doc/help/man-filter.html

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   9 <h1 class="title">filter(7)</h1>
  10 <h2 class="title"><a name="NAME">Name</a></h2>
  11 filter - cups file conversion filter interface
  12 <h2 class="title"><a name="SYNOPSIS">Synopsis</a></h2>
  13 <b>filter
  14 </b>job user title num-copies options [
  15 <i>filename
  16 </i>]
  17 <h2 class="title"><a name="DESCRIPTION">Description</a></h2>
  18 The CUPS filter interface provides a standard method for adding support for
  19 new document types to CUPS. Each filter is capable of converting from one
  20 or more input formats to another format that can either be printed directly
  21 or piped into another filter to get it to a printable format.
  22 <p>Filters <b>must</b> be capable of reading from a filename on the command-line
  23 or from the standard input, copying the standard input to a temporary
  24 file as required by the file format. All output <b>must</b> be sent to the
  25 standard output.
  26 <p>The command name (argv[0]) is set to the name of the destination printer but is
  27 also available in the PRINTER environment variable.
  28 <h2 class="title"><a name="WARNING">Warning</a></h2>
  29 CUPS filters are not meant to be run directly by the user. Aside from the legacy
  30 System V interface issues (argv[0] is the printer name), CUPS filters also
  31 expect specific environment variables and file descriptors, and typically run in
  32 a user session that (on OS X) has additional restrictions that affect how it
  33 runs. Unless you are a developer and know what you are doing, please do not run
  34 filters directly. Instead, use the <a href='man-cupsfilter.html?TOPIC=Man+Pages'>cupsfilter(8)</a> program to use the
  35 appropriate filters to do the conversions you need.
  36 <h2 class="title"><a name="OPTIONS">Options</a></h2>
  37 Options passed on the command-line typically do not include the default choices
  38 the printer's PPD file. In addition, some options may be specified in multiple
  39 ways - "landscape" is a synonym for "orientation-requested=4", "media" is a
  40 synonym for "PageSize", "PageRegion", "InputSlot", and "MediaType", and "sides"
  41 is a synonym for the various "Duplex" options. Non-raster filters <b>must</b>
  42 support both explicit and implicit specification of PPD options - use the
  43 ppdMarkDefaults and cupsMarkOptions functions in the CUPS library to use the
  44 correct mapping, and ppdFindMarkedChoice to get the user-selected choice.
  45 <p>Raster filters should use option choices set through the raster page header, as
  46 those reflect the options in effect for a given page. Options specified on the
  47 command-line determine the default values for the entire job, which can be
  48 overridden on a per-page basis.
  49 <h2 class="title"><a name="LOG_MESSAGES">Log Messages</a></h2>
  50 Messages sent to stderr are generally logged to
  51 printer-state-message attribute and the current <i>ErrorLog</i>.
  52 Each line begins with a standard prefix:
  53 <dl>
  54 <dt>ALERT: message
  55 </dt>
  56 <dd></dd>
  57 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
  58 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "alert" log level.
  59 </dd>
  60 <dt>ATTR: attribute=value [attribute=value]
  61 </dt>
  62 <dd></dd>
  63 <dd>Sets the named job or printer attribute(s). The following job attributes can be
  64 set: "job-media-progress". The following printer attributes can be set:
  65 "auth-info-required", "marker-colors", "marker-high-levels", "marker-levels",
  66 "marker-low-levels", "marker-message", "marker-names", "marker-types",
  67 "printer-alert", and "printer-alert-description".
  68 </dd>
  69 <dt>CRIT: message
  70 </dt>
  71 <dd></dd>
  72 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
  73 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "critical" log level.
  74 </dd>
  75 <dt>DEBUG: message
  76 </dt>
  77 <dd></dd>
  78 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
  79 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "debug" log level.
  80 </dd>
  81 <dt>DEBUG2: message
  82 </dt>
  83 <dd></dd>
  84 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
  85 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "debug2" log level.
  86 </dd>
  87 <dt>EMERG: message
  88 </dt>
  89 <dd></dd>
  90 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
  91 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "emergency" log level.
  92 </dd>
  93 <dt>ERROR: message
  94 </dt>
  95 <dd></dd>
  96 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
  97 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "error" log level.
  98 </dd>
  99 <dt>INFO: message
 100 </dt>
 101 <dd></dd>
 102 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute. If the current <i>LogLevel</i>
 103 is set to "debug2", also adds the specified message to the
 104 current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "info" log level.
 105 </dd>
 106 <dt>NOTICE: message
 107 </dt>
 108 <dd></dd>
 109 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
 110 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "notice" log level.
 111 </dd>
 112 <dt>PAGE: page-number #-copies
 113 </dt>
 114 <dd></dd>
 115 <dt>PAGE: total #-pages
 116 </dt>
 117 <dd></dd>
 118 <dd>Adds an entry to the current <i>PageLog</i>. The first form adds
 119 #-copies to the job-media-sheets-completed attribute. The second
 120 form sets the job-media-sheets-completed attribute to #-pages.
 121 </dd>
 122 <dt>PPD: Keyword=Value ... KeywordN=Value
 123 </dt>
 124 <dd></dd>
 125 <dd>Sets the named keywords in the printer's PPD file. This is typically
 126 used to update default option keywords such as DefaultPageSize and
 127 the various installable options in the PPD file.
 128 </dd>
 129 <dt>STATE: printer-state-reason [printer-state-reason ...]
