lpr(1) General Commands Manual lpr(1)
NAME
lpr - Sends files to spooling daemon for printing
SYNOPSIS
lpr [options] filename
OPTIONS
The lpr options -c, -d, -f, -g, -l, -n, -p, -t, and -v are used to notify the line printer spooler that the files are not standard text
files; therefore these options are mutually exclusive. The spooling daemon uses the appropriate filters to print the data if you specify
one of these options.
In an international environment, the lpr command needs locale information to use the appropriate filter to print a text file. The -A
option allows you to specify, among other things, locales for text files and printers.
The lpr command supports the following options: Specifies one or more keywords and keyword assignments, separated by spaces. For a list of
valid keywords, refer to the "Country-Specific Options" section. Enables you to specify a username which will appear as the banner on the
print job. Assumes that the files contain data produced by the cifplot filter. Specifies a print class as the request classification on
the burst page. Assumes that files contain data from tex (DVI format from Stanford University). Interprets the first character of each
line as a standard FORTRAN carriage control character. Assumes that files contain standard plot data as produced by plot routines. Sup-
presses the printing of the burst page. Indents the output number spaces. If number is not given, the indentation is 8 spaces. Selects
the input paper tray that supplies paper for the print job. The tray name is printer dependent. The following list shows the valid tray
variable values for the printers that support the -I option: cassette, upper, or manual upper, envelope_feeder, lower, or manual upper,
manual, lower, or cassette envelope_feeder, mmf, manual, upper, lower, or lcit front, manual, upper, or lower upper, lower, or manual
For more information on the input options, refer to the documentation for your printer.
If you have one of the previously listed printers connected locally, there are two additional forms of the -I option. You can spec-
ify the option in the form -Itray_name, where the tray_name variable specifies the name of a tray that is supported by the particu-
lar printer (for example, -Ilettertray). You also can specify the option in the form -In, where the n variable specifies an integer
value. Refer to your printer documentation for information on specifying valid tray selections. Causes the request ID of the
printer request to be displayed on standard output after it is entered in the print spooling queue. Specifies the request name to
appear on the burst page. Normally, the lpr command uses the name of the first file. Prints the job in a way specified by the sides
variable. You can specify sides as follows: Prints only on one side of the sheet. Prints on both sides of the sheet; the second
side is reached by flipping the sheet about its left edge, as in the binding of a book. Prints on both sides of the sheet, but
prints the opposite way up on each side, so the second side can be read by flipping the sheet along its top axis. Prints only on
one side of the sheet, but retains the page layout intended for two_sided_duplex printing. The layout refers to such things as where
the margins are and where the page numbers are. Prints only on one side of the paper, but retains the page layout intended for tum-
ble printing. Prints on two sides of the paper, but retains the page layout intended for one_sided_simplex printing. Prints con-
trol characters and suppresses page breaks. Sends mail (see the mailx(1) reference page) when spooling is completed. Assumes that
files contain data output by the ditroff (device-independent troff) command. Prints one or more pages on one sheet of paper. The
printer automatically adjusts to handle the number of pages printed on one sheet of paper. The maximum that may be specified is 100
pages. Selects the output tray where the printed job will be deposited. The n variable specifies an integer value that depends on
the printer. Refer to your printer documentation to determine the correct values. Specifies one or more keywords, among them key-
words for page orientation, that may be print filter specific. The choices for page orientation are: The printed output is parallel
to the short side of the page. The printed output is parallel to the long side of the page.
Currently, only the pcfof and wwpsof print filters support additional keywords. See the description of the -O option in the wwp-
sof(8) reference page for the list of additional keywords and keyword assignments you can specify.
The keyword-list argument is a comma-separated (no embedded spaces) list of keywords, keyword assignments, or both. As an alterna-
tive to listing multiple keywords after the same -O option, your command line can include multiple instances of the -O option, each
with a different keyword or keyword assignment.
