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Manpage of PRINTCAP

PRINTCAP

Section: File Formats (5)
Updated: LPRng-3.9.0
Index
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NAME

printcap - printer capability data base  

SYNOPSIS

printcap database  

DESCRIPTION

The format of the LPRng printcap database was based on the termcap(5) data base file format. Entries in the printcap Each entry in the data base is used to define various options and values to control the printing and spooling of print jobs.  

LPD.CONF, SYSTEM AND USER PRINTCAP FILES

Default configuration values are read from the LPRng configuration file /etc/lprng/lpd.conf, consult the lpd.conf(5) man page for details about them. The system printcap file /etc/lprng/printcap contains information common to all users and the LPRng printing system. Finally, the user printcap files is in ${HOME}/.printcap and contain user configurable information for printer information. The values in the user printcap file override values in the printcap file which override the default values in the /etc/lprng/lpd.conf file.

The user printcap file is used by client programs such as lpr , lprm , lpq , and lpq to allow the user to define either a special set of printers, provide additional configuration information, or to modify default settings in the /etc/lprng/printcap, or /etc/lprng/lpd.conf file.  

CAPABILITIES

The printcap database files format is based on the termcap (5) database format, modified as follows. Leading whitespace on each line is discarded, and blank lines or lines which then start with a comment character (#) are discarded. A line which does not start with a colon (:) or bar (|) starts a printer entry definition. Lines ending with a backslash (\) are assumed to continue to the next line; this is for compatibility with other historical printcap file formats. Trailing blanks and tabs (whitespace) for an option value are deleted unless the last one is escaped with a backslash (``\''). If a colon character value is required then the \: escape sequence can be used, e.g.: dest=ftp\://address/file.

A printer definition starts with a primary printer name, followed by zero or more alternative printer names, followed by a set of keyword entries and values. For example:


#comment
# primary printer name
lp
#alternate names
 |lp2|lp3
 |Example of a printer
 :sd=/usr/spool/LPD/lp
 :rw:lp=/dev/lp:mx#100
include /etc/printcap/mainprintcap

The special printcap definition include will read the named file, which must have an absolute pathname, as the next set of printcap entries.

Keywords can be 1 to an indefinate number of characters long, and are case sensitive. Values for keywords can be strings (:st=string:), signed integer values using the C language notation, (:nu#12:max#-2:mask#0x1EF:), or flags (:flag: to set to 1, :flag@: to clear to 0). Integer values must be representable as 32 bit 2's complement numbers; care should be taken with extremely large numbers.

If the primary name of a printcap entry starts with a punctuation character, then the entry may be referenced using the tc capability, but is ignored otherwise. This allows common printcap information to be placed in a single entry.

The special printcap entry oh (i.e. - only this host) may be used to select a printcap entry for use by one or more hosts. The oh entry can be a list of one or more host names or glob type of patterns. These patterns are first applied to the host's fully qualified domain name, and then used to to a lookup of an IP address. If either the glob match or the host has a matching IP address then the printcap entry is selected for use. In addition, the server flag indicates that only the LPD server is to use this printcap entry. This allows client and server printcap information be to be segragated in a simple manner.

The following is a list of the keywords currently used by the LPRng software. Many of these keywords are used only by the LPD server, others are used by the client programs LPR, LPC, LPRM, PAC, as well as the server. In the Use column in the table below, an A stands for all programs, D stands for lpd, and R stands for the client programs such as LPR.

Some of these entries can only appear or have an effect if they are in the lpd.conf initialization file. See lpd.conf(5) for further details.  

