lp(1) (AT&T Spooler only) lp(1)
NAME
lp, cancel - send/cancel requests to an LP print service
SYNOPSIS
lp [printing-options] [files]
lp -i request-IDs printing-options
cancel [request-IDs] [printers]
cancel -u login-ID-list [printers]
DESCRIPTION
The first form of the lp command arranges for the named files and
associated information (collectively called a request) to be printed.
If no file names are 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 file name(s) and specifying - for
the standard input. The files will be printed in the order in which
they appear on the shell 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 section on cancel for details about canceling a
request, and lpstat(1) for information about checking the status of a
print request.]
The second form of lp is used to change the options for a request. The
print request identified by the request-ID is changed according to the
printing options specified with this shell command. The printing
options available are the same as those with the first form of the lp
shell 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 option has been given).
The cancel command allows users to cancel print requests previously
sent with the lp command. The first form of cancel permits cancella-
tion of requests based on their request-ID. The second form of cancel
permits cancellation of requests based on the login-ID of their owner.
Sending a Print Request
The first form of the lp command is used to send a print request to a
particular printer or group of printers.
Options to lp must always precede file names, but may be specified in
any order. The following options are available for lp:
-c Make copies of the files before printing. Normally, files will
not be copied, but will be linked whenever possible. If the -c
option is not given, then the user should be careful not to
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remove any of the files before the request has been printed in
its entirety. It should also be noted that if the -c option 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 avail-
able printer that is a member of the class. If dest is any,
then the request will be printed on any printer which can han-
dle it. Under certain conditions (unavailability of printers,
file space limitations, and so on) requests for specific des-
tinations may not be accepted [see lpstat(1)]. If -d is not
set, the printer or printer type of the LPDEST, or alterna-
tively, the PRINTER environment variable, is assumed (provided
one of them has been set). Otherwise, a default destination
(if one exists) for the computer system is used. Destination
names vary between systems [see lpstat(1)].
-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(1M)]. When the
-d any option 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 Don't 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 sub-
sequently bumped by an immediate request.
immediate
(Available only to LP administrators) Print the
request next. If more than one request is assigned
immediate, the requests are printed in the reverse
order queued. If a request is currently printing on
the desired printer, you have to put it on hold to
allow the immediate request to print.
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-m Send mail [see mail(1)] after the files have been printed. By
default, no mail is sent upon normal completion of the print
request.
-n number
Print number copies (default is 1) of the output.
-o option
Specify printer-dependent options. Several such options may be
collected by specifying the -o keyletter more than once (-o
option1 -o option2 ... -o optionn), or by specifying a list of
options with one -o keyletter enclosed in double quotes (that
is, -o "option1 option2 ... optionn"). The standard interface
recognizes the following options:
nobannerDo 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.
length=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with pages scaled-decimal-number
lines long. A scaled-decimal-number is an optionally
scaled decimal number that gives a size in lines,
columns, 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 columns; for line pitch or character pitch set-
tings, 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.
width=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with page-width set to scaled-
decimal-number columns wide. (See the explanation of
scaled-decimal-numbers in the discussion of length,
above.) This option may not be used with the -f
option.
lpi=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with the line pitch set to scaled-
decimal-number lines per inch. This option may not be
used with the -f option.
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cpi=scaled-decimal-number
Print this request with the character pitch set to
scaled-decimal-number characters per inch. Character
pitch can also be set to pica (representing 10 charac-
ters per inch) or elite (representing 12 characters
per inch), or it can be compressed (representing as
many characters as a printer can handle). There is no
standard number of characters per inch for all
printers; see the Terminfo database [terminfo(4)] for
the default character pitch for your printer.
This option may not be used with the -f option.
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 option can be
used only if there is a filter available to handle it; other-
wise, the print request will be rejected.
The page-list may consist of range(s) 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, the highest priority,
to 39, the 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.
-s Suppress messages from lp such as those that begin with
request id is.
-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 charac-
ter set or print wheel other than the one specified with the
-S option, the request is rejected.
For printers that take print wheels: if the print wheel speci-
fied 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(4)], or is not
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an alias defined by the administrator, the request is
rejected.
When the -d any option 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 any 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 option is specified, a filter will not be
used. If -r is specified, and 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.
-w Write a message on the user's terminal after the files have
been printed. If the user is not logged in, then mail will be
sent instead.
-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.
-- Must be placed in front of the filename if it begins with -.
Canceling a Print Request
The cancel command cancels requests for print jobs made with the lp
command. The first form allows a user to specify one or more request-
IDs of print jobs to be canceled. Alternatively, the user can specify
one or more printers, on which only the currently printing job will be
canceled.
The second form of cancel permits a user to cancel all of his or her
own jobs on all printers. In this form the printers option can be used
to restrict the printers on which the user's jobs will be canceled.
Note that in this form, when the printers option is used, all jobs
queued for those printers will be canceled. A printer class is not a
valid argument.
Users without special privileges can cancel only requests associated
with their own login IDs. The system administrator can cancel jobs
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submitted by any user. The login-ID-list must be enclosed in quotes if
it contains blanks.
NOTES
Printers for which requests are not being accepted will not be con-
sidered when the lp command is run and the destination is any. (Use
the lpstat -a command to see which printers are accepting requests.)
On the other hand, if (1) a request is destined for a class of
printers and (2) the class itself is accepting requests, then all
printers in the class will be considered, regardless of their accep-
tance 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
option, whichever one happens to be mounted at the time your request
is printed will be used. Use the lpstat -p printer -l command to see
which print wheels are available on a particular printer, or the
lpstat -S -l command to find out what print wheels are available and
on which printers. For printers that have selectable character sets,
you will get the standard character set if you don't use the -S
option.
INTERNATIONALIZED ENVIRONMENT
The LCMESSAGES environment variable governs the language in which
message texts are displayed. LCTIME governs the format and contents
of date specifications in the cover page (if available).
If LCMESSAGES or LCTIME is undefined or defined as the null string,
it defaults to the value of LANG. If LANG is likewise undefined or
null, the system acts as if it were not internationalized.
The LCALL environment variable governs the entire locale. LCALL
takes precedence over all other environment variables which affect
internationalization.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
LPDEST Defines the printer or printer type to which the output is
to be written. LPDEST is only evaluated if the -d option is
not set.
PRINTER Defines the printer or printer type to which the output is
to be written. PRINTER is only evaluated if the -d option is
not set and LPDEST has not been assigned a value.
FILES
/var/spool/lp/*
SEE ALSO
enable(1), lpstat(1), mail(1), accept(1M), lpadmin(1M), lpfilter(1M),
lpforms(1M), lpsched(1M), lpsystem(1M), lpusers(1M), terminfo(4).
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