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358 PPD compiler documentation for CUPS.
360 Copyright 2007-2012 by Apple Inc.
361 Copyright 1997-2007 by Easy Software Products.
363 These coded instructions, statements, and computer programs are the
364 property of Apple Inc. and are protected by Federal copyright
365 law. Distribution and use rights are outlined in the file "LICENSE.txt"
366 which should have been included with this file. If this file is
367 file is missing or damaged, see the license at "http://www.cups.org/".
370 <h1 class='title'
>Introduction to the PPD Compiler
</h1>
372 <P>This document describes how to use the CUPS PostScript Printer Description
373 (PPD) file compiler. The PPD compiler generates PPD files from simple text files
374 that describe the features and capabilities of one or more printers.
</P>
376 <BLOCKQUOTE><B>Note:
</B>
378 <P>The PPD compiler and related tools are deprecated and will be removed in a future release of CUPS.
</P>
382 <div class='summary'
><table summary='General Information'
>
386 <td>Programming:
<a href='raster-driver.html'
>Developing Raster Printer Drivers
</a><br>
387 Programming:
<a href='postscript-driver.html'
>Developing PostScript Printer Drivers
</a><br>
388 Programming:
<a href='api-filter.html'
>Filter and Backend Programming
</a><br>
389 Programming:
<a href='api-raster.html'
>Raster API
</a><br>
390 References:
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html'
>PPD Compiler Driver Information File Reference
</a><br>
391 Specifications:
<a href='spec-ppd.html'
>CUPS PPD Extensions
</a></td>
395 <h2 class=
"title">Contents
</h2>
396 <ul class=
"contents">
397 <li><a href=
"#BASICS">The Basics
</a></li>
398 <li><a href=
"#DRV">Driver Information Files
</a><ul class=
"subcontents">
399 <li><a href=
"#SIMPLE">A Simple Example
</a></li>
400 <li><a href=
"#GROUPING">Grouping and Inheritance
</a></li>
401 <li><a href=
"#COLOR">Color Support
</a></li>
402 <li><a href=
"#OPTIONS">Defining Custom Options and Option Groups
</a></li>
403 <li><a href=
"#DEFINE">Defining Constants
</a></li>
404 <li><a href=
"#CONDITIONAL">Conditional Statements
</a></li>
405 <li><a href=
"#CONSTRAINTS">Defining Constraints
</a></li>
407 <li><a href=
"#LOCALIZATION">Localization
</a><ul class=
"subcontents">
408 <li><a href=
"#PPDPO">The ppdpo Utility
</a></li>
409 <li><a href=
"#PPDC_CATALOG">Using Message Catalogs with the PPD Compiler
</a></li>
412 <h2 class='title'
><a name='BASICS'
>The Basics
</a></h2>
414 <P>The PPD compiler,
<a href='man-ppdc.html'
><code>ppdc(
1)
</code></a>, is a
415 simple command-line tool that takes a single
<I>driver information file
</I>,
416 which by convention uses the extension
<VAR>.drv
</VAR>, and produces one or more
417 PPD files that may be distributed with your printer drivers for use with CUPS.
418 For example, you would run the following command to create the English language
419 PPD files defined by the driver information file
<VAR>mydrivers.drv
</VAR>:
</P>
421 <pre class='command'
>
425 <P>The PPD files are placed in a subdirectory called
426 <VAR>ppd
</VAR>. The
<TT>-d
</TT> option is used to put the PPD
427 files in a different location, for example:
</p>
429 <pre class='command'
>
430 ppdc -d myppds mydrivers.drv
433 <P>places the PPD files in a subdirectory named
434 <VAR>myppds
</VAR>. Finally, use the
<TT>-l
</TT> option to
435 specify the language localization for the PPD files that are
436 created, for example:
</P>
438 <pre class='command'
>
439 ppdc -d myppds/de -l de mydrivers.drv
440 ppdc -d myppds/en -l en mydrivers.drv
441 ppdc -d myppds/es -l es mydrivers.drv
442 ppdc -d myppds/fr -l fr mydrivers.drv
443 ppdc -d myppds/it -l it mydrivers.drv
446 <P>creates PPD files in German (de), English (en), Spanish (es),
447 French (fr), and Italian (it) in the corresponding
448 subdirectories. Specify multiple languages (separated by commas) to produce
449 "globalized" PPD files:
</p>
451 <pre class='command'
>
452 ppdc -d myppds -l de,en,es,fr,it mydrivers.drv
456 <h2 class='title'
><a name='DRV'
>Driver Information Files
</a></h2>
458 <P>The driver information files accepted by the PPD compiler are
459 plain text files that define the various attributes and options
460 that are included in the PPD files that are generated. A driver
461 information file can define the information for one or more printers and
462 their corresponding PPD files.
