Print Queue Logs

The scheduler for each system keeps a log of print requests in the directories /var/spool/lp/tmp/system and /var/spool/lp/requests/system. Each print request has two files (one in each directory) that contain information about the request. The information in the /var/spool/lp/requests/system directory can be accessed only by root or lp. The information in the /var/spool/lp/tmp/system can be accessed only by the user who submitted the request, root, or lp.

The following example shows the contents of the /var/spool/lp/tmp/terra directory:

$ ls /var/spool/lp/tmp/terra
20-0 21-0
terra$ cat 21-0
C 1
D slw2
F /etc/default/login
P 20
t simple
U tamiro
s 0x1000

These files remain in their directories only as long as the print request is in the queue. Once the request is finished, the information in the files is combined and appended to the file /var/lp/logs/requests, which is described in the next section.

Use the information in the /var/spool/lp logs if you need to track the status of a print request that is currently in the queue.