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Sindi Keesan wrote:
>
> > > I changed sh to bash in printcap 
> > 
> > Why????????????????????????????????????????????
> > 
> 
> 1.  Because nothing happened at all when I left it as sh.  
> With bash at least it fed a page.

Really???  How strange.

> 2.  Because I had to change sh to bash to get lynx to 
> compile with a script someone sent me.  

Really???  How strange.

Perhaps before fiddling at random with printcap, you might 
like to do:  man printcap
Search (/) for sh and you will find out what it means.

You might also like to have a look in the /bin directory.
You will find that sh is a symbolic link to bash.

In case the penny hasn't dropped, those two sh have absolutely
nothing to do with each other.

> People assume too much of us beginners.

I assume that beginners will not rush off half-cocked, changing 
things they do not understand.  But, yes, it appears I am assuming 
too much.

> When I tried to print with your wp (put the file in /tmp/document 
> as instructed in the faq) it also just fed a page.

Does wp print when you use it normally (i.e. type some stuff from
inside wp and then print it)?  Note: lpd must not be running.

> > Obviously the file arrived (success!) and was sitting in the
> > printer's buffer.  
>
> Yes, I figured that out, but why did it not print until I exited 
> linux and tried to print a different file with q DOS text editor?  

Because you are sending raw output to the printer.  I do not know
how your particular printer deals with such output.  I imagine
that when the output goes through ghostscript (with the correct
filter for your printer) there will be no such problem.

Keep in mind that DOS files and Linux files are slightly different
(carriage-return/linefeed).  When you sent the raw file, it is 
possible that your printer is affected by that difference.

If you are trying to print a text file, you might try converting 
it to DOS format before giving it to lpr.  BasicLinux includes 
a utility for that:
---------------
dos2unix --help
---------------

> I also tried printing with ghostscript:  
> gs -sDEVICE=deskjet filename.pdf | lpr.  
> That did not print either.  

That's a completely different approach.  It processes the file 
with ghostscript (using the deskjet filter) and then hands it 
over to lpd (which uses a /etc/printcap that does not contain 
a filter).   The approach I was talking about is giving the 
file directly to lpd, which uses the ghostscript filter 
(specified in /etc/printcap).

Things are going to get tied in knots if we mix the two 
approaches.  

> I may try a dot-matrix printer next.

That uses a different ps filter (in ghostscript).  
 
> I rarely print but someone sent me a pdf file so I 
> experimented on it.  

For viewing pdf's, it is a lot easier using xpdf.  I'm not 
even sure whether the ghostscript in Slack71 can handle current 
pdf's.

Cheers,
Steven