PRF(1) Domain/OS BSD PRF(1)
NAME
prf - queue a file for printing by Domain/OS Aegis print spooler
SYNOPSIS
prf [options] pathname...
DESCRIPTION
The prf command queues a file for printing. The file must be an ASCII
stream (that is, text) file, a graphics map file (GMF), or a GPR bitmap
object. After successfully queuing a file, prf displays a message
containing the full pathname of the file that you queued.
You can execute prf once for each file that you want to print (specifying
all the necessary options every time), or you can enter prf's interactive
mode and hand files to the program continuously. See the examples for a
sample interactive session.
Files queued by prf are physically printed by prsvr, the print server,
running as a background task under control of prmgr, the print manager.
When you invoke prf, it first sets all options to their default states.
Next, it looks for the print options file called user_data/startup.prf
unless you invoke prf with the -ndb option. If prf locates the option
file, it executes the options contained in the file to configure the
current session. Finally, it processes all options on the command line.
pathname (optional)
Specify the file to be printed. Multiple pathnames and
pathname wildcarding are permitted.
Default if omitted: read standard input
OPTIONS
The following options can appear on the shell command line or in prf
interactive mode. In addition, you can place one or more options in a prf
option file so that they are executed automatically whenever you invoke
prf.
Many of the options have default values that are specified in the prsvr
configuration file established for each printer in the network by the
system administrator. If you omit these options, your file is printed
using the values specified in the prsvr configuration file. For example,
omission of the -banner option could cause your file to be printed with a
banner page if the prsvr configuration file specifies one.
If no options are specified, the file is printed using ASCII carriage
control, with pagination enabled, on the default printer as established
by the system administrator.
Options Applying to All File Types
-inter[active] Enter interactive mode.
-sea[rch_dir] {on|off}
Search through all the directories of all the active
processes on your node for the file(s) to be printed. This
option is most useful in interactive mode, when the
working directory of the prf process may be different from
the working directory of the file to be printed.
The default is off.
-cop[ies] n Print multiple copies of the file, where n is the
requested number of copies. If -cop[ies] is specified, n
is required. The default is one copy.
-pr[inter]name Specify the name of the printer that should print the
file. This option is useful only if more than one printer
is in use on the network, or if a printer has been
assigned a nonstandard name with the printer_name
configuration directive in the prsvr command. If you omit
this option, prf uses the default printer name, p. Note
that p is also the default printer name used by the print
server.
-s[ite] spool_node_name
Use this option only if you are queuing jobs to a pre-SR10
print server connected to a spool directory (/sys/print)
that is different from the one specified by your node. By
default, SR10 printers find the spool node for you.
-nc[opy] Print the specified file from its location in the user-
specified directory, bypassing /sys/print/spooler. If you
select this option, prf defaults to the no-delete (-nd)
option. If you specify the delete (-d) option, the file is
deleted at the completion of the print request. If you use
this option (with or without the delete option), do not
open and alter the print file before the print job is
completed.
-d[elete] (default)
Delete the print file at the completion of the print job.
-nd[elete] Do not delete the print file when the print server is
finished printing it. This becomes default if -nc is
specified.
-user[username]
Specify the user name that appears on the banner page of
the printed file. The alarm facility of prf also uses this
name to determine who should be notified when printing is
complete (see -sig below). This means that this name must
be a valid log-in name (unless you don't care about
sending an alarm).
The default is the current log-in name.
-sig[nal] {alarm|off}
Request an alarm server signal when the file has finished
printing.
The default is off.
-ban[ner] [on|off]
Enable/disable banner page. If the banner setting in the
prsvr configuration file is off, no banner is printed.
The default is on.
-config[_file] [pathname]
Specify a file containing further prf options, one per
line. Do not use prefixed hyphens (-) with the option
names in the configuration file. If pathname is omitted,
prf executes the prf option file ~/user_data/startup_prf.
-ndb Suppress processing of the prf option file.
-trans[parent] [on|off]
off specifies that the file being printed is passed
directly to the printer driver routine with no processing
by the print server. The default is on.
-filter[_chain] string
Specifies a filter string that will be used by the print
server to process the job. This option overrides the
default processing done by the print server. It is most
often used to invoke filters that have been added to the
print server. The format of the string is "filter1 |
filter2", where filter1 and filter2 are composed of
strings of the form "type1$type2" and "type2$type3". Note
that the output type of filter n must equal the input type
of filter n+1 .