</P>
464 <p class='example'
><a name=
"LISTING1">Listing
1:
"examples/minimum.drv"</a></p>
466 <pre class='example'
>
467 <I>// Include standard font and media definitions
</I>
468 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <font.defs
>
469 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <media.defs
>
471 <I>// List the fonts that are supported, in this case all standard fonts...
</I>
472 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> *
474 <I>// Manufacturer, model name, and version
</I>
475 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "Foo"
476 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
477 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Version'
>Version
</a> 1.0
479 <I>// Each filter provided by the driver...
</I>
480 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Filter'
>Filter
</a> application/vnd.cups-raster
100 rastertofoo
482 <I>// Supported page sizes
</I>
483 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> Letter
484 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> A4
486 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
487 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
489 <I>// Specify the name of the PPD file we want to generate...
</I>
490 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojet2k.ppd"
494 <h3><a name='SIMPLE'
>A Simple Example
</a></h3>
496 <P>The example in
<A HREF=
"#LISTING1">Listing
1</A> shows a driver information
497 file which defines the minimum required attributes to provide a valid PPD file.
498 The first part of the file includes standard definition files for fonts and
501 <pre class='example'
>
502 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <font.defs
>
503 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <media.defs
>
506 <P>The
<TT>#include
</TT> directive works just like the C/C++ include directive;
507 files included using the angle brackets (
<TT><filename
></TT>) are found
508 in any of the standard include directories and files included using quotes
509 (
<TT>"filename"</TT>) are found in the same directory as the source or include
510 file. The
<TT><font.defs
></TT> include file defines the standard fonts
511 which are included with GPL Ghostscript and the Apple PDF RIP, while the
512 <TT><media.defs
></TT> include file defines the standard media sizes
513 listed in Appendix B of the Adobe PostScript Printer Description File Format
516 <P>CUPS provides several other standard include files:
</P>
520 <LI><TT><epson.h
></TT> - Defines all of the rastertoepson driver
523 <LI><TT><escp.h
></TT> - Defines all of the rastertoescpx driver
526 <LI><TT><hp.h
></TT> - Defines all of the rastertohp driver
529 <LI><TT><label.h
></TT> - Defines all of the rastertolabel driver
532 <LI><TT><pcl.h
></TT> - Defines all of the rastertopclx driver
535 <LI><TT><raster.defs
></TT> - Defines all of the CUPS raster format
540 <P>Next we list all of the fonts that are available in the driver; for CUPS
541 raster drivers, the following line is all that is usually supplied:
</P>
543 <pre class='example'
>
544 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> *
547 <P>The
<TT>Font
</TT> directive specifies the name of a single font or the
548 asterisk to specify all fonts. For example, you would use the following line to
549 define an additional bar code font that you are supplying with your printer
552 <pre class='example'
>
553 <I>// name encoding version charset status
</I>
554 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> Barcode-Foo Special
"(1.0)" Special ROM
557 <P>The name of the font is
<TT>Barcode-Foo
</TT>. Since it is not a standard
558 text font, the encoding and charset name
<TT>Special
</TT> is used. The version
559 number is
<TT>1.0</TT> and the status (where the font is located) is
560 <TT>ROM
</TT> to indicate that the font does not need to be embedded in
561 documents that use the font for this printer.
</P>
563 <P>Third comes the manufacturer, model name, and version number information
566 <pre class='example'
>
567 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "Foo"
568 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
569 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Version'
>Version
</a> 1.0
572 <P>These strings are used when the user (or auto-configuration program) selects
573 the printer driver for a newly connected device.
</p>
575 <P>The list of filters comes after the information strings; for the example in
576 <A HREF=
"#LISTING1">Listing
1</A>, we have a single filter that takes CUPS
579 <pre class='example'
>
580 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Filter'
>Filter
</a> application/vnd.cups-raster
100 rastertofoo
583 <P>Each filter specified in the driver information file is the equivalent of a
584 printer driver for that format; if a user submits a print job in a different
585 format, CUPS figures out the sequence of commands that will produce a supported
586 format for the least relative cost.
</P>
588 <P>Once we have defined the driver information we specify the supported options.
