1. NiceLabel Help Center
  2. Control Center
  3. Documents and Workflows

Documents

Documents in Control Center is web-based shared storage for your label files, solutions, graphics, and other files. Documents works like Google Drive or similar platforms where you can inspect and manage your folders and files and set permissions for users and groups:

You can store all types of files in Documents, not just NiceLabel file types.

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  1. Folder list (tree view)

  2. Search options

  3. Main tabs

  4. Document properties and preview pane

  5. Columns selection

Note

Options availability depends on your Control Center edition and user rights set in Access Roles.

In Documents, you can:

  • Search for files and label data.

  • Preview your labels, graphics, and PDF files.

  • Move files and folders.

  • View file properties.

  • Upload and download files.

  • Open files using WebDAV or HTTP syntax.

  • Access the database files in your Document Storage from Web Printing.

  • Manage file permissions.

The default Documents view shows three columns: Name, Modified, and Size. To add or remove columns, click the Columns button, then select or deselect available columns and click Apply.

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Managing Files and Folders in Documents

You can manage files and folders in Documents in a similar way as in Google Drive or other web based file sharing applications. You can use buttons, context menus (by right-clicking on files or folders), and keyboard shortcuts. Context are the most effective way to manage your files. Context menus have dynamic content, based on the file types and user rights.

In Documents, you can:

  • Cut/Copy/Paste files and folders.

  • Upload, download, and delete files and folders.

  • Preview your label files, images, and PDF files. Label previews allow you to enter variable values.

  • Search by different file or folder properties.

  • View file history and revisions

  • Manage deleted files.

  • Manage workflows.

  • Compare label files and revisions.

Right-click on items to access options. You can also use keyboard shortcuts.

Tabs, Buttons, and Thumbnails

At the top of the page, there are three main tabs:

25_manage_files_1.png

  • All Files is the default and main page where you manage your files and folders.

  • Upload, download, and delete files and folders.

  • Preview your label files, images, and PDF files. Label previews allow you to enter variable values.

    Note

    You must be a member of the Administration access role to manage files in Recycle Bin.

    Important

    When you delete your files or folders from the Recycle Bin, you can't restore them anymore. Deleting files and folders from Recycle Bin is permanent and includes also deleting all related revisions and logs.

Context menus change if you enable additional features like revision control, workflows, and access permissions.

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  • Info shows file or folder properties, workflow and revision data, and a small file preview.

    If you want to check a bigger preview or a PDF file preview, click the three dots at your selected file, then click Preview.... In the Preview window you can zoom in or zoom out your label, image, or PDF file.

    Label Preview enables you to test the preview with variable values.

    The Preview option is not supported for files other than labels, graphics, and PDFs. But you can download the files and open them locally.

  • Logs thumbnail enables you to check your detailed file and folder events:

    • Create

    • Rename

    • Move

    • Check in/Check out/Discard checkout

    Logs thumbnail shows the last 5 events. You can check all events if you click See full log.

  • Revisions thumbnail shows the last 5 revisions of a selected file and options to download the file, preview the file and create a Label report. To see all details of the current and previous revisions, click the Full revision history link. Revision History window opens. You can:

    • Create a Label report.

    • Revert your files to previous versions.

    • Download files.

    • Compare revisions.

Buttons:

  • New (in the My Files tab).

    You can create folders or upload folders and files in the folder that is selected in a tree view.

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  • Columns (in all three tabs):

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    Add or remove columns to modify your view.

  • Change workflow step (in the Workflow Requests tab):

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    You can change workflow steps to single or multiple selected files or folders.

  • Restore and Delete in Recycle Bin tab:

    25_manage_files_6.png

    When you remove your files and folders, they move to Recycle Bin tab where you can restore or permanently delete them. You must be a member of the Administration access role to manage files in Recycle Bin.

  • Icons in the top right corner to switch between the card and list view of your files and folders.

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    The default list view and thumbnail view

Icons modifiers

  • Cyan dot:

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    Workflow is set to folder or file.

