Creating Labels

In Word, you create labels with the Labels dialog (Figure 12). This dialog enables you to set up labels by entering the address that should appear on the label and the number of labels that should be printed. You can also use the Label Options dialog to set additional options for the type of label you want to print.

Figure 12. The Labels dialog.

Once you have set options for a label, you can either print it immediately or save it as a new document so it can be printed later.

To set up labels

1.	Choose Tools > Labels (Figure 1) to display the Labels dialog (Figure 12).
2.	Enter the name and address for the label in the Address box.
3.	To modify the font settings for the address, click the Font button beside the address to display the Font dialog (Figure 3). Set options as desired and click OK.
4.	Click the Options button to display the Label Options dialog (Figure 13). Figure 13. The Label Options dialog.
5.	Select one of the Printer information radio buttons to indicate whether your printer is dot matrix, laser, or ink jet.
6.	Choose a brand of label from the Label products pop-up menu (Figure 14). Figure 14. The Label products pop-up menu includes all the major label manufacturers.
7.	Select the type of label you will be printing on from the Product number scrolling list.
8.	Click OK to save your settings and return to the Labels dialog.
9.	Select an option in the Number of labels area:

• Full page of the same label prints the entire page of labels with the name and address that appears in the Address box.

• Single label prints only one label. If you select this option, be sure to enter the row and column number (if applicable) for the label to print.

Tips

• In step 1, you cannot choose the Labels command unless a document window is open.

• If you are creating a label for a letter in the active document window, the Address may be filled in based on the inside address of the letter. You can "help" Word enter the correct address by selecting the recipient's address before opening the Labels dialog.

• In step 2, you can turn on the Use my address check box to enter your address from Word's User preferences into the Address box. (I tell you about User preferences in Chapter 20.) This is a handy way to create a sheet of return address labels.

• You can create your own custom label settings. After step 5, click the New Label button to display the New Custom dialog (Figure 15). Enter a name and measurements for the label, and click OK. The name of your new labels will appear in the Product number list in the Label Options dialog (Figure 13) when Other is selected from the Label products pop-up menu (Figure 14).

  Figure 15. Use a dialog like this one to create your own custom label sizes.

  

  
  

• If you're not sure which Product number to select in step 7, consult the information on the box of labels.

• After step 7, you can customize the selected label by clicking the Details button. The dialog that appears looks and works very much like the one in Figure 15. Make changes as desired and click OK.

To print labels

1.	Set up the label as instructed on the previous two pages.
2.	Click the Print button in the Labels dialog (Figure 12).
3.	Word displays the Print dialog (Figure 16). Set options in the dialog and click Print to print the labels. Figure 16. Use the Print dialog to set print options and print the labels.

Tips

• When printing single labels on a laser or inkjet printer, print on the labels at the bottom of the sheet first. This helps prevent printer jamming that could occur when labels at the top of the sheet have been removed.

• Printing and using the Print dialog are covered in greater detail in Chapter 6.

To save the labels as a new document

1.	Set up the label as instructed on the previous two pages.
2.	In the Labels dialog (Figure 12), click OK. Word creates a new document containing the labels (Figure 17). Figure 17. Here's a sheet of return address labels in Page Layout view. You can see the table gridlines (which don't print) separating each label.

Tips

• Word uses its table feature to create labels. Tables are covered in Chapter 8.

• I use this feature to create return address labels. I create the document and save it. Then, every time I need more labels, I just open the saved document and print off a sheet or two of labels.