[University of Florida Herbarium] [Florida Museum of Natural History]

Quick Guide to PLabel for Windows


PLabel: Herbarium Label Program Main Menu Add/Edit Table Structures Version Changes

The "Active File"

The active file is one of the user created data files where labels are stored. This file is a Visual FoxPro table with the *.plw extension. Two other files with the same name but different extensions are associated with the active file.
E.g., MyPlabelFile.plw, MyPlabelFile.fpt, MyPlabelFile.cdx.
The memo data file stores information from the fields of memo type in the table and has the *.fpt extension. It must be maintained with the *.plw file. The index file with the *.cdx extension holds indexing information. If it is absent the program will create it. The structure of the *.plw file is shown on the table structures page.

IMPORTANT! - you must copy both the *.plw and *.fpt file when you copy your data files. PLabel for Windows, or any other database using these files, will not open a *.plw file alone.

When the program loads there is no active file. You will be offered a file selection box when you select any option in the main menu if a file is required. Once a file has been selected in a session it becomes the "active file". Add/edit and Print menus will default to the active file. To change the active file, click on the "ACTIVE FILE" button on the main menu screen. Select a file and navigate directories as in most MS-Windows programs.

To create a new file, choose "New" from the file selection window. The file will be created in the directory you are in, so be sure you are in the directory where you want the file. Enter a file name in the blue/green box.

Main Menu

The Main Menu is the central navigation window of PLabel. Highlight the option you want to select with the up/down arrow and by clicking on it. Double-click anywhere in the menu box or press enter to select the item.


Add / Edit PLabel Files


The add/edit window is the PLabel Main Window. There are six pages in this window.

Print Labels


The print window is the far right tab on the PLabel Main Screen it includes the print settings. The following is an outline of the label layout.

Schematic of Label Layout [RTF forms]
Heading
Title
[Family (if above)]
Scientific Name
  determiner, det. date
[Family (if below)]
Secondary geographic division: label data (location, habitat, plant description)
Collector  Coll. #Date coll.
  with (additional collectors)
Project Footing
Institutional Footing

The Print Window page has seven panels for control of print features.

  • Project Footings: print at the bottom of each label above the institutional footing. The project footings are stored in a separate data file and can be selected with the navigation buttons in the panel. Double triangles go to the top or bottom of the file, single triangles more one entry at a time. The project footing showing will be the one printed. A reserved entry to print no project footing is at the beginning of the file.

    Project footing formatting is controlled by entries in several fields:

  • Institutional (Inst.) Footings: print at the very bottom of each label. The institutional footings are stored in a separate data file and can be selected with the navigation buttons in the panel. Double triangles go to the top or bottom of the file, single triangles more one entry at a time. The institutional footing showing will be the one printed. A reserved entry to print no institutional footing is at the beginning of the file.

    Institutional footing formatting is controlled by entries in several fields:

    Convert DOS (*.PLB) File

    You can always go back to your original PLabel (DOS) *.plb file if something goes wrong with this conversion.

    1. Open or create a new PLabel for Windows file (*.plw).
    2. Choose the PLabel for DOS (*.plb) file to load in. It will merge the records from that file into the *.plw file.

    Be sure to look over the converted records carefully. The most prone area for errors is in the conversion of the locality coordinates field into lat./long. and STR fields. If the program doesn't understand the format the information is in it should dump the locality coordinates in the STR field.

    Frequently asked questions.

    PLabel: Herbarium Label Program Main Menu Add/Edit Table Structures Version Changes

    [University of Florida Herbarium]
    University of Florida Herbarium collections:
    Vascular Plants | Herbarium Library
    Bryophyte and Lichens | Mycological
    Wood | Paleobotany (affiliated collection)
    [Florida Museum of Natural History]

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    Last content update: 15 Apr 2004
    Edited by: Kent D. Perkins, e-mail: kperkins@flmnh.ufl.edu
    Copyright ©, 1995-2003 University of Florida Herbarium / Florida Museum of Natural History