Is ZPL Designer completely free?

Yes, ZPL Designer is completely free to use with no limitations.

Do I need to install anything to use ZPL Designer?

No, ZPL Designer is a web application that runs directly in your browser. You can optionally install it as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for offline access.

How are labels generated in ZPL Designer?

ZPL Designer offers three rendering options: a built-in rendering engine that works offline and links each rendered element to its ZPL code, the Labelary API for cloud-based rendering, or direct output to a Zebra printer on your local network over HTTP.

Can I use ZPL Designer commercially?

Yes, you can use ZPL Designer for any commercial or personal project.

Does ZPL Designer work offline?

Yes, by installing ZPL Designer as a PWA, you can use it offline. The built-in rendering engine and direct Zebra printer preview both work offline. Only the Labelary preview requires an internet connection.

Documentation

ZPL Designer Features

A free, modern web-based IDE for designing and previewing Zebra ZPL labels — no install required.

Editor

Intelligent ZPL Code Editor

Built on Monaco Editor (the engine behind VS Code), the editor provides a professional coding experience tailored for ZPL.

Syntax highlighting — Commands, parameters, field data, comments and variables are color-coded for instant readability
IntelliSense — Auto-completion for all 80+ ZPL commands with parameter documentation
Parameter assistance — Context-aware parameter hints with valid values
Command Assistant — Visual form with all parameters, live preview, and one-click insertion
Contextual help panel — Real-time documentation showing the current command's description, usage syntax, and parameter table
Auto-uppercase — Typing ^by automatically converts to ^BY
Code folding — Collapse ^XA...^XZ label blocks for easier navigation
Field hex support — ^FH hex escape sequences are properly recognized and decoded

File Management

File Operations

Open / Save .zpl files with native Save As dialog (Chrome/Edge) or download fallback
Drag & drop — Drop a .zpl or .txt file directly onto the editor
Auto-save — Your code is preserved across browser sessions
PWA file association — When installed, ZPL Designer opens .zpl files directly from your file manager

Preview

Three Render Engines

Internal (default) — Real-time local rendering using Canvas 2D, updates as you type, no network needed
Labelary — Cloud rendering via the Labelary API for pixel-perfect output. Manual refresh (F5)
Zebra printer — Render directly on your Zebra printer's embedded web server

Preview Interactions

Zoom — Mouse wheel or toolbar buttons, from 10% to 300%
Rotate — 90° left/right rotation
Pan — Ctrl+drag or middle-click drag
Crosshair — Hover to see ZPL dot coordinates in real-time
Shift+click — Insert ^FO{x},{y} at your cursor position
Copy / Save — Copy label image to clipboard or save as PNG

Editor-Preview Linking

Internal render only

Hover over a rendered element to highlight the corresponding code in the editor
Move the cursor in the editor to highlight the corresponding element on the canvas
Click on a rendered element to jump to its source code

Multi-label Support

ZPL code with multiple ^XA...^XZ blocks renders each label separately with prev/next navigation.

Template Variables

Variable System

Define variables in your ZPL code using configurable delimiters (default {{name}}), and set their values in the side panel.

Auto-detection — Variables are automatically found in your code
CSV import — Import variable values from a CSV file (comma, semicolon or tab separated)
Click to insert — Click a variable name to insert it at the cursor
Custom delimiters — Configure the opening/closing delimiters to match your workflow

Label Configuration

Label Formats

15 predefined formats — Common label sizes (4"x6", 102x51mm, A6, etc.)
Custom formats — Add your own label dimensions in mm, cm or inches
DPI selection — 152, 203, 300 or 600 dpi to match your printer

Multi-printer Management

Add multiple Zebra printers by IP address. Each printer appears as a preview source with auto-detected model name and resolution. Online status is checked automatically.

Custom Fonts

Map Zebra Fonts to System Fonts

ZPL Designer lets you map Zebra font names to fonts installed on your computer, so your labels render with the correct typography.

