Setting Up and Administering Printers by Using the CUPS Print Manager GUI (Task Map)

Configurable Printer Properties

When you connect a new printer to your local system, and the printer is detected by the system, the Printer Properties dialog for the new printer opens. The Printer Properties dialog contains partial configuration data for the newly detected printer. In this dialog, you can finish configuring the printer, as well as customize any of its properties. For step-by-step instructions on setting up a new printer, see How to Set Up a New Local Printer.

The Printer Properties dialog is also used to modify the properties of a configured printer. For instructions, see How to Modify the Properties of a Configured Printer.

The Printer Properties dialog includes the following six sections for configuring new and existing printers:

• Settings

  In the Settings section, you can configure the following properties:

  Description

  Contains descriptive text about the printer.

  Location

  Contains a description of the physical location of the printer.

  Device URI

  Contains information about the protocol that is used to access the printer. For example, you could use LPD to specify the RFC-1179 protocol or IPP to specify the Internet Printing Protocol.

  The default setting for the Device URI setting can be changed by clicking the Change button.

  Make and Model

  Contains information about the make and model of the printer.

  The default setting for the Make and Model option can be changed by clicking the Change button.

  Printer State

  Contains information about the current status of the printer.

  Tests and Maintenance

  Contains radio buttons that enable you to choose any of the following options:

  • Print Test Page

  • Print Self-Test Page

  • Clean Print Heads

• Policies

  In the Policies section you can configure the properties that control how a printer behaves.

  State

  Enables you to specify the following printer states:

  • Enabled

  • Accepting Requests

  • Shared

  Note that more than one state can be specified at the same time.

  Policies

  Enables you to specify how the printer behaves during error conditions.

  Banner

  Enables you to specify whether starting or ending banner pages are printed with each print job.

• Access Control

  In the Access Control section, you can specify which users can or cannot print to the printer by adding them to Allow or Deny lists.

• Installable Options

  In the Installable Options section, you can set any installable printer options that are listed in the PPD file, for example, a duplexer, external disk, and extra memory, are listed.

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  Note - This section is only displayed when you are configuring a new printer. If you are modifying the properties of an existing printer, the Installable Options section is not displayed.

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• Printer Options

  In the Printer Options section, you can configure printer-specific options.

  For example, for an HP LaserJet 3015, the following configurable options are displayed:

  • Imaging Options

  • Resolution Options

  • Watermark/Overlay

  The number and types of options that can be configured here are determined by the PPD file that is associated with the specified printer.

• Job Options

  In the Job Options section, you can configure options that are associated with a print job, for example, the number of copies and page orientation, as well as certain image options. The number and types of options that can be configured in this section are determined by the PPD file that is associated with the specified printer.

Selecting a Print Device

When you set up a new printer, or when you modify the properties of a configured printer, you must select an appropriate device for that printer. The following table describes the device choices that might be displayed in the Select Device window.

How to Set Up a New Local Printer

The following procedure describes how to set up a new locally attached printer by using the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

1. Connect the new printer to your local system, then power it on.
   • When the printer is detected by the system, the Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying information about the newly detected printer. To finish configuring the new printer, skip to Step 2.
   • If you are adding a new printer that was not automatically detected, do the following:
     1. Start CUPS Print Manager.

        For instructions, see Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

     2. Choose Server -> New -> Printer from the main menu.

        Alternatively, you can click the New icon that is located on the menubar.

     3. When prompted, type the root password.

        The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and the newly connected printer.

2. In the Select Device window, select the appropriate device, then click Forward.

   By default, CUPS selects the USB device that is physically connected to your system or the device that was detected by HAL. Note that these two entries might be for the same printer. For more information about selecting a device, see Selecting a Print Device.

3. In the Choose Driver window, select a make for your printer, then click Forward.
4. In the next screen, do one of the following:
   • Use the default, Select Printer From Database, option.

     If this option is used, the appropriate printer make is selected for you.

   • Provide your own PPD file. To provide a PPD file, follow these steps:
     1. Select the Provide PPD File option.

        The Select a File window opens.

     2. Locate the specified PPD file on your system, then click Open to associate the PPD file with the new printer.

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        Note - This procedure does not describe how to download and copy a PPD file to your system.

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5. From the left pane of the next Choose Driver window, select a printer model. From the right pane, select a printer driver. Then, click Forward.

   By default, CUPS selects a “recommended” printer model and driver for your printer. However, you can optionally make another selection from the list of available drivers.