589 For the example driver we support a single resolution of
600 dots per inch and
590 two media sizes, A4 and Letter:
</P>
592 <pre class='example'
>
593 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> Letter
594 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> A4
596 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
599 <P>The asterisk in front of the
<TT>MediaSize
</TT> and
<TT>Resolution
</TT>
600 directives specify that those option choices are the default. The
601 <TT>MediaSize
</TT> directive is followed by a media size name which is normally
602 defined in the
<TT><media.defs
></TT> file and corresponds to a standard
603 Adobe media size name. If the default media size is
<TT>Letter
</TT>, the PPD
604 compiler will override it to be
<TT>A4
</TT> for non-English localizations for
605 you automatically.
</P>
607 <P>The
<TT>Resolution
</TT> directive accepts several values after it as
612 <LI>Colorspace for this resolution, if any. In the example file, the
613 colorspace
<TT>k
</TT> is used which corresponds to black. For printer
614 drivers that support color printing, this field is usually specified as
615 "-" for
"no change".
</LI>
617 <LI>Bits per color. In the example file, we define
8 bits per color, for
618 a continuous-tone grayscale output. All versions of CUPS support
1 and
619 8 bits per color. CUPS
1.2 and higher (OS X
10.5 and higher) also
620 supports
16 bits per color.
</LI>
622 <LI>Rows per band. In the example file, we define
0 rows per band to
623 indicate that our printer driver does not process the page in
626 <LI>Row feed. In the example, we define the feed value to be
0 to
627 indicate that our printer driver does not interleave the output.
</LI>
629 <LI>Row step. In the example, we define the step value to be
0 to
630 indicate that our printer driver does not interleave the output. This
631 value normally indicates the spacing between the nozzles of an inkjet
632 printer - when combined with the previous two values, it informs the
633 driver how to stagger the output on the page to produce interleaved
634 lines on the page for higher-resolution output.
</LI>
636 <LI>Choice name and text. In the example, we define the choice name and
637 text to be
<TT>"600dpi/600 DPI"</TT>. The name and text are separated by
638 slash (
<TT>/
</TT>) character; if no text is specified, then the name is
639 used as the text. The PPD compiler parses the name to determine the
640 actual resolution; the name can be of the form
641 <TT><I>RESOLUTION
</I>dpi
</TT> for resolutions that are equal
642 horizontally and vertically or
<TT><I>HRES
</I>x
<I>VRES
</I>dpi
</TT> for
643 isometric resolutions. Only integer resolution values are supported, so
644 a resolution name of
<TT>300dpi
</TT> is valid while
<TT>300.1dpi
</TT> is
649 <P>Finally, the
<TT>PCFileName
</TT> directive specifies that the named PPD file
650 should be written for the current driver definitions:
</P>
652 <pre class='example'
>
653 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojet2k.ppd"
656 <P>The filename follows the directive and
<I>must
</I> conform to the Adobe
657 filename requirements in the Adobe Postscript Printer Description File Format
658 Specification. Specifically, the filename may not exceed
8 characters followed
659 by the extension
<VAR>.ppd
</VAR>. The
<TT>FileName
</TT> directive can be used to
660 specify longer filenames:
</P>
662 <pre class='example'
>
663 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#FileName'
>FileName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
667 <h3><a name='GROUPING'
>Grouping and Inheritance
</a></h3>
669 <P>The previous example created a single PPD file. Driver information files can
670 also define multiple printers by using the PPD compiler grouping functionality.
671 Directives are grouped using the curly braces (
<TT>{
</TT> and
<TT>}
</TT>) and
672 every group that uses the
<TT>PCFileName
</TT> or
<TT>FileName
</TT> directives
673 produces a PPD file with that name.
<A HREF=
"#LISTING2">Listing
2</A> shows a
674 variation of the original example that uses two groups to define two printers
675 that share the same printer driver filter but provide two different resolution
678 <p class='example'
><a name=
"LISTING2">Listing
2:
"examples/grouping.drv"</a></p>
680 <pre class='example'
>
682 <I>// Include standard font and media definitions
</I>
683 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <font.defs
>
684 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <media.defs
>
686 <I>// List the fonts that are supported, in this case all standard fonts...
</I>
687 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> *
689 <I>// Manufacturer and version
</I>
690 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "Foo"
691 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Version'
>Version
</a> 1.0
693 <I>// Each filter provided by the driver...
</I>
694 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Filter'
>Filter
</a> application/vnd.cups-raster
100 rastertofoo
696 <I>// Supported page sizes
</I>
697 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> Letter
698 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> A4
701 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
702 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
704 <I>// Specify the model name and filename...
</I>
705 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
706 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojet2k.ppd"
710 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
711 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "1200dpi/1200 DPI"
713 <I>// Specify the model name and filename...
