Generate ID Cards

Use Member Manager > Library Cards > Generate Cards when you already have a saved Member List and want to generate member ID cards for printing, sharing, or image export.

For the best results, use the Standalone app when generating ID cards. Libcodesk WebApp can generate PDF and PNG output, but the Standalone app gives the most controlled experience for printer selection, printer correction, direct print, and local file export.

Card design is handled separately in Design Library Card Templates. This guide focuses on selecting members, checking the preview, choosing output, and generating cards.

What This Screen Does

The Generate Cards screen has two main areas:

• Generate Cards panel: choose saved Member Lists, search the list table, select the card template, and start generation.
• Preview panel: inspect the selected template with real sample member data before producing output.

Across the top of the Library Cards workspace, the main actions are:

Action	What It Does
Refresh	Reloads saved Member Lists, templates, and current card settings.
Generate Cards	Opens the card-generation work area.
Card Templates	Opens reusable template management and the card designer.
Page Layout	Opens Page Layouts For ID Cards for paper, roll, rows, columns, gaps, margins, and start position.
Printer Settings	Opens Printer Settings For ID Cards in the Standalone app for direct printer correction.

The Generate Cards workspace keeps list selection, template choice, sample-data preview, and output actions together. On smaller screens, sections stack so the same workflow remains reachable.

Before You Start

Prepare these items first:

• A staff role with Library Cards permission.
• Member records with the details you want on the card.
• A saved Member List containing the members who need cards.
• A card template, such as Horizontal ID Card, Vertical ID Card, or a copied user-defined template.
• A default Page Layout, usually A4 Standard unless your paper or roll is different.

For physical printing, especially printer-specific alignment, duplex correction, roll media, or repeated batch printing, use the Standalone app. For the best results, use the Standalone app when generating ID cards.

Create A Member List

Member Lists are reusable groups prepared from the Member module. They are useful for a class, department, admission batch, visitor group, staff group, renewal batch, or selected members.

To create a Member List:

1. Open the Member module.
2. Search, filter, or select the members who need cards.
3. Use the member-list creation action.
4. Enter a clear name, such as Class 12 Students - June or New Staff Cards.
5. Save the list.
6. Return to Member Manager > Library Cards > Generate Cards.

Library Cards does not create the group directly. It uses saved Member Lists so the same group can be generated again later.

Step-By-Step: Generate Cards

1. Open Member Manager > Library Cards.
2. Choose Generate Cards.
3. Select one or more Member Lists.
4. Choose the card template below the Member List table.
5. Check the Preview panel.
6. Use Fetch Member Data when member details were recently added or edited.
7. Switch between Ideal, Min, and Max sample data.
8. Use Front and Back if the template has two sides.
9. Use the magnify action when you need to inspect small text, photo placement, barcode size, or QR code spacing.
10. Choose Generate.
11. In Libcodesk WebApp, choose PDF or PNG.
12. In the Standalone app, choose PDF, PNG, or Print.
13. Watch the progress until the run finishes. The bar moves through member-list loading, card rendering, and final PDF/PNG file creation.

PDF output creates a printable batch. PNG output creates image files. Print output is available from the Standalone app where Libcodesk can use the selected system printer.

Member fields shown by the selected template, including Member Type and Membership Plan, are carried from the preview data into PDF, PNG, and Print output. Before a large run, refresh the preview and confirm these fields on a small Member List.

The Generate Cards dialog keeps the output choice, output folder, selected template, and progress state in one place. In Libcodesk WebApp this dialog shows PDF and PNG only.

Preview Panel

The Preview panel helps you catch problems before generating a full batch.

Control	Use It For
Front / Back	Switch between the two sides of a two-sided card template.
Ideal	Shows a balanced normal sample from member data.
Min	Shows short values so you can check empty spacing.
Max	Shows the longest values so you can catch overflow and barcode problems.
Refresh preview	Refreshes preview samples from current member records.
Magnify	Opens a larger preview for closer inspection.

Use Max before every important batch. Long names, long Member IDs, longer plan names, and long dates can expose problems that are not visible in the ideal sample.

Use magnified preview to inspect member name fitting, Member ID placement, photo crop, QR code spacing, and barcode readability before generating cards.

Output Options

PDF

Use PDF when you want one printable batch file. PDF is best for:

• printing later,
• sending to a print vendor,
• keeping a batch record,
• checking the final sheet layout before printing.

In Libcodesk WebApp, generate and download the PDF first, then print it manually from the browser or PDF viewer. Browser print dialogs can apply their own paper and scaling settings, so check Actual Size or 100% when printing.

PNG

Use PNG when you need separate image files for each member.

Libcodesk creates organized folders:

• one folder for each selected Member List,
• the folder name uses the list name plus a short timestamp,
• front images are saved as MemberID_front.png,
• back images are saved as MemberID_back.png for two-sided templates.

This helps staff export the same list more than once without overwriting earlier files.

