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Xprint(7)                                                            Xprint(7)




NAME

       Xprint - The "X print service" - a portable, network-transparent print-
       ing system based on the X11 protocol


SYNOPSIS

       Xprint is a very flexible, extensible, scaleable,  client/server  print
       system  based on ISO 10175 (and some other specs) and the X11 rendering
       protocol.  Using Xprint  an  application  can  search,  query  and  use
       devices like printers, FAX machines or create documents in formats like
       PDF.  In particular, an application can seek a printer, query supported
       attributes  (like paper size, trays, fonts etc.), configure the printer
       device to match it's needs and print on it like on any other  X  device
       reusing parts of the code which is used for the video card Xserver.


OVERVIEW

       The  "X Print Service" technology allows X rendering to devices such as
       printers and fax. Most of the service is available in the X11  technol-
       ogy  stack  as  Xp,  with  the remainder in single toolkit stacks (e.g.
       DtPrint for CDE).  Modifications have  also  been  made  to  the  Less-
       Tif/Motif/Qt technology stacks to support Xprint.

       The Xp portion consists of:

       o Xp Extension for the X-Server (included in the X-Server Xprt)

       o Xp Extension API for the client side (libXp/libXprintUtils)

       o PCL ddx driver that converts core X to native PCL

       o PDF ddx driver that converts core X to native PDF

       o PostScript ddx driver that converts core X to native PostScript

       o Raster  ddx  driver that generates xwd rasters which can be converted
         to PCL, PDF or PostScript rasters


       From an X clients perspective, it can attach to one of two nearly iden-
       tical  X-Servers,  a "Video" X-Server, and a "Print" X-Server which has
       the additional Xp capability but otherwise looks and behaves the  same.


HOW THE X PRINT SERVICE WORKS

       The  X Print Service expands on the traditional X-Server and Xlib world
       in four ways.

       1.  Most obvious is the use of "print ddx drivers"  instead  of  "video
           ddx  drivers".  While a video ddx driver modifies pixels in a video
           frame buffer, a print ddx driver generates "page  description  lan-
           guage  (PDL)"  output (such as PCL, PDF or PostScript) or sends the
           print rendering instructions to a platform-specific print API (like
           Win32/GDI).

           Once  a  print ddx driver generates PDL output, it can be sent to a
           spooler such as lp(1) or retrieved  by  the  client  (to  implement
           functionality like "print-to-file").

           Though not currently done, a single X-Server can support both print
           and video ddx drivers.

       2.  Since printers support "paged" output, unlike video, a  portion  of
           the  Xp  Extension  supports APIs to delineate printed output.  For
           example, XpStartPage and XpEndPage tell the X-Server where a physi-
           cal  page  starts  and  ends in an otherwise continuous stream of X
           rendering primitives. Likewise, XpStartJob and  XpEndJob  determine
           when  a  collection  of  pages starts and ends.  XpEndJob typically
           causes the generated PDL to be submitted  to  a  spooler,  such  as
           lp(1).

       3.  Since  printers have extensive capabilities, another portion of the
           Xp Extension supports APIs to manipulate "print contexts".

           Once a printer is selected using the Xp Extension API, a print con-
           text  to  represent it can be created. A print context embodies the
           printer selected - it contains the printer's default  capabilities,
           selectable range of capabilities, printer state, and generated out-
           put. Some "attributes" within the print context can be modified  by
           the  user, and the X-Server and print ddx driver will react accord-
           ingly. For example, the attribute "content-orientation" can be  set
           to  "landscape" or "portrait" (if the printer supports these values
           - which can be queried using the Xprint API as well).

       4.  Since printers can have "built in" fonts, the Xp Extension  in  the
           X-Server  works  with  the print ddx drivers to make available (for
           printing only) additional fonts on a per print context basis.

           When a print context is created and set for a given printer, the  X
           font  calls  may  be able to access additional printer fonts. To do
           this (typically), the X-Server must have access to "printer  metric
           files"  (.pmf) that describe at minimum the metrics of the built in
           fonts.



USAGE

       There are three tasks to start the X Print Service:

       1.  configuring the X Print Server,

       2.  starting the X Print Service

       3.  configuring the user session so that clients can find the running X
           Print Service


       The tasks are described in detail below.


SERVER CONFIGURATION

       The  X  Print  Server  (Xprt)  can read a number of configuration files
       which control its behavior and support for printers. Each vendor  plat-
       form  has  a  default location for this information. Xprt can also read
       the environment variable XPCONFIGDIR to locate alternate  configuration
       directories. Common settings include:

       export XPCONFIGDIR=/X11/lib/X11/XpConfig/

       export XPCONFIGDIR=/proj/x11/xc/programs/Xserver/XpConfig/


       Xprt  has  many built-in defaults, and lacking any configuration files,
       will immediately try to support all printers visible via lpstat(1).

       In order of importance for configuration by a system administrator, the
       configuration  files  for  a "C" locale are as follows (see Xprt(1) for
       more details (including support for non-"C" locales)):

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/Xprinters
              'Xprinters' is the top most configuration file.  It  tells  Xprt
              which specific printer names (e.g. mylaser) should be supported,
              and whether lpstat(1) or other commands should be used to  auto-
              matically supplement the list of printers.

