This section explains the various configuration steps to be performed on UNIX after printer installation.
As discussed in Section 10.1, "UNIX Printing Overview", Oracle Reports creates logical printer drivers. To create these internal printer drivers, it needs information from you like the available printer queue, the type of driver to be used with the queue, the version of the driver, and the printer description file. uiprint.txt is the main file for providing this information. It is located in:
INSTANCE_HOME/config/FRComponent/frcommon/guicommon/tk/admin/uiprint.txt
uiprint.txt is the printer configuration file and Oracle Reports reads it when it creates the internal printer drivers. You should modify this file for each instance of Oracle Reports.
The format of entries in uiprint.txt is:
Printer:DriverType:DriverVersion:PrinterDescription:PrinterDescriptionFile:
This one line entry, in prescribed format, in uiprint.txt defines a printer to be used by Oracle Reports. Each line contains five fields separated by colons. Table 10-1 describes each element of the uiprint.txt entry.
Table 10-1 uiprint.txt Entry Elements
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
|
Printer |
Specifies the name of the printer (or printer queue), as used with the To get a list of all available printers, use the following command: lpstat -a To check the status of the printer, use the Solaris lpstat -p printername Linux lpstat -p printername HP-UX lpstat -d printername HP Tru64 lpstat -p printername IBM AIX lpstat -pprintername No space is allowed after |
|
DriverType |
Specifies the type of printer driver used for the printer. The driver can be PostScript, PCL, or ASCII. |
|
DriverVersion |
Specifies the version of the driver type that should be used. This can be 1 or 2 for PostScript printers, and PCL Version 5 for PCL. |
|
PrinterDescription |
Specifies the description of the printer, for example, the speed and the location of the printer. This information is used for display in the printer-related dialog box. |
|
PrinterDescriptionFile |
Specifies the printer description file to be used with the printer. It can be one of the following types:
|
All the fields in the uiprint.txt entry must be filled and every line must end with a colon.
At least one entry must be defined in uiprint.txt. Alternatively, you can set the related printer variables (TK_PRINTER and PRINTER). Without these, Oracle Reports is unable to perform any printer-related task.
See Also:
Section 10.3.2, "Environment Variables" for more information on printer-related environment variables.
The internal printer drivers provide a drawing surface for Oracle Reports. In addition to using this surface for printing, Oracle Reports uses it internally whenever output is generated to a file. Hence, you must have a valid entry in uiprint.txt or to set one of the printer-related environment variables. To simplify the selection of printers for your users, we recommended that you list all printers accessible to users in uiprint.txt.
Following are two example entries for uiprint.txt:
colprt14:PostScript:2:RMSC Atrium HPLaserJet5:default.ppd: colprt15PCL:5:RMSC 1st Floor HPLaser4:ui4.hpd:
This section lists the environment variables related to printing:
See Also:
Appendix B, "Environment Variables" for more information on the environment variables that can be set in Oracle Reports.
On UNIX, Oracle Reports Builder provides several dialog boxes for printer-related operations.
The Page Setup dialog box enables you to specify how the printed page appears. The available options depend on the type of printer driver being used. The internal printer drivers use this dialog box to get all the information necessary, (for example, scale, rotation, width, and height) for formatting a page on a printer.