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Tag Types & the Tag Designer

A tag type defines one kind of tag your store prints: the physical label size and printer settings, plus the layout (which fields print where). Items, departments, and queued tags all reference tag types by name — see Tags (Print Queue) for how a tag gets assigned its type and how printing works.

There are two screens:

  • Tag Types — the list of tag templates and their measurements/printer settings.
  • Tag Designer — the drag-and-drop editor for a tag type's layout, opened via the Edit Template link on the Tag Types page.

Open the Tag Types page

  1. Go to Inventory → Tags.
  2. At the bottom of the page, click Settings & Tools to expand it.
  3. Click Manage Tag Types.

The page lists every tag type with its Code, Name, Type, Offset, Tags Across, Tags Down, Gap, Size, Rotation, Media Sensor, and Template (a preview image with an Edit Template link). Click a row's edit option to change its settings, or click + Tag Type to create a new one.

Tag type settings explained

When creating or editing a tag type you'll see these fields:

  • Code — a short identifier used internally (e.g. SHELF).
  • Name — the display name shown in every Tag Type dropdown (on items, departments, and the tag queue).
  • Type — how tags of this type are produced:
    • VMX — the layout is designed in the Tag Designer and printed to a label printer. This is the standard choice.
    • Letter (8.5x11) — tags are arranged on letter-size sheets and printed through your web browser's print dialog instead of a label printer.
    • NiceLabel — tags print through the third-party NiceLabel application; these types don't appear in the tag queue's Print menu. NiceLabel printing is set up per-client by VMX — contact help@vmxllc.com.
  • +/- Xmm and +/- Ymm — offsets that shift the printed image right/left and down/up on the label. Use these to nudge the print if it's landing off-center on your stock.
  • Tags Across and Tags Down — how many tags sit side by side (and stacked) on the stock, for rolls or sheets with multiple tags per row.
  • X Gap mm and Y Gap mm — the gap between adjacent tags on the stock.
  • Width mm and Height mm — the size of a single tag. Both are required and must be numbers; otherwise you'll see the error "Ensure height and width are set as numbers."
  • Rotation — rotates the printed output (None, -90 deg, 90 deg, 180 deg) to match how the stock feeds through the printer.
  • Media Sensor — how the printer detects where one label ends and the next begins. Choose the option matching your stock: Reflective (sticker) for sticker stock, Transmissive (loop) for loop tags, Continuous for continuous unmarked stock — or leave (Default) to use the printer's own setting.

All measurement fields accept millimeters. You can also type inches — enter 2" or 2in and the value converts to millimeters automatically when you save.

The Default and None tag types

Two built-in tag types are protected:

  • Default — cannot be edited or deleted ("Cannot edit the 'Default' tag type." / "Cannot delete the default tag.").
  • None — cannot be edited or deleted ("Cannot edit the 'None' tag type." / "Cannot delete the 'None' tag type."). Assigning None to an item or department means no tags are queued for it.

"Cannot delete tag type (used by ...)"

A tag type that's still referenced can't be deleted. Depending on what references it you'll see one of:

  • "Cannot delete tag type (used by department ...)."
  • "Cannot delete tag type (used by sub department ...)."
  • "Cannot delete tag type (used by item # ...)."
  • "Cannot delete the company default tag type."

Reassign the departments, sub-departments, or items to a different tag type (or ask help@vmxllc.com to change your company default), then delete.

Open the Tag Designer

On the Tag Types page (Inventory → Tags → Settings & Tools → Manage Tag Types), click Edit Template in a tag type's Template column — or click the preview image itself. The Tag Designer opens showing the tag at its real proportions, with a properties panel on the left and a live black-and-white print preview on the right.

The designer only applies to tag types whose Type is VMX or Letter (8.5x11) — NiceLabel layouts are maintained in the NiceLabel application.

Add, move, and resize fields

  • Click New Field to add a text field to the tag, then drag it into position. Drag a field's edges to resize it.
  • Click a field to select it — the properties panel updates to show that field's settings.
  • Click Delete Field to remove the selected field.
  • Text, barcode, and QR code fields show a small red label (like PRICE or Fixed) naming their data source. These labels are editor-only and never print.
  • Every change redraws the preview on the right, which shows exactly how the tag will render at printer resolution.

