Reference Area Properties and Commands

The following properties and commands are displayed when a reference area or reference grid is selected in a layout. Properties especially specific to a reference area or reference grid are displayed on the Home tab and in the Properties pane when a reference area or reference grid is selected in a layout.

Tip: For information about the properties of a layout, see Layout Properties. For information about the properties of fill groups, see Fill Groups Panel.

Tip: For a grid of reference areas, properties for positioning reference areas relative to each other are listed in the Reference Area section, while those for positioning relative to the layout are listed in the Arrange section.

Note: You can attach a version-controlled layout to a label template before the layout is published; however, you must publish a version-controlled layout before printing a label template containing the layout or the print job will fail.

Note: A Name, Data Ref, or Input Data Ref can include letters and numbers. Additionally, the following characters are permitted but cannot begin the name: hyphens, underscores, and periods.

Properties

Property	Description
Name	The identifier of the reference area in the layout. Note: This property is not available for a grid of reference areas. Note: An area A container for fields or label templates. A layer area can contain fields, and a layout area can contain references to label templates., such as a layer area or a reference area, is not a field In Label Design, any text, control, shape, barcode, image, or that is in a label template, form, or reusable object. A new field can be created by dragging a type of field from the Library. Note that an area is not a field.. Areas and fields are managed by using different scripting methods, and areas cannot be included in reusable objects.
Data Ref	Data Reference. The data source used to provide the full path to the label template to be used to populate the reference area or reference grid in Loftware Enterprise SP. Tip: You can drag and drop a data source from the Data Sources pane onto the reference area or reference grid. Tip: By default, Data Ref fields are case sensitive. If the label template is intended for use with an SAP BC-XOM integration or an SAP RFC integration, use only uppercase text in the Data Ref field.
Default Value	Path in Loftware Enterprise SP to a default label template to be used to populate the reference area. If the reference area is populated by a Data Ref that returns a null value or has not yet received data, this value is used. The Relative Path check box controls whether the path is represented as an absolute path or a relative path. Selecting or clearing the check box changes the path accordingly. Using a relative path may be helpful if an object is likely to be transferred to a different Loftware Enterprise SP instance A Loftware Application Server and a Loftware Database Server that are associated with each other by a Loftware Enterprise - SP License.. : The path is an absolute path within Loftware Enterprise SP. : The path is a relative path within Loftware Enterprise SP. For more information, see Relative Paths.
Version	For the Default Value, which version of that label template to display. You can select a specific version number, the most recent major or published version, or the most recently checked in version. If the object is not version controlled, then the value is 1.0 and the property is not configurable. .0: The most recent major version or published version. .*: The most recently checked in version.

Home

Insert

You can add reference areas See layout area. to a layout by dragging from the ribbon to the canvas.

Icon	Tool	Description
	Reference Area	You can add an individual reference area to a layout.
	Reference Grid	You can add a group of identical reference areas to a layout.

Reference Area

Property	Description
Label Size	The size of labels to be used in this reference area or reference grid. All labels in a grid must be the same size. Values include 2x2, 4x4, 4x6, and Custom. The unit of measure for these numbers is inches. If Custom is selected, then you can manually configure the Width and Height for a label. The unit of measure for Width and Height depend on the unit of measure for the layout. To view or configure the unit of measurement, in Home tab select Units.
Fill Group	The configuration that manages the order in which available label templates are inserted into the reference area or reference grid in the layout.
Width	The horizontal span of a label in the layout. If the Label Size is set to Custom, you can manually configure this value.
Height	The vertical span of a label in the layout. If the Label Size is set to Custom, you can manually configure this value.
Horizontal Gap	The horizontal distance between labels within the grid. To view or configure the unit of measurement, in Home tab select Units. Note: This property is available only for a grid of reference areas.
Vertical Gap	The vertical distance between labels within the grid. To view or configure the unit of measurement, in Home tab select Units. Note: This property is available only for a grid of reference areas.
Labels Across	The number of labels in one row of the grid. You should configure this value to match the number of labels across one row of stock. Note: This property is available only for a grid of reference areas.
Labels Down	The number of labels in one column of the grid. You should configure this value to match the number of labels down one column of stock. Note: This property is available only for a grid of reference areas.

Arrange

Property	Description
Left	The distance from the left edge of the selected field or area to the left edge of the label. The value is dependent on the unit of measure for the label template.
Top	The distance from the top edge of the selected field or area to the top of the label. The value is dependent on the unit of measure for the label template.
Center X	The distance from the middle of the selected field or area to the left edge of the label. The value is dependent on the unit of measure for the label template.
Center Y	The distance from the middle of the selected field or area to the top of the label. The value is dependent on the unit of measure for the label template.

View

Views

Icon	Command	Description
	Fields	View the name, type, and data ref of each field in this label template or other object. This command is not displayed when viewing a layout.
	Layers	View, configure, and manage the layers in this label template or other object. You can add or remove layers and configure the properties of each layer, including visibility. For more information, see Using Layers. This command is not displayed when viewing a layer object or a layout.
	Properties	Display the Properties pane if it is closed.
	Tags	View, configure, and manage the tag values applied to this label template or other object. For more information, see Categorize a Label Template or Other Object.
	Field Data Catalogs	View, configure, and manage the field data catalogs in this label template, layer object, or reusable object. For more information, see Using Field Data Catalogs.
	Data Sources	View, configure, and manage label data sources that are part of this label template or other object. For more information, see Configuring Label Data Sources. This command is not displayed when viewing a layout.
	Data Sets	View, configure, and manage data sets for this label template or other object.
	Format Sources	View, configure, and manage format sources for this label template. For more information, see Configuring Format Sources. This command is not displayed when viewing a layout.
	Linked Text Box Group	View, configure, and manage linked text boxes for this text box or layer. For more information, see Link Text Boxes.
	Label Specific Options	View, configure, and manage Label Specific Options to override device settings on a per-device model basis for this label template or other object. For more information, see Override Device Options with Label Specific Options. This command is not displayed when viewing a layer object.

Grid

Command	Description	Values
Show Grid (Points)	Display or hide an overlay grid on the label template or other object to assist with aligning objects. The dots or lines of the grid are not displayed in printed labels or in the forms displayed to Data Providers.
Align to Grid	Force the top left corner of an item to align with the nearest alignment overlay intersection or dot.
Grid Spacing	Height and width of a grid square. The value is dependent on the unit of measure for the label template.
Line	The type of alignment overlay. The dots or lines of the grid are not displayed in printed labels or in the forms displayed to Data Providers.	Dot Line Dotted Line Dashed Line