Product: LABELVIEW, CODESOFT
About Date Variables
What is a Date Variable?
A date variable allows you to print the date and/or time on a label according to a format and preferences that you set up. This is often referred to as a date and time stamp. The date variable is populated by data from the computer clock or from the printer clock.
Why Use a Date Variable?
Date and time stamps are often added to a label to track when an item was manufactured, packaged, or shipped, or to imprint the use-by or expiration date of the product.
Creating a Date Variable
Properties of Date Variables
LABELVIEW and CODESOFT provide several options for adding a date variable to your label:
- Select from a list of common date formats
- Create your own custom date format
- Set options such as time unit of measurement and language
Procedure
To create a date variable:
1. In the Data Sources window, right-click the Date data source and select Add. The Variable dialog box appears displaying a new date variable in the default format of dd/mm/yy. The new variable appears with a system-assigned name such as Date0.
2. In the Name box, type a new name for the variable.
3. Select the desired date format from the list of predefined formats.
4. To create a custom date format, select the custom format option (last item in the list). A text box and format drop-down list will appear.
5. Create your custom date format by typing directly in the text box or selecting date/time elements from the drop-down list. For example, to display: Wednesday, 04/11/2014, 09:13 AM, enter: ddddd, mm/dd/yyyy, hh:ss am|pm.
6. Click the Options tab.
7. You can add a fixed number of time units (months, days, hours, or minutes) to the date/time stamp. For example, to create an expiration date one year from the current date, select Fixed, enter 12, and choose Months.
8. You can also add a variable to be included in the date/time stamp.
9. Select the language in which the text portions of the date/time stamp will appear.
10. If available, enable Settings According to Printer to use the printer clock instead of the PC/system clock. This allows the printed value to reflect the actual print time rather than the time the print job was sent.
11. To include the date value in the printing log file, select Include in the Log File.