Click Save when you're done. You'll see "Tag saved!" on success.

Field types

Each field on the tag has a Type:

  • Text — prints the field's value as text (see text formatting below).
  • Barcode — renders the value as a scannable barcode. Barcode Type offers CODE128, UPC, and CODE39; CODE128 is the usual choice for item barcodes.
  • QR Code — renders the value as a QR code. Pairing this with the Item URL source prints a code customers can scan to open the item on your website.
  • Image — a static image. To add one, drag an image file from your computer and drop it directly onto the tag canvas. Fit Mode controls scaling: Default fits the whole image inside the field, Cover fills the field (cropping edges as needed).

Any field can also be rotated with the field-level Rotation setting (None, 90, 180, 270).

Field sources (what data prints)

The Source dropdown picks which item data fills the field when tags print. Common sources:

  • PLU, Description, Ext. Desc — the item number and description lines.
  • Name, Variety, Color, Size — the item's component name fields, plus combinations: Name + Variety + Color, Variety + Color, and Description, Color 1st.
  • Web Description / Web Name / Web Variety / Web Color / Web Size — the website versions of those fields.
  • Barcode — the barcode value chosen on the queued tag.
  • Price — the tag's price formatted with a dollar sign and cents (e.g. $49.99). Price (Dollars) drops the cents for whole-dollar prices (e.g. $50).
  • Vendor Code, Vendor Name, Part # — vendor information from the queued tag.
  • PO #, PO Item Note — the purchase order the tag came from.
  • Department, Care Info, Memo, Receipt Note — additional item text fields.
  • Attribute:... — one entry per inventory attribute your store has defined, printing that attribute's value.
  • Image URL — a link to the item's photo. Printing the photo itself (an Image field with this source) is enabled per-client by VMX — contact help@vmxllc.com if you'd like item photos on tags. Item URL — the item's page on your website (typically as a QR code).
  • Current Date — the date the tag is printed.
  • Fixed Value — prints whatever you type in the Value box on every tag (e.g. your store name).
  • Dynamic (JavaScript) — an advanced option that computes the value with a JavaScript expression. Contact help@vmxllc.com if you need a computed field.

Text formatting

With a Text field selected, the properties panel offers:

  • Align (Left / Right / Center) and Vertical Align (Top / Middle / Bottom).
  • Font Family — Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Courier New, or Brush Script MT.
  • Decoration — Underline, Italics, Bold, Strike checkboxes.
  • Text Size — Auto shrinks or grows the text to fill the field (bounded by Font Min Size and Font Max Size); Fixed uses the exact Font Size you enter.
  • Text Max Length — truncates long values to at most this many characters.

Auto sizing is the reason most tag layouts survive long plant names: set a sensible Font Max Size and let short names print big while long names shrink to fit.

Preview with a real item

The designer previews with sample data by default. To see the layout with one of your actual items, type into the Example item ... box in the header and pick an item from the autocomplete — the canvas and preview redraw using that item's real description, price, barcode, and attributes.

Contrast and Error Diffusion (black-and-white rendering)

Label printers print pure black and white, so the Tag Designer's right-hand preview shows the tag after conversion:

  • The Contrast slider sets the cutoff for which grays become black versus white. Raise the value if light text or images are disappearing (washing out to white); lower it if the tag is filling in too heavily with black.
  • The Error Diffusion checkbox switches to a dithered rendering that simulates shades of gray with dot patterns — usually the better choice when the tag includes photos. When it's on, the Contrast slider is disabled.

Tag types set to Letter (8.5x11) skip this black-and-white conversion — those sheets print through your web browser as-is.

These settings are saved with the layout when you click Save.

Save, or Save As a new tag type

  • Save stores the layout on the current tag type ("Tag saved!").
  • Save As... prompts "Enter new label name:" and creates a new tag type with a copy of this layout — useful for making a variant (say, a sale version of your shelf tag) without touching the original. The designer then switches to editing the new copy.

Layout changes take effect the next time tags of that type are printed from the tag queue.