Need help with Avery template

[leonardevens]

A couple of years ago I got instructions for creating name tags using an Avery Template. I now have to use a different template.
I found two versions of it: LB135.dot from C-line and U-0119-01_P.doc. I need to make that template available when I do
File > New > Labels, so that it shows up as a choice in the Brand box. I tried instead putting thee dimensions in under the Format tab but that doesn't seem to work.

I have to make some name tags in a hurry, so any help would be appreciated. I've tried looking at the tutorials, but they haven't been much help, at least so far.

Title Edited. A descriptive title for posts helps others who are searching for solutions and increases the chances of a reply (Hagar, Moderator).

[therabi]

A couple of years ago I got instructions for creating name tags using an Avery Template. I now have to use a different template.
I found two versions of it: LB135.dot from C-line and U-0119-01_P.doc. I need to make that template available when I do
File > New > Labels, so that it shows up as a choice in the Brand box. I tried instead putting thee dimensions in under the Format tab but that doesn't seem to work.

I have to make some name tags in a hurry, so any help would be appreciated. I've tried looking at the tutorials, but they haven't been much help, at least so far.

Did you look for the Avery label number under the File> New > listing?

[leonardevens]

Here is the way I us to do it.
(It is described in "Documentation/How Tos/CreatingMail Merge Documents FromText/CSV or Spreadsheets" in the Openoffice Wiki.)

File > New > Labels
This brings up a Labels window. That allows me to choose a database---I use a spreadsheet--- and then create the fields I want.
On the lower right it has a Brand box. When I open that, I don't find any relevant template, either from Avery or C-Line. All I get is some prechosen formats or those that I created myself by using the Format tab. The
Format Tab allows me to enter dimensions, and then save them under whatever name I prefer. I did that using the dimensions of the template, but it doesn't work correctly. The widths of the labels are too small, and I can't get everything to fit on the page properly. I could continue to experiment with setting the format, but since I don't understand how it is supposed to work, that may take a long time, and I may never get it right.

The Avery template I want to use is a .doc file, and if I open that, it looks right. But I don't see how to make that a choice under Brand as noted above.

I could of course open the Avery.doc file (or even the C-Line .dot file) and enter the data in the individual squares. But then I can't take the names from a database or use the synchronization feature.

[thomasjk]

Open a blank writer document. Then do File-->New Labels under Brand select Avery Letter Size. Under Type find the label you need then click New Document. World label also has Openoffice Templates for free http://www.worldlabel.com/Pages/openoffice-template.htm.

[keme]

The Avery template I want to use is a .doc file, and if I open that, it looks right. But I don't see how to make that a choice under Brand as noted above.

I could of course open the Avery.doc file (or even the C-Line .dot file) and enter the data in the individual squares. But then I can't take the names from a database or use the synchronization feature.

There is one important fact that will make this approach fail: MS Word and OOo.Writer handle spacing (padding, leading, margins) slightly differently. In most cases, this is not a problem. With labels you need precise matching, so a MS Word file opened in Writer will not work.

In templates there may also be macros and data links, both of which have different frameworks in the two applications, so it's probably easier to start from scratch than to adjust a premade template for the other application. However, there should be a template for you. If you don't find one in the label presets or the link provided by thomasjk, tell us the type of label you're using (label code printed on the box, and possibly also on the edge of the label sheets), so we may be able to assist in searching.

[leonardevens]

I managed to construct a template which more or less worked. Using the Format tab, I put in some figures and experimented with them until I got something which seemed to fit the perforated sheets that I was provided with. But text on the right hand labels, which showed up on screen, kept getting cut off on the right when the labels were printed. I don't have any idea why that happened.

I am working with Open Office under Fedora 12 Linux, and using an Epson Photo 1280, which doesn't usually do that sort of thing. Using a different label template previously, that didn't happen. If anyone has any ideas why that happened, please let me know.


My guess is that if I could have used one of the downloaded label template, that might not have happened.

[thomasjk]

If you tell us the specific Avery Template, as Keme suggested, you are trying to use we can be of more help.