ENTRIES BY ALPHABETICAL ORDER


FL  Use Type Default     Description
Xf  D   str  NULL        output filter for format X (used by lpd).
                         'filter' sets default filter
ab  D   bool false       always print banner, ignore lpr -h option
achk    D    bool false
                         If TRUE LPD and the :as specifies a remote host or
                         filter or the :af specifies a remote host or filter
                         then after writing the accounting information to the
                         destination a resply will be read.  The value of the
                         reply determines how the job is to be handled. 
ae  D   str              accounting format for end of job or a program to run
                         to record accounting information (see also af, la, ar
                         and Accounting).
af  D   str  NULL
                         accounting file, filter, or remote accounting server
                         (see also la, ar, as, ae, achk). If format is |/path then
                         the program will be started and accounting information
                         will be written to the program STDIN.  If the format
                         host%port, a tcp/ip connection will be made to port
                         on host and the accounting information written to the
                         remote host.  In both of these cases the write operation
                         must succeed or an error will result.  If the format
                         is neither of these cases then the value will be treated
                         as a file and accounting information appended to the file
                         if it exists.  The accounting file will not be created,
                         it must exist for LPD to append data to it.
                         The :as and :ae fields have the accounting information.
ah  D   bool false       auto-hold - job held until explicitly released
all A   str  NULL        a list of all printers; (see ALL PRINTERS)
allow_duplicate_flags    A   bool    false
                         allow duplicate command line flags; last overwrites earlier
allow_getenv A           bool    (compile time)
                         allows LPRng software to use the LPD_CONF environment variable
                         to specify the location of a configuration file.  This is
                         for testing only.
allow_user_logging       A   bool    false
                         if mail is requested using lpr -mhost%port,prot operations,
                         and the allow_user_logging flag is true,  then job logging
                         information will be sent to host%port,prot.
allow_user_setting  A  str NULL
                         allow these users to impersonate other users with the
                         lpr -U user@host, lpc -U user@host, etc., options
append_z     A           str
                         append these options to the -Z options for the job
ar  D   bool true        write remote transfer accounting (if af, and as/ae set)
architecture A           str (compile time)
                         architecture the software was compiled for. (Obsolete.)
as  D   str              accounting format for start of job or a program to run
                         to record accounting information (see also af, la, ar
                         and Accounting).
auth    R    str         NULL
                         client to server authentication type
be  D   str              banner printing program for end (overrides bp, hl)
bk  R   bool false       Berkeley-compatible: be strictly RFC-compliant
                         or more exactly, BSD LPR compatible when sending jobs.
bk_filter_options        D   str (see source code)
                         when bk flag set, options for non OF print filters
bk_of_filter_options     D   str (see source code)
                         when bk flag set, options for OF print filters
bkf R   bool false
                         use bk_filter_options and bk_of_filter_options when
                         invoking print filter.
bl  D   str              banner line - sent to banner printer program
                         default: $-'C:$-'n Job: $-'J Date: $-'t
                         expands to:  Class:User  Job: job Date: date
                         This is to force compatibility with vintage print filters
                         that require a non-standard banner string. Usually used with
                         :sb: option.
bp  D   str              banner printing program (see hl)
                         (default: configuration variable default_banner_printer)
bq_format    D           str l   format of output from bounce queue filters
br  D   num  none        if lp is a tty, set the baud rate (see ty)
break_classname_priority_link    A   flag    false
                         Do not set priority to first letter of class name
bs  D   str              banner printing program for start (overrides bp, hl)
cf  D   str  NULL        cifplot data filter
check_for_nonprintable   R   bool    false
                         lpr checks f and p formats for printable files
check_for_protocol_violations    R   bool false
                         check for RFC1179 protocol violations
chooser D    str         load balance queue destination chooser program
chooser_interval         D   num 10
                         load balance queue does checks for a 
                         destination queue available at this interval
chooser_routine          D   bool    false
                         use the user provided chooser routine for this queue
class_in_status          A   bool    true
                         show class name in lpq status rather than priority
cm  A   str  NULL        comment identifying printer (LPQ)
config_file  A           str /etc/lprng/lpd.conf
                         location of LPRng configuration information.  Compile
                         time option only - see allow_getenv.
connect_grace            A   num 0
                         time between jobs to allow printer recovery
connect_interval         A   num 10
                         time between open or connection attempts
connect_timeout          A   num 10
                         timeout value for connection or open
control_file_line_order  D   str NULL
                         Put the control file lines in a specific order
control_filter           D   str NULL
                         Filter for control file. Used when sending job to remote
                         spool queue.
create_files D           bool    false
                         create log, debug, etc., files automatically
db  A   str  NULL        LPD debug options when serving this queue.
                         See lf (log file) entry as well.
default_format           R   str f
                         default format for printing jobs
default_permission       D   str A
                         default permission for operation
default_printer          A   str lp
                         default printer for printing jobs
default_priority         R   str A
                         default priority for printing jobs
default_remote_host      A   str localhost
                         default remote host for printing operations
default_tmp_dir          A   str /tmp
                         default temporary directory
destinations D           str NULL
                         names of printers that lpq/lprm should talk to
                         find a job that has been processed by a router
                         script (see README.routing)
df  D   str  NULL        tex data filter (DVI format)
done_jobs    D           num 1
                         retain status for last N jobs
done_jobs_max_age        num 0
                         remove status older than N seconds (0 - no removal)
exit_linger_timeout      A   num 10
                         socket SO_LINGER timeout value
fd  D   bool false       if true, no forwarded jobs accepted
ff  D   str  ``\f''      string to send for a form feed (see INITIALIZATION)
filter  D    str         NULL
                         default filter to use for printing file
filter_ld_path           D   str (see source)    
                         the LD_LIBARY_PATH environment variable value for filters
filter_options           D   str (see source code)
                         when bk flag clear, options for non OF print filters
filter_path  D           str (default '/bin:/usr/bin')
                         the PATH environment variable value for filters
filter_poll_interval     D   num 30
                         interval to poll OF filter 
filter_stderr_to_status_file D   bool    false
                         set the filter STDERR to the status file and do
                         no report errors in the queue status file.
fo  D   bool false       print a form feed when device is opened
force_fqdn_hostname      A   bool    FALSE
                         Force a fully qualified host name in control file
force_ipadddr_hostname   A   bool    FALSE
                         Force the IP address of the host to be used for the
                         hostname in control file
force_localhost          A   bool    TRUE
                         Forces the clients programs (lpr, lpc, etc.)
                         to send all print jobs and requests to the server running
                         on the localhost entry for action.  This flag effectively
                         forces BSD LPR behaviour.
force_lpq_status         D   str NULL
