BiblioViva Documentation
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Step-by-step guide

Edit the card template

The card template decides what is printed on the front and back: logo, library name, photo, name, class, barcode, background. This guide is for the administrator who wants to change the look of the cards by drawing with the mouse, without writing code.

  • Time: about 30 minutes for a first touch-up, plus the time for a test print.
  • Account: admin, the only one who sees the Print templates page.
  • Requirements: the card printer and a sheet of plain paper for the test. For a custom logo or background, the image file (PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or SVG).

The templates shipped with BiblioViva are not edited directly: an editable copy is created first, which is the real subject of this guide. The original stays available to go back to at any time.

Procedure

Create the copy to edit

  1. Open Administration and press Configuration.
  2. Press the Print templates box, in the Appearance, classes and templates group. The page opens with the tabs Cards, Labels and Slips.
  3. Stay on the Cards tab. The list shows the templates: the one normally in use is called default and carries the Shipped with BiblioViva mark.
  4. Press Customise on the default template. A window opens explaining that a copy with the same name is created, which takes the place of the original.
  5. Press Customise in the window. The message "Template customised: its copy can be changed" appears and the template carries the Customised mark.
The list of card templates, with Customise and Duplicate on the shipped template
Figure 1. The list of card templates, with Customise and Duplicate on the shipped template

Note. Customise keeps the same name: the settings that use default use the copy at once. Duplicate instead creates a template with another name, to be chosen afterwards in the settings (see "Use a template with another name").

Upload the images (optional)

  1. Open the "Images and fonts" list on the customised template.
  2. Press Upload a file and choose the image. Allowed formats: PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, SVG; the maximum size is indicated under the button.
  3. Repeat for each image needed. The file appears in the list with the "not used" mark until some element uses it.

Draw the card

  1. Press Edit on the customised template. The template editing page opens, in the Design view, with the Front of the card at actual size.
  2. Click a box of the card to select it. The selected box shows its handles and the panel on the right lists its properties.
  3. Drag the box to move it, or drag the corner to change its size. Positions snap to the grid; the grid distance is changed with Grid, and Zoom shows the card larger for working precisely.
  4. As an alternative to the mouse, use the keyboard arrows (one grid step at a time) or write the numbers in the X (mm), Y (mm), Width and Height fields of the panel.
  5. To change a printed datum (for example the last name), select the box and change Field in the panel. The data available are those of the card: first name, last name, card number, class and section, library name, school year, issue and validity dates.
  6. To change a fixed text, select the box of type Text and write in Text.
  7. To change the look of a text box, use Size (pt), Typeface, Bold, Italic, Uppercase, Alignment and Colour.
  8. To add an element, press one of the buttons under Add: Field, Text, Barcode, Photo, Image, Box or Free HTML. The Image button works only after at least one image has been uploaded.
  9. To remove an element, select it and press Delete in the panel, or the Delete key.
  10. If two elements overlap, select one and use Bring forward or Send backward.
The card editor: the front at real size and the properties panel
Figure 2. The card editor: the front at real size and the properties panel

Important. Keep texts and photos inside the dashed line that appears on the card, 2 mm from the edge: when printing front and back on the two sides of the sheet, the back may shift by about a millimetre.

Note. The Photo box is printed only if patron photos are on. If the administrator has switched them off, the card comes out without a photo: see Switch off photos or covers.

Change the background and the size

  1. Press Back to move to the rear face.
  2. Click on an empty space of the card, so that no element stays selected. The panel shows Face background.
  3. To use a ready-made background, press Choose a background and click the wanted image. The ready-made backgrounds extend 3 mm beyond the edge of the card: the extra part is cut away.
  4. To use a custom image, press Upload an image and choose the file; alternatively choose a file already uploaded in Background image.
  5. For a colour instead of the image, switch on Background colour and choose it.
  6. To change the size of the card, write the new values in Width (mm) and Height (mm) under Card size. The Rotate: portrait or landscape button swaps the two measures. The size applies to this template only; that of all the cards is changed in Configuration → Cards.
The Ready-made backgrounds window of the card editor
Figure 3. The Ready-made backgrounds window of the card editor

Save and check

  1. Check the preview: it updates by itself shortly after each change. If the template cannot be printed, a red box appears with the reason and Save stays off.
  2. Press Save. The message "Template saved" appears.
  3. To give up changes not yet saved, press Discard changes.
  4. Go back to the Print templates page and press the Previews tab.
  5. Choose the template in the list. On the right Front and Back appear at actual size.
  6. Press Real patron and search for a patron by last name, to see the card with real data. With Sample patron test data are seen.
  7. Press Whole sheet to see how the card sits on the A4 sheet.
  8. Press Print test page, print on plain paper at 100% (without "fit to page") and check that the printed 10 cm ruler measures 100 mm.
The card preview, with the front and the back at real size
Figure 4. The card preview, with the front and the back at real size

Use a template with another name

This step is needed only for a template created with Duplicate, or to give teachers a card different from the students'.

  1. Open Administration → Configuration and choose the Cards section.
  2. In the Template per patron type block choose the template in Students' card, in Teachers' card or in both. The entry starting with "Same as the default" uses the default template.
  3. Press Save. The message "Card templates saved" appears.

Result

Cards printed from the moment of saving use the edited template. Cards already printed do not change. Every save is a configuration change and can be undone: see Undo a configuration change.

To go back to the original template, in the list of templates press Back to the original on the customised template: the copy is deleted and the template shipped with BiblioViva is used again.

Possible problems

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