User Cannot Externally Mark dBase III Records

User cannot externally mark dBase III records for printing.

Easylabel places a "P" in the first byte of a dBase III record to mark it for printing. The first byte is called the "delete byte" and is internally used by dBase III to mark records for deletion. (dBase III puts a "*" in the first byte). This byte is not accessible from dBase III. Changing it would require a special program.

Instead of marking the first byte of every dBase record with a "P", simply add a single character field to the database and use it to mark records for printing.
Note: the following procedure assumes that the user has already set up an Easylabel format that uses a database as a data source and that the user understands the "$all" feature of Easylabel. If you aren't familiar with these topics, please refer to your Easylabel user manual.
1. Start Easylabel and choose the "Database Management Functions" option.
2. From the "Database" menu, choose the "Change database structure" option and select the database you want to mark records in.
3. From the "Change Structure" menu choose the "Add Field" option.
-Name the field "PRINT"
-Set the field type to character
-Set the length to 1
4. Choose "Recreate the structure..." from the Change Structure menu.
5. Exit all the way out of Easylabel by repeatedly choosing the "Quit" option.
6. Edit the database with dBase III or a compatible program to place a letter "P" in the field named "PRINT" of each record that you want to print. You can use dBase III commands to choose groups of records to mark all at once.
7. After all the records to be printed have the letter "P" in the print field, restart Easylabel and choose "Print a batch of formats", then select an Easylabel format that is associated with the database you have just marked.
8. A screen asking for "variable data" will appear. Enter the word "$all" to specify using all records of the database.
9. Choose the option "Print a batch of formats" again. A screen will appear with print job options.
10. Choose the line on this screen that says "Record Selection". When prompted to enter the type of record selection, enter "C" for conditional.
11. Enter the phrase "PRINT='P'" in the line labeled "Where". (This line appears when you choose the "C" option. Note the single quotes must appear around the letter 'P'.
12. Press the enter key. Only the records that are marked with "P" in the field named "PRINT" will be printed.

In either case, Datamax will send an updated version of firmware upon request. Phone: 407-578-8007.