Chapter 5 SunSoft Print Commands Reference

This chapter provides reference information on the SunSoft print client commands and on the SunSoft print administration commands.

This is a list of the reference information in this chapter.

• "What the SunSoft Print Client Commands Do"

• "What the SunSoft Print Administration Commands Do"

What the SunSoft Print Client Commands Do

This section briefly describes the functions of the SunSoft print client commands.

Submitting a Print Request

The lp and lpr commands enable you to submit a print request. When you submit a request, the command locks the file to be printed and attempts to send it directly to the print server. If the command can't lock the file or the destination printer is not responding, the command uses a temporary spooling area (/var/spool/print) on the print client to hold the print request, then becomes a daemon to perform the transfer later. After all the print requests in the spooling area are transferred, the daemon exits.

Checking Print Queues and the Status of Printers

With the lpstat and lpq commands, you can check print queues and the status of printers. These commands display the print server's queue and any local print requests on the print client that are waiting to be transferred to the print server.

One difference between these two commands is that the lpstat command parses the print queue to display the format you request. If lpstat can't parse a print queue in the requested format, it displays the queue in the format the print server used.

Canceling a Print Request

The cancel and lprm commands enable you to cancel, or remove, a print request. Either command first removes any local copies of a print request awaiting transfer to the print server, then sends a cancel request to the print server.

Moving a Print Request

If a client's print request hasn't been sent to the print server, you can use the lpmove command to move the request to another print server. This command also enables you to move print requests that are in the print server's queue to another printer.

What the SunSoft Print Administration Commands Do

This section explains the functions of the print administration commands included in the SunSoft Print Client software.

Converting Printer Configuration Information

The conv_lp command automates the process of converting printer configuration information from a SunOS 5.x system to the system's /etc/printers.conf file.

Likewise, the conv_lpd command enables you to convert printer configuration information from a SunOS 4.x system to the system's /etc/printers.conf file.

See Chapter 2, Updating SunSoft Print Clients to Access Existing Printers for details on using these commands.

The conv_lp and conv_lpd commands are located in the /usr/lib/print directory.

Viewing a Printer's Configuration Information

The lpget command enables you to view configuration information for a specific printer.

Entering Print Configuration Information

You can use the lpset command to add, modify, and delete print configuration information in the SunSoft print configuration database.