[SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

brasas · 2010-12-04 16:58:16

I've searched and googled and climbed the mountain but have yet to find a way to do this. I print a ton of PDF files using CUPS, and in order for them to fit I have to scale them to 70%. I do this about 20 times each day and that means that I have to go in and change the print options every time I do this. I'm trying to find a way to save that option to make my life easier. I've tried everything I can think of to no avail. The cups web interface does not provide a scale option that I can save. I am running KDE, and I have seen this option in System Settings. However, it does not let me save unless I am root. When I do that, I have no idea where the output goes (yes, I've checked /var/spool/cups-pdf/root and my user). I've even tried modifying the ppd but alas no luck. I've been trying to solve this off and on for more than a year and still have not found any answer. Does anybody know a way to do this or have a clue as to what IU can try? Thanks!

Last edited by brasas (2011-01-05 19:22:01)

toad · 2010-12-05 09:54:10

Under common job options lp does have scaling. So man lp would be your first port of call...

brasas · 2010-12-06 19:36:15

Toad, thanks for your response. I did as you suggested and and tried the following. First, I created another pdf printer called 'mgic' for testing. Then, as root, I did:

lpoptions -d mgic -o shrink=70

Restarted CUPS:

/etc/rc.d/cups restart

Verified that the option is there:

lpoptions -d mgic

To test, I tried to print the webpage from Firefox.

Alas, it is not working as it seems the scaling is being ignored. What am I missing?

toad · 2010-12-07 07:26:00

Well, according to man lp a simple

lp -o scaling=70 name_of_file

should do it - I didn't notice a shrink option...

brasas · 2010-12-07 16:53:14

We're coming at this from two different sides.

I'm not trying to print from the command line.

I'm trying to print from within Firefox via the print option.

I want to set that print dialog box to default to scale @ 70%.

Anybody have any clue how to do that?

Thanks!

skunktrader · 2010-12-07 17:00:10

about:config
Change print.print_scaling to 0.7

brasas · 2010-12-10 16:51:53

Interesting - I know you shouldn't assume but I assumed that this would be handled by the system itself and not the application.

Anyways, - I've been messing with about:config and prefs.js for 2 days now and can't seem able to make it work the way I want.

I've created 2 cups-pdf-virtual printers, one to keep with default settings and one with the options changed how I want them.

However, no matter how many times I change or whatever options I select or adjust, it does not save the settings I want for each specific printer. Instead, it applies the changes to all the printers.

Anybody have any clue what I'm doing wrong or what I can do?

brasas · 2010-12-21 13:41:35

Finally realized about:config is useless and just ignores anything you change regarding printers.

So, back to the original question, does anybody know how to save printer options for different printers that is independent of desktop environment, window manager, and firefox?

brasas · 2011-01-05 19:15:06

Final post on this; after much playing with cups and Firefox I found something that kinda works in Firefox. When I do the "print preview", and then print, it saves those settings until the next time I do a "print preview".

Arch Linux

#1 2010-12-04 16:58:16

[SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#2 2010-12-05 09:54:10

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#3 2010-12-06 19:36:15

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#4 2010-12-07 07:26:00

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#5 2010-12-07 16:53:14

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#6 2010-12-07 17:00:10

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#7 2010-12-10 16:51:53

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#8 2010-12-21 13:41:35

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

#9 2011-01-05 19:15:06

Re: [SOLVED] Saving Options in CUPS

Board footer