  • Blue dot with arrow down:

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    The file is checked out.

  • Lock symbol:

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    You have no permissions on the folder.

  • Decommission symbol:

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    The file is decommissioned.

Using Context menus

By right-clicking your folders you get the additional options to:

  • Upload files and folders. (You can also upload your files or folders by dragging and dropping them into the pane next to the tree view.)

  • Cut, copy, and paste files and folders.

  • Change folder permissions.

  • Create Label Reports.

  • Remove files and folders. You can later restore removed folders in the Recycle Bin tab.

By right-clicking your files, you get the options to:

  • Rename your files.

  • Download files. You can download only one file at a time.

  • Copy, cut, and paste your files.

  • Remove your files. You can restore removed files in Recycle Bin tab.

Note

When pasting files or folders with the same name, files or folders will not be replaced, but names will get suffixes " (01)", " (02)", etc.

By right-clicking your solution files you get the additional options to:

  • Edit your solution in your NiceLabel Desktop Designer application.

  • Run your solution in your NiceLabel Desktop Designer application.

  • Create Label reports.

Note

NiceLabel V6 form files (.xff) are not supported anymore. Control Center treats V6 form files as unknown formats. You can still open, edit V6, and run form files in the latest Designer PowerForms.

By right-clicking your label files, you get the additional options to:

  • Edit your labels on your Desktop Designer.

  • Print from Desktop. NiceLabel Print application opens where you can print labels.

  • Preview your labels.

  • Compare your labels.

  • Create Label reports.

Note

NiceLabel V6 label files (.lbl) are not supported anymore. Control Center treats V6 label files as unknown formats. You can still open, edit, and print V6 label files in the latest Desktop Designer.

Context menus change if you enable additional features like revision control, workflows, and access permissions.

Control Center returns to your last open folder when you close and re-open Documents.

Keyboard shortcuts in Documents

Keyboard shortcuts are mostly the same as in other Windows applications or Google Docs:

Action

Press

Select all

(Selects the first 50 items unless you scroll down to display more).

Ctrl+A

Copy

Ctrl+C

Paste

Ctrl+V

Cut

Ctrl+X

Move selection up

↑

Move selection down

↓

Add an upper item to the selection

Remove an upper item from the selection

Shift+↑

Add a lower item to the selection

Remove a lower item from the selection

Shift+↓

Deselect all items

Esc

Select a range of items

Drag mouse

Delete file or folder

Delete

Rename

F2

Edit label

Enter

Searching for files and label data

Searching in Documents works like searching in your file explorer. You can search the folder that is currently opened in the main pane. If you want to search the whole Documents, go to the Root folder.

Partial search is enabled by default. For example, when you enter the word lab, your result includes label and laboratory. To disable partial search, enter your keyword inside quotes, for example, "lab".

Note

You can search only files and folders that you can access.

Advanced search for label content includes:

  • File name.

  • Workflow step.

  • Description that you entered when designing labels in Label Properties > Info.

  • Printer name.

  • Object name that you entered when designing labels in Object Properties > General tab.

  • Object content, for example, fixed texts.

  • Variable name

  • Variable default value (Provisional value in variable properties).

To open the Advanced search window, click the icon right to the Search field.

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Previewing Label Files

You can preview your label files directly in the Documents without opening your labels in Desktop Designer.

To see your label preview:

  1. Right-click your label file and click Preview in the context menu.

    Note

    You can't preview solutions (.nsln files).

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  2. The preview opens in an embedded window.

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    1. By clicking this icon you can edit, print, or download your label file.

    2. You can browse for the sample text file containing variable data (name:value pairs).

    3. Label preview zoom options with a full-screen button.

    Note

    If you enter the Initial value data in your label variable properties, Variables values fields shows Initial value content.

Note

When you select a double-sided label, the preview shows only the front side. To see both sides, right-click the label file, then click Print from the context menu. The Preview and Print window opens with a print preview of both sides of your label.

Control Center can also preview images and PDF files. Right-click the file, and click Preview. You can preview files with extensions .bmp, .png, .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .wmf, .emf, and .pdf.

