, it was easy to print the directory list of a floppy disk on an adhesive label.  Now the text may not always have been legible (especially if you had a 9-pin printer), but it worked, and it was easier than popping the disk into the drive and using DOS to get a directory of the files.

But if you have a laser printer, well, that changes everything.  All of a sudden, that great old labeling program no longer works because it was designed to print labels one at a time -- or to be more accurate, one line at a time; and as we all know, laser printers print one page at a time.

So began the quest (and as any Monty Python fan clearly knows, the Quest is the Quest) for laser printer disk labels and a program that would make use of them.  The first part was easy -- a trip to the local business/office supply store turned up a vast supply of Avery 5196 label stock; and though a box of these labels carried a hefty price tag (approximately $35), the final cost of 5.5-cents per label didn't seem like such a big expense in the long run.

The second half of the Quest was a bit more difficult.  After looking high and low, under rocks and in trees, on bulletin board systems from one end of the country to the next, and even on a couple of commercial on-line services, things were looking pretty grim.

I couldn't find a program to do what I needed, so in the true spirit of a determined wonk (and entrepreneur), I set about to create the very tool that seemed so elusive, and Laser LabelMate was born.


Unpacking and moving in

Laser LabelMate is distributed as shareware in a ZIP archive.  To install the program, you will need to unZIP the archive and place some of the files in specific places.

Related Topics:

What's in this package?

Where does the furniture go?

System requirements


What's in this package?

The LABLMATE.ZIP archive contains the following files:

•	LABLMATE.DOC	This file (Word for Windows 2.0 format)

•	LABLMATE.EXE	Laser LabelMate executable

•	LABLMATE.HLP	Help file for use with Windows Help viewer

•	LABLMATE.TXT	This file (in ASCII text format)

•	THREED.VBX	Custom control file

Not included in the LABLMATE.ZIP archive, is VBRUN200.DLL.  This is the dynamic link library used by any program written in Visual Basic 2.0 for Windows; but don't worry, you've either already got it in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, or can find it on the system where you downloaded this program.


Where does the furniture go?

For the most part, you can put the executable anywhere you want to (though I recommend the \WINDOWS directory); however, Laser LabelMate is coded to look for the Help file in the \WINDOWS directory.

The THREED.VBX file should be placed in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, though you can keep it with the executable if you prefer.  Placing this (and any other .VBX controls you may have) in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory makes them available to any Visual Basic program, and reduces the chance of you having more than one copy of these custom controls on your disk drive.


System requirements

Laser LabelMate requires a SVGA card capable of 800-by-600 resolution, and displaying a minimum of 16 colors (though a 256-color display will make the splash screen look a whole lot nicer).

Laser LabelMate can be run from a floppy or hard drive; it's footprint is only as much as the executable, Help file, custom control, and .DLL require -- about one megabyte.

While Laser LabelMate is designed to use a laser printer, it should work on any dot matrix printer that has the ability to feed single sheets.  Laser LabelMate has been tested on the HP LaserJet IV and Panasonic KX-P4410 printers, but should work on any laser printer with a Windows driver.

Laser LabelMate was designed to use Avery 5196 label sheets.  These sheets contain nine 2.75"-square disk labels, and 12 divider tab labels; all of which can be used by the program.


Going from soft to hard-copy

Hopefully, by, now, I've lost you; rather, hopefully, you'll not need to read these pages.  Laser LabelMate was designed to be fairly intuitive.  But just in case you're a masochist, or the type who likes to read manuals, here goes.

Related Topics:

The main form

Selecting a drive

Divider Tabs

Printing your labels

Preparing for the next sheet of labels

Exiting Laser LabelMate


The main form

The Laser LabelMate form resembles the Avery 5196 sheet.  You'll see nine square boxes with rounded corners (one for each disk label), and below them, 12 smaller rectangles (also with rounded corners) for the divider tab labels.  Along the bottom of the form are four command buttons which will be explained shortly.

