printers.conf(4) File Formats printers.conf(4)NAMEprinters.conf - system printing configuration database
SYNOPSIS
/etc/printers.conf
LDAP
ou=printers
NIS
printers.conf.byname
DESCRIPTION
The printers.conf file is the system printing configuration database.
System administrators use printers.conf to describe destinations for
the print client commands and the print protocol adaptor. A destination
names a printer or class of printers. See lpadmin(1M). The LP print
spooler uses private LP configuration data for represented in the
printers.conf database.
Entries
Each entry in printers.conf describes one destination. Entries are one
line consisting of any number of fields separated by colons (`:') and
terminated by a NEWLINE. The first field of each entry specifies the
name of the destination and aliases to which the entry describes. Spec‐
ify one or more names or aliases of the destination in this first
field. Specify the destination using atomic names. URI-style and POSIX-
style names are not acceptable. See standards(5). Separate destination
names by pipe signs (`|').
Two destination names are reserved for special use in the first entry.
Use _all to specify the interest list for lpget, lpstat, and cancel.
Use _default to specify the default destination.
The remaining fields in an entry are key=value pairs. See Specifying
Configuration Options for details regarding key=value pairs.
Empty lines can be included for readability. Entries can continue on to
multiple lines by adding a backslash (`\') as the last character in the
line. printers.conf can include comments. Comments have a pound sign
(`#') as the first character in the line, and are terminated by a NEW‐
LINE. Use the lpset command to create or modify printers.conf. See
lpset(1M). Do not make changes in printers.conf by using an editor.
Specifying Configuration Options
key=value pairs are configuration options defined by the system admin‐
istrator. key and value can be of arbitrary length. Separate key and
value by the equal (`=') character.
Client/Server Configuration Options
The following client/server configuration options (represented as
key=value pairs) are supported:
printer-uri-supported=scheme://endpoint
Provides the information necessary to contact the print service for
the entry. The scheme generally identifies the print service or
protocol to use. Currently this is limited to lpsched, ipp, and lpd
but might be expanded in the future. Each of these schemes imposes
a set of restrictions for specifying the endpoint and the function‐
ality provided.
lpsched://localhost/printers/queue
This is URI form is used for print queues that are configured
under the local LP service.
ipp://server[:port]/printers/queue
http://server:631/printers/queue
ipp://server[:port]/...
This URI form is used for print queues that are remotely acces‐
sible by way of the Internet Print Protocol. This protocol is
the preferred method of accessing remote print queues because
it provides the greatest functionality over the wire. The ipp
uri scheme is specified in the internet print protocol specifi‐
cations and is much more free form than listed above. The
actual content and format of the endpoint is determined by the
remote print service.
lpd://server/printers/queue[#Solaris]
This URI form is used for print queues that are remotely
accessable by way of the BSD Print Protocol. Though limited in
capability, this protocol is widely used between client and
server. It provides maximium interoperability with remote print
services. When used to communicate with print services on a
Solaris print server, the optional #Solaris component of the
URI indicates that Solaris protcol extensions can be used dur‐
ing print job submission.
If an entry does not contain a printer-uri-supported key/value
pair, the bsdaddr value is converted to its equivalent uri form and
a printer-uri-supported key/value pair is added to the resulting
data returned to applications requesting printer configuration
data.
bsdaddr=server,destination[,Solaris]
Sets the server and destination name. Sets if the client generates
protocol extensions for use with the lp command (see lp(1)).
Solaris specifies a Solaris print server extension. If Solaris is
not specified, no protocol extensions are generated. server is the
name of the host containing the queue for destination. destination
is the atomic name by which the server knows the destination. If
the configuration file contents are to be shared with legacy sys‐
tems (Solaris 2.6 - Solaris 10), this key/value pair should be pro‐
vided for backward compatability.
use=destination
Sets the destination to continue searching for configuration infor‐
mation. destination is an atomic, URI-style (scheme://endpoint), or
Posix-style name (server:printer).
all=destination_list
Sets the interest list for the lpget, lpstat, and cancel commands.
destination_list is a comma-separated list of destinations. Specify
destination using atomic, URI-style (scheme://endpoint), or Posix-
style names (server:printer). See lpget(1M), lpstat(1), and can‐
cel(1).