-paper_size {a|b|legal|a3|a4|a5|b4|b5}
Select the paper size. You must specify one of the
following size codes:
Code Size in inches (mm)
a 8.50 x 11.00
b 11.00 x 17.00
legal 8.50 x 14.00
a3 11.69 x 16.54 (297mm x 420mm)
a4 8.27 x 11.69 (210mm x 297mm)
a5 5.38 x 8.27 (137mm x 210mm)
b4 9.84 x 13.90 (257mm x 364mm)
b5 5.93 x 9.89 (182mm x 257mm)
This option is available only for the Domain/Laser-26 and
APPLE LaserWriter* printers. Because prf assumes that the
correct paper is in the printer's paper tray, you should
check the paper tray before printing. The default paper
size is specified in the prsvr configuration file.
Options Applying to Text Files Only
-margins [on|off]
Enable/disable margins generated by prf.
The default is on.
-top n Top page margin, in inches. The default is a value
specified in the prsvr configuration file.
-bot[tom] n Bottom page margin, in inches. The default is a value
specified in the prsvr configuration file.
-right n Right margin, in inches. The default is 0 inches.
-left n Left margin, in inches. The default is 0 inches.
-headers [on|off]
Enable/disable page headers and footers generated by prf.
The default is on.
-head[_string] l-string/c-string/r-string
Specify contents of left, center, and right components of
the page header generated by prf. Components can be empty
strings. The following special characters return the
values indicated when they appear in the header strings:
Character Return Value
@ = Escape character
# = current Page number with 1 leading
and 1 trailing space
% = Current date
! = Filename
& = Filename's last time, date modified
* = Insert a space in text string
(literal spaces are not allowed)
Example: -head !/Page#/% produces a header with the
filename in the left component, the string "Page" followed
by the current page number in the center component, and
the current date in the right component. The default
header is a string specified in the prsvr configuration
file.
-foot[_string] l-string/c-string/r-string
Specify contents of page footers. The format is the same
as for -head above. There is no default footer.
-ftn [on|off] Enable/disable FORTRAN carriage control. -ftn on causes
the print server to use FORTRAN forms control even if the
file does not have the FORTRAN carriage-control flag. Use
of this option causes prf to interpret the first character
of each line as a FORTRAN carriage control character (and
not print it). This can be unfortunate if the file has
ASCII carriage control, so be careful. -ftn off causes the
print server to print the contents of column one rather
than trying to interpret it as FORTRAN forms control. If
this option is specified without on or off, on is assumed.
The default is off.
-wrap [on|off] Enable/disable automatic line wrapping. When enabled, prf
wraps lines that exceed the right margin. When disabled,
prf truncates lines that exceed the right margin. If this
option is specified without on or off, on is assumed.
The default is off.
-col[umns] {1|2}
Specify single-or double-column printing.
The default state is single column.
-lpi n Specify the line-spacing factor. n is an integer
indicating the number of lines per inch.
The default is six lines per inch.
Options for Variable Font and Pitch
-pitch n Set the printer pitch (characters/inch). The following
pitch settings are available on the printers indicated.
Printer Pitch
Printronix* 10
Spinwriter* 12
IMAGEN* 8.5, 10, 12, 15, 17.1
GENICOM* 10, 12, 13.1, 16.7
Versatec* 12
LaserWriter* 1 to 100
Laser-26 1 to 100
-point n Set the point size for the font to be used. This is a real
number that specifies size in points. A point equals 1/72
inch.
-weight {light|medium|bold}
Set the weight of the font to be used.
The default is medium.
-lq [on|off] Specify that the document is to be printed in letter
quality (on) or in draft (off) mode. With no argument, on
is assumed when this option is invoked. If the option is
not invoked, draft mode is the default.
Options Applying to Plot Files
-res[olution] n
Output plot resolution in dots per inch. If you specify a
resolution not available on the particular printer, prsvr
prints the file at the closest available resolution.
The default resolution is specified in the prsvr
configuration file.
-white[_space] n
The amount of white space (in inches) to appear between
multiple plots in one file.
The default is three inches.
-bw[_rev] [on|off]
Enable/disable black and white reversal for bitmaps. If no
argument is specified, on is assumed. If the option is not
invoked, black/white reversal is disabled.
