This chapter provides information on configuring, testing, and modifying a local
printer with printconf. For information on
configuring other types of printers, creating printer aliases, and more,
see Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide or click on the Help
button once you open the printconf application.
Red Hat Linux no longer includes printtool. The
printconf utility has replaced
printtool. The
printconf utility maintains the
/etc/printcap configuration file, print spool
directories, and print filters.
To use printconf, you must be running the X
Window System and have root privileges. To start
printconf, use one of the following methods:
On the GNOME desktop, go to
=> =>
=> or, in the
Nautilus Start Here
screen, click on System and then on
Printer Configuration.
On the KDE desktop, go to
=> .
Type the command printconf-gui at a shell prompt
(for example, in an XTerm or a GNOME terminal).
[1]
You can also run printconf as a text-based
application if you do not have the X Window System installed, or you just
prefer the text-based interface. To run it, log in as root (or use the
command su to temporarily change to the root user), and
type the command /usr/sbin/printconf-tui from a shell
prompt.
 | Do Not Edit /etc/printcap |
|---|
| | Do not edit the /etc/printcap file. Each time the
printer daemon (lpd) is started or restarted, a new
/etc/printcap file is dynamically created.
|
If you want to add a printer without using
printconf, edit the
/etc/printcap.local file. The entries in
/etc/printcap.local are not displayed in
printconf but are read by the printer daemon.
If you upgrade your system from a previous version of Red Hat Linux, your existing
configuration file is converted to the new format used by
printconf. Each time a new configuration file
is generated by printconf, the old file is
saved as /etc/printcap.old.
This chapter explains local printer configuration only, but five types of
print queues can be configured with printconf:
— a printer attached
directly to your computer through a parallel or USB port. In the
main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the
Queue Type for a local printer is set to
LOCAL.
— a
printer attached to a different UNIX system that can be accessed
over a TCP/IP network (or example, a printer attached to another
Red Hat Linux system on your network). In the main printer list as shown in
Figure 7-1, the Queue Type
for a remote UNIX printer is set to LPD.
— a
printer attached to a different system which is sharing a printer
over a SMB network (for example, a printer attached to a Microsoft
Windows machine). In the main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the Queue Type for a
remote Windows printer is set to SMB.
— a
printer attached to a different system which uses Novell's NetWare
network technology. In the main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the Queue Type for a
remote Novell printer is set to NCP.
— a printer
connected directly to the network instead of to a computer. In the
main printer list as shown in Figure 7-1, the
Queue Type for a JetDirect printer is set to
JETDIRECT.
See the Official Red Hat Linux Customization Guide or click on the printconf
Help button for information on configuring printers
other than local.
| Important |
|---|
| | If you add a new print queue or modify an existing one, you need to
restart the printer daemon (lpd) for the changes to
take effect.
|
Clicking the Apply button saves any changes that
you have made and restarts the printer daemon. The changes are not
written to the /etc/printcap configuration file until
the printer daemon (lpd) is restarted. Alternatively,
you can choose => and then choose =>
to save your changes and then
restart the printer daemon.
If a printer appears in the main printer list with the Queue
Type set to INVALID, the printer
configuration is missing options that are required for the printer to
function properly. To remove this printer from the list, select it from
the list and click the Delete button.
To add a local printer such as one attached to the parallel port or USB
port of your computer, click the New button in
the main printconf window. The window shown
in Figure 7-2 will appear. Click
Next to proceed.
You will then see the screen shown in Figure 7-3.
Enter a unique name for the printer in the Queue
Name text field. This can be any descriptive name for your
printer. The printer name cannot contain spaces and must begin with a
letter a through z or A through Z. The valid characters are a through z,
A through Z, 0 through 9, -, and _.
Select from the menu, and click Next.
printconf attempts to detect your printer
device and display it as shown in Figure 7-4. If your printer device is not shown,
click Custom Device. Type the name of your
printer device and click OK to add it to the
printer device list. After selecting your printer device, click
Next.
Next, printconf will try to detect which
printer is attached to the printer device you selected as shown in Figure 7-5. If it detects the wrong printer or
does not detect any printer, you can manually select one. The printers
are divided by manufacturers. Click the arrow beside the manufacturer
for your printer. Find your printer from the expanded list, and click
the arrow beside the printer name. A list of drivers for your printer
will appear. Select one. If you do not know which one to use, select the
first one in the list. If you are having problems using that driver,
edit the printer in printconf and select a
different driver.
The last step is to confirm your printer. Click Finish
if this is the printer that you want to add. Click
Back to modify your printer configuration.
The new printer will appear in the printer list in the main window.
Click the Apply button in the main window to save
your changes to the /etc/printcap configuration
file and restart the printer daemon (lpd). After
applying the changes, print a test page to ensure the configuration is
correct. Refer to the section called Printing a Test Page for details.
After you have configured your printer, you should print a test page to
make sure the printer is functioning properly. To print a test page,
select the printer that you want to test from the printer list, and
choose => , , or from the pulldown menu. If your printer does not
support PostScript printing, choose to print the ASCII test page.
