Printing Concepts

When a print request is initiated by dropping a file on a printer control, the system proceeds as follows:

1. The system searches the data-type database for the definition of the object dropped.

2. If there is a unique print action for the data type (specified using the ARG_TYPE field in the print action), it is used; otherwise, the default print action (dtlp) is used. For example, if the file is a PostScript^® file, the system uses the Print action for PostScript files. (This action is defined in /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dt.dt.) If you used the Create Action tool for this data type, the print command you entered is the unique print action that will be used to print files with this data type.

3. The file is delivered to the printer using the normal UNIX lp printing subsystem.