Printer Configuration Directory

Configuration files are organized in a top-level print directory. It contains three configuration directories: attributes, ddx-config, and models.

Figure 5-1 Configuration File Hierarchy

If desired, you can change the default printer configuration directory. To do so, you set the XPCONFIGDIR environment variable, which specifies a new configuration directory. For example, this command:

export XPCONFIGDIR=/X11/lib/PrintConfig/

specifies the directory /X11/lib/PrintConfig as the new configuration directory.

Configuration Files and Directories

This section describes the X*printers file and the contents of each configuration directory.

Xprinters File

Each X print server has a corresponding X*printers file where * represents the X print server display number. This file controls what printers the X print server will manage. By default, the X print server will use the lpstat command to generate a list of printers. However, if desired, you can explicitly specify printers in this file.

The Xprinters file located in the installation directory, /usr/lib/X11/C/print, is a template file. When you configure an X print server, this template is copied to /etc/X11/X*printers where * represents the X print server display number.

attributes Directory

The attributes directory contains three configuration files. Each file consists of a set of attributes which define printer capabilities as well as initial document and job values. Several categories of attributes are provided to give you control over different printer capabilities and aspects of printing. These categories include:

Each attribute category has a corresponding configuration file in the attributes directory.

Attribute definitions are described more fully in Chapter 6 “Chapter 6: Adding and Configuring Printers ”.

ddx-config Directory

This directory contains configuration information for device dependent X (ddx) print drivers. Each driver has a corresponding subdirectory. The name of the subdirectory is the driver name provided by the driver to the X print server.

These drivers can have highly specific configuration files to control their behavior. However, driver files are generally not modified.

models Directory

This directory contains a subdirectory for each specific printer model or class of printer models supported by the Technical Print Service. Typically the file name consists of the manufacturer name and printer model number. Examples of names are: HPDESKJ1600C_1600CM-PS, HPLJ4Si_4SiMX-PS, and HPDESIGNJ600.

	NOTE: By convention, uppercase letters are used for printer model names. This helps prevent naming conflicts between printer model names and actual printer names when these names are used in attributes files.

Each printer model subdirectory contains a model-config file and a fonts directory. The model-config file defines a set of attributes that describe the printer model's capabilities and default settings. It also identifies the print driver to be used. The fonts directory contains font metric information for the printer's internal fonts. For each supported printer model, a complete hierarchy of files should exist.

Figure 5-2 Models Directory

The model-config file provides default configuration information for a particular printer model. This file is delivered by the printer vendor or may be included in a ddx driver package. In most cases, the model-config files are not modified by a system administrator.

Printer Configuration Search Path

The X print server obtains default printer configuration values by searching the default configuration directory, /etc/X11/C/print. If no configuration files are found, it uses its built-in defaults.

	NOTE: For locales other than C, the X print server searches /etc/X11/LANG/print and uses these values to augment the defaults found for the C locale.