</I>
714 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2001"
715 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojt2k1.ppd"
719 <P>The second example is essentially the same as the first, except that each
720 printer model is defined inside of a pair of curly braces. For example, the
721 first printer is defined using:
</P>
723 <pre class='example'
>
725 // Supported resolutions
726 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
728 // Specify the model name and filename...
729 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
730 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojet2k.ppd"
734 <P>The printer
<I>inherits
</I> all of the definitions from the parent group (the
735 top part of the file) and adds the additional definitions inside the curly
736 braces for that printer driver. When we define the second group, it also
737 inherits the same definitions from the parent group but
<I>none
</I> of the
738 definitions from the first driver. Groups can be nested to any number of levels
739 to support variations of similar models without duplication of information.
</P>
742 <h3><a name='COLOR'
>Color Support
</a></h3>
744 <P>For printer drivers that support color printing, the
745 <TT>ColorDevice
</TT> and
<TT>ColorModel
</TT> directives should be
746 used to tell the printing system that color output is desired
747 and in what formats.
<A HREF=
"#LISTING3">Listing
3</A> shows a
748 variation of the previous example which includes a color printer
749 that supports printing at
300 and
600 DPI.
</P>
751 <P>The key changes are the addition of the
<TT>ColorDevice
</TT>
754 <pre class='example'
>
755 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ColorDevice'
>ColorDevice
</a> true
758 <P>which tells the printing system that the printer supports
759 color printing, and the
<TT>ColorModel
</TT> directives:
</P>
761 <pre class='example'
>
762 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ColorModel'
>ColorModel
</a> Gray/Grayscale w chunky
0
763 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ColorModel'
>ColorModel
</a> RGB/Color rgb chunky
0
766 <P>which tell the printing system which colorspaces are supported by the printer
767 driver for color printing. Each of the
<TT>ColorModel
</TT> directives is
768 followed by the option name and text (
<TT>Gray/Grayscale
</TT> and
769 <TT>RGB/Color
</TT>), the colorspace name (
<TT>w
</TT> and
<TT>rgb
</TT>), the
770 color organization (
<TT>chunky
</TT>), and the compression mode number
771 (
<TT>0</TT>) to be passed to the driver. The option name can be any of the
772 standard Adobe
<TT>ColorModel
</TT> names:
</P>
776 <LI><TT>Gray
</TT> - Grayscale output.
778 <LI><TT>RGB
</TT> - Color output, typically using the RGB
779 colorspace, but without a separate black channel.
781 <LI><TT>CMYK
</TT> - Color output with a separate black
786 <P>Custom names can be used, however it is recommended that you use your vendor
787 prefix for any custom names, for example
"fooName".
</P>
789 <P>The colorspace name can be any of the following universally supported
793 <LI><TT>w
</TT> - Luminance
</LI>
795 <LI><TT>rgb
</TT> - Red, green, blue
</LI>
797 <LI><TT>k
</TT> - Black
</LI>
799 <LI><TT>cmy
</TT> - Cyan, magenta, yellow
</LI>
801 <LI><TT>cmyk
</TT> - Cyan, magenta, yellow, black
</LI>
805 <P>The color organization can be any of the following values:
</P>
809 <LI><TT>chunky
</TT> - Color values are passed together on a line
810 as RGB RGB RGB RGB
</LI>
812 <LI><TT>banded
</TT> - Color values are passed separately
813 on a line as RRRR GGGG BBBB; not supported by the Apple
816 <LI><TT>planar
</TT> - Color values are passed separately
817 on a page as RRRR RRRR RRRR ... GGGG GGGG GGGG ... BBBB
818 BBBB BBBB; not supported by the Apple RIP filters
</LI>
822 <P>The compression mode value is passed to the driver in the
823 <TT>cupsCompression
</TT> attribute. It is traditionally used to select an
824 appropriate compression mode for the color model but can be used for any
825 purpose, such as specifying a photo mode vs. standard mode.
</P>
827 <p class='example'
><a name=
"LISTING3">Listing
3:
"examples/color.drv"</a></p>
829 <pre class='example'
>
831 <I>// Include standard font and media definitions
</I>
832 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <font.defs
>
833 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <media.defs
>
835 <I>// List the fonts that are supported, in this case all standard fonts...
</I>
836 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> *
838 <I>// Manufacturer and version
</I>
839 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "Foo"
840 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Version'
>Version
</a> 1.0
842 <I>// Each filter provided by the driver...
