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11 CUPS command file format specification for CUPS.
13 Copyright © 2007-2018 by Apple Inc.
14 Copyright © 1997-2006 by Easy Software Products.
16 Licensed under Apache License v2.0. See the file "LICENSE" for more
20 <H1 CLASS=
"title">CUPS Command File Format
</H1>
22 <h2 class='title'
><a name='INTRODUCTION'
>Introduction
</a></h2>
24 <p>This specification describes the CUPS command file format
25 (application/vnd.cups-command) which is used to send printer
26 maintenance commands to a printer in a device-independent way.
27 The current specification supports basic maintenance functions
28 such as head cleaning and self-test pages and query functions
29 such as auto-configure, report supply levels, and report status.
</p>
31 <p>Printer drivers advertise support for the CUPS command file
32 format by providing a filter for the
33 <var>application/vnd.cups-command
</var> file type. Applications
34 can determine if a printer supports printing of CUPS command
35 files by checking the
<code>printer-type
</code> attribute for the
36 <code>CUPS_PRINTER_COMMANDS
</code> capability bit.
</p>
38 <p>In addition, the PPD file for a printer can contain a
39 <code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword that provides a list of supported
40 commands separated by spaces, for example:
</p>
43 *cupsCommands:
"AutoConfigure Clean PrintSelfTestPage ReportLevels ReportStatus"
46 <p>If no
<code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword is provided, the command filter
47 must support
<a href='#AutoConfigure'
><code>AutoConfigure
</code></a>,
48 <a href='#Clean'
><code>Clean
</code></a>,
49 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>,
50 and
<a href='#ReportLevels'
><code>ReportLevels
</code></a>. The scheduler also
51 provides the
<code>printer-commands
</code> attribute containing the list of
52 supported commands.
</p>
55 <h2 class='title'
><a name='SYNTAX'
>File Syntax
</a></h2>
57 <p>CUPS command files are ASCII text files. The first line of a
58 CUPS command file MUST contain:
</p>
64 <p>After that, each line is either a command or a comment.
65 Comments begin with the # character, e.g.:
</p>
71 <p>Commands are any sequence of letters, numbers, and punctuation characters
72 optionally followed by parameters separated by whitespace, e.g.:
</p>
79 <p>Command names are case-insensitive, so
"PRINTSELFTESTPAGE",
80 "printselftestpage", and
"PrintSelfTestPage" are equivalent. Vendor-specific
81 commands should use a domain name prefix, e.g.:
</p>
85 com.vendor.bar param param2 ... paramN
89 <h2 class='title'
><a name='COMMANDS'
>Standard Commands
</a></h2>
91 <p>The following are the standard commands supported by the format. The only
93 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>.
</p>
96 <h3><a name='AutoConfigure'
>AutoConfigure
</a></h3>
98 <p class='summary'
>AutoConfigure
</p>
100 <p>The
<code>AutoConfigure
</code> command updates the printer's PPD file
101 and driver state information to reflect the current configuration of the
102 printer. There are no arguments for this command.
</p>
106 <pre class='command'
>
112 <h3><a name='Clean'
>Clean
</a></h3>
114 <p class='summary'
>Clean
<i>colorname
</i></p>
116 <p>The
<code>Clean
</code> command performs a standard print head cleaning. The
117 "colorname" parameter specifies which color or head to clean. If a printer does
118 not support cleaning of individual colors or cartridges, then all colors are
119 cleaned. Command filters MUST support the
"all" colorname. Other standard color
120 names include
"black",
"color",
"photo",
"cyan",
"magenta",
"yellow",
121 "light-cyan",
"light-magenta",
"light-black",
"light-gray", and
"dark-gray".
</p>
125 <pre class='command'
>
131 <h3><a name='PrintAlignmentPage'
>PrintAlignmentPage
</a></h3>
133 <p class='summary'
>PrintAlignmentPage pass
</p>
135 <p>The
<code>PrintAlignmentPage
</code> command prints a head alignment page on
136 the printer. The
"pass" parameter provides a pass number from
1 to N. The number
137 of passes is device-dependent.
</p>
141 <pre class='command'
>
147 <h3><a name='PrintSelfTestPage'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</a></h3>
149 <p class='summary'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</p>
151 <p>The
<code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code> command prints a self-test page on the
152 printer. Typically this page shows whether all jets on a print head are
153 functioning and that the print feed mechanisms are working properly.
</p>
157 <pre class='command'
>
163 <h3><a name='ReportLevels'
>ReportLevels
</a></h3>
165 <p class='summary'
>ReportLevels
</p>
167 <p>The
<code>ReportLevels
</code> command queries the supply levels on a printer
168 and reports
"marker-colors",
"marker-levels",
"marker-names", and
169 "marker-types" attributes using
"ATTR:" messages sent to the scheduler. This
170 command should also report the current printer status using
"STATE:" messages
171 like the
<a href='#ReportStatus'
><code>ReportStatus
</code></a> command.
</p>
175 <pre class='command'
>
181 <h3><a name='ReportStatus'
>ReportStatus
</a></h3>
183 <p class='summary'
>ReportStatus
</p>
185 <p>The
<code>ReportStatus
</code> command queries the printer for its current
186 status and reports it using
"STATE:" messages sent to the scheduler.
</p>
190 <pre class='command'
>
196 <h3><a name='SetAlignment'
>SetAlignment
</a></h3>
198 <p class='summary'
>SetAlignment pass value ... valueN
</p>
200 <p>The
<code>SetAlignment
</code> command sets print head alignment values. The
201 "pass" parameter is a number from
1 to N. All parameters are
202 device-dependent.
</p>
206 <pre class='command'
>