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13 CUPS command file format specification for the Common UNIX Printing
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26 <H1 CLASS=
"title">CUPS Command File Format
</H1>
28 <h2 class='title'
><a name='INTRODUCTION'
>Introduction
</a></h2>
30 <p>This specification describes the CUPS command file format
31 (application/vnd.cups-command) which is used to send printer
32 maintenance commands to a printer in a device-independent way.
33 The current specification supports basic maintenance functions
34 such as head cleaning and self-test pages and query functions
35 such as auto-configure, report supply levels, and report status.
</p>
37 <p>Printer drivers advertise support for the CUPS command file
38 format by providing a filter for the
39 <var>application/vnd.cups-command
</var> file type. Applications
40 can determine if a printer supports printing of CUPS command
41 files by checking the
<code>printer-type
</code> attribute for the
42 <code>CUPS_PRINTER_COMMANDS
</code> capability bit.
</p>
44 <p>In addition, the PPD file for a printer can contain a
45 <code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword that provides a list of supported
46 commands separated by spaces, for example:
</p>
49 *cupsCommand:
"AutoConfigure Clean PrintSelfTestPage ReportLevels ReportStatus"
52 <p>If no
<code>cupsCommands
</code> keyword is provided, the command filter
53 must support
<a href='#AutoConfigure'
><code>AutoConfigure
</code></a>,
54 <a href='#Clean'
><code>Clean
</code></a>,
55 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>,
56 and
<a href='#ReportLevels'
><code>ReportLevels
</code></a>. The scheduler also
57 provides the
<code>printer-commands
</code> attribute containing the list of
58 supported commands.
</p>
61 <h2 class='title'
><a name='SYNTAX'
>File Syntax
</a></h2>
63 <p>CUPS command files are ASCII text files. The first line of a
64 CUPS command file MUST contain:
</p>
70 <p>After that, each line is either a command or a comment.
71 Comments begin with the # character, e.g.:
</p>
77 <p>Commands are any sequence of letters, numbers, and punctuation characters
78 optionally followed by parameters separated by whitespace, e.g.:
</p>
85 <p>Command names are case-insensitive, so
"PRINTSELFTESTPAGE",
86 "printselftestpage", and
"PrintSelfTestPage" are equivalent. Vendor-specific
87 commands should use a domain name prefix, e.g.:
</p>
91 com.vendor.bar param param2 ... paramN
95 <h2 class='title'
><a name='COMMANDS'
>Standard Commands
</a></h2>
97 <p>The following are the standard commands supported by the format. The only
99 <a href='#PrintSelfTestPage'
><code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code></a>.
</p>
102 <h3><a name='AutoConfigure'
>AutoConfigure
</a></h3>
104 <p class='summary'
>AutoConfigure
</p>
106 <p>The
<code>AutoConfigure
</code> command updates the printer's PPD file
107 and driver state information to reflect the current configuration of the
108 printer. There are no arguments for this command.
</p>
112 <pre class='command'
>
118 <h3><a name='Clean'
>Clean
</a></h3>
120 <p class='summary'
>Clean
<i>colorname
</i></p>
122 <p>The
<code>Clean
</code> command performs a standard print head cleaning. The
123 "colorname" parameter specifies which color or head to clean. If a printer does
124 not support cleaning of individual colors or cartridges, then all colors are
125 cleaned. Command filters MUST support the
"all" colorname. Other standard color
126 names include
"black",
"color",
"photo",
"cyan",
"magenta",
"yellow",
127 "light-cyan",
"light-magenta",
"light-black",
"light-gray", and
"dark-gray".
</p>
131 <pre class='command'
>
137 <h3><a name='PrintAlignmentPage'
>PrintAlignmentPage
</a></h3>
139 <p class='summary'
>PrintAlignmentPage pass
</p>
141 <p>The
<code>PrintAlignmentPage
</code> command prints a head alignment page on
142 the printer. The
"pass" parameter provides a pass number from
1 to N. The number
143 of passes is device-dependent.
</p>
147 <pre class='command'
>
153 <h3><a name='PrintSelfTestPage'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</a></h3>
155 <p class='summary'
>PrintSelfTestPage
</p>
157 <p>The
<code>PrintSelfTestPage
</code> command prints a self-test page on the
158 printer. Typically this page shows whether all jets on a print head are
159 functioning and that the print feed mechanisms are working properly.
</p>
163 <pre class='command'
>
169 <h3><a name='ReportLevels'
>ReportLevels
</a></h3>
171 <p class='summary'
>ReportLevels
</p>
173 <p>The
<code>ReportLevels
</code> command queries the supply levels on a printer
174 and reports
"marker-colors",
"marker-levels",
"marker-names", and
175 "marker-types" attributes using
"ATTR:" messages sent to the scheduler. This
176 command should also report the current printer status using
"STATE:" messages
177 like the
<a href='#ReportStatus'
><code>ReportStatus
</code></a> command.
</p>
181 <pre class='command'
>
187 <h3><a name='ReportStatus'
>ReportStatus
</a></h3>
189 <p class='summary'
>ReportStatus
</p>
191 <p>The
<code>ReportStatus
</code> command queries the printer for its current
192 status and reports it using
"STATE:" messages sent to the scheduler.
</p>
196 <pre class='command'
>
202 <h3><a name='SetAlignment'
>SetAlignment
</a></h3>
204 <p class='summary'
>SetAlignment pass value ... valueN
</p>
206 <p>The
<code>SetAlignment
</code> command sets print head alignment values. The
207 "pass" parameter is a number from
1 to N. All parameters are
208 device-dependent.
</p>
212 <pre class='command'
>