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On Tue, 25 Mar 2008, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> I'd like to create a script for printing from my new BL laptop. Sindi has
> a script at her site which is close to what I need, but not quite. The
> reason her script won't work so well for me is because I don't always have
> a parallel port connected to this laptop: the laptop has one of those "i/o
> bars" that has to be hooked to the machine and that has the parallel port
> on it, and it will not always be hooked up. It will obviously be no good
> to go insmod'ing modules for a non-existent parallel port. So I'd like to
> add to her script some routine for checking whether the parallel port
> modules have already been inserted--like by using the output of lsmod. If

Why not just insert them in the script anyway, whether or not they are 
already inserted?

> they have not been inserted, the script should ask whether to insert them
> and then do so or abort, accordingly. Finally, her script seems to need to
> run with a filename specified. Instead of that, I'd like to just have a
> terminal output the command (e.g., using echo) that one should enter into
> the terminal in order to print. Something like "To print a file on this
> machine, enter the command gs -sOutputFile=/dev/lp0 /path/to/file". Can
> anyone offer me some help on this? See below for Sindi's script.

I would not want to be typing this every time to print, which is why I 
made a script.

> --------begin Sindi's printing script------------------------
> #!/bin/sh
> insmod parport
> insmod parport_pc
> insmod lp

These insert the modules every time whether or not they are already 
inserted.  It might waste a second or so and give you a message they are 
already inserted.


> #/var/spool/lpd/postscript/deskjet.filter < $1 > /dev/lp0
> #gs -q -dSAFER -sDEVICE=deskjet -r300x300 -sPAPERSIZE=letter
> -sOutputFile=- - -dFirstP

You don't need the lines above, just the one below.  They are two previous 
scripts that I just left for my own edification, one using lpr, one  an 
attempt to make a script that printed a selection of pages (and it is not 
even complete - -dFirstPage=1 -dLastpage=2 if you were printing pages 1 
and 2).  Delete these three lines.  I should fix what I posted.  (I post 
often because I keep losing hard drives locally).


> gs -r300 -sOutputFile=/dev/lp0 $1

This line only works if deskjet is the default device.
Otherwise you will need -sDEVICE=cdeskjet (or some other device).
The -r300 is I think default for the deskjet and could be omitted.
Read the Use.htm for gs.

Therefore my script should read:
insmod parport
insmod parport_pc
insmod lp
gs -sOutputFile=/dev/lp0 $1

You can probably add switches for multiple copies.  Set up additional 
scripts for different resolutions.

> ---------end Sindi's printing script---------------------------
>
> Thanks,
> James