Build A Card Design

Build Cards and Labels Based on your Data

ID Flow Designer and Label Flow Designer allow you to create custom badges and labels based on your own data and images. With these tools, you can create 1D and 2D barcodes, encode smart cards, and RFID, and make attractive cards for your events, visitors, or staff. ID Flow Designer is bundled into ID Flow, Lobby Track, and Eventleaf. Label Flow Designer is bundled into Label Flow, Asset Track, and Inventory Track.

Step 1. Select Your Group.

Starting to build your card or label is easy. Go to Settings, and double click on your group. Select the third menu: Visitor or Attendee Badge in Lobby Track and Eventleaf, or Asset or Inventory Label in Asset Track and Inventory Track. Click on the Edit button and Yes to launch ID Flow or Label Flow Designer.

Step 2. Use the Toolbox to Add Your Data.

The Toolbox is the menu along the left-hand side of your screen. These buttons provide most of the tools you need to add data, images, and encoding to your cards and labels.

	The Pointer Tool allows you to select and move elements on your card design.
	The Zoom Tool allows you to change your magnification level. Left click to increase your magnification, and right click to zoom out.
	We provide Line, Rectangle and Ellipse Drawing Tools that allow you to create lines and shapes with background colors, patterns, and varying thickness.
	The Text Tool allows you to add text, database fields, and system-based data.
	The Image Tool allows you to add photos from your database as well as static or variable images from your computer.
	The Barcode and 2D Barcode Tools allow you to create barcodes based on your data that can be read by most standard barcode scanners.
	We offer Magnetic Stripe, Chip Encoding and RFID encoding tools that can encode either your database fields or system information.

 Step 3. Add Information from Your Database.

To add a database field, click the  Text Tool from the Toolbox, and click on the badge where you want to add data.

The Text tool allows you to add and format text as well as add database fields, visit fields (Lobby Track v7 only), date and time information, and more. To add a database or visit field, click the + Field button and select Database Field or Visit Field from the drop down menu. This will open up a list of fields from the appropriate database tables that you can insert into your card design.

Step 4. Add a Photo.

To add a photo, click the  Image Tool and click and drag to select an area on your badge design. That will open up the Image Properties window, where you will have the following options:

• Fixed image from a file – a great choice for adding a company logo.
• Variable image from file or internet – a good choice for photos that are stored remotely.
• Variable image from database – a perfect choice for user images for photo badges and ID cards.
• Image captured or selected at print-time – The best choice if you don't want to store or maintain an image collection.

For most installations to add a Visitor photo, click the Variable image from database and select the database field. This is normally the Photo field. Then click OK. This will add the photo associated with the user’s record to their ID card.

Step 5. Add a Barcode or Encoded Data.

Before selecting a barcode or encoded data element, look at your peripheral requirements. If you have a 1D barcode scanner, then select the  Barcode Tool. If you have a 2D barcode scanner, then you can select either barcode option.

For encoded data elements, check your printer options. If you have a printer that can encode magnetic stripes, smart chips, or RFID, then select the appropriate element.

To add a 1D Barcode click the Barcode Tool and click and drag the area where you would like the barcode to be. We highly recommend leaving the area behind the barcode white, and making the barcode as large as possible. The more data you are storing in the barcode, the more closely packed the lines in the barcode will be.

This will open up the Barcodes Properties window. The data to encode entry field defaults to show five zeroes. Delete those out and click the + Field button. For barcode scanning, you should encode the same data that you are using as your barcode field or unique identifier. Barcodes need to encode a minimum of three characters, so check that the field you wish to encode is long enough.

In the Barcode Type tab, you can change which barcode type you are using for your barcodes. The barcode type defaults to Code 39, which is a great all-purpose symbology for alpha-numeric barcodes. The Jolly Software Suite supports most standard barcode symbologies.

Under the Readable Text tab, you can instruct our software to print the barcode text underneath or above the barcode. This is a great option for times when your barcode scanner isn’t available or while troubleshooting your badge design.

If your printer can do double-sided printing, then we highly recommend placing your graphical elements on the front and the barcode on the back along with any additional text you might want to include. This allows you to create the most visually pleasing badge design for your group or event while still having an easily scannable barcode for quick check in and check out.

To turn on double-sided badges, click the Double Sided checkbox from the menu. Then to switch between the two sides, you can go to View > Front Side or View > Back Side. Other than a barcode, other useful things to put on the back side of your badge include a return addresses and organizational information.

Now you have all of the elements for a great badge design. You can make them your own with additional graphics or additional elements such as layers, gradients, and conditional printing.