lpr(1)lpr(1)NAMElpr - Sends files to spooling daemon for printing
SYNOPSISlpr [options] filename
OPTIONS
The lpr options -c, -d, -f, -g, -l, -n, -p, -t, and -v are used to
notify the line printer spooler that the files are not standard text
files; therefore these options are mutually exclusive. The spooling
daemon uses the appropriate filters to print the data if you specify
one of these options.
In an international environment, the lpr command needs locale informa‐
tion to use the appropriate filter to print a text file. The -A option
allows you to specify, among other things, locales for text files and
printers.
The lpr command supports the following options: Specifies one or more
keywords and keyword assignments, separated by spaces. For a list of
valid keywords, refer to the “Country-Specific Options” section.
Enables you to specify a username which will appear as the banner on
the print job. Assumes that the files contain data produced by the
cifplot filter. Specifies a print class as the request classification
on the burst page. Assumes that files contain data from tex (DVI for‐
mat from Stanford University). Interprets the first character of each
line as a standard FORTRAN carriage control character. Assumes that
files contain standard plot data as produced by plot routines. Sup‐
presses the printing of the burst page. Indents the output number spa‐
ces. If number is not given, the indentation is 8 spaces. Selects the
input paper tray that supplies paper for the print job. The tray name
is printer dependent. The following list shows the valid tray variable
values for the printers that support the -I option: cassette, upper, or
manual upper, envelope_feeder, lower, or manual upper, manual, lower,
or cassette envelope_feeder, mmf, manual, upper, lower, or lcit front,
manual, upper, or lower upper, lower, or manual
For more information on the input options, refer to the documen‐
tation for your printer.
If you have one of the previously listed printers connected
locally, there are two additional forms of the -I option. You
can specify the option in the form -Itray_name, where the
tray_name variable specifies the name of a tray that is sup‐
ported by the particular printer (for example, -Ilettertray).
You also can specify the option in the form -In, where the n
variable specifies an integer value. Refer to your printer docu‐
mentation for information on specifying valid tray selections.
Causes the request ID of the printer request to be displayed on
standard output after it is entered in the print spooling queue.
Specifies the request name to appear on the burst page. Nor‐
mally, the lpr command uses the name of the first file. Prints
the job in a way specified by the sides variable. You can spec‐
ify sides as follows: Prints only on one side of the sheet.
Prints on both sides of the sheet; the second side is reached by
flipping the sheet about its left edge, as in the binding of a
book. Prints on both sides of the sheet, but prints the oppo‐
site way up on each side, so the second side can be read by
flipping the sheet along its top axis. Prints only on one side
of the sheet, but retains the page layout intended for
two_sided_duplex printing. The layout refers to such things as
where the margins are and where the page numbers are. Prints
only on one side of the paper, but retains the page layout
intended for tumble printing. Prints on two sides of the paper,
but retains the page layout intended for one_sided_simplex
printing. Prints control characters and suppresses page breaks.
Sends mail (see the mailx(1) reference page) when spooling is
completed. Assumes that files contain data output by the
ditroff (device-independent troff) command. Prints one or more
pages on one sheet of paper. The printer automatically adjusts
to handle the number of pages printed on one sheet of paper.
The maximum that may be specified is 100 pages. Selects the
output tray where the printed job will be deposited. The n
variable specifies an integer value that depends on the printer.
Refer to your printer documentation to determine the correct
values. Specifies one or more keywords, among them keywords for
page orientation, that may be print filter specific. The choices
for page orientation are: The printed output is parallel to the
short side of the page. The printed output is parallel to the
long side of the page.
Currently, only the pcfof and wwpsof print filters support addi‐
tional keywords. See the description of the -O option in the
wwpsof(8) reference page for the list of additional keywords and
keyword assignments you can specify.
The keyword-list argument is a comma-separated (no embedded spa‐
ces) list of keywords, keyword assignments, or both. As an
alternative to listing multiple keywords after the same -O
option, your command line can include multiple instances of the
-O option, each with a different keyword or keyword assignment.
