PRINTCAP(5)

NAME
printcap - printer capability data base

SYNOPSIS
/etc/printcap database

DESCRIPTION
The format of the LPNng 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.

CAPABILITIES
The database is a simplified form of the termcap (5) database. 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 (``\'').

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 lpc.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)
ab	D	bool	false	always print banner, ignore lpr -h option
ac	A	str	NULL	allowed classes to be printed (default is all classes)
achk	D	bool false
				If TRUE LPD will check for a 'ACCEPT' reply to the initial
				accounting information written to a filter at the start
				of a job.
ae	D	str		accounting format for end of job (see also af, la, ar
				and Accounting)
af	D	str	NULL
				name of accounting file or server (see also la, ar)
				If the af field has the format |program,  a filter will
				be started and used for recording accounting information;
				if the format is host%port,  a tcp socket connection will
				be made to the port on the host.  The as and ae strings
				will be printed to the specified destination.  This
				connection will be passed to filters as file descriptor 3.
				The accounting file will not be created, it must exist for
				LPD to append data to it.
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.
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 (see also af, la, ar
				and Accounting)
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.
bkf	R	bool	false
				use bk_filter_options and bk_of_filter_options when
				invoking print filter.
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
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	D	str	NULL	specifies the next destination for jobs sent to this queue.
				Job data files are first sent through any filters listed in
				printcap entry before transfer.  (See Bounce Queues)
br	D	num	none	if lp is a tty, set the baud rate (see ty)
break_classname_priority_link	A	flag	false
				Normally, lpr sets the priority to the first letter of the
				class specified with -C.  When non-zero, forces the class
				and priority to be disjoint.
bs	D	str		banner printing program for start (overrides bp, hl)
cd	D	str	NULL	control information directory for LPD server
cf	D	str	NULL	cifplot data filter
check_for_nonprintable	R	bool	true
				lpr checks f and p formats for printable files
				Alias for xt
check_idle	D	str	NULL
				program to use to check for idle printer conditions before
				processing jobs.
classname_length	A	num	31
				overrides the RFC1179 limitations on the control file
				CLASS entry.  Default is 31 characters.
cm	A	str	NULL	comment identifying printer (LPQ)
co	D	num	20	cost in dollars.  Obsolete.
config_file	A	str	/etc/lpd.conf:/usr/etc/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_filter	D	str	NULL
				Filter for control file. Used when sending job to remote
				spool queue.
db	A	str	NULL	LPD debug options when serving this queue.
				See lf (log file) entry as well.
default_auth	R	str	NULL
				default client to server authentication type
				used when specificially requested by user.
default_format	R	str	f
				default format for printing jobs
default_logger_port	D	str	2001
				default remote port for logging information
default_logger_protocol	D	str	UDP
				default protocol for logging information.  TCP selects TCP/IP
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)
direct_read	D	bool	false
				if true, filters are given direct access to file.
				This means no progress indication possible.
fc	D	num	OBSOLETE	if lp is a tty, clear flag bits (see STTY)
fd	D	bool	false	if true, no forwarded jobs accepted
ff	D	str	``\f''	string to send for a form feed (see INITIALIZATION)
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	(see source)
				the PATH environment variable value for filters
fix_bad_job	D	bool	false
				fix a bad job file - usually by ignoring multiple
				U (unlink) entries,  badly formatted file names,
				or other common botches produced by various PC based
				LPR clients.
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_localhost	A	bool	FALSE
				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
				When :qq: flag or use_queuename configuration is enabled,
				specifies the queuename to be used for control file Q
				information.
forward_auth	A	str	NULL
				Do server to server authentication when non-null.
				Use this value for the remote host authentication information.
fq	D	bool	false	print a form feed when device is closed
full_time	D	bool detailed time format specification in log messages
fs	D	num	OBSOLETE	like `fc' but set bits (see STTY)
fx	A	str	``flp''	valid output filter formats
generate_banner	D	bool	false	force banner generation
gf	D	str	NULL	graph data filter (plot (3X) format)
hl	D	bool	false	print banner after job instead of before
ignore_requested_user_priority	D	bool	false
				Ignore the requested user priority when ordering jobs.
				Prevents students... um... users from queue jumping.
if	D	str	NULL	filter command, run on a per-file basis
kerberos_*	D	str
				Kerberos authentication support.  See KERBEROS.
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
localhost	A	str	localhost	localhost named used for localhost lookup
lockfile	D	str	/var/spool/lpd/lpd.lock.%h
				lpd lock file (used only in lpd.conf)
logfile	D	str	/var/spool/lpd/lpd.log.%h
				lpd log file (used only in lpd.conf)
logger_destination	D	str	NULL
				destination for logging information.  Format is
				host[%port][,(TCP|UDP)]
longnumber	D	bool	false
				use 6 digit job numbers
lp	D	str	NULL	device name or pipe to send output to
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
				integer or port from /etc/services for lpd server
				to accept connections.
lpd_printcap_path	D	str	(see source)
				printcap path for lpd, in addition to normal one
				(configuration value only)
lpr_bounce	R	bool	true
				LPR will do bounce queue filtering.
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
mi	D	str	0	minimum space (Kb), to be left in spool filesystem
				You can also use nnnM for nnn megabytes. Alias for minfree
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	alias for mi
ml	R	num	32	minimum printable characters for printable check
ms	D	str	NULL	alias for ty
ms_time_resolution	D	bool	false	log time in milliseconds
mx	R	num	1000	maximum job size (1Kb blocks, 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.
nw	A	bool	false	spool dir is on an NFS file system
				(take precautions when reading/writing files)
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
originate_port	A	str	512 1023
				when originating a connection, use ports in this range.
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)
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/lpd.perms:/usr/etc/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
printcap_path	A	str	/etc/printcap:/usr/etc/printcap
				location of printcap file (used 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.
remote_user	A	str	NULL
				when doing authentication,  use this entry for the remote user
				or remote end of the connection.  This allows you to specify
				a key or other information.
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.
report_server_as	A	str	NULL
				use the str value as the name of the server when reporting
				LPQ or LPC status.
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.
rf	D	str	NULL	filter for printing FORTRAN style text files
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)
rt	A	num	3	number of times to try printing (0=infinite)
				see send_failure_action, send_job_rw_timeout, send_try
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)
sc	R	bool	false	suppress multiple copies
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	"abort"
				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
				alias for rt - numbers 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	false	suppress form feeds separating jobs
sh	D	bool	false	suppress headers and/or banner page
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
spread_jobs	D	num	0	spread job numbers to avoid collisions
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.
sv	D	str	NULL	names of servers for queue (with ss)
sy	D	str	NULL	alias for ty
sync_lpr	D	bool	false	suppress socket close until end of lpr operation
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)
				only valid when transferring to remote spool queue.
				Example: translate_format=pfml
				p format changed to f, m format to l
ty	D	str	NULL	stty commands to set output line characteristics
				alias is sy, ms
use_identifier	R	bool	false
				add job identifier lines ('A') in the control file
use_info_cache	D	bool	true	cache printcap information
use_queuename	A	str	NULL	if no Q information in control file,
				use this value and place in 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.
user	D	str	daemon	LPD effective user (EUID) for SUID operations
user_auth_command	A	str	NULL
				authentication command for user (client program)
user_lpc	D	str	NULL
				list of lpc subcommands allowed to be executed by user
				A matching value enables SERVICE=U permissions checking.
vf	D	str	NULL	(Versatek) raster image filter
xc	D	num	0	if lp is a tty, clear local mode bits (see STTY)
xs	D	num	0	like `xc' but set bits (see STTY)
xt	R	bool	true	lpr checks f and p formats for printable files
				Alias for check_for_nonprintable.
xu	A	str	NULL	additional permissions information for this queue

