Patrick Powell wrote:
I have been considering putting in the ability to use PPD files. However, I once again come up with the copyright problem.
Question: is anybody, anywhere, setting up an archive for PPD files that
allows unhidered access to them? No copyright, redistribution, etc., problems?
If so, then I will add the magic to ifhp:
[ printer ] ppd_file /path_to_ppd_file
How about writing a program to create a PPD file automatically by querying the printer?
This would be great, but how do they do this, I only know how to retreive PJL options from a PJL-capable printer. See the "foomatic-getpjloptions" script of the foomatic-db-engine package on linuxprinting.org:
http://www.linuxprinting.org/cvsweb.cgi/~checkout~/foomatic-db-engine/foomatic-getpjloptions.in?rev=3.0&content-type=text/plain
but only a small part of the printer's options are PJL options (for example PageSize and Resolution are usually PostScript commands to insert in the job data) and some printers (as the Brother HL-5040) do not answer to the script.
I think Adobe had or has something like this. One sees references to it in the comments of some PPD files.
Did they somewhere publish the protocols for this?
I got part way through writing one myself, but I eventually found another way to do what I needed done.
If you want to write such a tool, join the Foomatic project and then one can make a queue for a PostScript printer simply with foomatic-configure, without needing to have a PPD file or the Foomatic database installed.
Some of the commercial PPDs seem _way_ more complicated than they need to be.
Some manufacturer's, as HP, have implemented some options completely in PostScript (as N-up or watermarks), so to the appropriate option choices not simple PostScript commands but complete subroutines are assigned.
But HP's PPDs on http://www.linuxprinting.org/download/PPD/ are free software, so one can rip out this code and paste it into another PPD (for example of an Epson printer) to add these options there. I have already accidentally created a print queue for an Epson AcuLaser C2000 PS using HP�s PPD file for the HP LaserJet 4050, and HP�s N-up option worked nicely on the AcuLaser. If I had Epson�s PPD and pasted the N-up option there I would have it even in color, but I didn�t find Epson�s PPD.
Till
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