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2.\" cups (intro) man page for CUPS.
3.\"
4.\" Copyright 2007-2014 by Apple Inc.
5.\" Copyright 1997-2006 by Easy Software Products.
6.\"
7.\" These coded instructions, statements, and computer programs are the
8.\" property of Apple Inc. and are protected by Federal copyright
9.\" law. Distribution and use rights are outlined in the file "LICENSE.txt"
10.\" which should have been included with this file. If this file is
11.\" file is missing or damaged, see the license at "http://www.cups.org/".
12.\"
f9988e18 13.TH cups 1 "CUPS" "16 April 2014" "Apple Inc."
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14.SH NAME
15cups \- a standards-based, open source printing system
16.SH DESCRIPTION
17.B CUPS
18is the software you use to print from applications like word processors, email readers, photo editors, and web browsers. It converts the page descriptions produced by your application (put a paragraph here, draw a line there, and so forth) into something your printer can understand and then sends the information to the printer for printing.
19.LP
20Now, since every printer manufacturer does things differently, printing can be very complicated.
21.B CUPS
22does its best to hide this from you and your application so that you can concentrate on printing and less on how to print. Generally, the only time you need to know anything about your printer is when you use it for the first time, and even then
23.B CUPS
24can often figure things out on its own.
a99f5c6a 25.SS HOW DOES IT WORK?
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26The first time you print to a printer,
27.B CUPS
28creates a queue to keep track of the current status of the printer (everything OK, out of paper, etc.) and any pages you have printed. Most of the time the queue points to a printer connected directly to your computer via a USB port, however it can also point to a printer on your network, a printer on the Internet, or multiple printers depending on the configuration. Regardless of where the queue points, it will look like any other printer to you and your applications.
29.LP
30Every time you print something,
31.B CUPS
32creates a job which contains the queue you are sending the print to, the name of the document you are printing, and the page descriptions. Job are numbered (queue-1, queue-2, and so forth) so you can monitor the job as it is printed or cancel it if you see a mistake. When
33.B CUPS
34gets a job for printing, it determines the best programs (filters, printer drivers, port monitors, and backends) to convert the pages into a printable format and then runs them to actually print the job.
35.LP
36When the print job is completely printed,
37.B CUPS
38removes the job from the queue and moves on to any other jobs you have submitted. You can also be notified when the job is finished, or if there are any errors during printing, in several different ways.
a99f5c6a 39.SS WHERE DO I BEGIN?
2909c66c 40The easiest way to start is by using the web interface to configure your printer. Go to "http://localhost:631" and choose the Administration tab at the top of the page. Click/press on the Add Printer button and follow the prompts.
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41.LP
42When you are asked for a username and password, enter your login username and password or the "root" username and password.
43.LP
2909c66c 44After the printer is added you will be asked to set the default printer options (paper size, output mode, etc.) for the printer. Make any changes as needed and then click/press on the Set Default Options button to save them. Some printers also support auto-configuration - click/press on the Query Printer for Default Options button to update the options automatically.
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45.LP
46Once you have added the printer, you can print to it from any application. You can also choose Print Test Page from the maintenance menu to print a simple test page and verify that everything is working properly.
47.LP
48You can also use the
49.BR lpadmin (8)
50and
51.BR lpinfo (8)
52commands to add printers to
53.BR CUPS .
54Additionally, your operating system may include graphical user interfaces or automatically create printer queues when you connect a printer to your computer.
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55.SS HOW DO I GET HELP?
56The
57.B CUPS
58web site (http://www.CUPS.org) provides access to the
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59.I cups
60and
61.I cups-devel
62mailing lists, additional documentation and resources, and a bug report database. Most vendors also provide online discussion forums to ask printing questions for your operating system of choice.
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63.SH ENVIRONMENT
64.B CUPS
65commands use the following environment variables to override the default locations of files and so forth. For security reasons, these environment variables are ignored for setuid programs:
66.TP 5
2909c66c 67.B CUPS_ANYROOT
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68Whether to allow any X.509 certificate root (Y or N).
69.TP 5
2909c66c 70.B CUPS_CACHEDIR
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71The directory where semi-persistent cache files can be found.
72.TP 5
2909c66c 73.B CUPS_DATADIR
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74The directory where data files can be found.
75.TP 5
2909c66c 76.B CUPS_ENCRYPTION
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77The default level of encryption (Always, IfRequested, Never, Required).
78.TP 5
2909c66c 79.B CUPS_EXPIREDCERTS
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80Whether to allow expired X.509 certificates (Y or N).
81.TP 5
2909c66c 82.B CUPS_GSSSERVICENAME
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83The Kerberos service name used for authentication.
84.TP 5
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85.B CUPS_SERVER
86The hostname/IP address and port number of the CUPS scheduler (hostname:port or ipaddress:port).
87.TP 5
88.B CUPS_SERVERBIN
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89The directory where server helper programs, filters, backend, etc. can be found.
90.TP 5
2909c66c 91.B CUPS_SERVERROOT
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92The root directory of the server.
93.TP 5
2909c66c 94.B CUPS_STATEDIR
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95The directory where state files can be found.
96.TP 5
2909c66c 97.B CUPS_USER
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98Specifies the name of the user for print requests.
99.TP 5
2909c66c 100.B HOME
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101Specifies the home directory of the current user.
102.TP 5
2909c66c 103.B IPP_PORT
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104Specifies the default port number for IPP requests.
105.TP 5
2909c66c 106.B LOCALEDIR
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107Specifies the location of localization files.
108.TP 5
2909c66c 109.B LPDEST
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110Specifies the default print queue (System V standard).
111.TP 5
2909c66c 112.B PRINTER
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113Specifies the default print queue (Berkeley standard).
114.TP 5
2909c66c 115.B TMPDIR
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116Specifies the location of temporary files.
117.SH FILES
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118.nf
119.I ~/.cups/client.conf
120.I ~/.cups/lpoptions
121.fi
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122.SH CONFORMING TO
123.B CUPS
124conforms to the Internet Printing Protocol version 2.1 and implements the Berkeley and System V UNIX print commands.
125.SH SEE ALSO
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126.BR cancel (1),
127.BR client.conf (7),
128.BR cupsctl (8),
129.BR cupsd (8),
130.BR lp (1),
131.BR lpadmin (8),
132.BR lpinfo (8),
133.BR lpoptions (1),
134.BR lpr (1),
135.BR lprm (1),
136.BR lpq (1),
137.BR lpstat (1),
138CUPS Online Help (http://localhost:631/help),
139CUPS Web Site (http://www.CUPS.org),
140PWG Internet Printing Protocol Workgroup (http://www.pwg.org/ipp)
969af935 141.SH COPYRIGHT
bd5a2f28 142Copyright \[co] 2007-2017 by Apple Inc.