1 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC
"-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
3 <!-- SECTION: Specifications -->
5 <title>CUPS Command File Format
</title>
6 <meta name='keywords' content='Programming, CUPS Command File Format'
>
7 <link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='../cups.css'
>
13 CUPS command file format specification for the Common UNIX Printing
16 Copyright 2007-2008 by Apple Inc.
17 Copyright 1997-2006 by Easy Software Products.
19 These coded instructions, statements, and computer programs are the
20 property of Apple Inc. and are protected by Federal copyright
21 law. Distribution and use rights are outlined in the file "LICENSE.txt"
22 which should have been included with this file. If this file is
23 file is missing or damaged, see the license at "http://www.cups.org/".
26 <h2 class='title'
><a name='INTRODUCTION'
>Introduction
</a></h2>
28 <p>This specification describes the CUPS command file format
29 (application/vnd.cups-command) which is used to send printer
30 maintenance commands to a printer in a device-independent way.
31 The current specification supports basic maintenance functions
32 such as head cleaning and self-test pages and query functions
33 such as auto-configure, report supply levels, and report status.
</p>
35 <p>Printer drivers advertise support for the CUPS command file
36 format by providing a filter for the
37 <var>application/vnd.cups-command
</var> file type. Applications
38 can determine if a printer supports printing of CUPS command
39 files by checking the
<code>printer-type
</code> attribute for the
40 <code>CUPS_PRINTER_COMMANDS
</code> capability bit.
</p>
42 <p>In addition, the PPD file for a printer can contain a
43 <code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword that provides a list of supported
44 commands separated by spaces, for example:
</p>
47 *cupsCommand:
"AutoConfigure Clean PrintSelfTestPage ReportLevels ReportStatus"
50 <p>If no
<code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword is provided, the command filter
51 must support
<a href='#AutoConfigure'
><code>AutoConfigure
</code></a>,
52 <a href='#Clean'
><code>Clean
</code></a>,
53 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>,
54 and
<a href='#ReportLevels'
><code>ReportLevels
</code></a>. The scheduler also
55 provides the
<code>printer-commands
</code> attribute containing the list of
56 supported commands.
</p>
59 <h2 class='title'
><a name='SYNTAX'
>File Syntax
</a></h2>
61 <p>CUPS command files are ASCII text files. The first line of a
62 CUPS command file MUST contain:
</p>
68 <p>After that, each line is either a command or a comment.
69 Comments begin with the # character, e.g.:
</p>
75 <p>Commands are any sequence of letters, numbers, and punctuation characters
76 optionally followed by parameters separated by whitespace, e.g.:
</p>
83 <p>Command names are case-insensitive, so
"PRINTSELFTESTPAGE",
84 "printselftestpage", and
"PrintSelfTestPage" are equivalent. Vendor-specific
85 commands should use a domain name prefix, e.g.:
</p>
89 com.vendor.bar param param2 ... paramN
93 <h2 class='title'
><a name='COMMANDS'
>Standard Commands
</a></h2>
95 <p>The following are the standard commands supported by the format. The only
97 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>.
</p>
100 <h3><a name='AutoConfigure'
>AutoConfigure
</a></h3>
102 <p class='summary'
>AutoConfigure
</p>
104 <p>The
<code>AutoConfigure
</code> command updates the printer's PPD file
105 and driver state information to reflect the current configuration of the
106 printer. There are no arguments for this command.
</p>
110 <pre class='command'
>
116 <h3><a name='Clean'
>Clean
</a></h3>
118 <p class='summary'
>Clean
<i>colorname
</i></p>
120 <p>The
<code>Clean
</code> command performs a standard print head cleaning. The
121 "colorname" parameter specifies which color or head to clean. If a printer does
122 not support cleaning of individual colors or cartridges, then all colors are
123 cleaned. Command filters MUST support the
"all" colorname. Other standard color
124 names include
"black",
"color",
"photo",
"cyan",
"magenta",
"yellow",
125 "light-cyan",
"light-magenta",
"light-black",
"light-gray", and
"dark-gray".
</p>
129 <pre class='command'
>
135 <h3><a name='PrintAlignmentPage'
>PrintAlignmentPage
</a></h3>
137 <p class='summary'
>PrintAlignmentPage pass
</p>
139 <p>The
<code>PrintAlignmentPage
</code> command prints a head alignment page on
140 the printer. The
"pass" parameter provides a pass number from
1 to N. The number
141 of passes is device-dependent.
</p>
145 <pre class='command'
>
151 <h3><a name='PrintSelfTestPage'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</a></h3>
153 <p class='summary'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</p>
155 <p>The
<code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code> command prints a self-test page on the
156 printer. Typically this page shows whether all jets on a print head are
157 functioning and that the print feed mechanisms are working properly.
</p>
161 <pre class='command'
>
167 <h3><a name='ReportLevels'
>ReportLevels
</a></h3>
169 <p class='summary'
>ReportLevels
</p>
171 <p>The
<code>ReportLevels
</code> command queries the supply levels on a printer
172 and reports
"marker-colors",
"marker-levels",
"marker-names", and
173 "marker-types" attributes using
"ATTR:" messages sent to the scheduler. This
174 command should also report the current printer status using
"STATE:" messages
175 like the
<a href='#ReportStatus'
><code>ReportStatus
</code></a> command.
</p>
179 <pre class='command'
>
185 <h3><a name='ReportStatus'
>ReportStatus
</a></h3>
187 <p class='summary'
>ReportStatus
</p>
189 <p>The
<code>ReportStatus
</code> command queries the printer for its current
190 status and reports it using
"STATE:" messages sent to the scheduler.
</p>
194 <pre class='command'
>
200 <h3><a name='SetAlignment'
>SetAlignment
</a></h3>
202 <p class='summary'
>SetAlignment pass value ... valueN
</p>
204 <p>The
<code>SetAlignment
</code> command sets print head alignment values. The
205 "pass" parameter is a number from
1 to N. All parameters are
206 device-dependent.
</p>
210 <pre class='command'
>