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Barcode Mail Merge

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While it is possible to generate barcodes for CellarTracker without any special equipment by using Microsoft Word Mail Merge, this is only recommended for those who are very technical. The information on how to do this is included below. Again, this is ONLY recommended for those who are quite technical and comfortable with Word Mail Merge.

The strongly recommended approach to barcoding is to purchase a Dymo printer as described here.

CREATING AVERY LABELS via Microsoft Word Mail Merge

System Requirements:
Barcode font (see below): Code 39
Labels: Avery 8160 (inkjet) or Avery 5160 (laser) mailing labels Inkjet or laser printer

Mac OS X (Microsoft Word 2004 or later)
Windows (Microsoft Word 2000 or later)

Download and install the barcode font

A freely available barcode font for your personal use is available from IDAutomation at: http://www.bizfonts.com/free/ This web page gives additional details on how to use the barcode font with Microsoft Word. For details on installation, see below:
  1. To directly download the Barcode Font Code 39 file, click here: http://www.bizfonts.com/free/IDAutomationCode39.zip
  2. Unzip the file if it does not decompress automatically.
  3. Mac: Inside the IDAutomationCode39 folder, open the OpenType folder and double click on the IDAutomationHC39M_FREE.oft font. Font Book will open up and, click on Install Font to install the font into Mac OS X.
  4. Win: Inside the IDAutomationCode39 folder, double click on INSTALL.exe (or just INSTALL). Accept the terms of the software and click Next to start the installation. Click Next until done.

Create the PRINTCSV.TXT file

  1. Go to CellarTracker! and click on Print Labels in the Actions section of the navigation bar.
  2. Click the CREATE AVERY LABELS button. NOTE: In the Preview Labels window, you can select the Mark as printed checkbox to tag the bottles in CellarTracker! as having their labels printed.
  3. Click the Generate CSV button.
  4. In the window that appears, Select All (Mac: Command+A, Win: Ctrl+A) and Copy (Mac: Command+C, Win: Ctrl+C) the text to the clipboard. NOTE: Saving this page as a text file in some cases instead of copy and paste can corrupt high bit characters like accents, so you need to cut and paste to get the necessary fidelity.
  5. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document.
  6. Paste (Mac: Command+V, Win: Ctrl+V) the data from the clipboard into the new document.
  7. Go to the end of the new document and delete the extra return after the last wine.
  8. Select Save from the File menu.
  9. Name the file PRINTCSV.TXT.
  10. Mac: Change the Format popup to Text Only under Common Formats.
    Win: Change the Save as type popup to Text Only (*.txt).
  11. Navigate to an obvious place to save the file, like the Desktop, and click Save.
    NOTE: A warning dialog will appear alerting you that you are saving the document as text. Click Yes to allow the document formatting to change to plain text.

Use the LABELS.DOC file to create the labels

  1. Download LABELS.DOC move the file to the same location as the PRINTCSV.TXT file you just created.
  2. Open the LABELS.DOC file in Microsoft Word.
  3. Mac: In the Data Merge Manager palate that will open up to the right of the document, click the Merge to New Document button in the Merge section.
    Win: In the Mail Merge toolbar that opens up with the document, click the Merge to New Document button.
  4. A new document will be created that contains the CellarTracker! labels with barcodes for the selected wines. You may need to show the Mail Merge toolbar and click the link to attach PRINTCSV.TXT as a data source.

Printing the barcode labels

  1. With the newly created barcode label document open, choose Print… from the File menu.
    NOTE: It is recommended that you first print the barcode labels to a plain piece of 8 ½” by 11” paper so you can compare it to the label sheet to ensure that the margins match up properly.
  2. Print the barcode labels.


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Edited June 19, 2008 (diff)

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