You cannot use the -O option to specify keywords other than portrait or landscape if you are printing to a remote system that is
running a Tru64 UNIX version earlier than Version 5.0. Formats the files using pr as a filter. Specifies printer as the output
device (print job destination). If you do not specify the -P option, the default printer or the value of the PRINTER environment
variable is used. Removes the file when spooling or printing is completed. Uses symbolic links to print. Usually, files are
copied to the spooling directory, but the -s option uses symlink() to link data files, rather than trying to copy them. This allows
you to print large files. If you specify the -s option, files should not be modified or removed until they have been printed. Note
that the -s option is disabled if codeset conversion is performed. Assumes that files contain data output by the troff (cat photo-
typesetter) command. Specifies the title to be used by the pr command instead of the filename. The -p option also must be speci-
fied. Assumes that the files contain a raster image for devices like the Benson Varian. Defines the page width for the pr command.
Assumes the files do not require filtering before printing. Produces number copies of the output. Mounts the specified font on
font position 1, 2, 3, or 4, respectively.
DESCRIPTION
The lpr command uses the lpd spooling daemon to print files.
If you specify a hyphen (-) for a file name, the lpr command reads from standard input; this can be used in conjunction with specified file
names.
If you do not specify a particular printer with the -P option, the default printer or the value of the PRINTER environment variable is
used.
To check the status of a printer, use either the lpq or lpstat command. To cancel printer requests, use the lprm or cancel command.
Country-Specific Options
The -A option allows you to specify information that is required to print files in various native languages and also supports some country-
specific printers. You specify this information by using keywords, most of which require value assignments. See i18n_printing(5) for a
general description of country-specific support and to determine which keywords may be required for particular languages and printers.
The -A option keywords are supported by software installed by optional worldwide support subsets. In other words, a country-specific key-
word will not work unless an associated country-specific software subset is installed.
For the lpr command, the following keywords can be included through the -A option: Specifies the locale for the source text file. If this
is not a valid locale name, it will be interpreted as a codeset name. Print filters use a codeset name or the codeset part of a locale name
to this locale to validate the characters in the text. If the flocale keyword is not set, the text is interpreted in the codeset of the
current locale. The flocale setting is particularly important for correct interpretation of characters in multibyte codesets. Moreover, if
the plocale keyword is also set, the lpr command automatically converts characters from the text file codeset to the printer codeset before
printing the file. For example, the following command converts a file created in a Traditional Chinese locale from the Big 5 codeset to
the DEC Hanyu codeset before printing it: % lpr -A "flocale=zh_TW.big5 plocale=zh_TW.dechanyu" big5.txt
If you are printing to a printer controlled by the wwpsof filter, it is recommended that you set locale for a print job by using the
-Olocale-name option. See the wwpsof(8) reference page for more information. Specifies the locale for the printer. Some printers,
like the LA380-CB, are country specific and have builtin fonts encoded in a particular codeset. For example, the builtin fonts for
the LA380-CB printer are encoded in DEC Hanzi. For these printers, the codeset part of the plocale value should match the codeset
(dechanzi) of the printer's builtin fonts. Other printers are generic and suitable for use with files in a variety of languages.
For example, the DEClaser 5100, when used with the dl5100wrof print filter, can handle fonts for different codesets. For these
printers, the plocale value should match the font used in the text file. The following example prints a file encoded in DEC Hanyu
by using the Sung-Light-CNS11643 font, which supports DEC Hanyu characters: % lpr -A"font=Sung-Light-CNS11643 plo-
cale=zh_TW.dechanyu" dechanyu.txt
When the plocale value is inappropriate for the font codeset, printed output is useless.
