Use the same template with variable data source/input
Hello,
Here is my situation : I have a single layout for my labels, but I need to link this layout to different data sources and input depending on the situation. Until now, I just created a new bartender file each time, copy-pasting the layout and mapping to the new data source, but if I have a layout modification it becomes a nightmare because I must modify each file individually.
My question is : is there a way to create a single layout which, if modified, would update all files using it?
Any tips are welcome !
Thanks
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Are the different data sources different databases/tables and if so are they single tables or are multiple joins required and also what type of the database are they?
How often are the different labels required and how much BarTender experience does the user have?
Just wondering whether you could go down the Named Database route and, as and when required, adjust in Administration Console the path/link to the actual database being used.
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Hello Peter,
I see you answered 5 days ago, only now I received the notification… Sorry for my late reply.
To answer your questions :
- The different data sources are tables from a single database, in SQL Server. There are no joins used, only single tables.
- I have a label which is used in 90% of the cases, but I still use each of the different labels at least once a day
- About the user experience, are you asking about the user who is setting up Bartender, or the user who is actually printing the labels?
Also, I would mention that all of the data source tables have a part of their columns which are the identical between them
Thanks !
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The problem is if the data is coming from different tables for different layouts then to combine the formats into one, you would need to setup database joins.
If they were there, you could either add extra templates or else multiple substrings with conditional printing set so that BarTender knows which table the data is coming from for each string when a set/specified parameter occurs.
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I actually found a way by giving the selection task to SQL :
- I created a stored procedure which takes the “case” as parameter, then returns the appropriate table
- In Bartender I'm calling the procedure, not the table, and I'm passing the parameter as a query prompt
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