[thirdparty/cups.git] / doc / help / spec-command.html

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  CUPS command file format specification for CUPS.

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  Copyright 1997-2006 by Easy Software Products.

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<H1 CLASS="title">CUPS Command File Format</H1>

<h2 class='title'><a name='INTRODUCTION'>Introduction</a></h2>

<p>This specification describes the CUPS command file format
(application/vnd.cups-command) which is used to send printer
maintenance commands to a printer in a device-independent way.
The current specification supports basic maintenance functions
such as head cleaning and self-test pages and query functions
such as auto-configure, report supply levels, and report status.</p>

<p>Printer drivers advertise support for the CUPS command file
format by providing a filter for the
<var>application/vnd.cups-command</var> file type. Applications
can determine if a printer supports printing of CUPS command
files by checking the <code>printer-type</code> attribute for the
<code>CUPS_PRINTER_COMMANDS</code> capability bit.</p>

<p>In addition, the PPD file for a printer can contain a
<code>cupsCommands</code> keyword that provides a list of supported
commands separated by spaces, for example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
*cupsCommands: "AutoConfigure Clean PrintSelfTestPage ReportLevels ReportStatus"
</pre>

<p>If no <code>cupsCommands</code> keyword is provided, the command filter
must support <a href='#AutoConfigure'><code>AutoConfigure</code></a>,
<a href='#Clean'><code>Clean</code></a>,
<a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'><code>PrintSelfTestPage</code></a>,
and <a href='#ReportLevels'><code>ReportLevels</code></a>. The scheduler also
provides the <code>printer-commands</code> attribute containing the list of
supported commands.</p>


<h2 class='title'><a name='SYNTAX'>File Syntax</a></h2>

<p>CUPS command files are ASCII text files.  The first line of a
CUPS command file MUST contain:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
</pre>

<p>After that, each line is either a command or a comment.
Comments begin with the # character, e.g.:</p>

<pre class='command'>
# This is a comment
</pre>

<p>Commands are any sequence of letters, numbers, and punctuation characters
optionally followed by parameters separated by whitespace, e.g.:</p>

<pre class='command'>
Clean all
PrintSelfTestPage
</pre>

<p>Command names are case-insensitive, so "PRINTSELFTESTPAGE",
"printselftestpage", and "PrintSelfTestPage" are equivalent. Vendor-specific
commands should use a domain name prefix, e.g.:</p>

<pre class='command'>
com.vendor.foo
com.vendor.bar param param2 ... paramN
</pre>


<h2 class='title'><a name='COMMANDS'>Standard Commands</a></h2>

<p>The following are the standard commands supported by the format. The only
required command is
<a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'><code>PrintSelfTestPage</code></a>.</p>


<h3><a name='AutoConfigure'>AutoConfigure</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>AutoConfigure</p>

<p>The <code>AutoConfigure</code> command updates the printer's PPD file
and driver state information to reflect the current configuration of the
printer. There are no arguments for this command.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
AutoConfigure
</pre>


<h3><a name='Clean'>Clean</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>Clean <i>colorname</i></p>

<p>The <code>Clean</code> command performs a standard print head cleaning. The
"colorname" parameter specifies which color or head to clean. If a printer does
not support cleaning of individual colors or cartridges, then all colors are
cleaned. Command filters MUST support the "all" colorname. Other standard color
names include "black", "color", "photo", "cyan", "magenta", "yellow",
"light-cyan", "light-magenta", "light-black", "light-gray", and "dark-gray".</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
Clean all
</pre>


<h3><a name='PrintAlignmentPage'>PrintAlignmentPage</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>PrintAlignmentPage pass</p>

<p>The <code>PrintAlignmentPage</code> command prints a head alignment page on
the printer. The "pass" parameter provides a pass number from 1 to N. The number
of passes is device-dependent.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
PrintAlignmentPage 1
</pre>


<h3><a name='PrintSelfTestPage'>PrintSelfTestPage</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>PrintSelfTestPage</p>

<p>The <code>PrintSelfTestPage</code> command prints a self-test page on the
printer. Typically this page shows whether all jets on a print head are
functioning and that the print feed mechanisms are working properly.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
PrintSelfTestPage
</pre>


<h3><a name='ReportLevels'>ReportLevels</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>ReportLevels</p>

<p>The <code>ReportLevels</code> command queries the supply levels on a printer
and reports "marker-colors", "marker-levels", "marker-names", and
"marker-types" attributes using "ATTR:" messages sent to the scheduler. This
command should also report the current printer status using "STATE:" messages
like the <a href='#ReportStatus'><code>ReportStatus</code></a> command.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
ReportLevels
</pre>


<h3><a name='ReportStatus'>ReportStatus</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>ReportStatus</p>