You cannot use the -O option to specify keywords other than por‐
trait or landscape if you are printing to a remote system that
is running a Tru64 UNIX version earlier than Version 5.0. For‐
mats the files using pr as a filter. If you specify the -T
option you must also specify the -p option. Specifies printer
as the output device (print job destination). If you do not
specify the -P option, the default printer or the value of the
PRINTER environment variable is used. Removes the file when
spooling or printing is completed. Uses symbolic links to
print. Usually, files are copied to the spooling directory, but
the -s option uses symlink() to link data files, rather than
trying to copy them. This allows you to print large files. If
you specify the -s option, files should not be modified or
removed until they have been printed. Note that the -s option is
disabled if codeset conversion is performed. Assumes that files
contain data output by the troff (cat phototypesetter) command.
Specifies the title to be used by the pr command instead of the
filename. The -p option also must be specified, otherwise the
-T option is ignored. Assumes that the files contain a raster
image for devices like the Benson Varian. Prints the job using
the page width in columns specified by the argument number. If
this option is not specified, the page width is taken from the
/etc/printcap file. Assumes the files do not require filtering
before printing. Prints the job using the page length in lines
specified by the argument number. If this option is not speci‐
fied, the page length is taken from the /etc/printcap file.
Produces number copies of the output. Mounts the specified font
on font position 1, 2, 3, or 4, respectively.
DESCRIPTION
The lpr command uses the lpd spooling daemon to print files.
If you specify a hyphen (-) for a file name, the lpr command reads from
standard input; this can be used in conjunction with specified file
names.
If you do not specify a particular printer with the -P option, the
default printer or the value of the PRINTER environment variable is
used.
To check the status of a printer, use either the lpq or lpstat command.
To cancel printer requests, use the lprm or cancel command.
Country-Specific Options
The -A option allows you to specify information that is required to
print files in various native languages and also supports some country-
specific printers. You specify this information by using keywords,
most of which require value assignments. See i18n_printing(5) for a
general description of country-specific support and to determine which
keywords may be required for particular languages and printers.
The -A option keywords are supported by software installed by optional
worldwide support subsets. In other words, a country-specific keyword
will not work unless an associated country-specific software subset is
installed.
For the lpr command, the following keywords can be included through the
-A option: Specifies the locale for the source text file. If this is
not a valid locale name, it will be interpreted as a codeset name.
Print filters use a codeset name or the codeset part of a locale name
to this locale to validate the characters in the text. If the flocale
keyword is not set, the text is interpreted in the codeset of the cur‐
rent locale. The flocale setting is particularly important for correct
interpretation of characters in multibyte codesets. Moreover, if the
plocale keyword is also set, the lpr command automatically converts
characters from the text file codeset to the printer codeset before
printing the file. For example, the following command converts a file
created in a Traditional Chinese locale from the Big 5 codeset to the
DEC Hanyu codeset before printing it: % lpr-A "flocale=zh_TW.big5 plo‐
cale=zh_TW.dechanyu" big5.txt
If you are printing to a printer controlled by the wwpsof fil‐
ter, it is recommended that you set locale for a print job by
using the -Olocale-name option. See the wwpsof(8) reference page
for more information. Specifies the locale for the printer.
Some printers, like the LA380-CB, are country specific and have
builtin fonts encoded in a particular codeset. For example, the
builtin fonts for the LA380-CB printer are encoded in DEC Hanzi.
For these printers, the codeset part of the plocale value should
match the codeset (dechanzi) of the printer's builtin fonts.
Other printers are generic and suitable for use with files in a
variety of languages. For example, the DEClaser 5100, when used
with the wwpsof print filter, can handle fonts for different
codesets. For these printers, the plocale value should match the
font used in the text file. The following example prints a file
encoded in DEC Hanyu by using the Sung-Light-CNS11643 font,
which supports DEC Hanyu characters: % lpr -A"font=Sung-Light-
CNS11643 plocale=zh_TW.dechanyu" \ dechanyu.txt
When the plocale value is inappropriate for the font codeset,
printed output is useless.
To determine printer locale for country-specific printers, refer
to i18n_printing(5). To find out which fonts are available for
a particular locale, refer to the reference page for the corre‐
sponding codeset. For example, if locale_name is
zh_TW.dechanyu, see dechanyu(5) for a list of appropriate fonts.