To prepare a label for printing, double-click on the desired disk or divider tab label box on the main form.  You needn't worry about starting with the first label in the upper left-hand corner; Laser LabelMate is designed to print on the labels you want it to use, so no labels get wasted.  If you want to start dead in the middle, then go ahead; and if you're really a free spirit and get into random or geometric patterns, double-click in the order you like and get wild; Laser LabelMate doesn't care.  In fact, if you mess up, and prepare a label for a disk you don't really want to label or misspell that tab, then just double-click on that label again, and you can correct your mistake.


Selecting a drive

After double clicking on the drive label square or selecting the label from the Disk Label menu, the drive selection window will pop up over the main form.  There are two buttons on the top of this window for choosing a drive to take a directory from; click on one of these buttons and the file list box will appear with the contents of the disk's files.  (Note:  Subdirectories will not appear in the file list box, nor will they appear on any label printed out by Laser LabelMate.  Sorry for the inconvenience...)

If you have chosen the wrong drive or disk, just click on the drive button again and Laser LabelMate will poll the new disk or drive.

Once you're satisfied with the directory list, click on the "OK" button and Laser LabelMate will pop up a dialog box prompting you for the Volume Label.  You may enter a string of up to 50 characters to describe the disk.  This string will be printed on the label, and positioned so that it will rest on the top narrow edge of the disk.

After entering a Volume Label, press [ENTER] and you'll be back at the main form ready to prepare the next disk label.  The label square you just prepared will now contain a drawing of a floppy disk, with your Volume Label printed on it's disk label (Note:  Your finished label will not resemble the one pictured on the form.).  When all nine disks appear, you're ready to print your label sheet -- though you can print the sheet even if you haven't prepared any of the labels, but what good would that be?

After getting a directory list of a disk, the label square will change to resemble a floppy disk with the text of your Volume label on it.


Divider Tabs

The 12 small labels at the bottom of the Avery sheet are used for labeling dividers  in a disk box.  Laser LabelMate will allow you to print a string of up to 12 characters on these small labels.

To prepare a divider tab label, double-click on it, or use the Tabs menu to select the appropriate label (Note: the Tabs menu uses hexadecimal numbering to specify tab numbers; therefore tab 10 is represented in the menu as Tab A, tab 11 is Tab B, and tab 12 is Tab C.).  A small dialogue box (similar to the one used for assigning Volume labels) will pop up over the main form.  Enter the desired text string and press [ENTER].  The text string you just entered will appear on it's label in the main form.


Printing your labels

Now that you have prepared all the labels you want, printing is the next step; and it's just as easy as preparing your label sheet.  To print out your disk labels, load the Avery sheet into your printer's paper tray (or put it in the manual feed) and click on the [PRINT LABELS] button at the bottom of the main form, select the Print option from the File menu, or press the [CTRL-P] key combination.

Laser LabelMate will send the text of your label sheet out to your printer, and using the default printer font, will print disk label text in all caps using 6-point type; divider tab labels will also use the default font in upper and lower case using 12-point type.


Preparing for the next sheet of labels

Laser LabelMate does not automatically clear out the current sheet after printing just in case you need to print out more copies of the same sheet (just click on the Print button again to print another sheet).  To clear the current sheet from memory, click on the New Sheet button, select the New Sheet option from the File menu, or press the [CTRL-C] key combination; the main form will clear and you will be ready to begin another label sheet.


Exiting Laser LabelMate

Finished?  So soon?  Well, if you insist on going, you have three ways out.  The first is to click on the Exit button at the bottom of the main form; the second is to use the [CRTL-X] key combination; and the third, as with any other Windows application, is to press the [ALT-F4] key combination.


Using the menus

The File menu

Disk Label menu

Tabs menu

Help menu


The File menu

Related Topics:

New Sheet [CTRL-C]

Print [CTRL-P]

Exit [CTRL-X]


New Sheet [CTRL-C]

This option will clear the current sheet from memory, giving you a fresh set of labels and divider tabs to work with.  While you can change the contents of any one label by double-clicking on it and going through the process of providing the necessary information again, using this option allows you to clear the whole sheet at once.

