CUPS PDF Printer

[brucehohl]

For anyone who wants a "built-in" PDF printer as an add on to CUPS my notes are attached. This works like a regular printer but instead of sending the output to the printer it is sent to a PDF file in the user's home directory. This is simialar to the PDF function of OpenOffice.org and can be shared with other network clients (Linux or Windows).

I installed under Suse 9.0 but the notes should be OK for any distribution.

Let me know if you find any errors. I will correct and reattach.

[mdwatts]

Thanks as I've saved the guide for future use.

[Hayl]

brucehohl,

How do you get it to print properly from Linux client machines?

if i do:

lpr -p pdf name_of_file.doc

I get a file but it is junk/empty.
-rwx------ 1 ddicks root 321 Apr 8 10:49 job_87-untitled_document.pdf
-rwx------ 1 ddicks root 321 Apr 8 10:51 job_88-untitled_document.pdf

It works great from Window clients.

[brucehohl]

> How do you get it to print properly from Linux client machines?

Well .... now that you ask I checked and realized that I had actually installed the PDF printer on both the Linux boxes I was working with (Samba1 and TestPDC). I have used the the pdf printer successfully from both these boxes.

But I think it will still work with a linux client box which I will define as printing from box 1 to a pdf printer running on box 2 ...

So on box "Samba1" I opened CUPS (http://localhost:631/) and installed pdf2 as follows:
click "Printers"
click "Add Pritner" (logon to CUPS)
Name = pdf2
Location = Samba PDC
Description = PDF Printer
Device = Windows Printer via Samba
Device URI = smb://Tux-Net/TestPDC/pdf (note a)
Make = Raw
Model = Raw Queue (en)

(note a) - On box TestPDC the pdf printer has been setup according to the notes attached above.

Then on box Samba1 I opened a text file using KWrite (while logged on as root on a KDE desktop) and printed using the newly setup printer "pdf2".

A pdf file was created and written to box TestPDC at /var/spool/cups-pdf/nobody/file-name.pdf. I opened the file and it was OK.

I did not work through the details of making the Linux client work just like a Windows client. That is, setting up a user account on TestPDC with a home directory that I could use when working from Samba1 so that a pdf file created could be written to /var/spool/user and then copied to /home/user. I figure there is some way to do this. I had not considered that part since I don't have any Linux client only boxes - yet!