Configuring the Network Print Server

To configure the Network Print Server (LPD), click on the Settings menu item. The LPD Settings dialog box will appear on your display.

In the Available Printers group box, you can add new TCP printers, change settings for TCP printers, and remove a TCP printer. The TCP printers list contains printers that the LPD program will control.

In the Queue Directory group box, you can specify a directory on your hard disk to be used for printer's data streams (i.e. a spool directory).

In the User Access group box, you can specify a list of users who can print files via the LPD program running on your PC.

Don't Filter Input Data

If this check box set on, then no data conversion will be applied to every incoming data file (see the v type in section The lpr.inf file in Chapter LPR – Remote Printing).

Parse REMBAK jobs

If this check box set on, then the AIX "Rembak" print service will be enabled.

In this case, the /usr/lib/lpd/rembak binary file is skipped (i.e. it is not sent).

Convert Unix text To DOS

If this check box set on, then UNIX-to-DOS format conversion of text files will be enabled (i.e. adding LF after CR).

Enable Trace

If this check box is enabled, the trace information will be output to the lpdtrace.prt file.

To close the LPD Settings dialog box, click OK if you wish to save settings, otherwise click on the Cancel button.

To display the Help window with this text, click on the Help button.

The Available Printers Box

Every Windows printer found during searching can be included into the Available Printers list that the LPD program will control. Printers included must be given the TCP Printer Name - the name by which the LPD and LPR programs will identify the printer over the network.

use Windows network printers

If this check box is enabled, both local and network printers will be included into the Windows printers list (for Add and Edit). Otherwise, local printers will be used only.

Adding a New Network Printer

When you press on the Add button, the LPD - Add Printer dialog box will appear on your display.

The following items are available:

Windows Printers

This list box contains names of Windows printers not yet included into the Available Printers list. The Refresh button allows you to renovate the list.

TCP/IP Printer name

This edit field is used to specify a TCP/IP name for a new printer you want to add into the Available Printers list.

Enable Banner

If this check box is enabled, the printer will print the banner page for any job (i.e. all printed documents will come with a banner page specifying the user name, date, file name and host information).

Pause printing

If this check box is enabled, the LPD program will not allow jobs to be printed on the printer.

Enable form feed at print end

If this check box is enabled, the printer will begin every job with a new page.

Use Bypass

If this check box is enabled, then the LPD program will scan the data it receives, and if it finds the so-called By-pass sequence in the data stream, it will convert the next two characters into a hexadecimal byte and send it to the printer.

For example, a user specified the By-pass sequence as ^^. If the data stream received is:

123^^1B45678^^2b90

the data output in HEX should be as follows:

31 32 33 1B 34 35 36 37 38 2B 39 30

Note: the hex characters after the By-pass sequence are case insensitive.

Bypass character/s:

This edit field is for specifying the By-pass sequence (one or more characters).

To add a new printer:

1. From within the Windows Printers list box, select a printer to be used as the TCP printer;
   
   
2. Specify the TCP/IP Printer name under which the printer will be known in the TCP/IP network (the full name of a network printer consists of the hostname of your PC and the TCP/IP name of a printer);
   
   
3. Check all check boxes as you wish;
   
   
4. Click OK if you wish to add the printer, otherwise click Cancel.

Note: to run the lpr utility, operating systems first register lpr-printer names. For example, you have to use the admintool utility of the SUN Solaris 2.x operating system to add/modify/remove lpr-printers. TCP/IP Printer name must be one of the registered lpr-printer names.

Changing Printer Settings

When you select a TCP Printer Name from within the Available Printers list box and then click on the Edit button, the LPD - Edit Printer dialog box will appear on your display.

Then you can change any settings for the selected TCP printer almost the same way as in the Add Printer dialog box.

To edit a TCP printer:

1. From within the Windows Printers list box, select a printer to be used as the TCP printer under the TCP/IP Printer Name shown below;
   
   
2. Check all check boxes as you wish;
   
   
3. Click OK if you wish to save settings for the printer, otherwise click Cancel.

Removing a Printer

In order to remove a TCP printer, choose an appropriate TCP Printer Name from within the Available Printers list box and then click on the Remove button.

The Queue Directory Box

This box specifies the directory path showing where to save control and data files to be printed on network printers (i.e. a spool directory to store print jobs). The subdirectories with TCP printers names will be created in this directory.

You can specify a queue directory by typing its full path name in the Queue Directory edit field or selecting the name by browsing.

When you press the Browse button, the Select LPD queue directory dialog box will appear on your display.

The Current directory edit field lets you specify the queue directory path.

The Drives list box allows you to choose the drive for the directory.

The Directories list box lets you choose the queue directory in which subdirectories with TCP printers names will be created for queuing.

To close the dialog box, click OK if you wish to use the Current directory as the queue one, otherwise click on the Cancel button.

The User Access Box

You can support a list of users who are allowed to print files (with the LPR program) via the LPD program running on your PC. Also you can modify the User access list (add and remove user names).

If the Allow ALL users access check box is enabled, any user can use LPD on your PC. Otherwise, you can use the Settings button to specify user access settings.

When you click on the Settings button, the User Access dialog box will appear on your display.

The User access list shows those users who are currently allowed to print files on LPR-accessible printers via your LPD program.

To add a new user to the User access list, specify the user name in the New User edit field and then click on the Add button.

To remove a user from the User access list, select an appropriate name on it and click on the Remove button.

To close the dialog box, click OK if you wish to save the modified list, otherwise click on the Cancel button.