</I>
843 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Filter'
>Filter
</a> application/vnd.cups-raster
100 rastertofoo
845 <I>// Supported page sizes
</I>
846 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> Letter
847 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> A4
850 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
851 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
853 <I>// Specify the model name and filename...
</I>
854 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
855 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojet2k.ppd"
859 <I>// Supports color printing
</I>
860 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ColorDevice'
>ColorDevice
</a> true
862 <I>// Supported colorspaces
</I>
863 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ColorModel'
>ColorModel
</a> Gray/Grayscale w chunky
0
864 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ColorModel'
>ColorModel
</a> RGB/Color rgb chunky
0
866 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
867 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> -
8 0 0 0 "300dpi/300 DPI"
868 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> -
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
870 <I>// Specify the model name and filename...
</I>
871 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet Color"
872 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojetco.ppd"
877 <h3><a name='OPTIONS'
>Defining Custom Options and Option Groups
</a></h3>
879 <P>The
<TT>Group
</TT>,
<TT>Option
</TT>, and
<TT>Choice
</TT>
880 directives are used to define or select a group, option, or
881 choice.
<A HREF=
"#LISTING4">Listing
4</A> shows a variation of
882 the first example that provides two custom options in a group
885 <p class='example'
><a name=
"LISTING4">Listing
4:
"examples/custom.drv"</a></p>
887 <pre class='example'
>
889 <I>// Include standard font and media definitions
</I>
890 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <font.defs
>
891 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <media.defs
>
893 <I>// List the fonts that are supported, in this case all standard fonts...
</I>
894 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> *
896 <I>// Manufacturer, model name, and version
</I>
897 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "Foo"
898 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
899 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Version'
>Version
</a> 1.0
901 <I>// Each filter provided by the driver...
</I>
902 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Filter'
>Filter
</a> application/vnd.cups-raster
100 rastertofoo
904 <I>// Supported page sizes
</I>
905 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> Letter
906 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> A4
908 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
909 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
911 <I>// Option Group
</I>
912 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Group'
>Group
</a> "Footasm"
914 <I>// Boolean option
</I>
915 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooEnhance/Resolution Enhancement" Boolean AnySetup
10
916 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> True/Yes
"<</cupsCompression 1>>setpagedevice"
917 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> False/No
"<</cupsCompression 0>>setpagedevice"
919 <I>// Multiple choice option
</I>
920 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooOutputType/Output Quality" PickOne AnySetup
10
921 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "Auto/Automatic Selection"
922 "<</OutputType(Auto)>>setpagedevice""
923 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'>Choice</a> "Text/Optimize for Text
"
924 "<</OutputType(Text)
>>setpagedevice
""
925 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "Graph/Optimize for Graphics"
926 "<</OutputType(Graph)>>setpagedevice""
927 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'>Choice</a> "Photo/Optimize for Photos
"
928 "<</OutputType(Photo)
>>setpagedevice
""
930 <I>// Specify the name of the PPD file we want to generate...
</I>
931 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'
>PCFileName
</a> "foojet2k.ppd"
934 <P>The custom group is introduced by the
<TT>Group
</TT>
935 directive which is followed by the name and optionally text for
938 <pre class='example'
>
939 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Group'
>Group
</a> "Footasm/Footastic Options"
942 <P>The group name must conform to the PPD specification and
943 cannot exceed
40 characters in length. If you specify user text,
944 it cannot exceed
80 characters in length. The groups
945 <TT>General
</TT>,
<TT>Extra
</TT>, and
946 <TT>InstallableOptions
</TT> are predefined by CUPS; the general
947 and extra groups are filled by the UI options defined by the PPD
948 specification. The
<TT>InstallableOptions
</TT> group is reserved
949 for options that define whether accessories for the printer
950 (duplexer unit, finisher, stapler, etc.) are installed.
</P>
952 <P>Once the group is specified, the
<TT>Option
</TT> directive is
953 used to introduce a new option:
</P>
955 <pre class='example'
>
956 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooEnhance/Resolution Enhancement" Boolean AnySetup
10
959 <P>The directive is followed by the name of the option and any
960 optional user text, the option type, the PostScript document group, and
961 the sort order number. The option name must conform to the PPD specification
962 and cannot exceed
40 characters in length. If you specify user text, it
963 cannot exceed
80 characters in length.
</P>
965 <P>The option type can be
<TT>Boolean
</TT> for true/false
966 selections,
<TT>PickOne
</TT> for picking one of many choices, or
967 <TT>PickMany
</TT> for picking zero or more choices. Boolean
968 options can have at most two choices with the names
969 <TT>False
</TT> and
<TT>True
</TT>. Pick options can have any
970 number of choices, although for Windows compatibility reasons
971 the number of choices should not exceed
255.
