printers(4)							   File Formats 						       printers(4)

NAME

       printers - user-configurable printer alias database

SYNOPSIS

       $HOME/.printers

DESCRIPTION

       The   $HOME/.printers  file  is	a  simplified  version	of  the  system  /etc/printers.conf  file.  See printers.conf(4). Users create the
       $HOME/.printers file in their home directory. This optional file is customizable by the user.

       The $HOME/.printers file performs the following functions:

       1.  Sets personal aliases for all print commands.

       2.  Sets the interest list for  the lpget, lpstat, and cancel commands. See lpget(1M), lpstat(1) and  cancel(1).

       3.  Sets the default printer for the lp, lpr, lpq, and  lprm commands. See lp(1), lpr(1B), lpq(1B), and lprm(1B).

   Entries
       Use a line or full screen editor to  create or modify the  $HOME/.printers file.

       Each entry in $HOME/.printers describes one destination. Entries are one line consisting of two fields separated by either BLANKs  or  TABs
       and terminated by a NEWLINE. Format for an entry in $HOME/.printers varies according to the purpose of the entry.

       Empty lines can be included for readability. Entries may continue on to multiple lines by adding a backslash (`') as the last character in
       the line. The $HOME/.printers file can include comments. Comments have a pound sign (`#') as the first character in the line, and are  ter-
       minated by a NEWLINE.

   Setting Personal Aliases
       Specify	the  alias  or	aliases  in the first field. Separate multiple aliases by a pipe sign (`|'). Specify the destination in the second
       field. A destination names a printer or class  of  printers,  See   lpadmin(1M).  Specify  the  destination  using  atomic  or  POSIX-style
       (server:destination)  names.  See  printers.conf(4) for information regarding the naming conventions for atomic names, and standards(5) for
       information regarding POSIX.

   Setting the Interest List for lpget, lpstat and cancel
       Specify _all in the first field. Specify the  list of destinations for the interest list in the second field. Separate each destinations by
       a comma (`,'). Specify destinations  using atomic or POSIX-style (server:destination) names. See printers.conf(4) for information regarding
       the naming conventions for atomic and names. This list of destinations can refer to an alias defined in $HOME/.printers.

   Setting the Default Destination
       Specify _default in the first field. Specify the default destination in the second field. Specify the default destination using	atomic	or
       POSIX-style (server:destination) names. See printers.conf(4) for information regarding the naming conventions for atomic names. The default
       destination may refer to an alias defined in $HOME/.printers.

   Locating Destination Information
       The print client commands locate destination information based on the "printers" database entry in the /etc/nsswitch.conf  file.  See  nss-
       witch.conf(4).

   Locating the Personal Default Destination
       The default destination is located differently depending on the command.

       The lp command locates the default destination in the following order:

       1.  lp command's -d destination option.

       2.  LPDEST environment variable.

       3.  PRINTER environment variable.

       4.  _default destination in  $HOME/.printers.

       5.  _default destination in  /etc/printers.conf.

       The  lpr, lpq, and  lprm commands locate the default destination in the following order:

       1.  lpr command's -P destination option.

       2.  PRINTER environment variable.

       3.  LPDEST environment variable.

       4.  _default destination in  $HOME/.printers.

       5.  _default destination in  /etc/printers.conf.

   Locating the Interest List for lpget, lpstat, and cancel
       The lpget, lpstat, and cancel commands locate the interest list in the following order:

       1.  _all list in $HOME/.printers.

       2.  _all list in /etc/printers.conf.

EXAMPLES

       Example 1: Setting the interest list

       The following entry sets the interest list  to destinations ps, secure, and dog at server west and  finance_ps:

       _all	 ps,secure,west:dog/finance_ps

       Example 2: Setting aliases to a printer

       The following entry sets the  aliases ps, lp, and  lw to sparc_printer:

       ps|lp|lw  sparc_printer

       Example 3: Setting an alias as a default destination

       The following entry sets the alias pcl to  hplj and sets it as the default destination:

       pcl|_default   hplj

       Example 4: Setting an alias to a server destination

       The following entry sets the alias secure to destination catalpa at server tabloid:

       secure	 tabloid:catalpa

       Example 5: Setting an alias to a site destination

       The following entry sets the alias insecure to destination legal_ps:

       insecure  legal_ps

FILES

       $HOME/.printers		       User-configurable printer database.

       /etc/printers.conf	       System printer configuration database.

       printers.conf.byname	       NIS version of /etc/printers.conf.

       printers.org_dir 	       NIS+ version of /etc/printers.conf.

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     |	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability		     |SUNWpcu			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Stability Level 	     |Stable			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO

       cancel(1),  lp(1),  lpq(1B), lpr(1B), lprm(1B), lpstat(1), lpadmin(1M), lpget(1M), nsswitch.conf(4), printers.conf(4), attributes(5), stan-
       dards(5)

       System Administration Guide: Basic Administration

NOTES

       $HOME/.printers is referenced by the printing commands before further name resolution is made in  /etc/printers.conf or the  name  service.
       If  the alias references a destination defined in /etc/printers.conf, it is possible that the destination is defined differently on differ-
       ent systems.  This could cause output to be sent to an unintended destination if the user is logged in to a different system.

SunOS 5.10							    23 May 2003 						       printers(4)