WD: How to Create and Save Custom Labels in Word

ID: Q142965

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article describes how to create and save custom label settings in a template. When you use the Custom Label option in Envelopes And Labels, you can only create and save one custom setting. If you modify that setting, the previous setting is lost. If you create a custom label and save it as a template, your custom setting is saved even if you create another custom label.

MORE INFORMATION

Create a Custom Label Sheet

There are several ways to create a label sheet. This article describes three methods you can use to design the label sheet. Start each method after creating a new blank document.

Method 1: Define the Custom Label

Use the appropriate method for your version of Word.

Word 98 Macintosh Edition:

 1. On the Tools menu, click Envelopes And Labels.

 2. Click the Labels tab.

 3. Click Options.

 4. Under Printer Information, click to select your printer type, Dot
    Matrix or Laser And Ink Jet.

 5. Click New Label.

 6. In the Label Name box, type a name for your custom label. Enter the
    exact height and width measurements of one label and the number of
    labels across and down one page. You may also need to adjust the
    margins and pitches slightly.

 7. Click OK.

    NOTE: If the following prompt appears

       The margins, label size, and number across or down values produce a
       page that is larger than the label page size.

    click OK, and then verify that your label dimensions and page margins
    combined aren't larger than the actual paper size.

 8. Click OK.

 9. Click New Document.

    NOTE: If the paper size of the label sheet is something other than the
    default 8.5-by-11 inch size, change the paper size and document
    margins. To do this, follow these steps:

     a. On the File menu click Page Setup.

     b. Click a paper size.

10. Save the document as a template. For more information on how to save
    the template, see the "Save the New Template" section later in this
    article.

Word 6.x, 7.x:

 1. On the Tools menu, click Envelopes And Labels.

 2. Click the Labels tab.

 3. Click Options.

 4. Under Printer Information, click to select your printer type, Dot
    Matrix or Laser.

 5. In the Product Number list, select either Custom Dot Matrix or Custom
    Laser. Click Details.

 6. Enter the exact height and width measurements of one label and the
    number of labels across and down one page. You may also need to adjust
    the margins and pitches slightly.

 7. Click OK.

    The following prompt should appear:

       You have changed the custom label information. Do you want to save
       these changes?

 8. Click OK.

    NOTE: If the following prompt appears

       The margins, label size, and number across or down values produce a
       page that is larger than the label page size.

    click OK, and then verify that your label dimensions and page
    margins combined aren't larger than the actual paper size.

 9. Click OK.

10. Click New Document.

    NOTE: If the paper size of the label sheet is something other than the
    default 8.5-by-11 inch size, change the paper size and document
    margins. To do this, follow these steps:

     a. On the File menu click Page Setup. Click the Paper Size tab,
        or the Custom Paper Size button (on the Macintosh).

     b. Change the Width and Height values.

11. Save the document as a template. For more information on how to save
    the template, see the "Save the New Template" section later in this
    article.

Method 2: Choose a Predefined Label and Modify the Measurements

1. On the Tools menu, click Envelopes And Labels.

2. Click the Labels tab.

3. Click Options.

4. Under Printer Information, click to select your printer type, Dot

   Matrix or Laser.

5 In the Label Products list, select Avery Standard.

6. In the Product Number list, choose the Avery label with the closest

   dimensions to your custom label.

   NOTE: Verify that the Avery Label page size is close to your label
   sheet. Click Details and verify that the Number Across and Number Down
   are correct.

7. Click OK twice and then click New Document. The labels appear in a
   table.

8. Make any necessary changes to the labels by selecting the table and
   changing the cell height and width measurements (Table menu) for each
   label, and the margins (File menu, Page Setup) for the label sheet.

9. Save the document as a template. For more information on how to save the
   template, see the "Save the New Template" section later in this article.

Method 3: Create a New Table and Use Precise Measurements

 1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.

 2. Click the Paper Size tab (or the Custom Paper Size button on the
    Macintosh).

 3. Change the Width and Height values to match your specific label sheet
    size.

 4. Click the Margins tab (or the Margins button on the Macintosh).

 5. Set the Top margin equal to the distance from the top edge of the label
    sheet to the top edge of the first label. Do the same for the Bottom,
    Left, and Right margins. Click OK.

 6. On the Table menu, click Insert Table.

 7. Type the Number of Rows and Number of Columns per sheet and click OK.

 8. On the Table menu, click Select Table.

 9. On the Table menu, click Cell Height And Width.

10. Click the Row tab.

11. Change the Height of Rows to Exactly. In the At box, type the number of

    inches for the height of the label. For example, if the label is 1.5
    inches high, enter "1.5 in" (without the quotation marks).

    NOTE: If you don't use the suffix "in," Word uses points by default.
    For this example, you could also use "108 pts".

11. Click the Column tab. Change the Width Of Columns value to the width of
    one label in inches. Change the spacing between columns if needed.

    NOTE: The default measurement for columns is inches.

12. Click OK.

13. Save the document as a template.

Save the New Template

1. On the File menu, click Save As.

2. Type a name for the template.

3. In the Save File As Type box, click Document Template. The file name

   should now have a .dot extension.

   NOTE: Make sure you save the file in the Template folder.

3. Click OK (Windows) or Save (Macintosh).

   At this point you can close the template and create a new document.

4. On the File menu, click Close.

5. On the File menu, click New.

6. Select the template you just created and click OK.

You are ready to begin typing names in each label. Use the TAB key to move from one label to the next.

REFERENCES

For additional information on how to format the margins within a label, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q142966
   TITLE     : How to Format Margins Within a Table Cell or Label

Additional query words: custom creating create make design label avery howto customized customise customize 8.0 8.00
Keywords          : wordnt word8 macword98 winword ntword macword word6 word7 word95 
Version           : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a; WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; winnt:6.0
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS winnt
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: April 15, 1999