Print

Direct Print is available in the Standalone app. Use it when the library prints cards regularly from the same device or printer.

For the best results, use the Standalone app when generating ID cards, especially when you need direct printer selection, printer-specific correction, cutting guides, duplex handling, roll media, or repeated physical output.

Page Layout And Printer Settings

Use Page Layout before generation when cards need a different sheet, roll, row, column, gap, margin, or start-position arrangement. See Page Layouts For ID Cards.

Use Printer Settings in the Standalone app when a specific printer needs offset, duplex, scale, rotation, DPI, density, cutting-guide, gap-sensor, or black-mark correction. See Printer Settings For ID Cards.

Libcodesk WebApp focuses on PDF and PNG output. For direct printing and printer-specific correction, use the Standalone app.

Test Before A Large Batch

Generate a small output before a large batch.

For the easiest check, create or select a small Member List first, generate PDF or PNG, and inspect the output before producing a larger class, department, or visitor batch.

In the Standalone app, use Print for a small selected list when you need to confirm physical size, margins, front/back alignment, cutting guides, barcode scanning, and QR code scanning.

Barcode And QR Checks

Use the Max preview when checking barcodes. The longest Member ID needs the most barcode width.

Barcode warnings appear before generation so staff can fix the template instead of discovering scan problems after printing.

If a barcode warning appears:

1. Increase the barcode width.
2. Increase barcode height if the bars are too short.
3. Use Member ID instead of long values such as email or UUID.
4. Keep visible Member IDs short and consistent where possible.
5. Generate one sample and scan it before printing the full batch.

Best Practices

• Use the Standalone app for the most reliable ID card generation and printing.
• Keep Member IDs readable and not unnecessarily long.
• Test Ideal, Min, and Max preview modes before generating.
• Use A4 Standard unless your actual paper or roll media requires something else.
• Save custom Page Layouts only when the same paper setup will be reused.
• Use Printer Settings only for real printer correction; do not redesign the card to fix one printer's offset.
• Generate a sample PDF or printed sample before large batches.
• Scan the barcode and QR code from the printed sample, not only from the screen.
• Keep important text, photos, QR codes, and barcodes inside the safe area.
• Use clear Member List names so exported folders and PDFs are easy to recognize later.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What To Try
Wrong members are included	Return to the Member module, update the Member List, then generate again.
No members are generated	Confirm that at least one Member List is selected and that the list still contains members.
Preview shows *	Use Fetch Member Data. If it remains, the selected template field has no value in the current member records.
Name or Member ID does not fit	Check Max preview. Adjust the template text box, font size, or field placement.
Barcode does not scan	Check the barcode warning, widen the barcode, use a shorter data source, print a sample, and scan the printed sample.
QR code does not scan	Make the QR code larger, keep it away from card edges, and avoid printing over a busy background.
PDF prints at the wrong physical size	In the PDF viewer or browser print dialog, use Actual Size or 100% scale.
Cards are positioned wrongly on the sheet	Open Page Layout, confirm paper size, orientation, gaps, rows, columns, margins, and start position.
One printer is slightly misaligned	Use the Standalone app Printer Settings and save a printer profile instead of changing the card design.
Browser print output looks different	Generate PDF from Libcodesk WebApp, then print from a PDF viewer at 100%, or use the Standalone app for best results.
PNG export is hard to identify	Use clear Member List names. Libcodesk uses list names and timestamps for export folders.

Do And Don't

Do:

• Create Member Lists before opening Generate Cards.
• Use the default template and A4 Standard layout when starting.
• Use the Standalone app when direct printing or printer correction matters.
• Test one sample before a large batch.
• Keep PDFs and PNG folders named clearly for later reference.

Don't:

• Print a large batch without checking the Max preview.
• Ignore barcode warnings.
• Use browser print scaling without checking the final size.
• Save a custom Page Layout for a one-time experiment unless it will be reused.
• Change the card template during live card preparation unless staff know the design changed.

FAQs

Should I use Libcodesk WebApp or the Standalone app?

Use Libcodesk WebApp for convenient PDF and PNG generation. For the best results, use the Standalone app when generating ID cards, especially when direct printing, printer selection, calibration, or repeated physical output matters.

Can I generate cards for only filtered members?

Yes. Apply filters in the Member module, save those members as a Member List, then select that list in Generate Cards.

Why does Libcodesk WebApp not show Print in the Generate window?

Browser printing depends on browser and operating-system print dialogs. Libcodesk WebApp keeps output reliable by generating PDF or PNG. Use the Standalone app when direct printing is required.

Do I need to create a custom Page Layout?

Usually no. Start with A4 Standard or another built-in preset. Create or copy a layout only when your paper, roll, gaps, margins, or rows and columns are different.

Should I print a test card first?

Yes. A printed sample confirms size, margins, front/back alignment, photo crop, barcode scanning, and QR scanning before a large batch.