                         Specifies a list of LPQ formats and hosts which get status
                         returned in this format.  For example
                         force_lpq_status=s=pc*;l=mac* will cause hosts whose
                         FQDN matches pc* to get short status and those which
                         match mac* to get long format.
force_queuename          A   str NULL
                         When :qq: flag or use_queuename configuration is enabled,
                         specifies the queuename to be used for control file Q
                         information.
ff_separator D           bool    false
                         need form feeds to separate job files
fq  D   bool false       print a form feed when device is closed
full_time    D           bool detailed time format specification in log messages
fx  A   str  NULL        valid output filter formats
                         i.e. ``flp'' would allow f, l, and p
                         default is to allow all formats
gf  D   str  NULL        graph data filter (plot (3X) format)
generate_banner          D   bool    false
                         generate a banner when forwarding job
group   D    str         daemon  LPD server group id for execution 
hl  D   bool false       print banner after job instead of before
if  D   str  NULL        filter command, run on a per-file basis
ignore_requested_user_priority   D   bool    false
                         Ignore the requested user priority when ordering jobs.
                         Prevents students... um... users from queue jumping.
ipv6    A    bool        false   Use IPV6
keepalive    A           bool    true
                         set socket SO_KEEPALIVE option
kerberos_keytab          D   str /etc/lpd.keytab
                         Kerberos lpd server keytab file
kerberos_life            D   str NULL
                         Kerberos lpd server key lifetime
kerberos_renew           D   str NULL
                         Kerberos lpd server key renewal time
kerberos_server_principle    D   str NULL
                         Kerberos remote lpd server principle
kerberos_service         D   str lpr
                         Kerberos service used in principle requests
la  D   bool true        write local printer accounting (if af is set)
ld  D   str  NULL        leader string printed on printer open (see INITIALIZATION)
lf  D   str  ``log''     error and debugging log file (LPD)
lk  D   bool false       lock the lp device to force arbitration
lockfile     D           str /var/spool/lpd/lpd
                         lpd lock file (used only in lpd.conf).
                The lpd_port port value is appended
                to the lockfile value to provide a unique lockfile
                even when different versions of LPRng are running
                on the same system.
logger_destination       D   str NULL
                         destination for logging information.  Format is
                         host%port
logger_max_size          D   num 1024
                         logger file maximum size in K
logger_path  D           str NULL
                         logger file pathname
logger_timeout           D   num 0
                         logger connection timeout.  0 is no timeout.
longnumber   D           bool    false
                         use 6 digit job numbers
lp  D   str  NULL        device name or pipe to send output to
lpd_bounce   A           bool    FALSE
                         Forces lpd to filter jobs and then forward them
                         as a single file
                         (See Bounce Queues)
lpd_force_poll           A   bool    FALSE
                         Forces lpd to periodically poll lpd queues.
lpd_poll_time            A   num 600
                         After this amount of idle time,  lpd will poll queues
lpd_port     D           str printer
                format is [ipaddr%]port.  If the ipaddr is present
                then the lpd listening socket is bound to the specified
                ip address and port only, otherwise it is bound to all
                interfaces. If the port value is not a number then the
                         then the getservbyname() system call is used to get the
                         port number.
lpd_printcap_path        D   str (see source)
                         printcap path for lpd, used instead of printcap path
                         (configuration value only)
lpr_bounce   R           bool    true
                         Forces lpr to filter jobs and then send them.
                         (See Bounce Queues)
lpr_bsd R    bool        false
                         when set, LPR -m will not take argument, but will use
                         $USER value for return mail address.
mail_from    D           str NULL
                         specifies the user part of email From: address
mail_operator_on_error   D   str NULL
                         send mail to this user when LPD encounters printing error.
max_connect_interval     A   num 60
                         maximum time between connection attempts
max_log_file_size        D   num 0
                         maximum log file size in K bytes (0 is unlimited)
                         spool queue log file truncated to min_log_file_size
                         when value is nonzero and limited exceeded.
max_servers_active       D   num 0
                         maximum servers that LPD will allow to be active at one
                         time.  0 selects the system default,  which is usually
                         pretty small, perhaps 10. (configuration value only).
max_status_line          D   num 79  maximum number of characters on an LPQ status line
max_status_size          D   num 10  maximum size (Kbytes) of status file
mc  R   num  1           maximum copies allowed
min_log_file_size        D   num 0   minimum size (Kbytes) of log file
min_status_size          D   num 2   minimum size (Kbytes) of status file
minfree D    str         0
                         minimum space (in K) for spool directory
ml  R   num  32          minimum printable characters for printable check
ms_time_resolution       D   bool    false
                         log time in milliseconds
mx  R   num  0           maximum job size in K, 0 = unlimited
nb  D   num  0           if non-zero, do a nonblocking open on lp device
nf  D   str  NULL        DITROFF data filter
network_connect_grace    A   num 0
                         time between attempts to send jobs to spooler
                         Useful when dealing with network printer using LPD
                         interface to allow a bit of time between jobs.
nline_after_file         D   bool    false
                         put the N (filename) after the data file information
                         in the control file.  Use to handle systems that want
                         it that way.
of  D   str  NULL        output filter, run once for all output
                         (used for banner printing, form feeds between files)
of_filter_options        D   str (see source code)
                         when bk flag clear, options for OF print filters
oh  A   str  NULL        Specific printcap entry for host;
                         (printcap entry ignored unless IP address of host and
                         entry value match.  Entry is used first to do glob
                         style match against the host's fully qualified domain name,
                         and then interpreted as a general IP address)
order_routine            D   bool    false
                         use a user provided routine to generate queue order
                         information.
originate_port           A   str 512 1023
                         when originating a connection, use ports in this range.
pass_env     A           str PGPPASS,PGPPATH
                         if not the LPD server, sanitize and put these variables
                         in a filter environment variable list.
perms_path   A           str /etc/lprng/lpd.perms
                         location of perms file (used in lpd.conf)
pl  D   num  66          page length (in lines)
pr  D   str  ``/bin/pr'' pr program for p format
prefix_o_to_z            D   bool    false
                         prefix the control file O line to the control file
                         Z line.
prefix_z     D           str NULL
                         prefix the specified options to the control file
                         Z line.
prefix_z_to_o            D   bool    false
                         prefix the control file Z line to the control file
                         O line.
printcap_path            A   str /etc/lprng/printcap
                         location of printcap file (only in lpd.conf)
ps  A   str  ''status''  printer status file name
pw  D   num  132         page width (in characters)
px  D   num  0           page width in pixels (horizontal)
py  D   num  0           page length in pixels (vertical)
qq  A   bool false       LPR - puts in the queue name (Q entry)
                         in the job control file when spooled or transferred.
                         LPD - when receiving or transferring a job,
                         if the queue name (Q entry) in the job control
                         file is not present,  puts in the queue name.
queue_control_file       D   str control.%P
                         name of the queue control file
queue_lock_file          D   str %P
                         name of the queue lock file
queue_status_file        D   str status.%P
