Substruct Knowledge Base

With a Palm OS based handheld, you can gather data for the Label Maker from anywhere in your store. Before you can use your Palm device, you must make sure it meets all of the following requirements: it must have DDH Software’s HanDBase 3 installed, it must have the Substruct Labels database installed in HanDBase, and it must have an infrared (IrDA) port in order to beam sections to your computer. For assistance meeting these requirements, contact technical support.

Collecting Data for the Label Maker on a Palm OS Device

HanDBase 3 is a database program designed for use with Palm OS devices. Inside the program you will find the three main Substruct databases: Order, Labels, and Counts. The following steps will walk you through opening HanDBase 3 and using the Labels database to gather data.

Opening HanDBase 3

• Click the Home icon on the screen of you handheld.
• From the top right-hand corner of the screen, select All from the categories list.
• Find and click on HanDBase 3 (it looks like a picture of a thumb). This open the program.

Opening the Counts Database

Once you are in HanDBase 3, you need to get to the main screen of the Labels database. This screen has Labels written on a tab in the top left-hand corner of the screen. If you are not at this screen, us the steps below to get there. Otherwise, see the Entering Records into the Labels Database section below to continue.

• If you see Edit Record or New Record instead of Labels, click the OK button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. You should now be at the main screen of the Labels database.
• If you see a different database name, such as Order or Counts, then you are in a different database altogether. See the Getting to the Home Screen of Handbase 3 section bellow. Once you are at the Home screen of HanDBase, highlight Labels and click Open.

Once you have the Labels database open, see the Entering Records into the Labels Database section below.

Getting to the Home Screen of HanDBase 3

Use the Home screen of HanDBase 3 to open the Labels database (if it is not already open).

• If you are already at the home screen of HanDBase, you will see a list of all of the installed databases (Counts, Labels, etc.) If you do not see this list then follow the steps below to get there.

  1. If the top left-hand corner of the screen says Edit Record or New Record then click OK. You should now be viewing all of the records contained in the current database. See number two.

  2. If you are at the main screen of a database you will see the name of that database in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Click the Home button (this button is different that the Home button on the input pad. This button says the word “Home” under it.) You should now be at the HanDBase home screen (it should say “HanDBase” in the top left-hand corner). From here you can open the database you wish to use.

Entering Records into the Labels Database

Once you are in the Labels database, you can begin adding records.

• Click New to create a new record.
• Enter or scan the stock or UPC number of the item you want a label for into the Stock field.
• Click OK to save the record, or click New to save and create a new record.

Once you are finished collecting data and you want to load it into Substruct Utilities for reviewing and printing, see the Beaming a Handheld Labels Database section below.

Deleting One Record from a Database

• From main Labels screen, select the record you wish to delete.
• Click on the Edit Record tab to bring up the menu bar.
• From the Record menu, select Delete Record.
• When asked, “Are you sure you want to delete this record?” click Yes.

Deleting All Records from a Database

When you are ready to start a new order, you must first delete all of your old records from the database.

• From main Labels screen, click on the Labels tab to bring up the menu bar.
• From the Actions menu, select Delete Records.
• When asked, “Delete All Records _Within_ Filter ranges or _Outside_ of Filter range?” click Within.

Important Note: Keep in mind that deleting all records is much different than deleting the entire Labels database - deleting all the records happens frequently, but deleting the database will require you to restore your handheld from backup!

Beaming a Handheld Labels Database

Once you have finished collecting data, you need to transfer the Labels database from the handheld to the computer you are printing your labels from. This is done by beaming the database using two infrared “eyes”: one located on the top or side of your handheld device and another plugged into a USB or serial port on your computer. Follow the steps below to beam your Labels database.

• On your handheld device, go to the Home screen. “HanDBase” should be in the top left-hand corner.
• Line up the infrared eye of your handheld with the infrared eye plugged into your computer. Keep the two 6 to 8 inches apart.
• Wait for the screen on your handheld to say “Waiting for Sender…” This means that a wireless connection has been established.
• Click Cancel. (You want to send a file, not receive one.)
• Highlight Labels from the list of databases.
• Click Beam.
• Click IR.
• Look at your computer screen. There should be a window asking, “[Your handheld name] would like to send the following file to your computer through a wireless link. File: Labels.hbp. Do you want to accept this file?” Click Yes.
• The database will now be transferred. For more information on where this file will get transferred to, click here.
  

  Loading a Handheld Database into Substruct Utilities

  After you have beamed your Labels database to your computer, the database needs to be loaded into the Label Maker module of Substruct Utilities.

  • Open the Substruct Utilities Label Maker module.
  • Click on the Handheld tab.
  • Click the Load Handheld button located in the top right-hand corner of the window.
  • The records will be loaded from the database.
  • After the records finishing loading, a window will appear telling you how many records were added. The stock number from the labels database will then appear in Label Maker. You can then print the labels using the Print button.
    

The Manual Labels Tab is used for manually typing in the labels you want to print.

At any time you can hit the Load Descriptions button at the top right hand corner of the window to look up the items in the Cougar Mountain database. If the item is in the database, the description field will be filled in with the item desctiption. If it is not in the system, the description field will read “INVALID STOCK NUMBER”.

While pressing the Load Descriptions button is not required to print labels, it is great for double checking the list of labels.

For more information on the Labels Tool, click the link below.

• Label Maker

The Label Maker is very useful for printing bin labels for your sales floor. Simply put, you input Ace numbers and/or UPC codes and the program automatically generates a sheet of bin labels, complete with descriptions, prices, and other product information.

The Label Maker contains three different ways for inputting labels. Click a link below for more information on each.

• Manual Labels
• Labels from a handheld device
• Labels from a wireless device