<p>The <code>ReportStatus</code> command queries the printer for its current
status and reports it using "STATE:" messages sent to the scheduler.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
ReportLevels
</pre>


<h3><a name='SetAlignment'>SetAlignment</a></h3>

<p class='summary'>SetAlignment pass value ... valueN</p>

<p>The <code>SetAlignment</code> command sets print head alignment values. The
"pass" parameter is a number from 1 to N. All parameters are
device-dependent.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<pre class='command'>
#CUPS-COMMAND
SetAlignment 1 14
</pre>


</body>
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Commit	Line	Data
745129be	1	<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
b423cd4c	2	<html>
4744bd90	3	<!-- SECTION: Specifications -->
b423cd4c	4	<head>
	5	<title>CUPS Command File Format</title>
	6	<meta name='keywords' content='Programming, CUPS Command File Format'>
178cb736	7	<link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='../cups-printable.css'>
b423cd4c	8	</head>
	9	<body>
	10	<!--
eac3a0a0	11	CUPS command file format specification for CUPS.
b423cd4c	12
f58657f9	13	Copyright 2007-2018 by Apple Inc.
b423cd4c	14	Copyright 1997-2006 by Easy Software Products.
	15
	16	These coded instructions, statements, and computer programs are the
5f64df29 MS	17	property of Apple Inc. and are protected by Federal copyright
	18	law. Distribution and use rights are outlined in the file "LICENSE.txt"
	19	which should have been included with this file. If this file is
	20	file is missing or damaged, see the license at "http://www.cups.org/".
b423cd4c	21	-->
b423cd4c	22
178cb736 MS	23	<H1 CLASS="title">CUPS Command File Format</H1>
178cb736 MS	24
b423cd4c	25	<h2 class='title'><a name='INTRODUCTION'>Introduction</a></h2>
	26
	27	<p>This specification describes the CUPS command file format
	28	(application/vnd.cups-command) which is used to send printer
	29	maintenance commands to a printer in a device-independent way.
	30	The current specification supports basic maintenance functions
8b116e60 MS	31	such as head cleaning and self-test pages and query functions
8b116e60 MS	32	such as auto-configure, report supply levels, and report status.</p>
b423cd4c	33
	34	<p>Printer drivers advertise support for the CUPS command file
	35	format by providing a filter for the
	36	<var>application/vnd.cups-command</var> file type. Applications
	37	can determine if a printer supports printing of CUPS command
	38	files by checking the <code>printer-type</code> attribute for the
	39	<code>CUPS_PRINTER_COMMANDS</code> capability bit.</p>
	40
01ce6322 MS	41	<p>In addition, the PPD file for a printer can contain a
	42	<code>cupsCommands</code> keyword that provides a list of supported
	43	commands separated by spaces, for example:</p>
	44
	45	<pre class='command'>
f58657f9	46	*cupsCommands: "AutoConfigure Clean PrintSelfTestPage ReportLevels ReportStatus"
01ce6322 MS	47	</pre>
	48
	49	<p>If no <code>cupsCommands</code> keyword is provided, the command filter
	50	must support <a href='#AutoConfigure'><code>AutoConfigure</code></a>,
	51	<a href='#Clean'><code>Clean</code></a>,
	52	<a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'><code>PrintSelfTestPage</code></a>,
	53	and <a href='#ReportLevels'><code>ReportLevels</code></a>. The scheduler also
	54	provides the <code>printer-commands</code> attribute containing the list of
	55	supported commands.</p>
	56
	57
b423cd4c	58	<h2 class='title'><a name='SYNTAX'>File Syntax</a></h2>
	59
	60	<p>CUPS command files are ASCII text files. The first line of a
	61	CUPS command file MUST contain:</p>
	62
	63	<pre class='command'>
	64	#CUPS-COMMAND
	65	</pre>
	66
	67	<p>After that, each line is either a command or a comment.
	68	Comments begin with the # character, e.g.:</p>
	69
	70	<pre class='command'>
	71	# This is a comment
	72	</pre>
	73
01ce6322 MS	74	<p>Commands are any sequence of letters, numbers, and punctuation characters
	75	optionally followed by parameters separated by whitespace, e.g.:</p>
	76
	77	<pre class='command'>
	78	Clean all
	79	PrintSelfTestPage
	80	</pre>
	81
	82	<p>Command names are case-insensitive, so "PRINTSELFTESTPAGE",