</P>
973 <P>The PostScript document group is typically
<TT>AnySetup
</TT>,
974 meaning that the option can be introduced at any point in the
975 PostScript document. Other values include
<TT>PageSetup
</TT> to
976 include the option before each page and
<TT>DocumentSetup
</TT>
977 to include the option once at the beginning of the document.
</P>
979 <P>The sort order number is used to sort the printer commands
980 associated with each option choice within the PostScript
981 document. This allows you to setup certain options before others
982 as required by the printer. For most CUPS raster printer
983 drivers, the value
<TT>10</TT> can be used for all options.
</P>
985 <P>Once the option is specified, each option choice can be
986 listed using the
<TT>Choice
</TT> directive:
</P>
988 <pre class='example'
>
989 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> True/Yes
"<</cupsCompression 1>>setpagedevice"
990 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> False/No
"<</cupsCompression 0>>setpagedevice"
993 <P>The directive is followed by the choice name and optionally
994 user text, and the PostScript commands that should be inserted
995 when printing a file to this printer. The option name must
996 conform to the PPD specification and cannot exceed
40 characters
997 in length. If you specify user text, it cannot exceed
80
998 characters in length.
</P>
1000 <P>The PostScript commands are also interpreted by any RIP
1001 filters, so these commands typically must be present for all
1002 option choices. Most commands take the form:
</P>
1004 <pre class='example'
>
1005 <</name value
>>setpagedevice
1008 <P>where
<TT>name
</TT> is the name of the PostScript page device
1009 attribute and
<TT>value
</TT> is the numeric or string value for
1013 <h3><a name='DEFINE'
>Defining Constants
</a></h3>
1015 <P>Sometimes you will want to define constants for your drivers
1016 so that you can share values in different groups within the same
1017 driver information file, or to share values between different
1018 driver information files using the
<TT>#include
</TT> directive.
1019 The
<TT>#define
</TT> directive is used to define constants for
1020 use in your printer definitions:
</P>
1022 <pre class='example'
>
1023 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> NAME value
1026 <P>The
<TT>NAME
</TT> is any sequence of letters, numbers, and
1027 the underscore. The
<TT>value
</TT> is a number or string; if the
1028 value contains spaces you must put double quotes around it, for
1031 <pre class='example'
>
1032 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> FOO
"My String Value"
1035 <P>Constants can also be defined on the command-line using the
<tt>-D
</tt>
1038 <pre class='command'
>
1039 ppdc
-DNAME=
"value" filename.drv
1042 <P>Once defined, you use the notation
<TT>$NAME
</TT> to substitute the value of
1043 the constant in the file, for example:
</P>
1045 <pre class='example'
>
1046 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> MANUFACTURER
"Foo"
1047 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> FOO_600
0
1048 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> FOO_1200
1
1051 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "$MANUFACTURER"
1052 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelNumber'
>ModelNumber
</a> $FOO_600
1053 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
1058 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "$MANUFACTURER"
1059 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelNumber'
>ModelNumber
</a> $FOO_1200
1060 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2001"
1065 <P>Numeric constants can be bitwise OR'd together by placing the constants
1066 inside parenthesis, for example:
</P>
1068 <pre class='example'
>
1069 <I>// ModelNumber capability bits
</I>
1070 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> DUPLEX
1
1071 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_define'
>#define
</a> COLOR
2
1076 <I>// Define a model number specifying the capabilities of the printer...
</I>
1077 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelNumber'
>ModelNumber
</a> ($DUPLEX $COLOR)
1083 <h3><a name='CONDITIONAL'
>Conditional Statements
</a></h3>
1085 <p>The PPD compiler supports conditional compilation using the
<tt>#if
</tt>,
1086 <tt>#elif
</tt>,
<tt>#else
</tt>, and
<tt>#endif
</tt> directives. The
<tt>#if
</tt>
1087 and
<tt>#elif
</tt> directives are followed by a constant name or an expression.