6. In the Installable Options window, change any of the options that are available for your particular printer model, then click Forward.

   For more information, see Configurable Printer Properties.

7. In the Describe Printer window, provide the following information about the printer:

   • Printer Name

   • Description

   • Location

8. (Optional) To go back and make changes to a previous screen, click the Back button.
9. To save your changes, click Apply. If prompted, type the root password.

   After you have saved your changes, the newly configured printer is displayed in the CUPS Print Manager window.

10. To set the printer as the default, right-click the printer.
    1. Select the Set as Default option.
    2. In the Set Default Printer window, choose one of the following options:

       • Set as the system-wide default printer (default)

       • Set as my personal default printer

11. Click OK to save the printer configuration.
12. (Optional) To verify that the printer is configured correctly and is working, print a test page.

How to Modify the Properties of a Configured Printer

The following procedure describes how to modify the basic configuration of an existing printer. For a complete description of all of the properties that you can modify by using the CUPS Print Manager GUI, see Configurable Printer Properties.

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   See Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer for which you want modify the properties, then choose Properties.

   The Printer Properties dialog opens. The Properties dialog contains five separate sections, each of which contains properties that are grouped by category. By default, the Settings section of the dialog is displayed.

   In the Settings section, you can modify the following settings:

   • Description

   • Location

   • Device URI

   • Make and Model

3. To modify the printer description or location, type the new information in the corresponding text field.
4. To modify the device URI, click the Change button next to the setting.
   1. From the list of available devices, select a device, then click Apply.

      For a description of the available devices, see Selecting a Print Device.

   2. When prompted, type the root password.

      You are returned to the Settings section.

5. To modify the printer make and model, click the Change button next to the setting, then do the following.
   1. In the Choose Driver window, select a printer make, then click Forward.

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      Note - By default, CUPS uses the Select Printer From Database option and selects the appropriate printer make for you. Alternatively, you can provide your own PPD file. For instructions, see Step 3 of How to Set Up a New Local Printer.

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   2. From the left pane of the next Choose Driver window, select a printer model. From the right pane, select a printer driver, then click Forward.
   3. In the Existing Settings dialog, choose from the following options, then click Apply.

      • Use the new PPD (Postscript Printer Description) as is.

      • Try to copy the option settings over from the old PPD.

   4. If prompted, type the root password.

      You are returned to the Settings section of the Printer Properties dialog.

6. To save your changes, Click OK.

How to Rename a Printer or Copy a Printer Configuration

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   See Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer that you want to rename or copy its configuration.
   • To rename the printer:
     1. Click the Rename option.
     2. Type a new name for the printer.
     3. Type the root password when prompted, then click OK to save the changes.
   • To copy a printer configuration:
     1. Click the Copy option.
     2. In the Copy Printer window, type a name for the printer, then click OK.
     3. Type the root password when prompted, then click OK to save the changes.

How to Delete a Printer

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   See Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer that you want to delete, then click Delete.
3. Click OK in the Confirm Deletion dialog or click Cancel to cancel the operation.

How to Unshare or Share a Printer

By default, new printers are configured with the Share option enabled, which means they are published on the local network. This procedure describes how to unshare a printer or enable an unshared printer.

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   See Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer that you want to unshare (or share), then deselect the specified option.
3. Type the root password when prompted, then click OK to save your changes.

How to Disable or Enable a Printer

When you configure a new printer by using CUPS Print Manager, the printer is enabled by default. This procedure describes how to disable or enable a printer.

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   See Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer that you want to disable (or enable), then deselect the specified option.
3. Type the root password when prompted, then click OK to save your changes.

How to Manage Print Jobs for a Specified Printer

1. Start the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   See Getting Started With the CUPS Print Manager GUI.

   The Printer configuration dialog opens, displaying all of the configured printers and any newly detected printers.

2. Right-click the printer for which you want to manage print jobs, then select View Print Queue.

   The Document Print Status (printer-name) window opens, displaying all of the print jobs for the specified printer.

   In this window, you can view the following information:

   • Job

   • User

   • Document

   • Printer size

   • Time submitted

   • Status

3. To view information about completed jobs or printer status, select the appropriate option from the View menu.
4. To perform a specific action on a print job, select the print job, then from available choices on the menubar, select an action.

   Alternatively, you can right-click a print job, and from the list of available options, select an action.

5. To refresh the View Print Queue window, choose View -> Refresh