How to Use the BarTender Cloud Designer
Overview
BarTender Cloud now includes the BarTender Cloud Designer, a new integrated cloud-based version of BarTender Designer. The video and guide below will show you how to access and use this great new label design tool.
Applicable to
BarTender Cloud
Information
Click Play to get familiar with the basics of the BarTender Cloud Designer. Keep exploring the article below for more details and information on the functions and features available.
Creating a Document Using the BarTender Cloud Designer
Starting from the Librarian page, follow these steps to create a new document using the BarTender Cloud Designer:
- Make sure you're in your desired Space on the left-hand toolbar, then Click the New button at the top of the screen and select Document Design.
- Enter a name for your document and click Design. This opens up the New Document Wizard.
- Select the printer you want to use for this document and click Next.
- Select the stock that you want your printer to use for this document. You can either Specify custom settings or Use a predefined stock.
- Add a template background if you desire.
- Review your settings and if you're satisfied, click Finish. You can also click Finish at any of the previous steps in the New Document Wizard and skip the remaining steps.
Once you're finished designing your label, click Print to print your document. Click Save to save the updated revision to BarTender Cloud. BarTender Cloud Designer will also auto-save your document periodically.
From the BarTender Cloud Home Page
Alternatively, you can create a new label by clicking Designer on the BarTender Cloud Home page.
- After clicking Designer, select Create New Design or Open Existing Design.
- Select a Space for your new document to live and name your document. Click Open, starting the New Document Wizard. Refer to the previous section for further instructions.
Editing a Document
Follow these steps to edit a document using the BarTender Cloud Designer:
- Starting on the Librarian screen, select the document you'd like to edit and click Design on the toolbar at the top of the screen.
- Alternatively, right-click on the document you want to edit and select Design from the menu.
BarTender Cloud Designer will open now and you can make your desired changes.
Features Unique to the BarTender Cloud Designer
Several features are unique to BarTender Cloud Designer or differ in function from features present in on-premise BarTender Designer:
- The pull-down menus present at the top of the screen have been removed (File, View, Administer, Tools, Help).
- While the normal Help pull-down menu is gone, you can still access the online Help tool by pressing F1 or clicking the Help button in any dialog or property page where a Help button appears.
- Your document will be auto-saved every few seconds.
- You can connect to a database using the database icon at the top of the screen, but the only options available are the connectors already available in BarTender Cloud.
- BarTender Document Options can be accessed from a new icon on the toolbar instead of through File > BarTender Document Options.
- BarTender Cloud Designer will timeout and log you out of your Designer session after 15 minutes of idleness.
- You can insert external images into your document by clicking Add Images above the toolbar. Images added using this feature must be located on your local computer.
Keyboard Shortcuts
While the dropdown menus in on-premise BarTender Designer are not present in the BarTender Cloud Designer, many of the keyboard shortcuts associated with the functions in these menus still work. See a list of the available shortcuts below:
As mentioned above, F1 can be used to access the in-application Help menu.
Limitations of the BarTender Cloud Designer
The following features are currently unavailable or unsupported in BarTender Cloud Designer. This list may change at any time without warning:
- The enumeration of Librarian spaces and files using File Browse
- The design and printing of:
- External database files (e.g. csv, txt, xlst)
- REST API Gateway printing for actions and BTXML for printing
- Form and Document-level actions
- The ability to view Object, Data Source, Database Field Names, and Barcode Quiet zone names on the label
- Librarian or local file-based content and databases for design or printing
- Print-time database record selection
- "External File" data sources
- Global Data Fields
- Libraries
- Phrase Libraries
- Printer Code Templates
- The ability to export images to Librarian or a file
- The ability to create Components
- The personalization of the BarTender Cloud Designer UI (e.g. toolbar placement, default toolbars).
- Local file support
- Legacy (Classic) Librarian
- Client-side database gateway access to data
The BarTender Cloud Designer is currently unavailable on mobile devices. A button will appear, but on selection, an error message will display.
Troubleshooting
Copying and Pasting Within the BarTender Cloud Designer
When using the BarTender Cloud Designer you will occasionally need to use the clipboard to copy and paste, most commonly when creating an Embedded Text Database. When you attempt this for the first time, a pop-up will appear that will request permission for BarTender Cloud to see text and images copied to the clipboard within your browser.
Click Allow to grant BarTender Cloud the appropriate permission. Once you've done this, you will not need to do so again, and you can copy and paste normally.
Printer Selection at Print Time
When you click Print, the printer you have selected for your document will not be displayed by default. You will need to select your desired printer from the dropdown menu in the Print Console.
Local Printer Not Present
If you don't see your local printer in the dropdown menu when you go to print, you may need to install the Print Gateway service on your local system. See Installing and Configuring the BarTender Print Gateway for details on installing this service.
Additional Resources
Please refer to the following resources for additional guidance on using BarTender Designer.
Getting Started with BarTender