What is a .ozl file?

A .ozl file is a label design made in Labels by Zaweba. Inside, it is JSON, a plain structured text format, holding one label's items (its text, merge fields, shapes, barcodes and QR codes) and its pictures. You can save it anywhere you like and open it again in Labels to reuse or change the design.

If someone has sent you a .ozl file, it is a ready-made label: open it in Labels, choose your contacts or a sheet, and print.

What a design file holds

A label design in Labels is a set of items placed on one label: text with its font, size, colour and alignment; merge fields such as {Name} and {Address}; pictures and logos; rectangles, ellipses and lines; barcodes; and QR codes. The .ozl file records all of these and where they sit.

Pictures are stored inside the file itself rather than linked. That means you can move a design to another PC, email it to a friend or copy it to a USB stick, and the logo comes with it. Deleting the original picture from your folders afterwards doesn't affect saved designs.

What it does not hold

Nor does it hold printing choices such as the start position, the number of sheets or the copies of each label. Those are set each time you print, which is right, because they change from job to job. A .ozl file holds a design, not your address book. Your contacts are kept separately, in a local database on your PC, so sharing a design never shares anyone's address. When the design is printed, the merge fields are filled from whichever contacts, group or CSV rows you choose at the time.

Opening and saving

In Labels, designs save and open as .ozl files from the designer tab. Recent designs are remembered, so the ones you use often are close at hand. Because the file can live anywhere, it makes sense to keep designs together in a folder of their own, with names that say what they are for: Return address small, Christmas cards L7160, Jam jar labels.

Labels comes for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the design format is the same on all three, so a .ozl file made on one opens on the others.

Why JSON

JSON is plain text with a simple structure, which keeps the format open and durable. It isn't something you need to edit by hand, and the designer is the comfortable place to change a label. But a plain format is less likely to be stuck behind one program's quirks in years to come, and it backs up and copies like any other small file.

Good habits with design files

A design made for one stock usually works best on that stock. If you buy a different label sheet, such as moving from L7160 (21 per sheet) to L7163 (14), open the design, choose the new stock and check the items still sit well on the larger or smaller label before saving it under a new name. The designer edits one item at a time, with handles to resize and arrow keys to nudge, and everything snaps to 0.5 mm, so adjusting a design is quick.

Save a new design under a new name before making big changes to one that works. Then you can always go back.

Keep your designs in a folder that is backed up. A good label design takes time to get right, and losing it is annoying.

When you share a design, mention which label stock it was made for. The design is built for a particular label size, so whoever opens it should use the same sheet or roll for the best result.