                         name of the queue status file
queue_unspooler_file     D   str unspooler.%P
                         name of the queue unspooler status file
remote_support           A   str NULL
                         if non-null, specifies allowed operations to remote queue.
                         R=lpr, M=lprm, Q=lpq, V = lpq -v, C=lpc.  For example,
                         remote_support=RM would only allow LPR and LPRM operations.
remove_z     D           str null
                         remove these options from the control file Z line
report_server_as         A   str NULL
                         use the str value as the name of the server when reporting
                         LPQ or LPC status.
require_explicit_q       Require a queue to be specified, do not use default
                         queue from printcap.
retry_econnrefused       A   bool    true
                         if set, retry a connection to a remote system when an
                         ECONNREFUSED error is returned.
retry_nolink D           bool    true
                         if LPD is sending a job or opening a device for
                         printing and the value is true, then the connection or
                         device open is repeated indefinately.
return_short_status      D   str NULL
                         Some legacy (non-LPRng) LPQ programs expect 'short' status
                         to be returned.  This option allows you to specify which hosts
                         will get it.  The value is a list of hosts and/or IPaddresses
                         and masks to which the LPD server will provide short status.
                         For example:  return_short_status=192.8.0.0/16 will make LPD
                         return short status to all requests from hosts in subnet
                         192.8.0.0.  (See short_status_length)
reuse_addr   A           bool    false
                         if set, use SO_REUSEADDR on outgoing connection ports.
                         This reduces the problems with exhausting port numbers.
                         (usually only in lpd.conf)
reverse_lpq_status       D   str NULL
                         When a lpq status request arrives from one of the specified 
                         hosts or IP addresses,  then the LPQ status format is inverted.
                         For example, if  reverse_lpq_status=host*,127.0.0.0/8,
                         then when a LONG status request arrives from host1 or from
                         ip address 127.0.0.1,  the SHORT status will be returned.
reverse_priority_order   D   bool    false
                         Make highest priority A, lowest Z
rf  D   str  NULL        filter for printing FORTRAN style text files
rg  A   str  NULL        (restrict to group members)
                         Restrict use of queue to users which are members of
                         specified groups.
rm  A   str  NULL        remote-queue machine (hostname) (with rp)
router  D    str         NULL    script that dynamically re-routes a job
                         (see README.routing)
rp  A   str  NULL        remote-queue printer name (with rm)
rw  D   bool false       open the printer for reading and writing
safe_chars   D           str NULL
                         additional safe characters for control file contents
save_on_error            D   bool    false
                         Save job when an error occurs to allow post-mortem
                         diagnostics or reprinting.  This should only be set on
                         print queues.  It is also a diagnostic aid.
save_when_done           D   bool    false
                         Save job when done (printed, transferred) to allow
                         retry at a later time.  This should only be set on
                         print queues.  It is also a diagnostic aid.
sb  D   bool false       short banner (one line only)
sd  A   str  NULL        spool directory (only ONE printer per directory!)
send_block_format        A   bool    false
                         Use the LPRng extended 'block job' job transmission
                         method to send a job to a remote site.
send_data_first          A   bool    false   send data files then control files
                         when sending a job to a remote host.
send_failure_action      D   str "remove"
                         Action on print or transmission failure after send_try
                         attempts; use the following codes:
                         'success' (JSUCC)  - treat as successful
                         'abort'   (JABORT) - abort printer
                         'retry'   (JRETRY) - retry job
                         'remove'  (JREMOVE)- remove job
                         'hold'    (JHOLD)  - hold job
                         If the value is "|/filter", the filter will be run and
                         the number of attempts can be read from standard input.
                         The filter should exit with one of the error codes listed
                         above to cause the appropriate action.
send_job_rw_timeout      A   num 6000
                         timeout on read/write operations when sending job to
                         printer or remote host (0 value is no timeout)
send_query_rw_timeout    A   num 6000
                         timeout on read/write operations when performin a status
                         operation (0 value is no timeout)
send_try     A           num 3
                         number of times to try sending
                         or printing a job. 0 is infinite.
sendmail     D           str /usr/sbin/sendmail -oi -t
                         sendmail command to send mail to user.  Flags must be set
                         so that address and other information is taken from
                         standard input.
server  A    bool        false   printcap entry for server only
server_auth_command      A   str NULL
                         authentication command for server program
server_tmp_dir           D   str /tmp
                         temporary directory for server to create files when there
                         is no spool directory.
server_user  D           str daemon  server user name used in authentication operations
sf  D   bool true        suppress form feed separators between job files
sh  D   bool false       suppress headers and/or banner page
shell   D    str         /bin/sh
                         SHELL enviornment variable value for filters
short_status_length      D   num 1
                         If the return_short_status value is used and has a match against
                         a requesting address, this amount of status is set by the
                         short_status_length option.  For most legacy systems a 1 is
                         suitable (1 line of status).
socket_linger            A   num 10
                         if nonzero, forces a SO_LINGER operation to be done
                         on all TCP/IP connections.  This usually corrects a problem
                         with missing last data transmissions to remote hosts.
spool_dir_perms          D   num 042700  permissions for spool directory
spool_file_perms         D   num 0600    permissions for spool file
ss  D   str  NULL        name of queue that server serves (with sv)
stalled_time D           num 120
                         Time after which to report an active job as stalled
stop_on_abort            D   bool    true
                         Stop processing queue when print filter aborts.
stty    D    str         NULL    stty settings for serial connected printer
suspend_of_filter        D   bool    true
                         suspend OF filter and restart.  If false, close filter
                         and start new one for each activity.
sv  D   str  NULL        names of servers for queue (with ss)
syslog_device            D   str /dev/console
                             name of syslog device to use if no syslog facility
tc  A   str  NULL        reference to a printcap entry to include as part of
                         the current entry.
tf  D   str  NULL        troff data filter (C/A/T phototypesetter)
tr  D   str  NULL        trailer string to print when queue empties
translate_format         D   str NULL
                         translate job format (similar to tr(1) utility)
                         on outgoing jobs.
                         Example: translate_format=pfml
                         p format changed to f, m format to l
translate_incoming_format    D   str NULL
                         translate job format (similar to tr(1) utility)
                         on incoming jobs.  See translate_format.
use_date     A           bool    true add date line ('D') to control file
use_identifier           R   bool    true
                         add job identifier lines ('A') in the control file
use_info_cache           D   bool    true    cache printcap information
use_shorthost            R   bool    false
                         use only the hostname for job control
                         and data file names.  Host information in job file
                         will still be fully qualified domain name.
user    D    str         daemon  LPD effective user (EUID) for SUID operations
wait_for_eof D           bool    true
                         wait for EOF on input when readable IO device,
                         do not close immediately at job end.
vf  D   str  NULL        (Versatek) raster image filter
 

