CUPS help?

[Bill Sconce]

On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 17:00:51 -0500
pll at lanminds.com wrote:

> I looked at xpp, but wasn't sure what the point was.  I couldn't tell 
> if it was meant to configure the printer for cups or not.
> 
> I now get the impression it's analogous to the pop-up which Windows 
> clients see all the time.


Indeed, that's a good synopsis.  One ends up using xpp as a command,
or equally, telling galeon or xv or sylpheed or...  to use xpp as its
built-in printing command.  At that level it's somewhat like a
replacement for lp or lpr.

But the command is typically very simple:  e.g., xpp filename.
(That is, you seldom use command-line switches.)

And then you get the pop-up (xpp = X Printing Panel).  From there
you can choose any printer on your network known to CUPS, and also
choose number of copies (and 2 up, 4 up, and -supposedly- duplexing).
Somewhat like Microsoft.  More and better functions, though.

One neat feature is something which xpp calls instances.  You
can derive one or more new instances from any CUPS printer, after
which another "printer" selection is available in the pop-up.
It's really the same printer, of course, but it gives you quick
selections for various sets of options.  For example, you could
have a Laserjet printer, and create a Laserjet_duplex instance
for quick selection of the duplexing options we were talking about
back at the beginning.

(If we can ever get duplexing to work, of course...   :)

-Bill