How to Use Dashleigh Label Templates in Microsoft Word

Every Dashleigh label sheet has a free Word template laid out to match it exactly. This guide takes you from the download to the first print, in Word for Mac or Windows.

Step 1: Download the right template

1. Find the template number on your label pack. It's a four-digit number, such as 8395.
2. Go to Find Your Template and search for the number or the label size.
3. On the template page, under Or download for Word, Pages and PDF, click Word.

Your template page also lists the sheet's margins and label size, under Print it right the first time.

Step 2: Open it and click Enable Editing

Word opens files from the internet in Protected View, with a yellow bar across the top and most buttons greyed out. Click Enable Editing in that bar.

If the title bar says Compatibility Mode, the template is an older .doc file. Word will ask you to Convert it the first time you add a text box or picture. Click Convert; the layout stays the same.

Step 3: Show the label outlines

Each template is a table with one cell per label. If you see a blank page, the table lines are hidden.

• Mac: click inside the page, then Table Layout > View Gridlines, or Table > View Gridlines in the menu bar.
• Windows: click inside the page, then Table Layout (or Layout under Table Tools) > View Gridlines.

The dotted lines show on screen only. They do not print.

Step 4: Design your first label

For a single line of text, click inside a label and type. For anything more (a logo, several lines, text over a background), use pictures and text boxes set to In Front of Text, so nothing jumps when you add the next piece. The full walkthrough is in how to add text boxes and images to a Word label template.

• Keep text and logos at least 1/8 inch inside the label edge.
• Background colors can run to the edge of the label.
• Once the first label is right, group it and copy it into the other labels.

Step 5: Remove anything that shouldn't print

Some templates come with a guide picture of the label shapes, or a watermark with instructions. Delete them before you print:

• Guide picture: click it (you'll see handles on its corners) and press Delete.
• Watermark: Design > Watermark > Remove Watermark (Windows), or Design > Watermark and choose No watermark (Mac).
• Solid lines around the labels: those are table borders, and they will print. Click in the table, go to Table Design > Borders and choose No Border. The dotted gridlines stay on screen so you can still see your labels.

Step 6: Print a test page

Print one page on plain paper at 100% (Actual Size, not Fit to Page), hold it against a label sheet up to the light, and check the corners. Then print on the label sheet. If anything is off, see how to print labels that line up.

Common questions

• My text box won't rotate. See why a text box won't rotate in Word.
• My images keep moving. Set each one to In Front of Text and Fix Position on Page; see text boxes and images in Word.
• Can I use Pages or Google Docs instead? Yes. Every template page has an Apple Pages file and a PDF too.

Would you rather design in a browser? Every Dashleigh template also opens in Canva, with free ready-made designs in the free label design directory.

Still stuck? Email customerservice@dashleigh.com with your template number and a screenshot, and we will help.