The following steps should be followed to install TurboPrint on
your Linux workstation and to setup your printer.
Please follow the same instructions if you want to install TurboPrint as an
update over an already installed previous version. Your saved settings will not
be deleted.
You must be logged in as "root" for the installation process.
If you are not logged in as "root", you can temporarily switch to
root by entering in the shell window:
xhost +
su root
export DISPLAY=:0
The commands "xhost +" (give other users access to the X display)
and "export DISPLAY=:0" (set the X display environment variable)
make sure that programs can open windows on the X display after
switching to root. After entering "su root" (switch to root
login) please enter the password for root.
After installation you can go back
to normal login by entering
exit
If you installed TurboPrint as an RPM package, please
start the printer setup tool "xtpsetup" to choose a printer
driver. Continue with reading
registering TurboPrint.
Installation must be started from a shell window.
The installation directory must be made current directory:
cd turboprint-1.xx
where "xx" stands for the current TurboPrint version, e.g. "1.80".
Start the installation script:
./setup
Depending wether the X display is open the installation program will run in
a window or on the shell. For the GUI version please continue with the
next step.
In the shell version you will be asked if the installation paths are
correct. Type "y" to continue installation.
The installation script will display if packages that are needed for
file format conversion are missing. This isn't a problem now - you
can add them later with the installation program or packet manager
that came with your Linux distribution.
Printer installation is done with the command line tool "tpsetup",
configuration with "tpconfig. A description can be found under
GUI installation: First you have to choose the installation language and press "OK".
The setup window will inform you where the program files will be installed
and which printer spooler is used. Normally, you should not have to change
anything. In certain cases the printer spooler - i.e. LPR(ng)
or CUPS - is not recognized correctly, so you will have to change this
setting.
setup - "Installation Options" dialog
By clicking "Advanced Settings" the installation directories for
system files will be displayed. The default settings are suitable
for most Linux distributions. Only experienced users should make changes
here!
Commands
In this directory executables will be stored, e.g. the
xtpsetup and xtpconfig menues.
Spool Dir
Only used by LPR(ng) printer spooler. Files will be stored here
before printing.
Man Pages
Short help documents which you can view from shell with the "man"
command. Enter "man turboprint" to get an overview of help documents
for TurboPrint.
Log Files
Log files which TurboPrint creates during printing (turboprint.log,
turboprint_lpr.log, turboprint_cups.log). These may be
helpful for solving printing problems.
Temp
Directory for temporary files which are used during printing.
CUPS Drivers
In this directory all PPD files (printer description files) are stored.
Only used if CUPS is installed as printer spooler.
CUPS Filters
Directory with "filters" that convert between file formats.
Press "Start Installation" to install TurboPrint. Soon a window with
a protocol of the installation process will appear.
setup - "Setup Information" window
Please read the sections titled
"Checking shared libraries" and
"Checking filter programs". They contain a list of the packages
that have been found on your computer.
If you see lines marked with "not found" you should add these
packages with your Linux package manager. Packages with the comment
"not found (option)" are required only if you want to print
certain file formats.
Now you can continue with "OK".
Registering TurboPrint
A window with further settings will appear:
setup - "Registration" window
Help Browser
Here you can select the WEB browser that will display the TurboPrint
online manual. You can either choose an entry from the list or enter the
browser name manually.
Note: The WEB browser must be installed on your system! You can use
the "Help" button on this window to check if the browser can be started.
Registration Info
Shows information on your TurboPrint license. During installation
"*** not registered ***" will be displayed until you have
installed your license keyfile (see below).
Install Keyfile...
If you have already purchased a license keyfile, you can install it
now. A file selection window will open where you can select the
license keyfile. If it is stored on a floppy disk you may have to
mount the disk first - enter "mount /floppy" in a shell
window ("mount /media/floppy" on SuSE Linux).
After you have chosen the keyfile, press "OK" return to the installation
window. Your name should now be visible in the "registration info" field.
Then choose "OK" - the installation of TurboPrint is complete.
setup - "Installation complete" window
If you choose "OK" you will switch to TurboPrint's printer
setup program xtpsetup. Here you can set up your printer drivers.
