Using item labels in Microsoft Dynamics RMS
Two tools in Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) make it easy to create labels and price tags for the items in your store. The Label Designer and the Label Wizard are both located in Store Operations Manager.
Label Designer
With the Label Designer, you can create or modify the templates for your item labels. These templates provide the size, layout, and content of the labels. You choose the information that will print on the labels, such as the item description, item lookup code, bar code, regular price, and sale price. Use fonts, colors, and images to customize the labels for your store.
Label Wizard
With the Label Wizard, you can generate and print your labels, using your choice of available templates. Print labels for a single item, a group of items, or all items in your store, in whatever quantity you need. For example, you can print the exact number of labels you need for a recently received shipment or for a certain department.
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Using the Label Designer
Use the Label Designer to design your own label templates. A label template is essentially a format that Store Operations Manager uses to arrange the information (such as item description, bar code, and price) that you've selected for your labels. The template also specifies the height and width of the labels themselves and controls the number of labels that will print on each sheet.
Store Operations comes with a number of predefined label templates, designed to work with popular label printers. You can use these templates the way they are or modify them to meet your needs, or you can create all new label templates.
To open the Label Designer and a label template
1. | Start Store Operations Manager. |
2. | On the Utilities menu, click Label Designer. |
3. | On the toolbar, click  to open an existing label template, or click  to create a new label template. |
The Label Designer is divided into three areas: Label Properties, Object Properties, and the label preview. These areas are discussed in the following sections.
Setting label properties for a label template
The Label Properties in a label template describe the template itself, the size of each label, and the layout of each sheet of printed labels. By specifying label size and the number of rows and columns of labels on a sheet, you control the number of labels that will print on each sheet.
For more information about the settings for a label template, click Help in the Label Designer.
Defining object properties in a label template
Each piece of information in a label template is an object. Each object has its own settings, or properties, such as its size, position, formatting, and the information it represents. For example, you might have an object that represents the item lookup code. You specify the font and alignment for the lookup code and the height and width of the space the lookup code will occupy, and then use your mouse to drag the object into position on the label. When you generate labels using your label template, the item lookup code for each item in the batch will be filled in automatically.
To add or modify an object in a label template
1. | To add a new object, click  on the toolbar.
-or-
To modify an existing object, click the object in the preview. |
2. | Under Object Properties, enter a name for this object, and then select its type. There are six available types of objects:
Text. Use a Text object to print informational text, such as a slogan used by your store.
Field. Use a Field object whenever you want to print information from the store database.
Barcode. Use a Barcode object to print the item's bar code. The type of bar code that appears is controlled by the bar code settings for the specific item.
Picture. Use a Picture object to print the store logo or other picture. The same picture will appear on every label. (If you want to print item pictures, use a Field object instead, and then select Item Picture in the Caption box.)
Box. Use a Box object to add a border to the label, or to any object on the label.
Line. Use a Line object to "cross out" the information in an object. For example, you can put a diagonal line over the top of the regular price when an item is on sale. You can change the direction of the line by clicking the alignment buttons. |
3. | Use your mouse to drag the object into position, and then type in the desired height and width of the object. |
4. | Enter other settings for the object. The available settings will vary depending on the type of object you are creating. |
5. | Repeat these steps for any other objects you want to add or modify. |
For more information about object settings, click Help in the Label Designer.
Saving a label template
To make your label template available to the Label Wizard, save it to the Labels folder. Typically, the path to this folder is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Retail Management System\Store Operations\Labels, but you can use another folder by changing the path in Store Operations Administrator. Keep in mind, though, that the Label Wizard uses the path set in Store Operations Administrator; it has access to that folder only.
To save a label template
1. | On the toolbar, click  . |
2. | If necessary, browse to the Labels folder. |
3. | Type a name for the template file. Tip: Microsoft recommends typing a new name even when you have modified an existing label template. This way, the label templates that came with Store Operations will always be available to you. |
4. | Click Save. |
To change the path to the Labels folder
| • | Start Store Operations Administrator. |
| • | On the File menu, click Configuration, and then click the Paths tab. |
| • | In the Labels box, type the new path, or click  to browse to the new path. |
| • | Click OK. |
Sample labels
The following samples show just a few of the many ways you can customize your labels in Microsoft Dynamics RMS.
Notes
| • | Some label printers do not support graphics. |
| • | If you want to print bar codes, Microsoft recommends the use of a dedicated label printer. Your scanner might not be able to read bar codes printed on Windows printers. |
Samples of labels with text only
Samples of labels with pictures
Using the Label Wizard
In the Label Wizard, you select the items you want to print labels for, set the quantity of labels to print for each selected item, and choose the label template you want to use. You can print labels for a single item, a group of items, or all items in your store.
To start the Label Wizard
1. | Start Store Operations Manager. |
2. | On the Wizards menu, click Label Wizard. |
3. | Follow the instructions in the wizard. |
After the Welcome page, click Help to get additional information.
Notes and tips
| • | For a label format to be available in the Label Wizard, its file must be located in the Labels folder. By default, the path to this folder is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Retail Management System\Store Operations\Labels, but you can use another folder by setting a new path in Store Operations Administrator. |
| • | You can use your scanner to quickly add items to the print list. Click the QuickScan button on the third page of the wizard. |
| • | Use the Issued/Received on this order option to print labels for the items received in a shipment. |
| • | If you use the Bin Location field to record the location of each item, you can use the Print labels for items that satisfy the following filter option to print labels for items in specific areas of the store. |