	83	"printselftestpage", and "PrintSelfTestPage" are equivalent. Vendor-specific
	84	commands should use a domain name prefix, e.g.:</p>
	85
	86	<pre class='command'>
	87	com.vendor.foo
	88	com.vendor.bar param param2 ... paramN
	89	</pre>
	90
	91
	92	<h2 class='title'><a name='COMMANDS'>Standard Commands</a></h2>
b423cd4c	93
01ce6322 MS	94	<p>The following are the standard commands supported by the format. The only
	95	required command is
	96	<a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'><code>PrintSelfTestPage</code></a>.</p>
b423cd4c	97
b423cd4c	98
01ce6322	99	<h3><a name='AutoConfigure'>AutoConfigure</a></h3>
b423cd4c	100
01ce6322 MS	101	<p class='summary'>AutoConfigure</p>
	102
	103	<p>The <code>AutoConfigure</code> command updates the printer's PPD file
	104	and driver state information to reflect the current configuration of the
	105	printer. There are no arguments for this command.</p>
	106
	107	<p>Example:</p>
	108
	109	<pre class='command'>
	110	#CUPS-COMMAND
	111	AutoConfigure
	112	</pre>
	113
	114
	115	<h3><a name='Clean'>Clean</a></h3>
	116
	117	<p class='summary'>Clean <i>colorname</i></p>
	118
	119	<p>The <code>Clean</code> command performs a standard print head cleaning. The
	120	"colorname" parameter specifies which color or head to clean. If a printer does
	121	not support cleaning of individual colors or cartridges, then all colors are
	122	cleaned. Command filters MUST support the "all" colorname. Other standard color
	123	names include "black", "color", "photo", "cyan", "magenta", "yellow",
	124	"light-cyan", "light-magenta", "light-black", "light-gray", and "dark-gray".</p>
b423cd4c	125
	126	<p>Example:</p>
	127
	128	<pre class='command'>
	129	#CUPS-COMMAND
	130	Clean all
	131	</pre>
	132
01ce6322 MS	133
	134	<h3><a name='PrintAlignmentPage'>PrintAlignmentPage</a></h3>
	135
	136	<p class='summary'>PrintAlignmentPage pass</p>
	137
	138	<p>The <code>PrintAlignmentPage</code> command prints a head alignment page on
	139	the printer. The "pass" parameter provides a pass number from 1 to N. The number
	140	of passes is device-dependent.</p>
	141
	142	<p>Example:</p>
	143
	144	<pre class='command'>
	145	#CUPS-COMMAND
	146	PrintAlignmentPage 1
	147	</pre>
	148
	149
	150	<h3><a name='PrintSelfTestPage'>PrintSelfTestPage</a></h3>
b423cd4c	151
	152	<p class='summary'>PrintSelfTestPage</p>
	153
01ce6322 MS	154	<p>The <code>PrintSelfTestPage</code> command prints a self-test page on the
	155	printer. Typically this page shows whether all jets on a print head are
	156	functioning and that the print feed mechanisms are working properly.</p>
b423cd4c	157
	158	<p>Example:</p>
	159
	160	<pre class='command'>
	161	#CUPS-COMMAND
	162	PrintSelfTestPage
	163	</pre>
	164
01ce6322 MS	165
	166	<h3><a name='ReportLevels'>ReportLevels</a></h3>
	167
	168	<p class='summary'>ReportLevels</p>
	169
	170	<p>The <code>ReportLevels</code> command queries the supply levels on a printer
	171	and reports "marker-colors", "marker-levels", "marker-names", and
8b116e60 MS	172	"marker-types" attributes using "ATTR:" messages sent to the scheduler. This
	173	command should also report the current printer status using "STATE:" messages
	174	like the <a href='#ReportStatus'><code>ReportStatus</code></a> command.</p>
	175
	176	<p>Example:</p>
	177
	178	<pre class='command'>
	179	#CUPS-COMMAND
	180	ReportLevels
	181	</pre>
	182
	183
	184	<h3><a name='ReportStatus'>ReportStatus</a></h3>
	185
	186	<p class='summary'>ReportStatus</p>
	187
	188	<p>The <code>ReportStatus</code> command queries the printer for its current
	189	status and reports it using "STATE:" messages sent to the scheduler.</p>
01ce6322 MS	190
	191	<p>Example:</p>
	192
	193	<pre class='command'>
	194	#CUPS-COMMAND
	195	ReportLevels
	196	</pre>
	197
	198
	199	<h3><a name='SetAlignment'>SetAlignment</a></h3>
	200
	201	<p class='summary'>SetAlignment pass value ... valueN</p>
	202
	203	<p>The <code>SetAlignment</code> command sets print head alignment values. The
	204	"pass" parameter is a number from 1 to N. All parameters are
	205	device-dependent.</p>
	206
	207	<p>Example:</p>
	208
	209	<pre class='command'>
	210	#CUPS-COMMAND
	211	SetAlignment 1 14
	212	</pre>
	213
	214
b423cd4c	215	</body>
b423cd4c	216	</html>