ENTRIES BY FUNCTION

See the alphabetical listing for detailed information.



Filters and Page Formats
Xf  D   str  NULL        output filter for format X (used by lpd)
                         'filter' sets default filter
cf  D   str  NULL        cifplot data filter
control_filter           D   str NULL
                         Filter for control file. Used when sending job to remote
                         spool queue.
df  D   str  NULL        tex data filter (DVI format)
direct_read  D           bool    false
                         if true, filters are given direct access to file.
                         This means no progress indication possible.
fx  A   str  NULL        valid output filter formats
                         i.e. ``flp'' would allow f, l, and p
                         default is to allow all formats
gf  D   str  NULL        graph data filter (plot (3X) format)
if  D   str  NULL        filter command, run on a per-file basis
lpd_bounce   R           bool    false
                         Forces lpd to filter jobs and then forward them.
                         (See Bounce Queues)
lpr_bounce   R           bool    false
                         Forces lpr to filter jobs and then send them.
                         (See Bounce Queues)
nf  D   str  NULL        DITROFF data filter
of  D   str  NULL        output filter, run once for all output
pl  D   num  66          page length (in lines)
pr  D   str  ``/bin/pr'' pr program for p format
pw  D   num  132         page width (in characters)
px  D   num  0           page width in pixels (horizontal)
py  D   num  0           page length in pixels (vertical)
rf  D   str  NULL        filter for printing FORTRAN style text files
translate_format         D   str NULL
                         translate job format (similar to tr(1) utility)
                         only valid when transferring to remote spool queue.
                         Example: translate_format=pfml
                         p format changed to f, m format to l
tf  D   str  NULL        troff data filter (C/A/T phototypesetter)
vf  D   str  NULL        (Versatek) raster image filter

Banners
ab  D   bool false       always print banner, ignore lpr -h option
be  D   str              banner printing program for end (overrides bp, hl)
bp  D   str              banner printing program (use hl to print banner at end)
bs  D   str              banner printing program for start (overrides bp, hl)
hl  D   bool false       print banner after job instead of before
sb  D   bool false       short banner (one line only)
sh  D   bool false       suppress headers and/or banner page, overrides ab

Accounting
ae  D   str              accounting format for end of job or a program to run
                to record accounting information (see also af, la, ar
                         and Accounting).
af  D   str  NULL        name of accounting file (see also la, ar)
ar  D   bool true        write remote transfer accounting (if af, and as/ae set)
as  D   str              accounting format for start of job or a program to run
                to record accounting information (see also af, la, ar
                         and Accounting).
la  D   bool true        write local printer accounting (if af is set)

