Label Planet
Here's what to do if you've opened a Word template and can't see anything that resembles your sheet of labels.
You may have tried to open one of the built in templates in Word, only to find that you are presented with a blank page OR you may have downloaded one of our Word templates and opened it to find that you’ve got a screen that is filled with a Label Planet product code and nothing else.
Don’t Panic!
If this has happened to you, it’s a simple thing to fix! All you need to do is to turn on gridlines and you’ll be able to see the outlines of your labels, so you can start adding your design to your template.
Word templates are usually made by creating a table whereby the cells in the table represent the position of the labels on a sheet (along with any gaps between or around the labels); this means that you need to turn on TABLE GRIDLINES to be able to see the template layout (confusingly, Word also has PAGE GRIDLINES, which will add gridlines to the background of your template document but WON’T help you see the outline of the table). The way to do this will depend on the version of Word that you are using; simply locate your version of Word from the options below and follow the guidelines provided:
Word 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007
- Left click once somewhere inside the table you want to format (aiming for the centre of the page is a good bet!)
This will cause new tabs to appear in the ribbon at the top of the page. - Beneath “Table Tools”, click on the “Layout” tab, find the group called “Table” (usually on the left hand side), and click “View Gridlines”.
Word 2003
- Click on the “Table Menu” tab at the top of the page, and click “Show Gridlines”.
Word for Mac 2016
- Click once somewhere inside the table you want to format.
- Select the “Layout” tab (next to the “Table Design” tab), and click “View Gridlines”.
Word for Mac 2011
- Click once somewhere inside the table you want to format.
- Select the “Table Layout” tab, find the group called “Settings”, and click “Gridlines”.
Once you have enabled gridlines, you simply need to add your design to the spaces provided; remember that we strongly advise that you test print your template onto blank paper BEFORE you put your labels in your printer so that you can verify that the alignment is correct (and make any necessary adjustments if it isn’t).
NB: if you have downloaded a Word template from our website but find that you are unable to make any changes to your template at all, it is likely that your document has been temporarily locked; there should be a yellow banner across the top of the page, along with a button that says “Enable Editing” – simply click this button and the template will be unlocked so that you can start editing!
To download a template from our website simply visit our Template Section or take a look through our Help Section and Blog posts to find more helpful tips and advice for designing and printing your own labels.