NAME

lpq − spool queue examination program

SYNOPSIS

lpq [ +[ n ] ] [ −Pprinter ] [ job # ... ] [ user ... ]

DESCRIPTION

Lpq examines the spooling area used by lpd(8) for printing files on the line printer, and reports the status of the specified jobs or all jobs associated with a user. When Lpq is used without any arguments, it reports on any jobs currently in the queue. 

For each job submitted (that is, each invocation of lpr(1)) lpq reports the user’s name, current rank in the queue, the names of files comprising the job, and the job identifier (a number which may be supplied to lprm(1) for removing a specific job).  Job ordering is dependent on the algorithm used to scan the spooling directory and is supposed to be FIFO (First in First Out).  File names comprising a job may be unavailable (when lpr(1) is used as a sink in a pipeline) in which case the file is indicated as ‘(standard input)’.  The size of a file is reported in bytes.

In addition to any options supplied (see the options below), any other arguments supplied are interpreted as user names or job numbers to filter out only those jobs of interest. 

OPTIONS

−Pprinter
Display the queue for printer. If this option is omitted, lpq displays the queue information for the default line printer (or the value of the PRINTER variable in the environment). 

+[nnn]
If there is just a lone + sign, lpq displays the spool queue until it empties.  Supplying a number immediately after the + sign indicates that lpq should sleep nnn seconds in between scans of the queue. 

FILES

/etc/passwdfor user names
/etc/termcapfor manipulating the screen for
repeated display
/etc/printcapto determine printer characteristics
/usr/spool/∗the spooling directory, as determined
from printcap
/usr/spool/∗/cf∗control files specifying jobs
/usr/spool/∗/lockthe lock file to obtain the pid of
the currently active job

SEE ALSO

lpr(1), lprm(1), lpd(8)

BUGS

Due to the dynamic nature of the information in the spooling directory lpq may report unreliably.  Output formatting is sensitive to the line length of the terminal; this can results in widely spaced columns. 

DIAGNOSTICS

Unable to open various files, because the lock file is malformed.  Garbage files when there is no daemon active, but files in the spooling directory. 

Sun System Release 0.3  —  1 April 1983