Queue control
ah  D   bool false       auto-hold - job held until explicitly released
bk  R   bool false       backwards-compatible: be strictly RFC-compliant
bkf R   bool false       backwards-compatible filter: use Berkeley filter options
bqfilter     D           bool    false                                          if a bounce queue (sends jobs to remote site)
                         then when bqfilter true and a format filter is specified,
                         sends data files through format filter before transfer.
                         See also 'qq'.
cd  D   str  NULL        control information directory for LPD server
cm  A   str  NULL        comment identifying printer (LPQ)
fd  D   bool false       if true, no forwarded jobs accepted
lf  D   str  ``log''     error and debugging log file (LPD)
longnumber   D           bool    false
                         use 6 digit job numbers
mc  R   num  1           maximum copies allowed
ml  R   num  32          minimum printable characters for printable check
minfree D    str         0   minimum space (Kb) to be left in spool filesystem
                         You can also use nnnM for nnn megabytes.
mx  R   num  0           maximum job size (1Kb blocks, 0 = unlimited)
ps  A   str  ''status''  printer status file name
nw  A   bool false       spool dir is on an NFS file system
                         (take precautions when reading/writing files)
qq  A   bool false       place queue information in control file. See
                         alphabetical for details.
rm  A   str  NULL        remote-queue machine (hostname) (with rp)
rp  A   str  NULL        remote-queue printer name (with rm)
sd  A   str  NULL        spool directory (only ONE printer per directory!)
ss  D   str  NULL        name of queue that server serves (with sv)
sv  D   str  NULL        names of servers for queue (with ss)
sc  R   bool false       suppress multiple copies
use_auth     A           str NULL authentication to use
use_date     A           bool    true add date line ('D') to control file
use_identifier           R   bool    true
                         add job identifier lines ('A') in the control file
use_shorthost            R   bool    false                                      use only the hostname for job control
                         and data file names.  Host information in job file
                         will still be fully qualified domain name.

Connection and Interface to Printer
db  A   num  0           debug level when using this printer
connect_interval         A   num 10
                         time between open or connection attempts
connect_timeout          A   num 10
                         timeout value for connection or open
                         (0 is infinite number)
ff  D   str  ``\f''      string to send for a form feed (see INITIALIZATION)
fo  D   bool false       print a form feed when device is opened
fq  D   bool false       print a form feed when device is closed
ld  D   str  NULL        leader string printed on printer open (see INITIALIZATION)

lp  D   str  NULL        device name or pipe to send output to
lk  D   bool false       lock the lp device to force arbitration
max_connect_interval     A   num 60
                         maximum time between connection attempts
nb  D   num  0           if non-zero, do a nonblocking open on lp device
retry_econnrefused       A   bool    true
                         if set, retry a connection to a remote system when an
                         ECONNREFUSED error is returned.
retry_nolink D           bool    true
                         if LPD is sending a job or opening a device for
                         printing and the value is true, then the connection or
                         device open is repeated indefinately.
rs  D   num  300         number of seconds between spool queue status scans
rt  D   num  3           number of times to try printing (0=infinite).
rw  D   bool false       open the printer for reading and writing
save_on_error            D   bool    false
                         See above.
save_when_done           D   bool    false
                         See above.
send_failure_action      D   str remove
                         See above.
send_try                 alias for rt
sf  D   bool true        suppress form feed separators between job files
socket_linger            A   num 10
                         if nonzero, forces a SO_LINGER operation to be done
                         on all TCP/IP connections.  This usually corrects a problem
                         with missing last data transmissions to remote hosts.
tr  D   str  NULL        trailer string to print when queue empties

Serial Line Setup
br  D   num  none        if lp is a tty, set the baud rate (see ty)
stty    D    str         NULL    stty commands to set output line characteristics
                         alias is sy, ms
xs  D   num  0           like `xc' but set bits (see STTY)

Miscellaneous
all A   str  NULL        a list of all printers; (see ALL PRINTERS)
destinations D           str NULL
                         names of printers that lpq/lprm should talk to find
                         a job that has been processed by a router script
                         (see README.routing)
forward_auth D           str NULL
                         server to server authentication type, e.g. pgp, kerberos
force_localhost          A   bool    TRUE
                         Forces the clients programs (lpr, lpc, etc.)
                         to send all print jobs and requests to the server running
                         on the localhost entry for action.  This flag effectively
                         forces BSD LPR behaviour.
force_queuename          A   str NULL
                         See above.
logger_destination       D   str NULL
                         destination for logging information.  Format is
                         host[%port][,(TCP|UDP)]
oh  D   str  NULL        Specific printcap entry for host. See above.
remote_support           A   str RMQC
                         if non-null, specifies allowed operations to remote queue.
                         R=lpr, M=lprm, Q=lpq, C=lpc
router  D    str         NULL    script that dynamically re-routes a job
                         (see README.routing)
server  A    bool        false   printcap entry for server only
server_auth_command      D   str NULL
                         authentication command for server to use.
tc  A   str  NULL        reference to a printcap entry to include as part of
                         the current entry.
use_auth     D           str NULL
                         client to server authentication type, e.g. pgp, kerberos
user_auth_command        R   str NULL
                         authentication command for user (client program)

 

FILTERS

By convention, all output filter names have the form Xf, where X is the lower case letter corresponding to the lpr formatting option. The filter option can specify a default filter for job files.

The of filter is started for each job and is used to print the banner page and any FF separators between individual files of the job. It is sent a special stop sequence by the lpd server, and must suspend operations until sent a SIGCONT signal. A file or job filter is run separately for each file; at the end of the job the of filter is restarted and used to print the trailing banner (if any) and FF separators.

Filters are invoked with a standard set of options defined by the bk_filter_options (backwards compatible), bk_of_filter_options (backwards compatible OF filter), and filter_options configuration variables. See the lpd(8) manual page for details. If the first characters of the filter specification are -$, i.e.- Xf=-$ filter, then the command line options are not added. Currently, the options are:

bk_filter_options $P $w $l $x $y $F $c $L $i $J $C $0n $0h $-a
bk_of_filter_options $w $l $x $y
filter_options $C $F $H $J $L $P $Q $R $Z $a $c $d \
    $e $f $h $i $j $k $l $n $s $w $x $y $-a
 

SPOOL QUEUES

Printcap entries which have a spool directory value (sd) are called spool queues. Jobs sent to a printer with a spool queue are place in the spool directory. When checking the spool queue for jobs, the server will check to see if there is a printcap file in the directory with the name printcap.host. If there is, the additional printcap information is processed and used by the server.