This option can also be accessed by pressing the New Sheet button at the bottom of the main form.


Print [CTRL-P]

If your label sheet is at a point where you are ready to turn it into hard copy, choosing the Print option will send the contents of the sheet to the printer.  Since the sheet is not cleared after printing, you can use this option again to print multiple copies of your label sheet.

This option can also be accessed by pressing the Print Labels button at the bottom of the main form.


Exit [CTRL-X]

When you're ready to close Laser LabelMate, you can choose this menu option to exit.  Windows provides another control for exiting an application in the form of the [ALT-F4] key combination.

This option can also be accessed by pressing the Exit button at the bottom of the main form.


Disk Label menu

Related Topics:

Disk 1 through Disk 9


Disk 1 through Disk 9

Choosing any of these menu items will open the Drive Selection dialogue box and begin the process of preparing a label for the respective disk label square.  If you make an error and select the wrong disk label, or accidentally poll the same disk twice, you can choose the menu option or double-click on the label square and begin the process for that label again.  Disk labels are numbered one through three on the first row; four through six on the second row, and seven through nine on the third row, all in left-to-right configuration.

The same actions can be accomplished by double-clicking on the respective disk label square.


Tabs menu

Related Topics:

Tab 1 through Tab C


Tab 1 through Tab C

Choosing any of these menu items will open a dialogue box which will allow you to enter a string for a Divider Tab.  If you make an error, you can choose the menu option or double-click on the tab's square and re-specify a string for that tab.  Divider Tab labels are limited to 12-characters maximum.  Tab A, B, and C in the menu correspond to tab's 10, 11, and 12 respectively.  The tab labels are numbered one through six on the first row, and seven through twelve on the second row, all in left-to-right configuration.

The same actions can be accomplished by double-clicking on the respective Divider Tab label square.


Help menu

Related Topics:

Contents [F1]

About

Registration [CTRL-R]


Contents [F1]

This option will open the Help file for Laser LabelMate.  This file should be located within the same directory as the program's executable.

This option may also be accessed by pressing the Help button at the bottom of the main form.


About

Choosing this option from the Help menu will open the About box.  You will find the version number and registration status on this form.  To close the About box, merely press any key or click the mouse once on this form.


Registration [CTRL-R]

To register your copy of Laser LabelMate, or to order additional copies, choose this menu option, and fill out the form.  Please include your name, address and phone number in the appropriate boxes, and then specify the number of copies you would like in 3½" or 5¼" disk format.

Priority 2-day mail delivery is available for an additional charge of $3.00.  If you would like to have your registered copy of Laser LabelMate delivered via the Postal Service's 2-day Priority Mail delivery, check the box and the registration form will include the necessary fee.

The registration form will automatically compute the charges for your order and provide a total at the bottom of the form.

To complete the registration process, click on the Print button and enclose the printed form along with a check or money order (no cash please) payable to Savage Systems or Peter Savas, and mail it to the address on the form.  You will receive your personally-registered copy of Laser LabelMate within two weeks.


Unregistered version

You are granted permission for unlimited use of Laser LabelMate for a period of 30-days.  After that time has expired you are required to delete your copy or register if you choose to continue to use the software.

You may distribute the unregistered version of Laser LabelMate in its original archive.  You may not charge any fee for distribution of this program other than a disk copying fee not to exceed $5.00.

A considerable amount of time and effort went into developing Laser LabelMate, and the registration fee of $20 represents a fair price for a utility of this class.  By registering your copy of Laser LabelMate you enable the author (me) to continue to revise, improve and release subsequent versions, as well as other software.

Your registration will be sincerely appreciated.


Registered version

You are granted permission to use one copy of Laser LabelMate on a single computer, or on multiple computers so long as that copy is not running simultaneously on more than one machine.

Your registered copy may not be placed on a network system  where more than one computer has access to the program files.