^A@ support — Use ^A@N,30,30,R:MYFONT.FNT in your ZPL and ZPL Designer will render it with the mapped system font
Font alias (^CW) — Map a single-letter shortcut to a named font (e.g. ^CWA,R:ARIAL.FNT then use ^AAN,30,30)
System font browser — On Chrome/Edge, the font picker lists all fonts installed on your system. Other browsers show a curated list of common fonts
Live preview — See how the selected font looks before confirming
Persistent mappings — Font configurations are saved to your browser and restored on next visit

How it works

Go to the Config tab in the side panel
Under Custom Fonts, click Add
Enter the Zebra font name (e.g. MYFONT) and select the system font to use (e.g. Arial)
Use ^A@ or ^CW in your ZPL code — the internal renderer will display the mapped font

ZPL Rendering Support

The internal renderer supports a wide range of ZPL commands:

Text

Bitmap fonts A-H
Scalable font 0
Custom font mapping (^A@) — map Zebra font names to your system fonts
Font aliases (^CW)
Character encoding (^CI)
Field blocks (^FB) with word wrap, alignment and rotation
Text blocks (^TB)
Field hex (^FH)

Barcodes 1D

Code 128 / GS1-128 (^BC)
Code 39 (^B3) / LOGMARS (^BL)
Code 93 (^BA), Code 11 (^B1)
Interleaved 2 of 5 (^B2)
Codabar (^BK)
EAN-8 (^B8), EAN-13 (^BE)
UPC-A (^BU), UPC-E (^B9)
Code 49 (^B4), Planet (^B5)
GS1 DataBar (^BR) — all 12 variants

Barcodes 2D

QR Code (^BQ) with error correction levels
Data Matrix (^BX)
Aztec (^B0 / ^BO) with compact/full-range layers
PDF417 (^B7)
MaxiCode (^BD)

Graphics

Graphic box, circle, ellipse, diagonal line (^GB, ^GC, ^GE, ^GD)
Graphic field / embedded bitmaps (^GF) — Z64, B64 and type A compression
Graphic symbols (^GS) — registered trademark, copyright, etc.
Download graphics (~DG) and image recall (^IM, ^XG)

Formatting & Control

Field origin (^FO) and field typeset (^FT) with orientation-aware anchoring
Print orientation (^PO), label reverse (^LR), field reverse (^FR)
Field orientation (^FW)
Map clear (^MC) for overlay rendering
Field numbers (^FN) for format templates
Download/recall formats (^DF / ^XF)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+S`	Save file
`Ctrl+O`	Open file
`Ctrl+N`	New file
`Ctrl+K`	Search commands
`Ctrl+Space`	IntelliSense
`F5`	Refresh preview
`F6`	Print label
`Shift+Scroll`	Adjust numeric parameter
`Shift+Click (preview)`	Insert ^FO at position
`Scroll (preview)`	Zoom
`Ctrl+Drag (preview)`	Pan

Printing

Print Options

F6 to print from any source
Internal / Labelary source opens the browser print dialog
Zebra printer source sends ZPL directly via HTTP

Customization

Themes

Dark and light themes
Configurable accent color with preset palette
Editor minimap toggle

Installable PWA

Install ZPL Designer as a desktop application for quick access and offline use. Opens .zpl files directly from your file manager.

Technical

Privacy & Freedom

100% client-side — Your ZPL code never leaves your browser (except when using Labelary or Zebra preview)
No account required — No sign-up, no login
Free to use — No trial, no limitations
Works offline — The internal renderer works without an internet connection (PWA mode)
CORS proxy companion — A lightweight binary (zero dependencies) enables direct communication with Zebra printers on your local network

Report a Problem

Built-in Feedback Form

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Use the built-in report form to send feedback directly from the app.

Quick access — Available from the status bar or the About dialog
Optional email — Leave your email if you'd like a follow-up
Include ZPL context — Optionally attach your current ZPL code, label format, DPI and renderer to help reproduce the issue
No account needed — Just describe the issue and hit Send