lp Command
The lp command includes information for the AIX Print Subsystem lp and
the System V Print Subsystem lp.
AIX Print Subsystem lp Command
Purpose
Sends requests to a line printer.
Syntax
lp [ -c ] [ -dQueue ] [ -m ] [ -nNumber ] [ -oOption ] [ -s ] [ -tTitle
] [ -w ] [ Files ]
Description
The lp command arranges for the files specified by the Files parameter
and their associated information (called a request) to be printed by a
line printer. If you do not specify a value for the Files parameter,
the lp command accepts standard input. The file name - (dash)
represents standard input and can be specified on the command line in
addition to files. The lp command sends the requests in the order
specified. If the job is submitted to a local print queue, the lp
command displays the following to standard output:
Job number is: nnn
where nnn is the assigned job number. To suppress the job number use
the -s flag.
Flags
Item
Description
-c
Copies the files to be printed immediately when the lp command is
run. The lp command copies files only when requested. No links are
created. If you specify the -c flag, be careful not to remove any
of the files before they are printed. If you do not specify the -c
flag, changes made to the files after the request is made appear
in the printed output.
-dQueue
Specifies the print queue to which a job is sent.
-m
Sends mail (see the mail command) after the files are printed. By
default, no mail is sent upon normal completion of the print
request.
-nNumber
Prints the number of copies of printed output. The default number
of copies is 1.
-oOptions
Specifies that flags specific to the backend be passed to the
backend. Thus, for each queue, other flags not described in this
article can be included with the lp command. See the piobe command
for a list of these flags. Specifying this flag is the same as
specifying the -o flag for the enq command.
-s
Suppresses the automatic return of job numbers. The lp command
reports the job number as the default, the -s flag overrides the
default.
-tTitle
Specifies printing the title of the file on the banner page of the
output.
-w
Writes a message on the print requesters terminal after the files
are printed. If the requester is not logged in, the mail command
sends the message. If the user is logged in on multiple windows or
terminals, the message may not be sent to the LFT where the
command was issued. The message is sent to the first terminal on
which the writesrv daemon sees the user to be logged in.
Note: If the -w flag is used in conjunction with the -m flag, the
print requester will only receive mail and will not get a message
on the terminal.
Security
Attention RBAC users and Trusted AIX users: This command can perform
privileged operations. Only privileged users can run privileged
operations. For more information about authorizations and privileges,
see Privileged Command Database in Security. For a list of privileges
and the authorizations associated with this command, see the lssecattr
command or the getcmdattr subcommand.
Examples
1 To print the /etc/motd file on printer lp0 attached to device
dlp0, enter:
lp /etc/motd
2 To print 30 copies of the /etc/motd file using a copy of the file,
and to notify the user that the job is completed using mail,
enter:
lp -c -m -n30 -dlp0:lpd0 /etc/motd
3 To print the /etc/motd file using backend flags -f and -a, with a
job title of blah, enter:
lp -t"blah" -o -f -o -a /etc/motd
4 To queue the MyFile file and return the job number, enter:
lp myfile
5 To queue the MyFile file and suppress the job number, enter:
lp -s myfile
Exit Status
This command returns the following exit values:
Item
Description
0
All input files processed successfully.
>0
No output device is available, or an error occurred.
Files
Item
Description
/usr/sbin/qdaemon
Contains the queuing daemon.
/var/spool/lpd/qdir/*
Contains the queue requests.
/var/spool/lpd/stat/*
Contains information on the status of the devices.
/var/spool/qdaemon/*
Contains temporary copies of enqueued files.
/etc/qconfig
Contains the queue configuration file.
/etc/qconfig.bin
Contains digested, binary version of the /etc/qconfig file.
Related Information
The cancel command, enable command, lpr command, lpstat command, mail
command.
The writesrv daemon.
The /etc/qconfig file.
Command for starting a print job (qprt command) in Operating system and
device management.
Printing administration in the Printers and printing.
Printers, print jobs, and queues inOperating system and device
management .
Print spooler in Printers and printing.
System V Print Subsystem lp Command
Purpose
Sends print requests
Syntax
lp [print-options] [files]
lp -i request-ID print-options
Description
The first form of the lp command arranges for the named files and
associated information (collectively called a request) to be printed.
If filenames are not specified on the command line, the standard input
is assumed. The standard input may be specified along with named files
on the command line by listing the filenames and specifying - for the
standard input. The files will be printed in the order in which they
appear on the command line.
The LP print service associates a unique request-ID with each request
and displays it on the standard output. This request-ID can be used
later when canceling or changing a request, or when determining its
status. See the cancel command for details about canceling a request,
and lpstat for information about checking the status of a print
request.