You may not distribute the registered version of Laser LabelMate, or any of its components (including this documentation) in any way, shape or form.


Technical Support

Laser LabelMate was designed to be easy-to-use and fairly self-explanatory.  It has been tested on an HP LaserJet IV and on a Panasonic KX-P4410 laser printer.  No guarantees of operation can be made on any other model printer, though the software should operate without any problem on most printers (laser and non-laser types) as it does not use any specialized fonts or printing techniques.

However, if you find you need technical support, the author (me) can be reached via the following:

•	America Online:  PeterS61

•	RIME:  Peter Savas

•	by phone:  (801) 583-6005, evenings

or at the address on the registration/order form.

While every attempt has been made to ensure this software is bug-free, bug reports, should they occur, can be submitted through the channels above.  These reports should include a description of your system hardware and software, as well as copies of your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files.  Also, please include what actions prompted the error, and indicate whether or not you were able to reproduce the error.


Feature suggestions

Got a feature you'd like to see in a future version of Laser LabelMate?  I'm interested in hearing about it!  You can send any feature requests to me through any of the channels listed above.  Depending on the complexity of the request, you may just see it as fast as the post office can deliver...

One of the benefits of shareware is the ability of the author to respond to the requests of his customers.  Your feedback is immensely valued, and I'm only too happy to accommodate my paying customers; so don't be shy, let me know what you think -- even if you don't like the program!


Network/multiple-copy orders

If you would like to order a copy of Laser LabelMate for use on your network, or would like to order multiple copies, you may fill out the pricing section of the registration/order form by hand using the following pricing structure.

Network	Multiple

Orders of 5-10	$18.00	$18.50

Orders of 10-20	$17.00	$17.50

Orders of 20-or-more	$15.00	$16.00

Network copies will be distributed on a single 3½" or 5¼" diskette.  A network usage notice will be placed in the About box.

Multiple copies will bear each individual users' name in the About box, provided a list of users' names is included with the order; otherwise, the name of the person ordering will be used for each copy.  Multiple copy-orders will be distributed on individual disks; one per copy ordered, and can be provided on either size media (please specify this on the order form).  If your order is more than five copies, and you would like Priority shipping, please include $10.00.


Glossary

Terms used in the manual

Avery 5196

divider tab

dot-matrix

laser printer

shareware

SVGA

THREED.VBX

unZIP

VBRUN200.DLL

Volume Label

ZIP


Avery 5196

This label type consists of a sheet with 9 2.75" disk labels and 12 divider tab labels.  They are manufactured by Avery Dennison, 5196 being the product code number.


divider tab

A small label at the bottom of the Avery 5196 label sheet.  These labels are commonly used on dividers in diskette boxes to show categories by which the disks are organized and stored.


dot-matrix

A printer type which prints one line of information at a time; as opposed to a laser printer which prints one page of information at a time.


laser printer

A printer type which prints one page of information at a time; as opposed to a dot-matrix printer which prints one line of information at a time.


shareware

A type of software which allows the user to "try" the software out for a period of time, usually 30 days, before being asked to purchase a copy by paying a small fee and registering the purchase with the author.


SVGA

Super VGA graphics: A standard supporting resolutions of 640 x 480 x 256-colors and higher.  It is recommended that you use an 800 x 600 x 256-color setting be used with Laser LabelMate.


THREED.VBX

A Visual Basic custom control file used by Laser LabelMate.  Make sure this is placed in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.


unZIP

The process of un-compressing an archive file.


VBRUN200.DLL

Run-time library used by programs written in Visual Basic 2.0.  VBRUN100.DLL is the run-time library used by programs written in Visual Basic 1.0.  Both libraries can be downloaded from bulletin boards and on-line services.  The VBRUN200.DLL is required for Laser LabelMate to run.


Volume Label

This is a name you want to give to the disk; for instance: "Graphics Disk #1."


ZIP

A file archive compression technology from PK Ware, Inc.  The PKZip software is available from most bulletin boards, and is distributed as shareware by it's author.