-magn[ification] n
Specify bitmap magnification value. n is an integer in the
range -1 to 16. The values have the following meanings:
-1 Selects auto-scaling to magnify the bitmap to fill
the available page space.
0 Selects one-to-one scaling between the display and
the printer for GMF bitmaps. (For GPR bitmaps, this
translates to magnification 1.)
1-16 Selects the magnification indicated by value. Where
1 equals 1-to-1, 2 equals 2x, etc.
Default if omitted: n is 0
Options Applying to PostScript* Printers
The following options apply only for files sent to printers that contain
the PostScript interpreter, such as the Domain/Laser-26 and APPLE
LaserWriter* printers.
-post[script] [on|off]
Enable/disable PostScript interpretation. When enabled,
the data is passed through the PostScript interpreter.
When disabled, the data is printed as text, plot, or
transparent data. If the option is not invoked, PostScript
interpretation is disabled.
The default is on.
-orient[ation] {port[rait]|land[scape]}
Select the page orientation. portrait specifies that the
text or x-axis of the bitmap is printed parallel to the
short edge of the paper. landscape specifies that the text
or x-axis of the bitmap is printed parallel to the long
edge of the paper and perpendicular to the short leading
edge.
The default is portrait.
Information Request Options
-check [-pr printer_name]
Checks for the existence of the specified printer. If the
printer does not exist or is unavailable, an error message
is returned.
-list_printers Lists the names and status of all printers currently
attached to the network.
-list_sites Lists the names of all print managers currently in the
network.
-sig_printer printer_name {-abort|-sus[pend]|cont[inue]}
Signals the printer to abort, suspend, or continue an
active print job.
-pre10 Allows you to queue print requests to a pre-SR10 print
server.
COMMANDS
Once prf has been invoked in interactive mode (see -inter above), it
accepts the following interactive commands at the "prf> " prompt (in
addition to the options already discussed).
p[rint] [print_file_pathname] [options]
Queue the specified file for printing.
q[uit] Quit interactive mode and return to the shell.
sh[ell] Create a shell command line. This command allows you to
issue shell commands without leaving prf interactive mode.
When you finish entering shell commands, type CTRL/Z. This
returns you to prf interactive mode. Your previous prf
option settings remain undisturbed by the intervening
shell commands.
init[ialize] Reset prf parameters to their default values.
r[ead] [printer]
List queue entries for the specified printer. If printer
is omitted, the contents of the queue (determined by the
current setting of -pr) are listed.
wd [pathname] Execute the shell command wd (working_directory) to set or
display the working directory.
get option Display the value of the prf option specified. Use this
command to show the settings of the various prf
parameters.
can[cel] [job_id]
Cancel printing of the specified file at the current
printer. Note that you must specify the job ID assigned by
prmgr when the file is queued. Use the read command to
display the names and job IDs of currently queued files.
This command affects jobs in the print queue; it does not
cancel a job being printed. To halt a job being printed,
use -pr_sig with abort specified.
EXAMPLES
The following example, queues the file named mary for printing and forces
FORTRAN carriage returns:
$ prf mary -ftn
"//node1/my_dir/mary" queued for printing.
$
The following example queues the file named filex to the printer queue on
the node named //tape:
$ prf filex -s //tape
"//node1/my_dir/test_file.pas" queued for printing at site //tape.
$
This example shows the types of commands that might appear in the default
prf configuration file ~/user_data/startup.prf:
pr ge
site //rye
foot %/my_file/&
The following example shows a sample interactive session:
$ prf -inter
prf> get pr
pr = p
prf> -pr cx
prf> get pr
pr = cx
prf> -pitch 20
prf> print test_file.pas
"//node1/my_dir/test_file.pas" queued for printing.
prf> q
$
This example illustrated running prf from an icon. To run prf
interactively in a process devoted to it, insert the following command in
the start-up file that you use to start the DM:
cp -i -c 'P' /com/prf -inter -n print_file
The above command creates a prf process and turns its window into an icon
using the print icon character in (/sys/dm/fonts/icons). Issue the DM
command icon to change the icon window into its full-size format.
NOTES
APPLE and LaserWriter are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
Printronix is a trademark of Printronix, Inc.
Spinwriter is a registered trademark of NEC, Inc.
IMAGEN is a registered trademark of IMAGEN Corp.
GENICOM is a registered trademark of GENDICOM Corp.
Versatec is a trademark of Versatec, Inc.
PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.