If you work with file revisions, you can preview files of any revision from the Revision history for the selected file.

Note

When opening your label preview, you can enter the values for variables and see how they appear when printed. You can also use database values.

Note

Control Center generates label previews using the installed printer on your Control Center. If the printer does not exist, Control Center uses a virtual printer instead.

Applying Values From Data Files to Variables

You usually design your label templates with variables that don't have any default value defined. This ensures that no hard-coded values would be used during printing. On the other hand, it makes the label preview and comparison more difficult because you have to provide the values for variables before Control Center generates the label preview. When generating the label preview, you can enter values manually.

You can also provide Control Center with the external data file (a list of variables and their values). Control Center applies the data file for the generating label previews. The data file must provide the name:value pairs. If the variable of the same name is not defined in the label, the name:value pair is discarded.

Note

You can let Control Center find the data file based on the rules defined below, or you can click the folder icon next to the label name/preview and override the defaults with your data file.

Data file structure

You can create your variable data file in XML or delimited structure.

XML structure

You provide your variables within <Variables /> root element in your XML file. Provided variable names with attribute names and variable values with the element value.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <Variables>
    <variable name="customer">Pizzeria Manhattan</variable>
    <variable name="country">Belgium</variable>
    <variable name="Lot_nr">478887566</variable>
</Variables>

Delimited structure

Create every name:value pair in a newline. Variable name is to the left of the equals character (=), variable value is to the right.

customer=Pizzeria Manhattan
country=Belgium
Lot_nr=478887566

Data file naming convention

The name of the data file can be the same as the name of the label, but using the extension .values. This private data file allows you to provide different data file for each label.

If you have a label named label.nlbl, name your data file label.values.

The other option is to use the same generic data file for all labels. In this case, name the data file default.values. The name:value pairs within will be used for all labels.

Note

If both files exist in the same folder, the file label.values will take precedence over the file default.values.

Data file location

You can store your data file in any location in the Documents storage.

Example 1. Example

You stored your label pasta.nlbl in the folder /food labels. The path to your label is /food labels/pasta.nlbl.


Control Center searches for your data file in the following order.

  1. The private data file in same folder as the label file.

    Example 2. Example

    /food labels/pasta.values


  2. The private data file in the subfolder SampleValues.

    Example 3. Example

    /food labelsfolder1/SampleValues/pasta.values


  3. The generic data file in the same folder as the label file.

    Example 4. Example

    /food labels/default.values


  4. The generic data file in the subfolder SampleValues.

    Example 5. Example

    /food labels/SampleValues/default.values


When Control Center finds first available .values file, the search stops and the contents of the data file is used for the label preview.

Note

Using the SampleValues subfolder is useful when you have a workflow process defined in the label folder, but you do not want the same workflow to govern your data files. In this case, you can store the new version of the data file without going through all workflow steps.

Direct File Access

You can access your files stored in Documents directly from your browser. Here is the syntax:

WebDAV syntax:

\\<server>@8080\DavWWWRoot\folder\label.nlbl

Secure connection to Documents:

\\<server>@SSL@8080\DavWWWRoot\folder\label.nlbl

HTTP syntax:

http://server:8080/folder/label.nlbl

Secure connection to Documents:

https://server:8080/folder/label.nlbl

Custom Fonts

If you use custom fonts for labeling, you can upload and store your fonts in Control Center Documents.

The dedicated font storage location in Documents is /System/Fonts. Control Center uses fonts from /System/Fonts for label previews.

To upload your custom fonts to Documents:

  1. Go to Documents > System > Fonts folder. If the System folder doesn't exist yet, create one at the root level and create a Fonts subfolder.

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    22_fonts2.png

  2. Upload your folders to the System/Fonts folder.

Note

You can't use custom fonts with the Text on ellipse effect. Read the Desktop Designer User Guide for more details.

Note

To use custom fonts in the Rich Text Box object, make sure you enable the Alternate rendering option. Read the Desktop Designer User Guide for more details.