If the spool directory is NFS exported, then remote hosts can manipulate the spool entries directly; this can have catastrophic effects, especially in systems where the NFS implementation has defects. The printcap information is particularly vulnerable to exploitation, as well as symbolic links, jobs which cannot be removed, etc.  

LOCAL PRINTERS

Local printers have an lp entry, which is the device that output should be sent to, usually a serial port tty. PLP supplements this by using the lp field to indicate a remote printer, or by allowing communication with the printer using a separate program, known as an lp-pipe, instead of a serial line. If the printcap lp entry contains a string of the form printer@host, jobs are forwarded to the specified remote printer on the host. If the printcap lp entry contains a string of the form | command args , the command command is run, with the arguments args . This can be used to communicate with printers connected to network terminal servers, some TCP/IP-capable printers, and just about anything you can hack up a communication program for. Read the PLP Manual for more details.  

STTY OPTIONS

The stty printcap parameter recognises a set of stty(1) options that can be used to set serial line characteristics for the printer. However, due to the differences between implementations of UNIX, there are several sets of ty options supported. Invoke lpd(8) with the ``-v'' command-line option to see which set your installation is using.

Systems using the sgtty tty manipulation interface may use the following stty(1) options:



bs0             bs1             [-]cbreak       cooked          cr0             
cr1             cr2             cr3             [-]decctlq      [-]echo         
[-]even         ff0             ff1             [-]lcase        [-]litout       
nl0             nl1             nl2             nl3             [-]nl           
[-]noflsh       new             [-]nohang       old             [-]odd          
[-]raw          start           stop            tab0            tab1            
tab2            [-]tabs         [-]tandem       tek             ti700           
[-]tilde        tn300           tty33           tty37           vt05            
[-]evenp        [-]oddp         [-]pass8

Systems using termio may use the following options:


[-]ignbrk       [-]brkint       [-]ignpar       [-]parmrk       [-]inpck
[-]istrip       [-]inlcr        [-]igncr        [-]icrnl        [-]iuclc
[-]ixon         [-]ixany        [-]ixoff        [-]decctlq      [-]tandem
[-]imaxbel      [-]opost        [-]olcuc        [-]onlcr        [-]ocrnl
[-]onocr        [-]onlret       [-]ofill        [-]ofdel        [-]cstopb
[-]cread        [-]parenb       [-]parodd       [-]hupcl        [-]clocal
[-]loblk        [-]parity       [-]evenp        [-]oddp         [-]stopb
[-]hup          [-]crtscts      [-]isig         [-]noisig       [-]icanon
[-]cbreak       [-]xcase        [-]echo         [-]echoe        [-]echok
[-]crterase     [-]lfkc         [-]echonl       [-]noflsh       [-]tostop
[-]echoctl      [-]ctlecho      [-]echoprt      [-]prterase     [-]echoke
[-]crtkill      [-]lcase        [-]nl           [-]litout       [-]pass8
[-]raw          [-]sane         [-]cooked       [-]nopost       fill
nl0             nl1             cr0             cr1             cr2
cr3             tab0            tab1            tab2            tab3
bs0             bs1             vt0             vt1             ff0
ff1             cs5             cs6             cs7             cs8
nul-fill        del-fill        -tabs 

And systems using termios may use the following options:


[-]ignbrk       [-]brkint       [-]ignpar       [-]parmrk       [-]inpck
[-]istrip       [-]inlcr        [-]igncr        [-]icrnl        [-]iuclc
[-]ixon         [-]ixany        [-]ixoff        [-]imaxbel      [-]pass8
[-]opost        [-]olcuc        [-]onlcr        [-]ocrnl        [-]onocr
[-]onlret       [-]ofill        [-]ofdel        [-]tabs         nl0
nl1             cr0             cr1             cr2             cr3
tab0            tab1            tab2            tab3            bs0
bs1             vt0             vt1             ff0             ff1
cs5             cs6             cs7             cs8             [-]cstopb
[-]cread        [-]parenb       [-]parodd       [-]hupcl        [-]clocal
[-]crtscts      [-]evenp        [-]parity       [-]oddp         [-]pass8
[-]isig         [-]icanon       [-]xcase        [-]echo         [-]echoe
[-]echok        [-]echonl       [-]noflsh       [-]tostop       [-]iexten
[-]echoctl      [-]ctlecho      [-]echoprt      [-]prterase     [-]echoke
[-]crtkill      [-]flusho       [-]pendin

The fc , fs , xc , and xs printcap entries are obsolete, and if present with non-zero values will abort print job processing.  

INITIALIZATION

Many printers require an initialization string to be sent to them in order to configure their operation. The leader (ld) and trailer (tr) strings are sent at the start and end of job processing. These strings are interpreted using the C language conventions for character representation: \nnn is replaced with a character with the value nnn, \n with a new line, \r with a carriage return, and so forth.  

