printcap - printer capability database
printcap
The printcap file is a simplified version of the termcap(5)
database used
to describe line printers. The spooling system accesses the
printcap
file every time it is used, allowing dynamic addition and
deletion of
printers. Each entry in the database is used to describe
one printer.
This database may not be substituted for, as is possible for
termcap(5),
because it may allow accounting to be bypassed.
The default printer is normally ``lp'', though the environment variable
PRINTER may be used to override this. Each spooling utility
supports an
option, -Pprinter, to allow explicit naming of a destination
printer.
Refer to the 4.3 BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual for a complete discussion
on how to set up the database for a given printer.
Refer to termcap(5) for a description of the file layout.
Name Type Default Description
af str NULL name of accounting file
br num none if lp is a tty, set baud rate
(ioctl(2) call)
cf str NULL cifplot data filter
df str NULL tex data filter (DVI format)
fc num 0 if lp is a tty, clear flag bits
(<sgtty.h>)
ff str ` string to send for a form feed
fo bool false print a form feed when device is
opened
fs num 0 if lp is a tty, set flag bits
(<sgtty.h>)
gf str NULL graph data filter (plot(3) format)
hl bool false print the burst header page last
ic bool false supports non-standard ioctl to
indent printout
if str NULL name of text filter which does
accounting
lf str /dev/console error logging file name
lo str lock name of lock file
lp str /dev/lp local printer device, or
port@host for remote
ms str NULL list of terminal modes to set or
clear
mx num 1000 max file size (in BUFSIZ blocks);
0=unlimited
nd str NULL next directory for queues list
(unimplemented)
nf str NULL ditroff data filter (device independent troff)
of str NULL name of output filtering program
pc num 200 price per foot or page in hundredths of cents
pl num 66 page length (in lines)
pw num 132 page width (in characters)
px num 0 page width in pixels (horizontal)
py num 0 page length in pixels (vertical)
rf str NULL filter for printing FORTRAN style
text files
rg str NULL restricted group-only group members can access
rm str NULL machine name for remote printer
rp str ``lp'' remote printer name argument
rs bool false remote users must have a local
account
rw bool false open printer device for reading
and writing
sb bool false short banner (one line only)
sc bool false suppress multiple copies
sd str /var/spool/output spool directory
sf bool false suppress form feeds
sh bool false suppress printing of burst page
header
st str status status file name
tf str NULL troff data filter (cat phototypesetter)
tr str NULL trailer string to print when
queue empties
vf str NULL raster image filter
xc num 0 if lp is a tty, clear local mode
bits (tty(4))
xs num 0 if lp is a tty, set local mode
bits (tty(4))
If the local line printer driver supports indentation, the
daemon must
understand how to invoke it.
If a printer is specified via lp (either local or remote),
the lpd(8)
daemon creates a pipeline of ``filters'' to process files
for various
printer types. The pipeline is not set up for remote printers specified
via rm unless the local host is the same as the remote
printer host given.
The filters selected depend on the flags passed to
lpr(1). The
pipeline set up is:
p pr | if regular text + pr(1)
none if regular text
c cf cifplot
d df DVI (tex)
g gf plot(3)
n nf ditroff
f rf Fortran
t tf troff
v vf raster image
The if filter is invoked with arguments:
if [-c] -wwidth -llength -iindent -n login -h host
acct-file
The -c flag is passed only if the -l flag (pass control
characters literally)
is specified to lpr(1). width and length specify the
page width
and length (from pw and pl, respectively) in characters.
The -n and -h
parameters specify the login name and host name of the owner
of the job,
respectively. The acct-file function is passed from the af
printcap entry.
If no if is specified, of is used instead, with the distinction that of
is opened only once, while if is opened for every individual
job. Thus,
if is better suited to performing accounting. The of is only given the
width and length flags.
All other filters are called as:
filter -xwidth -ylength -n login -h host acct-file
where width and length are represented in pixels, specified
by the px and
py entries, respectively. All filters take stdin as the
file, stdout as
the printer, may log either to stderr or using syslog(3),
and must not
ignore SIGINT.
Error messages generated by the line printer programs themselves are
logged by syslog(3) using the LPR facility. Messages printed on stderr
of one of the filters are sent to the corresponding lf file.
The filters
may, of course, use syslog(3) themselves.
Error messages sent to the console have a carriage return
and a line feed
appended to them, rather than just a line feed.
lpq(1), lpr(1), lprm(1), termcap(5), lpc(8), lpd(8), pac(8)
4.3 BSD Line Printer Spooler Manual.
The printcap file format appeared in 4.2BSD.
OpenBSD 3.6 December 11, 1993
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