Defining a Label Format

After the LIST-LABEL command is entered, the system displays a question mark prompt:

>LIST-LABEL CUSTOMERS FULL-NAME STREET CITY/ST ZIP

At this prompt, specify the label format on a single line as:

Format

count, rows, skip, indent, size, space (, C)

Parameter(s)

count	Number of labels (items) across each page or screen.
row	Number of lines (attributes) printed for each label. Remember to count the item-ID as one line. This attribute is automatically included in the labels unless using the ID-SUPP modifier in the query.
skip	Number of lines to skip vertically between labels.
indent	Number of indented spaces from the left margin to the label. 0 is a valid response.
size	Maximum width for each attribute line (in other words, the width of each label in columns).
space	Number of horizontal spaces between labels.
C	Specifies that null attributes should not be printed. Otherwise, null attributes appear as all blanks. This parameter is optional.

Description

The total width specifications cannot exceed the page width (normally 80 characters for terminals, and 80 or 132 characters for printers). Determine the available width using this formula:

(count*(size+space)+indent) <= (page width)

page width

Value defined by the TERM command for the terminal or printer.

If a value other than zero is specified for the indent parameter, the system prompts to define headers for each row in a label:

The number of ? prompts corresponds to the value entered earlier for rows. For each prompt, type in the desired header and press ENTER. (To avoid defining a header, simply press ENTER.) These headers will appear at the left margin in the indent area of the listing.

The next example shows partial output for a roll of mailing labels that has three labels in each horizontal row:

NAME	ASH, MARY	BOHANNON, JOHN	BROWN, JAMES
ST	912A OAK STREET	126 TREMONT ST.	129 BOYLSTON ST.
CITY	INDIANAPOLIS,IN	BOSTON,MA	BOSTON,MA
ZIP	98754	21300	21300

NAME	BUCKLER, JULIE	EDGECOMB, DAVID	EDWARDS, TONY
ST	26 STONE AVENUE	338 BROADWAY	51 BLAIR AVENUE
CITY	LINCOLN,IN	MIAMI,FL	SUDBURY,MA
ZIP	02144	39007	01776

NAME	HIGGINS, HENRY	JENKINS, HAROLD	JOHNSON, ANNE
ST	54 25TH STREET	1222 MAIN STREET	760 JEFFERSON ST
CITY	OMAHA,NB	INDIANAPOLIS,IN	LOUISVILLE,KY
ZIP	39977	48865	99475

NAME	JOHNSON, HENRY	LAMPSON, BOB	LEARY, BILL
ST	45 5OTH STREET	344 TREMAIN ROAD	34 TREMONT STREET
CITY	OMAHA,NB	BOSTON,MA	BOSTON,MA
ZIP	39977	74332	74332

>

The labels in the example were generated by this SORT-LABEL statement:

>SORT-LABEL CUSTOMERS BY LAST-NAME FULL-NAME STREET CITY-ST ZIP ID-SUPP COL-HDR-SUPP

?3,4,2,8,18,4

?NAME

?ST

?CITY

?ZIP

The preceding statement defines a label format that prints three labels across. Four lines (attributes) are displayed for each label, two vertical lines are skipped between each row of labels. There is an initial indent of eight spaces, a maximum of eighteen characters for each attribute, and four horizontal spaces between each label. The ID-SUPP modifier suppresses the inclusion of item IDs, and the COL-HDR-SUPP modifier suppresses the default page headings.