The second form of lp is used to change the options for a request
submitted previously. The print request identified by the request-ID is
changed according to the print-options specified with this command. The
print-options available are the same as those with the first form of
the lp command. If the request has finished printing, the change is
rejected. If the request is already printing, it will be stopped and
restarted from the beginning (unless the -P flag has been given).
If you enter lp -?, the system displays the command usage message and
returns 0.
Sending a print request
The first form of the lp command is used to send a print request either
to a particular printer or to any printer capable of meeting all
requirements of the print request.
Flags must always precede filenames, but may be specified in any order.
Printers for which requests are not being accepted will not be
considered when the destination is any. (Use the lpstat -a command to
see which printers are accepting requests.) However, if a request is
destined for a class of printers and the class itself is accepting
requests, then all printers in the class will be considered, regardless
of their acceptance status.
For printers that take mountable print wheels or font cartridges, if
you do not specify a particular print wheel or font with the -S flag,
whichever one happens to be mounted at the time your request is printed
will be used. The lpstat -p printer -l command is used to see which
print wheels are available on a particular printer. The lpstat -S -l
command is used to see what print wheels are available and on which
printers. Without the -S flag, the standard character set is used for
printers that have selectable character sets.
If you experience problems with jobs that usually print but on occasion
do not print, check the physical connections between the printer and
your computer. If you are using an automatic data switch or an A/B
switch, try removing it and see if the problem clears.
Flags
-c
Make copies of the files to be printed immediately when lp is
invoked. Normally files will not be copied, but will be linked
whenever possible. If the -c flag is not specified, the user
should be careful not to remove any of the files before the
request has been printed in its entirety. It should also be noted
that if the -c flag is not specified, any changes made to the
named files after the request is made but before it is printed
will be reflected in the printed output.
-d dest
Choose dest as the printer or class of printers that is to do the
printing. If dest is a printer, then the request will be printed
only on that specific printer. If dest is a class of printers,
then the request will be printed on the first available printer
that is a member of the class. If dest is any, then the request
will be printed on any printer that can handle it. Under certain
conditions (unavailability of printers, file space limitations,
and so on) requests for specific destinations may not be accepted
(see lpstat). By default, dest is taken from the environment
variable LPDEST. If LPDEST is not set, then dest is taken from the
environment variable PRINTER. If PRINTER is not set, a default
destination (if one exists) for the computer system is used. If no
system default is set and -T is used, dest will be selected on the
basis of content-type specified with the -T flag [see the
description of -T]. Destination names vary between systems (see
lpstat).
-f form-name [-d any]
Print the request on the form form-name. The LP print service
ensures that the form is mounted on the printer. If form-name is
requested with a printer destination that cannot support the form,
the request is rejected. If form-name has not been defined for the
system, or if the user is not allowed to use the form, the request
is rejected. (see lpforms). When the -d any flag is given, the
request is printed on any printer that has the requested form
mounted and can handle all other needs of the print request.
-H special-handling
Print the request according to the value of special-handling.
Acceptable values for special-handling are defined below:
hold
Do not print the request until notified. If printing has
already begun, stop it. Other print requests will go ahead
of a held request until it is resumed.
resume
Resume a held request. If it had been printing when held,
it will be the next request printed, unless subsequently
bumped by an immediate request. The -i flag (followed by a
request-ID) must be used whenever this argument is
specified.
immediate
(Available only to LP administrators) Print the request
next. If more than one request is assigned immediate, the
most recent request will be printed first. If another
request is currently printing, it must be put on hold to
allow this immediate request to print.
-L locale-name
Specify locale-name as the locale to use with this print request.
By default, locale-name is set to the value of LC_CTYPE. If
LC_CTYPE is not set, locale-name defaults to the C locale.
-m
Send mail after the files have been printed. By default, mail is
not sent upon normal completion of the print request.
-n number
Print number copies of the output. The default is one copy.
-o options
Specify printer-dependent options. Several such options may be
collected by specifying the -o keyletter more than once (that is,
-o option[1] -o option[2] ... -o option[n]), or by specifying a
list of options with one -o keyletter enclosed in double quotes
and separated by spaces (that is, -o "option[1] option[2] . . .
option[n]").
nobanner
Do not print a banner page with this request. The
administrator can disallow this option at any time.
nofilebreak
Do not insert a form feed between the files given, if
submitting a job to print more than one file. This option
is not supported by printers configured to use the PS
(PostScript) interface.
length=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with pages scaled-decimal-number long. A
scaled-decimal-number is an optionally scaled decimal
number that gives a size in lines, characters, inches, or
centimeters, as appropriate. The scale is indicated by
appending the letter i for inches, or the letter c for
centimeters. For length or width settings, an unscaled
number indicates lines or characters; for line pitch or
character pitch settings, an unscaled number indicates
lines per inch or characters per inch (the same as a number
scaled with i). For example, length=66 indicates a page
length of 66 lines, length=11i indicates a page length of
11 inches, and length=27.94c indicates a page length of
27.94 centimeters. This option may not be used with the -f
option and is not supported by the PS (PostScript).
width=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with pages scaled-decimal-number wide.