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)
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	``flp''	valid output filter formats
gf	D	str	NULL	graph data filter (plot (3X) format)
if	D	str	NULL	filter command, run on a per-file basis
lpr_bounce	R	bool	false
				LPR will do bounce queue filtering.
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
xt	R	bool	true	lpr checks f and p formats for printable files
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 (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 (see also af, la, ar
				and Accounting)
la	D	bool	true	write local printer accounting (if af is set)
Queue control
ac	A	str	NULL	allowed classes to be printed (default is all classes)
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
mi	D	str	0	minimum space (Kb) to be left in spool filesystem
				You can also use nnnM for nnn megabytes.
ml	R	num	32	minimum printable characters for printable check
mx	R	num	1000	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_identifier	R	bool	false
				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.
xu	A	str	NULL	additional permissions information for this queue
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)
fix_bad_job D   bool    false
                fix a bad job file - usually by ignoring multiple
                U (unlink) entries,  badly formatted file names,
                or other common botches produced by various PC based
                LPR clients.
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	abort
				See above.
send_try		alias for rt
sf	D	bool	false	suppress form feeds separating jobs
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)
fc	D	num	OBSOLETE	if lp is a tty, clear flag bits (see STTY)
fs	D	num	OBSOLETE	like `fc' but set bits (see STTY)
ms	D	str	NULL	alias for ty
sy	D	str	NULL	alias for ty
ty	D	str	NULL	stty commands to set output line characteristics
				alias is sy, ms
xc	D	num	OBSOLETE	if lp is a tty, clear local mode bits (see STTY)
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	FALSE
				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 if and of filters are the standard output filters. 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. An if 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.