LP Server Options
The following LP configuration options (represented as key=value pairs)
are supported:
user-equivalence=true|false
Sets whether or not usernames are considered equivalent when can‐
celling a print request submitted from a different host in a net‐
worked environment. true means that usernames are considered equiv‐
alent, and permits users to cancel a print requests submitted from
a different host. user-equivalence is set to false by default.
false means that usernames are not considered equivalent, and does
not permit users cancel a print request submitted from a different
host. If user-equivalence is set to false, print requests can only
be cancelled by the users on the host on whichs the print prequest
was generated or by the superuser on the print server.
Print Queue Name Resolution
Applications needing to resolve print queue names (destinations) to the
associated print service and communications endpoint make use of a spe‐
cific name resolution ordering. Destination names in URI and POSIX form
are complete unto themselves and require no further resolution. Names
in atomic form are resolved based on the printers database entry in the
/etc/nsswitch.conf file. See nsswitch.conf(4)
Locating the Personal Default Destination
The default destination is located differently depending on the com‐
mand.
The lp command locates the default destination in the following order:
1. lp command's -d destination option.
2. LPDEST environment variable.
3. PRINTER environment variable.
4. _default destination in $HOME/.printers.
5. _default destination in /etc/printers.conf.
The lpr, lpq, and lprm commands locate the default destination in the
following order:
1. lpr command's -P destination option.
2. PRINTER environment variable.
3. LPDEST environment variable.
4. _default destination in $HOME/.printers.
5. _default destination in /etc/printers.conf.
Locating the Interest List for lpstat, lpget, and cancel
The lpget, lpstat, and cancel commands locate the interest list in the
following order:
1. _all list in $HOME/.printers.
2. _all list in /etc/printers.conf.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 Setting the Interest List
The following entry sets the interest list for the lpget, lpstat and
cancel commands to printer1, printer2 and printer3:
_all:all=printer1,printer2,printer3
Example 2 Setting the Server Name
The following entry sets the server name to server and and printer name
to ps_printer for destinations printer1 and ps. It does not generate
BSD protocol extensions.
printer1|ps:bsdaddr=server,ps_printer
Example 3 Setting Server Name and Destination Name
The following entry sets the server name to server and destination name
to pcl_printer, for destination printer2. It also generates Solaris
protocol extensions.
printer2:printer-uri-supported=lpd//server/printers/pcl_printer#Solaris
Example 4 Setting Server Name and Destination Name with Continuous
Search
The following entry sets the server name to server and destination name
to new_printer, for destination printer3. It also sets the printer3 to
continue searching for configuration information to printer
another_printer.
printer3:bsdaddr=server,new_printer:use=another_printer
Example 5 Setting Default Destination
The following entry sets the default destination to continue searching
for configuration information to destination printer1.
_default:use=printer1
Example 6 Using IPP as the URI
The following example uses IPP as the URI:
printer4:printer-uri-supported=ipp\://server/printers/queue
FILES
/etc/printers.conf System configuration database
$HOME/.printers User-configurable printer database
ou=printers LDAP version of /etc/printers.conf
printers.conf.byname (NIS) NIS version of /etc/printers.conf
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │print/lp/print-client-commands │
├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Committed │
└─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOcancel(1), enable(1), enable(1), lp(1), lpq(1B), lpr(1B), lprm(1B),
lpstat(1), accept(1M), in.lpd(1M), lpadmin(1M), lpget(1M), lpmove(1M),
lpset(1M), accept(1M), nsswitch.conf(4), printers(4), attributes(5),
standards(5)
System Administration Guide: Basic Administration
SunOS 5.11 10 Dec 2009 printers.conf(4)