1088 For example, to include a group of options when
"ADVANCED" is defined:
</p>
1090 <pre class='example'
>
1091 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_if'
>#if
</a> ADVANCED
1092 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Group'
>Group
</a> "Advanced/Advanced Options"
1093 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooCyanAdjust/Cyan Adjustment"
1094 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus10/+10%" ""
1095 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus5/+5%" ""
1096 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "none/No Adjustment" ""
1097 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus5/-5%" ""
1098 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus10/-10%" ""
1099 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooMagentaAdjust/Magenta Adjustment"
1100 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus10/+10%" ""
1101 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus5/+5%" ""
1102 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "none/No Adjustment" ""
1103 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus5/-5%" ""
1104 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus10/-10%" ""
1105 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooYellowAdjust/Yellow Adjustment"
1106 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus10/+10%" ""
1107 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus5/+5%" ""
1108 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "none/No Adjustment" ""
1109 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus5/-5%" ""
1110 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus10/-10%" ""
1111 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "fooBlackAdjust/Black Adjustment"
1112 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus10/+10%" ""
1113 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "plus5/+5%" ""
1114 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "none/No Adjustment" ""
1115 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus5/-5%" ""
1116 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "minus10/-10%" ""
1117 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_endif'
>#endif
</a>
1121 <h3><a name='CONSTRAINTS'
>Defining Constraints
</a></h3>
1123 <P>Constraints are strings that are used to specify that one or more option
1124 choices are incompatible, for example two-sided printing on transparency media.
1125 Constraints are also used to prevent the use of uninstalled features such as the
1126 duplexer unit, additional media trays, and so forth.
</P>
1128 <P>The
<TT>UIConstraints
</TT> directive is used to specify a constraint that is
1129 placed in the PPD file. The directive is followed by a string using one of the
1130 following formats:
</P>
1132 <pre class='example'
>
1133 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#UIConstraints'
>UIConstraints
</a> "*Option1 *Option2"
1134 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#UIConstraints'
>UIConstraints
</a> "*Option1 Choice1 *Option2"
1135 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#UIConstraints'
>UIConstraints
</a> "*Option1 *Option2 Choice2"
1136 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#UIConstraints'
>UIConstraints
</a> "*Option1 Choice1 *Option2 Choice2"
1139 <P>Each option name is preceded by the asterisk (
<TT>*
</TT>). If no choice is
1140 given for an option, then all choices
<I>except
</I> <TT>False
</TT> and
1141 <TT>None
</TT> will conflict with the other option and choice(s). Since the PPD
1142 compiler automatically adds reciprocal constraints (option A conflicts with
1143 option B, so therefore option B conflicts with option A), you need only specify
1144 the constraint once.
</P>
1146 <p class='example'
><a name=
"LISTING5">Listing
5:
"examples/constraint.drv"</a></p>
1148 <pre class='example'
>
1150 <I>// Include standard font and media definitions
</I>
1151 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <font.defs
>
1152 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_include'
>#include
</a> <media.defs
>
1154 <I>// List the fonts that are supported, in this case all standard fonts...
</I>
1155 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Font'
>Font
</a> *
1157 <I>// Manufacturer, model name, and version
</I>
1158 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Manufacturer'
>Manufacturer
</a> "Foo"
1159 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#ModelName'
>ModelName
</a> "FooJet 2000"
1160 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Version'
>Version
</a> 1.0
1162 <I>// Each filter provided by the driver...
</I>
1163 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Filter'
>Filter
</a> application/vnd.cups-raster
100 rastertofoo
1165 <I>// Supported page sizes
</I>
1166 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> Letter
1167 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#MediaSize'
>MediaSize
</a> A4
1169 <I>// Supported resolutions
</I>
1170 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Resolution'
>Resolution
</a> k
8 0 0 0 "600dpi/600 DPI"
1172 <I>// Installable Option Group
</I>
1173 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Group'
>Group
</a> "InstallableOptions/Options Installed"
1175 <I>// Duplexing unit option
</I>
1176 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "OptionDuplexer/Duplexing Unit" Boolean AnySetup
10
1177 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> True/Installed
""
1178 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "False/Not Installed" ""
1180 <I>// General Option Group
</I>
1181 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Group'
>Group
</a> General
1183 <I>// Duplexing option