Specifies the outline font name for printing source text files
on a PostScript printer. For more information, refer to the
entry for the plocale keyword. Specifies the number of lines
per page. When used with the -w option, the length keyword can
control the font size and orientation of the printed output.
Specifies the path of the software on-demand loading (SoftODL)
database files. The odldb keyword setting overrides the default
path, which specifies the systemwide SoftODL database. There‐
fore, users can set odldb to specify private SoftODL databases.
For example, the following command directs lpr to use the Soft‐
ODL database in /usr/tmp: % lpr-A "odldb=/usr/tmp/odl"
Refer to odl(5) for more information on SoftODL. Specifies what
SoftODL font style and size to use, for example normal-24x24. If
the odlstyle is not specified, the system default SoftODL style
and size is used. Refer to odl(5) for more information on Soft‐
ODL. Enables space-compensation mode for languages, such as
Thai, that contain nonspacing characters. Nonspacing characters
can combine with other characters for display and therefore do
not occupy space. Many of the existing tools for text alignment
do not handle nonspacing characters properly. If you want to
print Thai output from such utilities, you should enable space
compensation mode to ensure proper text alignment in the printed
file.
Space compensation is done line by line. The print filter keeps
count of the number of nonspacing characters found in a line.
When two or more consecutive spaces are encountered, the print
filter inserts the appropriate number of spaces, therefore com‐
pensating for spaces added by the nonspacing characters.
Space-compensation mode is valid only for printing Thai charac‐
ters. Enables text morphing for Thai printing. Text morphing
replaces some characters with others to produce better output in
desktop publishing environments. Refer to Thai(5) for more
details on text morphing. Text morphing rules are proprietary.
Therefore, text morphing is supported only by our Thai outline
fonts and are available only for PostScript printing. Specifies
that Thai characters be printed on one and a half lines, rather
than on three lines, to produce more compressed and natural
looking output. The onehalf keyword works only with the thailpof
print filter. Refer to i18n_printing(5) for general information
on text morphing. Specifies where the character code tables for
the printer (thailpof filter only) can be found. These tables
are selected for use with the yp value in the /etc/printcap
file. The default path is /usr/lbin/tac_data. Specifies verti‐
cal printing mode for ideographic characters in the Chinese, Ja‐
panese, and Korean languages. In vertical printing mode, any
single-byte characters that files contain are still printed in
horizontal printing mode.
If you are using a printer controlled by the wwpsof filter, it
is recommended that you use the -Ovprint option to specify ver‐
tical printing. See the wwpsof(8) reference page for more infor‐
mation.
NOTES
Tru64 UNIX software does not include ditroff or troff. Therefore, files
suitable for use with the -n or -t options may not be available on your
system. If you try to print too large a file, the file is truncated.
The lpr command does not print binary files. If a user other than the
root user prints a file and spooling is disabled, lpr will print a mes‐
sage and will not put requests in the queue. If a connection to lpd on
the local machine cannot be made, lpr will indicate that the daemon
cannot be started. Fonts for troff and text reside on the host with
the printer. Currently, it is not possible to use local font
libraries. Tru64 UNIX does not supply troff, so local font libraries
for troff may not exist on your system.
EXAMPLES
The following example prints three copies of the new.index.c,
print.index.c, and more.c files: % lpr -#3 new.index.c print.index.c
more.c The following example prints three copies of the concatenated
new.index.c, print.index.c, and more.c files: # cat new.index.c
print.index.c more.c | lpr -#3 The following example prints Operations
on the burst page instead of the node name before printing the
new.index.c file: # lpr-C Operations new.index.c
FILES
User information Printer description file Line printer daemon The exe‐
cutable image Spool directories Daemon control files Data files speci‐
fied in cf files Temporary copies of cf files Character encoding tables
for Thai
SEE ALSO
Commands: cancel(1), checknr(1), lp(1), lpc(8), lpd(8), lpq(1),
lprm(1), lpstat(1), mailx(1), neqn(1), nroff(1), pr(1), tbl(1), wwp‐
sof(8)
Functions: symlink(2)
Others: dechanyu(5), i18n_intro(5), i18n_printing(5), l10n_intro(5),
odl(5), Thai(5)lpr(1)