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/attributes/printer
              The  'printer'  file  maps printer names to model configurations
              (see 'model-config' below).  For  example,  "mylaser"  could  be
              mapped  to a "HPDJ1600C", and all other arbitrary printers could
              be mapped to a default, such as  "HPLJ4SI".  When  depending  on
              lpstat(1)   in  the  Xprinters  file,  setting  up  defaults  in
              'printer' becomes all the more important.

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/attributes/document
              The 'document' file specifies the initial  document  values  for
              any  print  jobs.  For  example,  which  paper tray to use, what
              default resolution, etc.

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/attributes/job
              The 'job' file specifies the initial job values  for  any  print
              jobs.  For  example,  "notification-profile"  can be set so that
              when a print job is successfully sent to a  printer,  e-mail  is
              sent to the user.

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/models/PSdefault/model-config,          ${XPCON-
       FIGDIR}/C/print/models/PSdefault/fonts/fonts.dir,              ${XPCON-
       FIGDIR}/C/print/models/PSdefault/fonts/9nb00051.pmf,           ${XPCON-
       FIGDIR}/C/print/models/PSdefault/fonts/9nb00093.pmf
              The 'model-config' file has attributes that describe the printer
              model's capabilities and default settings.  Printer model  fonts
              may  also  be present. The model-config file also identifies the
              print ddx driver to be used.  For each printer model  supported,
              a complete hierarchy of files should exist. In most cases, these
              files do not need to be modified.

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/ddx-config/raster/pcl,                  ${XPCON-
       FIGDIR}/C/print/ddx-config/raster/pdf,  ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/ddx-con-
       fig/raster/postscript
              The print ddx drivers can  have  highly  specific  configuration
              files  to  control their behavior. In most cases, these files do
              not need to be modified.

       More information in how to configure and customize the X  print  server
       can be found in the Xprt(1) manual page.


STARTING UP

       The summary checklist for starting the X Print Service is as follows:

       1.  Choose an execution model for the X Print Service. The X Print Ser-
           vice can be run on a per-user session basis, per machine basis,  or
           can  be  run  on  a  few machines globally available to a number of
           users.

       2.  If print jobs are to be submitted to a spooler (almost  always  the
           case),  make  sure all needed printers are available to the spooler
           subsystem (most often lp(1)) on the  same  machine  running  the  X
           Print Service.

       3.  Configure the X Print Server. See ``X Print Server Configuration''.

       4.  Depending on #1, start the X Print Server process "Xprt", and  then
           the  toolkit-specific  Print Dialog Manager Daemon process (such as
           CDEnext's "dtpdmd") at the  appropriate  times.   Note  that  libX-
           printUtils-based  applications/toolkits  do not need a Print Dialog
           Manager Daemon process to use Xprint.

       The details are described below.

       Because the X Print Service is based on X, it can  be  easily  distrib-
       uted.   The most significant factors in which execution model to choose
       will be driven by:

       o how many printers will be accessable through the printer subsystem on
         any  given  machine.  A  system  administrator  may choose to cluster
         printers on a few given machines, or scatter them across an organiza-
         tion  and possibly make extensive use of remote spoolers to make them
         globally available.

       o how many machines will need a copy of the X Print  Server  configura-
         tion  files.  The  files  have been architected so that one super-set
         version of them can be maintained and distributed (e.g. via NFS), and
         a  per-machine  or per-user version of the `Xprinters' is all that is
         needed to have  the  appropriate  information  in  them  utilized  or
         ignored.

       o how many users can demand services from a given X Print Service.

       With the above in mind, some obvious execution models include:

       o Global  -  in this model, the system administrator is choosing to run
         the X Print Service on  a  *few*  select  machines  with  appropriate
         printers configured, and allow clients access to the global resource.
         This can centralize the administration of printers and  configuration
         files, but may have to be monitored for performance loading.

         Startup   would   likely   be   done  by  boot-up  scripts  (such  as
         /etc/init.d/xprint).

       o Per-machine - every machine with  potential  X  Print  Service  users
         would  run the service. Printer and configuration file administration
         is decentralized, and usage would be limited  to  the  users  on  the
         machine.

         Startup   would   likely   be   done  by  boot-up  scripts  (such  as
         /etc/init.d/xprint).

       o Per-user session - every user would run an entire X Print Service for
         themselves.  In  the  future, the Video X Server normally started may
         contain Print X Server capability, so this model becomes  very  natu-
         ral.

         Startup would likely be done at session login or by launching actions
         or processes manually once the  user  logs  in.  Note:  Deamons  like
         "dtpdmd" must be started after Xprt.


       Starting of the processes is straight forward. In strict order (example
       is for manually starting the X print server for CDEnext usage):

       1.
           [machineA] % Xprt [-XpFile <Xprinters file>] [:dispNum] &


           Note that Xprt will  look  for  configuration  files  in  either  a
           default location or where XPCONFIGDIR points.