To determine printer locale for country-specific printers, refer to i18n_printing(5). To find out which fonts are available for a
particular locale, refer to the reference page for the corresponding codeset. For example, if locale_name is zh_TW.dechanyu, see
dechanyu(5) for a list of appropriate fonts. Specifies the outline font name for printing source text files on a PostScript
printer. For more information, refer to the entry for the plocale keyword. Specifies the number of lines per page. When used with
the -w option, the length keyword can control the font size and orientation of the printed output. Specifies the path of the soft-
ware on-demand loading (SoftODL) database files. The odldb keyword setting overrides the default path, which specifies the sys-
temwide SoftODL database. Therefore, users can set odldb to specify private SoftODL databases. For example, the following command
directs lpr to use the SoftODL database in /usr/tmp: % lpr -A "odldb=/usr/tmp/odl"
Refer to odl(5) for more information on SoftODL. Specifies what SoftODL font style and size to use, for example normal-24x24. If
the odlstyle is not specified, the system default SoftODL style and size is used. Refer to odl(5) for more information on SoftODL.
Enables space-compensation mode for languages, such as Thai, that contain nonspacing characters. Nonspacing characters can combine
with other characters for display and therefore do not occupy space. Many of the existing tools for text alignment do not handle
nonspacing characters properly. If you want to print Thai output from such utilities, you should enable space compensation mode to
ensure proper text alignment in the printed file.
Space compensation is done line by line. The print filter keeps count of the number of nonspacing characters found in a line. When
two or more consecutive spaces are encountered, the print filter inserts the appropriate number of spaces, therefore compensating
for spaces added by the nonspacing characters.
Space-compensation mode is valid only for printing Thai characters. Enables text morphing for Thai printing. Text morphing
replaces some characters with others to produce better output in desktop publishing environments. Refer to Thai(5) for more details
on text morphing. Text morphing rules are proprietary. Therefore, text morphing is supported only by Compaq Thai outline fonts and
are available only for PostScript printing. Specifies that Thai characters be printed on one and a half lines, rather than on three
lines, to produce more compressed and natural looking output. The onehalf keyword works only with the thailpof print filter. Refer
to i18n_printing(5) for general information on text morphing. Specifies where the character code tables for the printer (thailpof
filter only) can be found. These tables are selected for use with the yp value in the /etc/printcap file. The default path is
/usr/lbin/tac_data. Specifies vertical printing mode for ideographic characters in the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. In
vertical printing mode, any single-byte characters that files contain are still printed in horizontal printing mode.
If you are using a printer controlled by the wwpsof filter, it is recommended that you use the -Ovprint option to specify vertical
printing. See the wwpsof(8) reference page for more information.
NOTES
Tru64 UNIX software does not include ditroff or troff. Therefore, files suitable for use with the -n or -t options may not be available on
your system. If you try to print too large a file, the file is truncated. The lpr command does not print binary files. If a user other
than the root user prints a file and spooling is disabled, lpr will print a message and will not put requests in the queue. If a connection
to lpd on the local machine cannot be made, lpr will indicate that the daemon cannot be started. Fonts for troff and text reside on the
host with the printer. Currently, it is not possible to use local font libraries. Tru64 UNIX does not supply troff, so local font
libraries for troff may not exist on your system.
EXAMPLES
The following example prints three copies of the new.index.c, print.index.c, and more.c files: % lpr -#3 new.index.c print.index.c more.c
The following example prints three copies of the concatenated new.index.c, print.index.c, and more.c files: # cat new.index.c print.index.c
more.c | lpr -#3 The following example prints Operations on the burst page instead of the node name before printing the new.index.c file: #
lpr -C Operations new.index.c
FILES
User information Printer description file Line printer daemon Spool directories Daemon control files Data files specified in cf files Tem-
porary copies of cf files Character encoding tables for Thai
SEE ALSO
Commands: cancel(1), checknr(1), lp(1), lpc(8), lpd(8), lpq(1), lprm(1), lpstat(1), mailx(1), neqn(1), nroff(1), pr(1), tbl(1), wwpsof(8)
Functions: symlink(2)
Others: dechanyu(5), i18n_intro(5), i18n_printing(5), l10n_intro(5), odl(5), Thai(5)
lpr(1)