 130 </dt>
 131 <dd></dd>
 132 <dt>STATE: + printer-state-reason [printer-state-reason ...]
 133 </dt>
 134 <dd></dd>
 135 <dt>STATE: - printer-state-reason [printer-state-reason ...]
 136 </dt>
 137 <dd></dd>
 138 <dd>Sets, adds, or removes printer-state-reason keywords to the
 139 current queue. Typically this is used to indicate media, ink, and
 140 toner conditions on a printer.
 141 </dd>
 142 <dt>WARNING: message
 143 </dt>
 144 <dd></dd>
 145 <dd>Sets the printer-state-message attribute and adds the specified
 146 message to the current <i>ErrorLog</i> using the "warning" log level.
 147 </dd>
 148 </dl>
 149 <h2 class="title"><a name="ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES">Environment Variables</a></h2>
 150 The following environment variables are defined by the CUPS
 151 server when executing the filter:
 152 <dl>
 153 <dt>CHARSET
 154 </dt>
 155 <dd></dd>
 156 <dd>The default text character set, typically utf-8.
 157 </dd>
 158 <dt>CLASS
 159 </dt>
 160 <dd></dd>
 161 <dd>When a job is submitted to a printer class, contains the name of
 162 the destination printer class. Otherwise this environment
 163 variable will not be set.
 164 </dd>
 165 <dt>CONTENT_TYPE
 166 </dt>
 167 <dd></dd>
 168 <dd>The MIME type associated with the file (e.g.
 169 application/postscript).
 170 </dd>
 171 <dt>CUPS_CACHEDIR
 172 </dt>
 173 <dd></dd>
 174 <dd>The directory for semi-persistent cache files can be found.
 175 </dd>
 176 <dt>CUPS_DATADIR
 177 </dt>
 178 <dd></dd>
 179 <dd>The directory where data files can be found.
 180 </dd>
 181 <dt>CUPS_FILETYPE
 182 </dt>
 183 <dd></dd>
 184 <dd>The type of file being printed: "job-sheet" for a banner page and "document"
 185 for a regular print file.
 186 </dd>
 187 <dt>CUPS_MAX_MESSAGE
 188 </dt>
 189 <dd></dd>
 190 <dd>The maximum size of a message sent to stderr, including any leading prefix and
 191 the trailing newline.
 192 </dd>
 193 <dt>CUPS_SERVERROOT
 194 </dt>
 195 <dd></dd>
 196 <dd>The root directory of the server.
 197 </dd>
 198 <dt>DEVICE_URI
 199 </dt>
 200 <dd></dd>
 201 <dd>The device-uri associated with the printer.
 202 </dd>
 203 <dt>FINAL_CONTENT_TYPE
 204 </dt>
 205 <dd></dd>
 206 <dd>The MIME type associated with the printer (e.g.
 207 application/vnd.cups-postscript).
 208 </dd>
 209 <dt>LANG
 210 </dt>
 211 <dd></dd>
 212 <dd>The default language locale (typically C or en).
 213 </dd>
 214 <dt>PATH
 215 </dt>
 216 <dd></dd>
 217 <dd>The standard execution path for external programs that may be run by
 218 the filter.
 219 </dd>
 220 <dt>PPD
 221 </dt>
 222 <dd></dd>
 223 <dd>The full pathname of the PostScript Printer Description (PPD)
 224 file for this printer.
 225 </dd>
 226 <dt>PRINTER
 227 </dt>
 228 <dd></dd>
 229 <dd>The name of the printer.
 230 </dd>
 231 <dt>RIP_CACHE
 232 </dt>
 233 <dd></dd>
 234 <dd>The recommended amount of memory to use for Raster Image
 235 Processors (RIPs).
 236 </dd>
 237 <dt>SOFTWARE
 238 </dt>
 239 <dd></dd>
 240 <dd>The name and version number of the server (typically CUPS/1.2).
 241 </dd>
 242 <dt>TZ
 243 </dt>
 244 <dd></dd>
 245 <dd>The timezone of the server.
 246 </dd>
 247 <dt>USER
 248 </dt>
 249 <dd></dd>
 250 <dd>The user executing the filter, typically "lp" or "root"; consult the
 251 <a href='man-cupsd.conf.html?TOPIC=Man+Pages'>cupsd.conf(5)</a> file for the current setting.
 252 </dd>
 253 </dl>
 254 <h2 class="title"><a name="COMPATIBILITY">Compatibility</a></h2>
 255 While the filter interface is compatible with System V interface
 256 scripts, it will only work with the System V interface script as the
 257 only filter.  Typically the interface script will be provided via the
 258 <a href='man-lpadmin.html?TOPIC=Man+Pages'>lpadmin(8)</a> command using the <i>-i</i> option.
 259 <h2 class="title"><a name="SEE_ALSO">See Also</a></h2>
 260 <a href='man-backend.html?TOPIC=Man+Pages'>backend(7)</a>, <a href='man-cupsd.html?TOPIC=Man+Pages'>cupsd(8)</a>, <a href='man-cupsfilter.html?TOPIC=Man+Pages'>cupsfilter(8)</a>,
 261 <br>
 262 <a href='http://localhost:631/help'>http://localhost:631/help</a>
 263 <h2 class="title"><a name="COPYRIGHT">Copyright</a></h2>
 264 Copyright 2007-2013 by Apple Inc.
 265
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