           -XpFile  specifies  an  alternate `Xprinters' file, rather than the
           default one or `${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/Xprinters'.

       2.
           [machineA] % dtpdmd -d machineA[:dispNum] [-l /tmp/dtpdmd.log] &


           The dtpdmd will maintain an X-Selection on the X-Server,  and  will
           start dtpdm's as required to service requests.


       In  all  but the per-user session model, the machine running the dtpdmd
       (thus dtpdm's) will need display authorization to the users video  dis-
       play.


CLIENT CONFIGURATION

       Once  a  X Print Server and dtpdmd have been started -- many of them in
       some cases -- clients will need to find and use  them.  There  are  two
       mechanisms that allow clients to discover X Print Servers and printers.

       o "X Print Specifier" - assuming usage of the DtPrint/XprintUtils-based
         print applications, the following notation is understood:


         printer_name@machine[:dispNum]


         For example:


         colorlj7@printhub:2


         In  the  above example, the X Print Server running at `printhub:2' is
         assumed to support the printer named `colorlj7'.

       o ${XPSERVERLIST} - assuming usage of the DtPrint  print  dialogs,  the
         environment  variable  ${XPSERVERLIST}  can contain a list of X Print
         Servers. For example:


         XPSERVERLIST="printhub:2 printhub:3 otherdept:0"


         Then in the dialogs, only a printer name needs to  be  entered.   The
         dialog  will then search the X Print Servers in ${XPSERVERLIST} for a
         server than supports the printer, and then establish contact.



END-USER SEQUENCE

       From most CDEnext applications, printing is  accomplished  by  bringing
       down  the <File> menu and selecting <Print...>. This will result in the
       DtPrintSetupBox dialog, which will request the name of a  printer,  and
       offer  limited  capability  to  configure print options (e.g. number of
       copies). If the user wishes, they can  select  <Setup...>,  which  will
       start  a dtpdm capable of modifying additional print options.  Finally,
       the user should select <Print>.


ENVIRONMENT

       ${XPCONFIGDIR}
              This environment variable points  to  the  root  of  the  Xprint
              server  configuration  directory  hierarchy.  If the variable is
              not defined, the default path is be assumed.  The  default  path
              may   be   /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xserver/,   /usr/lib/X11/xserver/,
              /usr/share/Xprint/xserver/ or  /usr/openwin/server/etc/XpConfig,
              depending   on   the   system,   and   may   be   configured  in
              /etc/init.d/xprint.

       ${LANG}
              This environment variable selects the locale  settings  used  by
              the  Xprint  server.   Xprt  allows  language-specific  settings
              (stored in ${XPCONFIGDIR}/${LANG}/print/)  which  will  override
              the  default  settings  (stored in ${XPCONFIGDIR}/C/print/).  If
              ${LANG} is not set "C" is assumed.

       ${XPSERVERLIST}
              The environment variable ${XPSERVERLIST} contains a list of dis-
              play  identifiers (separated by whitespace) which tell an appli-
              cation  where  it  can  find   the   Xprint   servers.   Usually
              ${XPSERVERLIST}  is  set  by  the  profile startup scripts (e.g.
              /etc/profile or /etc/profile.d/xprint.sh) using  the  output  of
              /etc/init.d/xprint get_xpserverlist.

              Example:


                        export XPSERVERLIST="`/etc/init.d/xprint get_xpserverlist`"


              Alternatively ${XPSERVERLIST} can be set manually. Example:


                        export XPSERVERLIST="littlecat:80 bitdog:72"

              instructs  an application to find an Xprint server at display 80
              on the machine "littlecat" and at display 72 on the machine big-
              dog.

       ${XPRINTER}
              The environment variable ${XPRINTER} defines the default printer
              used by print applications. The syntax is either printername  or
              printername@display.

              Examples:

              XPRINTER=ps003
                     tells  an application to look for the first printer named
                     "ps003" on all Xprint servers.

              XPRINTER=hplaser19@littlecat:80
                     tells an application to use the  printer  "hplaser19"  on
                     the Xprint server at display "littlecat:80".


       If  ${XPRINTER}  is not set the applications will examine the values of
       the ${PDPRINTER}, ${LPDEST}, and ${PRINTER} environment  variables  (in
       that order).


SEE ALSO

       X11(7),   xplsprinters(1),   xprehashprinterlist(1),   xphelloworld(1),
       xpxmhelloworld(1), xpawhelloworld(1),  xpxthelloworld(1),  xpsimplehel-
       loworld(1),  Xserver(1), Xprt(1), libXp(), libXprintUtils(), libXprint-
       AppUtils(),     XmPrintShell(),     XawPrintShell(),     Xprint     FAQ
       (http://xprint.mozdev.org/docs/Xprint_FAQ.html),   Xprint   main   site
       (http://xprint.mozdev.org/)


AUTHORS

       This manual page was written by Roland Mainz <roland.mainz@nrubsig.org>
       based on the original X11R6.6 xc/programs/Xserver/XpConfig/README.



                                8 October 2004                       Xprint(7)

Mac OS X 10.6 X11 - Generated Sun Mar 7 12:33:49 CST 2010
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