</I>
1184 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Option'
>Option
</a> "Duplex/Two-Sided Printing" PickOne AnySetup
10
1185 *
<a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "None/No" "<</Duplex false>>setpagedevice""
1186 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'>Choice</a> "DuplexNoTumble/Long Edge Binding
"
1187 "<</Duplex true/Tumble false
>>setpagedevice
""
1188 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Choice'
>Choice
</a> "DuplexTumble/Short Edge Binding"
1189 "<</Duplex true/Tumble true>>setpagedevice""
1191 <I>// Only allow duplexing if the duplexer is installed</I>
1192 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#UIConstraints'>UIConstraints</a> "*Duplex *OptionDuplexer False
"
1194 <I>// Specify the name of the PPD file we want to generate...</I>
1195 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#PCFileName'>PCFileName</a> "foojet2k.ppd
"
1198 <P><A HREF="#LISTING5
">Listing 5</A> shows a variation of the first example with
1199 an added <TT>Duplex</TT> option and installable option for the duplexer,
1200 <TT>OptionDuplex</TT>. A constraint is added at the end to specify that any
1201 choice of the <TT>Duplex</TT> option that is not <TT>None</TT> is incompatible
1202 with the "Duplexer Installed
" option set to "Not Installed
"
1203 (<TT>False</TT>):</P>
1205 <pre class='example'>
1206 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#UIConstraints'>UIConstraints</a> "*Duplex *OptionDuplexer False
"
1209 <h4>Enhanced Constraints</h4>
1211 <p>CUPS 1.4 supports constraints between 2 or more options using the
1212 <TT>Attribute</TT> directive. <TT>cupsUIConstraints</TT> attributes define
1213 the constraints, while <TT>cupsUIResolver</TT> attributes define option changes
1214 to resolve constraints. For example, we can specify the previous duplex
1215 constraint with a resolver that turns off duplexing with the following two
1218 <pre class='example'>
1219 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Attribute'>Attribute</a> cupsUIConstraints DuplexOff "*Duplex *OptionDuplexer False
"
1220 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#Attribute'>Attribute</a> cupsUIResolver DuplexOff "*Duplex None
"
1223 <h2 class='title'><a name='LOCALIZATION'>Localization</a></h2>
1225 <p>The PPD compiler provides localization of PPD files in different languages
1226 through <i>message catalog</i> files in the GNU gettext or Apple .strings
1227 formats. Each user text string and several key PPD attribute values such as
1228 <tt>LanguageVersion</tt> and <tt>LanguageEncoding</tt> are looked up in the
1229 corresponding message catalog and the translated text is substituted in the
1230 generated PPD files. One message catalog file can be used by multiple driver
1231 information files, and each file contains a single language translation.</p>
1233 <h3><a name='PPDPO'>The ppdpo Utility</a></h3>
1235 <p>While CUPS includes localizations of all standard media sizes and options in
1236 several languages, your driver information files may provide their own media
1237 sizes and options that need to be localized. CUPS provides a utility program to
1238 aid in the localization of drivers called <a
1239 href='man-ppdpo.html'><tt>ppdpo(1)</tt></a>. The <tt>ppdpo</tt> program creates
1240 or updates a message catalog file based upon one or more driver information
1241 files. New messages are added with the word "TRANSLATE
" added to the front of
1242 the translation string to make locating new strings for translation easier. The
1243 program accepts the message catalog filename and one or more driver information
1246 <p>For example, run the following command to create a new German message catalog
1247 called <var>de.po</var> for all of the driver information files in the current
1250 <pre class='command'>
1251 ppdpo -o de.po *.drv
1254 <p>If the file <var>de.po</var> already exists, <tt>ppdpo</tt> will update the
1255 contents of the file with any new messages that need to be translated. To create
1256 an Apple .strings file instead, specify the output filename with a .strings
1257 extension, for example:</p>
1259 <pre class='command'>
1260 ppdpo -o de.strings *.drv
1263 <h3><a name='PPDC_CATALOG'>Using Message Catalogs with the PPD Compiler</a></h3>
1265 <p>Once you have created a message catalog, use the <a
1266 href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'><tt>#po</tt></a> directive to declare it in each
1267 driver information file. For example, to declare the German message catalog for
1270 <pre class='example'>
1271 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'>#po</a> de "de.po
" // German
1274 <p>In fact, you can use the <tt>#po</tt> directive as many times as needed:</p>
1276 <pre class='example'>
1277 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'>#po</a> de "de.po
" // German
1278 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'>#po</a> es "es.po
" // Spanish
1279 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'>#po</a> fr "fr.po
" // French
1280 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'>#po</a> it "it.po
" // Italian
1281 <a href='ref-ppdcfile.html#_po'>#po</a> ja "ja.po
" // Japanese
1284 <p>The filename ("de.po
", etc.) can be relative to the location of the driver
1285 information file or an absolute path. Once defined, the PPD compiler will
1286 automatically generate a globalized PPD for every language declared in your
1287 driver information file. To generate a single-language PPD file, simply use the
1288 <tt>-l</tt> option to list the corresponding locale, for example:</p>
1290 <pre class='command'>
1291 ppdc -l de -d ppd/de mydrivers.drv
1294 <p>to generate German PPD files.</p>