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      �              Comparitive review of geoLabel and Label Wizard by Dick Estel                                   �
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HHHHHX    PUTTING A LABEL ON THINGS

by Dick Estel
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   Whether it's jars of homemade jelly, a letter to Aunt Martha, or those hundreds of disks every computerist collects, most computer users soon find a need for those nice looking labels that can be created with their magic machines.
   Programmers have been alert in meeting this need, and there are dozens of label programs in existence.
   It is not difficult for someone with moderate BASIC programming skills to write a program that will send text to the printer in the proper format.  But sooner or later you will want to combine text with graphics, and then the fun begins.  
   There are two convenient approaches--GEOS and non-GEOS label-makers.  This review takes a look at one of each:  GeoLabel and Label Wizard.
   There are several GEOS label makers.  Most allow font selection and some allow the use of photo scraps, but at least one of them just prints straight text using the GEOS system font.
   If you want to use GEOS to make your labels, I recommend Roger Lawhorn's geoLabel.  It offers a lot of features and control--and the disk includes several albums of photo scraps to use in your labels and elsewhere.
   GeoLabel uses a geoWrite file for your text information, so this file must be created before you start printing your labels.  This text file can contain one label or a hundred.  Within the geoLabel program, you can manipulate the position of the text in several ways, including adding additional text.  You can also select any font (subject to space limitations).  Each line of text is a separate field, and each field can have a different font if desired.
   The geoLabel screen displays a frame equivalent to the size of the label, which can be changed as desired.  I found it very tricky to set up the label size precisely, but experimentation produced acceptable results.  Once the layout and size have been set up as desired, it is important to save the set-up.  This creates a SET-UP file, which can then be loaded for use next time.
   GeoLabel's major strength is in the flexibility it gives you to use graphics in your label.  You can use a photo scrap of any size, subject to the space limits of your label.  You can position the scrap anywhere within the label frame.  You can use geoPaint to create a photo scrap that constitutes the entire label (with text and/or graphics), but you must have a blank geoWrite file that you can open in order to do this.
   The program uses the current photo scrap on your disk.  This means that if you want a different scrap on some of your labels, you must print the first batch; then copy the new scrap.  Like virtually all GEOS applications, you can access the Photo Manager from within the program in order to copy a new scrap.
   The print option allows you to print the current label, or from the current label to the end of the file; with the ability to print as many copies as desired.  Since geoLabel prints exactly what is on the screen, you must remember to "turn off" the frame if you don't want a box around your label.
   The program includes several printer drivers that do not form-feed when printing is finished--a big plus when you are printing a few labels, then changing graphics to print a few more.  Unfortunately, there was not a driver for either of my printers.
   The major plus of geoLabel is its flexibility in positioning text and graphics.  The major drawback that I found was that it is fairly tricky to set things up right.  If you need to change your text, you must quit geoLabel and open geoWrite.  Overall I give this program a rating of 7 on the "10 is perfect" scale.  It is by far the best of any GEOS label program I have tried.
   Label Wizard, along with a number of public domain label programs, allows the use of graphics in Print Shop and/or PrintMaster format.
   I thought that Label Wizard was easier to use overall than geoLabel, but it has less flexibility.  You have no option regarding size or placement of graphics--it uses standard Print Shop or PrintMaster graphics, and places them at the left side of the label.
   Text is typed from within the program.  You can have up to six lines, although the best results are obtained by using every other line.  Label Wizard allows you several choices of standard, condensed and expanded type, subject to the capabilities of your printer.  Once a label and its accompanying graphic have been set up, you can save the label.  This saves the graphic too, so if you load @ H� � 0
HHHHHX     	  that label, the graphic will be loaded with it.
   Graphics can be loaded from any disk but you must remember to first load the directory if you change disks.  There is no provision to save graphics only, but you can save a dummy label with the desired graphics.  When you load a label, its graphic is loaded into memory and can then be used with other text.
   You can load four graphics into memory at once, and there is an option to choose the one desired for your current label.  There is no on-screen display of what your label will look like, but the current graphics can be viewed.
   The print options allow printing of the current label, or all labels on the disk (as many copies as desired).  Label Wizard offers drivers for a number of popular printers, plus the ability to configure your own driver.
   Label Wizard's only weakness is the lack of flexibility in text and graphic placement.  Given the small size of most labels, this is not a major drawback.  The documentation claims there is no reason that Label Wizard can't be file copied to a 1581 disk, but when I tried to use the 1581 disk, I got the message, "Label Wizard disk must be in drive 0."  For this reason, I rate this program a 7, but if I could use it with the 1581 it would get an 8.
   Both programs have extensive documentation on disk, with the ability to print it out.  Label Wizard comes with a utility program to print out an entire disk of graphics.
   Which program is best?  The one I use depends on what type of labels I am doing.  If you want to make a number of different labels with the same graphic, geoLabel is more convenient.  GeoLabel is also the choice when positioning text and/or graphics is important.  If a few different labels with different graphics are needed, Label Wizard is easier to use.  With either program, you will save time if you prepare your graphics in advance, and copy them to your work disk.  
   If I had to use just one of these programs, I would probably choose Label Wizard.  Thank goodness no such limitation exists.
  	   (GeoLabel, $11.95 from Roger Lawhorn, 3632 Gray Fox Drive, New Albany IN 47150) 	     
(Label Wizard, current price unknown, from Cornucopia Software, P.O. Box 2638, Portland OR 97208)

(Reprinted from the Fresno Commodore User Group/64UM newsletter, The Interface, July 1990)