In order to support systems which require NFS exported spool directories, the LPRng system has the following options. The NFS (nw) printcap flag is an indication that the spool directory is NFS exported and/or mounted. The server will not read the directory for printcap information. The next step up in security is to specify a separate control directory (cd) for the non-job control and data files. If this is done, then only job control files and job data files will be read from the spool directory. In addition, if there are any problems with a job, a special error file will be written in the control directory, preventing run away activity on a suspicious job.

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.

TY (STTY) OPTIONS

The ty (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 is done by writing information to an accounting file, filter, or remote connection specified by the af printcap entry. If af has the form |filter, a filter is started and all accounting information is passed through the filter. The filter is passed the options specified by the filter_options configuration variable. The special form |-$ filter will suppress adding options. If af has the form host%port, then a tcp socket is opened to the specified port on the remote host and all accounting information is sent on the socket. If the achk flag is set, then after the string specified by the as field has been sent a reply of the form ACCEPT will be expected, otherwise the job will not be printed.

The printcap as and ae specify the format of the accounting information sent at the start and end of job printing respectively, or filters to be used to generate and/or report accounting information. If as and ae specify filters, the filters are opened with STDIN set to /dev/null and STDOUT set to the device, and are passed the command line options specified by the filter_options configuration variable (see lpd.conf(5)). The special form |-$ filter will suppress adding options. The as filter should exit with 0 (JSUCC) status if successful and the job can be printed, nonzero status JABORT for abnormal queue termination, JREMOVE if the job cannot be printed, and JRETRY if the job should be retried. The filter's STDERR is set to the printer error logging file.

BOUNCE QUEUES AND PRINT FORMATS

Bounce queues are designed to allow users to have their files preprocessed by a set of filters before being sent to the final destination. If a queue is being used as a bounce queue, then the lp printcap entry must be set to the name of the printer on the server, and the bq entry must be the destination after filtering. This will cause all jobs to be sent to the bounce queue, rather than directly to the final destination. For example, pr:lp=pr@host:bq=destpr@desthost.

The filters used by the bounce queue are those that would normally be used by the LPD server for printing a job. For example, the :if: entry would specify the filter for the f format. Each job file is processed individually. The lpr -p option will cause the LPD server to process job files by the program specified by the pr printcap entry (default is /bin/pr) and then pass through the if filter. However, if a bounce queue is used the format of the output data may be changed. To accomodate this action, the translate_format value can be used to reconfigure the format. The value has the form SdSdSd..., where S is the original format and d is the final format. This is similar to the format used by the UNIX tr(1) utility. For example, the value pfml would convert format specifications p to f and m to l, but only in the job information sent to a remote destination. Note that the original format would still be supplied to any filters, and that the p filter would need to provide any options and/or values to be used to do formatting.

The lpr_bounce printcap flag can be used to cause LPR to do bounce queue filtering, rather than the server. This should be used with caution, as missing filters 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/lpd.conf		LPRng configuration file
/etc/printcap		printer description file
/etc/lpd.perms	printer permissions
/var/spool/printer*		spool directories
/var/spool/printer*/printer	lock file for queue control
/var/spool/printer*/control.printer	queue control
/var/spool/printer*/active.printer	active job
/var/spool/printer*/log.printer	log file

SEE ALSO
lpd.conf(5), lpc(8), lpd(8), lpr(1), lpq(1), lprm(1), printcap(5), 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. In 1988 Patrick Powell released the PLP (Public Line Printer) software, which went through several evolutions. Justin Mason (jmason@iona.ie) generated PLP4.0 from several older releases of PLP. In 1992 Patrick Powell release LPRng, a completely redesigned and newly written version of the software.

The LPRng mailing list is plp@iona.ie; subscribe by sending mail to plp-request@iona.ie with the word subscribe in the body. The software is available from ftp://iona.ie/pub/LPRng.

LPRng is distributed under the GNU software license for non-commercial use, the Artistic License for limited commercial use. Commerical support and licensing is available through Patrick Powell <papowell@sdsu.edu>.