ALL PRINTERS

The LPRng software has the capability to use a remote database for obtaining printcap and other information. One of the difficulties arises when a list of all printers available is needed. By convention, the special printer name all is reserved for this information; the all field is a list of printers separated by spaces or punctuation. For example:

#all printers
all:all=lp1,lp2,lp3,lp4
 

ACCOUNTING

Accounting in the LPRng package has evolved over time to accommodate new requirements. The general approach is to use either a simple log to file method in which the accounting information is written to a log file or a more complex log to program method in which the accounting information is written to a program. The information and method and actions taken are specified by the following entries:

:as  - start of job accounting
:ae  - end of job accounting
:af  - default job accounting
:achk - used accounting for authorization.

The value of the :as and :ae options are either a string which is used as the accounting information or a program which is executed to log or save the accounting information. If a program is executed then the value of the :af entry is ignored and the program is run to record the job accounting information. For example:

# string for information logging
:as=jobend $H $n $P $k $b $t
:ae=jobstart $H $n $P $k $b $t

:as=|/usr/local/libexec/logjobstart $H $n $P $k $b $t
:ae=|/usr/local/libexec/logjobend $H $n $P $k $b $t

If the :as or :ae value is a string then the :af information is used to record the accounting information:

af=|/path    - run program, :as or :ae written to
               program STDIN
af=host%port - tcp/ip connection to port on host, 
               :as or :ae written to connection
af=path      - treat path as a file pathname,
               if file exists append :as or :ae
               to file.

If the :achk flag is set then this is modified as follows.
If the :as entry specifies a program or :af entry specifies a 
program or remote host (i.e. - logging using program) then
after accounting information has been written to the
program or connection a response will be read from the program
STDOUT or the connection.
This reponse is expected to be an ASCII string.
If the line is blank or starts with ACCEPT then the job will be printed,
HOLD will hold the job,  REMOVE will remove the job,
and ABORT or a non-recognizable response will cause printing to be aborted.

If the output is written to a program then the exit status
of the program can be used as well. 
If the program exits with nonzero status then the
exit code controls the disposition:
JHOLD, JREMOVE, and JABORT will hold, remove,
or abort the job respectively.
If the exit status is 0, then
the filter's STDOUT will be read and processed as described above.
 

BOUNCE QUEUES AND PRINT FORMATS

If the lp option value has the format :lp=pr@host or job forwarding is specified by :rp=pr:rm=host then the normal operation is simple to store and forward the print jobs. If filters are specified then the job files are first filtered and then the output of the filters is sent to the destination. For historical reasons, a spool queue that does filtering and forwarding is called a bounce queue. The bounce_queue_format (default 'f') specifies the output for the filtered files. If this is not desireable the translate_format option can be used to specify a format. The option has the form SdSdSdN, where S is the original format and d is the final format. If none of the formats match and there is an odd number of formats then the last one is used. For example, pfmlf would convert formats p to f, m to l, and v to f.

The :lpd_bounce flag concatenate the output of the filters and the result will be sent as a single job file to the destination. This facility is useful when handling legacy print spooler applications that do not understand the RFC1179 copy, etc., options. The first letter of the bounce_queue_format (default 'f') is used as the output file format.

The lpr_bounce printcap flag can be used to cause LPR to do bounce queue filtering in exactly the same manner as the server. This should be used with caution as missing filters on the client system can cause unexpected behaviour.  

KERBEROS, PGP, AND OTHER AUTHENTICATION METHODS

LPRng supports built in kerberos authentication. To enable this, the LPD protocol has been extended to provide a way to transfer authenticated and/or encrypted jobs and commands. The details are covered in other LPRng documentation.  

FILES

The files used by LPRng are set by values in the printer configuration file. The following are a commonly used set of default values.


/etc/lprng/lpd.conf                          LPRng configuration file
${HOME}/.printcap                            user printer description file
/etc/lprng/printcap                          printer description file
/etc/lprng/lpd.perms                         permissions
/var/run/lprng/lpd                           lock file for queue control
/var/spool/lpd                               spool directories
/var/spool/lpd/QUEUE/control                 queue control
/var/spool/lpd/QUEUE/log                     trace or debug log file
/var/spool/lpd/QUEUE/acct                    accounting file
/var/spool/lpd/QUEUE/status                  status file
 

SEE ALSO

lpd.conf(5), lpc(8), lpd(8), checkpc(8), lpr(1), lpq(1), lprm(1), lpd.perms(5), pr(1).  

DIAGNOSTICS

Most of the diagnostics are self explanatory.
If you are puzzled over the exact cause of failure,
set the debugging level on (-D5) and run again.
The debugging information will 
help you to pinpoint the exact cause of failure.
 

HISTORY

LPRng is a enhanced printer spooler system with functionality similar to the Berkeley LPR software. The LPRng mailing list is lprng@lprng.com; subscribe by sending mail to lprng-request@lprng.com with the word subscribe in the body. The software is available from ftp://ftp.lprng.com/pub/LPRng.  

AUTHOR

Patrick Powell <papowell@lprng.com>.


 

Index

NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
LPD.CONF, SYSTEM AND USER PRINTCAP FILES
CAPABILITIES
ENTRIES BY ALPHABETICAL ORDER
ENTRIES BY FUNCTION
FILTERS
SPOOL QUEUES
LOCAL PRINTERS
STTY OPTIONS
INITIALIZATION
ALL PRINTERS
ACCOUNTING
BOUNCE QUEUES AND PRINT FORMATS
KERBEROS, PGP, AND OTHER AUTHENTICATION METHODS
FILES
SEE ALSO
DIAGNOSTICS
HISTORY
AUTHOR

This document was created by man2html, using the manual pages.
Time: 10:53:00 GMT, March 28, 2024