(See the explanation of scaled-decimal-numbers in the
discussion of length, above.) This option may not be used
with the -f option and is not supported by the PS
(PostScript).
lpi=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with the line pitch set to scaled-
decimal-number. (See the explanation of scaled-decimal-
numbers in the discussion of length, above.) This option
may not be used with the -f flag and is not supported by
the PS (PostScript).
cpi=pica|elite|compressed
Print this request with the character pitch set to pica
(representing 10 characters per inch), elite (representing
12 characters per inch), or compressed (representing as
many characters per inch as a printer can handle). There is
not a standard number of characters per inch for all
printers; see the terminfo database for the default
character pitch for your printer. This option may not be
used with the -f flag and is not supported by the PS
(PostScript).
stty=stty-option-list
A list of options valid for the stty command; enclose the
list with single quotes if it contains blanks.
-P page-list
Print the pages specified in page-list. This flag can be used only
if there is a filter available to handle it; otherwise, the print
request will be rejected. The page-list may consist of ranges of
numbers, single page numbers, or a combination of both. The pages
will be printed in ascending order.
-q priority-level
Assign this request priority-level in the printing queue. The
values of priority-level range from 0 (highest priority) to 39
(lowest priority). If a priority is not specified, the default for
the print service is used, as assigned by the system
administrator. A priority limit may be assigned to individual
users by the system administrator.
-R
Remove file(s) after submitting the print request. Use this flag
with caution.
-r
See -T content-type [-r] below.
-s
Suppress the ``request id is ...'' message.
-S character-set [-d any]
-S print-wheel [-d any]
Print this request using the specified character-set or print-
wheel. If a form was requested and it requires a character set or
print wheel other than the one specified with the -S flag, the
request is rejected.
For printers that take print wheels: if the print wheel specified
is not one listed by the administrator as acceptable for the
printer specified in this request, the request is rejected unless
the print wheel is already mounted on the printer.
For printers that use selectable or programmable character sets:
if the character-set specified is not one defined in the Terminfo
database for the printer (see terminfo), or is not an alias
defined by the administrator, the request is rejected.
When the -d any flag is used, the request is printed on any
printer that has the print wheel mounted or any printer that can
select the character set, and that can handle all other needs of
the request.
-t title
Print title on the banner page of the output. The default is no
title. Enclose title in quotes if it contains blanks.
-T content-type [-r]
Print the request on a printer that can support the specified
content-type. If no printer accepts this type directly, a filter
will be used to convert the content into an acceptable type. If
the -r flag is specified, a filter will not be used. If -r is
specified but no printer accepts the content-type directly, the
request is rejected. If the content-type is not acceptable to any
printer, either directly or with a filter, the request is
rejected.
In addition to ensuring that no filters will be used, the -r flag
will force the equivalent of the -o 'stty=-opost' flag.
-w
Write a message on the user's terminal after the files have been
printed. If the user is not logged in, or if the printer resides
on a remote system, then mail will be sent instead. Be aware that
messages may be sent to a window other than the one in which the
command was originally entered.
-y mode-list
Print this request according to the printing modes listed in
mode-list. The allowed values for mode-list are locally defined.
This option may be used only if there is a filter available to
handle it; otherwise, the print request will be rejected.
The following list describes the mode-list options:
-y reverse
Reverse the order in which pages are printed. This filter
option is not supported by the LP Print Service.
-y landscape
Change the orientation of a physical page from portrait to
landscape.
-y x=number,y=number
Change the default position of a logical page on a physical
page by moving the origin.
-y group=number
Group multiple logical pages on a single physical page.
-y magnify=number
Change the logical size of each page in a document.
-o length=number
Select the number of lines in each page of the document.
-P number
Select, by page numbers, a subset of a document to be
printed.
-n number
Print multiple copies of a document.
Security
Attention RBAC users and Trusted AIX users: This command can perform
privileged operations. Only privileged users can run privileged
operations. For more information about authorizations and privileges,
see Privileged Command Database in Security. For a list of privileges
and the authorizations associated with this command, see the lssecattr
command or the getcmdattr subcommand.
Files
/var/spool/lp/*
