What's new

By Alexis Rios-Negron · ThermalPrint 0.12.0

This page lists what changed recently and links to the full explanation of each tool. Your version is shown in ☰ → About ThermalPrint.

Version 0.12.0#

• Labels saved while ThermalPrint was closed. The watch folder used to ignore everything already in it when the app opened, so a label downloaded while ThermalPrint was closed was never picked up. Now ThermalPrint remembers when it last checked the folder, and when it opens it adds the labels saved since then, with a message saying how many. With Print labels automatically on, they print like any new label, each after the Cancel countdown. Files that were already there when you turned watching on are still ignored. See Watching a folder.

Version 0.11.1#

• Easier to find. Searching for words like shipping label, thermal printer, 4x6, barcode, ZPL, or Vinted now finds ThermalPrint in your software center and in your desktop's app search. Nothing else changes in the app.

Version 0.11.0#

• Five new built-in fonts. Condensed, Monospace, Serif, Headline, and Rounded join the default font. They come with ThermalPrint, so a design prints the same on every computer. See Fonts.
• Your computer's fonts. Label text can use the fonts installed on your computer, found by name with a search box. Fonts made only for other writing systems are left out.
• Choose a font. The font button of a text object opens a window that shows each font's name in that font, opens at the text's current font, and closes when you pick one.
• Your last font is remembered. New text starts with the font you chose last, or the default font until you choose one. Bold uses a font's bold face when it has one.

Version 0.10.0#

• Rotated printing. An optional setting in the Label Designer's Label setup: tick Rotate 90° when printing to design a wide label on its side, so the text reads straight while you work, and it is rotated 90° when it prints to fit the label stock as loaded. A banner over the canvas says so, an As printed card shows how the label comes out of the printer, and Rotate the other way turns it the other direction. Printing, numbered runs, batches, sheets, and ZPL are rotated; PDF, PNG, and SVG exports are not. See Rotated printing.

Version 0.9.2#

• 0.9.1 for Debian and Ubuntu. The 0.9.1 changes below did not reach the APT repository; 0.9.2 brings them there. Nothing else changes in the app. The screenshots in this manual show the new title bar.

Version 0.9.1#

• A title bar like other GNOME apps. The app name and the main menu (☰) sit above the sidebar, the name of the area you are in is centered above the workspace, and the window buttons are small and round. See The window at a glance.
• Light and dark follow your system. The Appearance choice is gone from the main menu: ThermalPrint is always light or dark like your desktop. See Light and dark mode.

Version 0.9.0#

• Print labels automatically. A new option under Watch a folder, off by default and remembered, prints single-page labels whose crop needs no review by themselves when they land in the watch folder. Each waits 5 seconds with a Cancel button, a Pause auto-print button stops everything, Most per minute limits bursts, Only files named filters by name, every file prints once, and a failure pauses automatic printing with a message. The first time you turn it on, a warning explains the risk and recommends a folder used only for labels. See Printing labels automatically.
• The printable area explains itself. When Show printable area has nothing to shade, a short note says why, for example that the printer's driver reports no unprintable border, which is common for thermal printers.
• Safe margin. View → Safe margin (also in Print Center) keeps content a set distance from the edge, from 0 to 10 mm, and is remembered for each printer. It is shaded on the canvas and objects inside it are flagged, even when the driver reports no border. See Safe margin. The shading is also stronger.

Version 0.8.0#

• A logo in the middle of a QR code. Select a QR code, press Add logo… under Logo in the center, and choose a picture or one of your saved logos. The code switches to the highest error correction and is never smaller than 37 × 37 squares, and the clear box for the logo is limited to 30 % of the code's width, which is checked by decoding rendered codes in the app's tests. A red note says how wide to make the code so the logo scans, and a code that is too small for a logo is refused instead of printed unreadable. See A logo in the middle.

Version 0.7.2#

• The app always opens on Home. Version 0.7.0 jumped straight to Import & Convert when a saved queue was waiting. Now Home is always first, and the Restore your last queue? card appears there with large Restore and Discard buttons. See Keeping the queue between sessions.

Version 0.7.1#

• A more modern, larger Home screen. The two start cards are bigger and are buttons all the way across, with a tall colored button and an arrow. Templates are large icon tiles, recent documents are clickable rows, and the printer is a status chip at the top right. See The Home screen.
• A Print button next to the preview. A new row above the preview has previous / next with a Label 2 of 5 counter, a Reviewed checkbox, and a green Print button with a printer icon, so you no longer scroll to the bottom of the sidebar. When Print is unavailable, point at it to read why. It does the same as Print label in the sidebar and Ctrl+P. See The preview.

Version 0.7.0#

The watch folder#

• A visible Watching indicator. A green dot, the word Watching, and the folder's name stay at the top of the sidebar while watching is on. If the folder cannot be read, a red message says why, watching keeps trying, and Turn watching back on restarts it. See Watching a folder.
• Undo for Processed. After labels are moved, an Undo button is offered for 12 seconds, and Add from Processed… brings back any older label.
• A printer for watched labels. Choose one printer for labels from the watch folder; the app switches to it automatically.

The print queue#

• Thumbnails for every queued label, and Alt+← / Alt+→ to move between labels. Ctrl+Enter prints the current label and shows the next. See The print queue.
• The queue is remembered. After a restart or crash you can Restore or Discard it.
• Keep going if a label fails lets Print all skip a failed label and carry on, and Skip review for automatic crops removes the review wait for layouts you trust.
• Will print summary: the copies, size, printer, and resolution are shown just before the Print button.

Messages and getting started#

• Messages that stay. Results and errors appear in a message box for a few seconds, and the Messages button beside the status bar lists the last 30. See The workspace.
• Get ready to print. New users see a short checklist on Home until a printer and media are chosen.
• Every screen text is translated. A test now fails if a new label has no Spanish, German, or French translation.

Version 0.6.3#

• Move printed labels to a Processed folder. A new checkbox under Watch a folder moves each label you print from the watch folder into a Processed subfolder and takes it out of the queue, then shows the next label. It is off by default. See Automation.
• Fewer missed labels. The watch folder no longer ignores a new file that reuses the name of one you imported earlier, and it copes with very large folders.

Version 0.6.2#

• Previews of saved labels in your file manager. The Debian and Fedora packages now include a thumbnailer, so a .thermalprint file shows a picture of the label instead of a generic icon. The file manager runs thermalprint --thumbnail for you; it draws the label without opening a window. Thumbnails appear after the package is updated and the file manager is restarted. See Opening saved designs.
• Icon fix for the Snap. The register helper now also copies the file icon into your current icon theme's folders, which fixes themes such as Zorin that showed a generic icon. Run it once more after updating.
• Works with regular printers. The documentation and store descriptions now say that, although ThermalPrint is made for thermal printers, it also works with laser and inkjet printers (see the FAQ).

Version 0.6.1#

• Delete buttons. The delete buttons in the address book, logo, and template lists are now trash icons. Every icon button also has an accessible name for screen readers.
• Symbols in dark mode. Symbol and logo previews sit on white so they are visible in the dark theme.
• File icon. Saved .thermalprint files show the ThermalPrint icon in file managers. Snap users run the register helper once more after updating.

Version 0.6.0#

Arranging and checking a design#

Text, images, and codes#

Printing#

Reusing your work#