Setting up a printer with xtpsetup
The xtpsetup window looks like this except that the
configuration list will be empty at first:
xtpsetup - main window
Now select "Add" to add a new printer configuration. The
Select Printer Dialog will be opened:
xtpsetup - select printer dialog
Choose your printer in the list and press "Ok".
If it is not in the list, check the current
list of supported printers
www.turboprint.de/printers.html.
It also contains a list of newer printers that are supported by
older drivers.
The Edit Printer window will be opened:
xtpsetup - edit printer dialog
You may have to change the printer port now. /dev/lp0
is the parallel port and should be correct if the printer is connected
via parallel cable.
For USB printers, your Linux distribution must support USB properly.
USB printers are accessed either by device name (preferred)
or by device number.
USB device names are supported on current Linux distributions with CUPS
printing system installed.
In this case your printer will be listed in the drop down list
(click on the arrow key next to the "Device Name" entry), e.g.
usb://canon/i560.
USB device numbers work on every Linux distribution. The first USB
printer will has the device name /dev/usb/lp0. If several
printers are attached, the number may be different on every reboot.
Leave the Edit Printer dialog with the "Ok" button.
You will now be asked if you want to print a test page. If you want to
to print a test page immediately, make sure that the printer is
switched on and properly connected to the computer.
You can also print a test page
later from the configuration tool xtpconfig.
After a few seconds, the printer should start to print the test page
which should look as follows:
Test page
If nothing happens or only text is printed, please read the chapter
after the next, Troubleshooting.
The printer administration in KDE control
can be found under "peripherals / printers" or "system / printing manager"
depending on your Linux distribution:
KDE control center
Here you can also find printers that were set up using TurboPrint's xtpsetup
tool (the printer names are tp0, tp1, ... unless you chose a different name
during installation). It is possible to check the correct set up of your
printer and the printer state (Start / Stop) and also to manage print jobs.
If a printer is marked with a red "X" symbol, it is in the state "Stopped" -
this may be a result of a previous printing problem.
Enter the "Administrator Mode" to restart a printer or to remove print jobs
(button on the bottom of the window; the user name "root" and the root password must
be entered).
You can also set up and configure TurboPrint printer drivers in the KDE control
center. However, we recommend the TurboPrint tools "xtpsetup" and "xtpconfig"
for these tasks.
CUPS WEB browser administration
Another possibility to check your driver setup and the printer state
(e.g. when printing problems occur) is the
CUPS WEB browser interface. Please enter
http://localhost:631/
in your WEB browser.
CUPS Web Administration
Most functions are self-explaining. An online manual can be opened
using the link "Help" in the title bar.
Note: Under SuSE Linux version 9 and higher a special CUPS administration
password must be supplied for the functions "Start Printer"
/ "Stop Printer" and "Cancel Job". This administration password must be
set up in addition to the root password.
We recommend to use the printer administration in the KDE control center
instead - enter the
"Administrator Mode" for access to all administration tasks (see last section).
If you can't get proper output with TurboPrint, you should try
a few things before sending a bug report (see
how to submit a bug report).
Note: If you install the CUPS printing system after the installation of
TurboPrint, you have to execute the TurboPrint installation program
once again.
Please check the printer setup
from the KDE control center or the CUPS WEB browser interface - see the
section above for details.
The printers that were set up
from TurboPrint should be visible there.
You can now check if the printer is
in the state "Stopped" or if print jobs
are being processed or queued in the job queue.
In most cases you should remove all visible print jobs, start the printer
if necessary and print a test page (icon "printer test" or
context menu for the printer using the right mouse button).
If it is not possible to solve the problems, please send us a bug report (see
how to submit a bug report) and attach
the files /var/log/turboprint_cups.log and
/var/log/cups/error_log to your e-mail.
Troubleshooting for LPR / LPRng spooler (CUPS not installed)
First please try to print the test page from the installation directory:
lpr -Ptp0 testpage-a4.ps
tp0 must be replaced by the actual short name of the printer.
If everything is okay, your printer should soon start printing the
test page. If you get an error message from lpr, please see the
section
Problems with lpr.
To see how testpage-a4.ps looks, you can enter
gs testpage-a4.ps
If that fails, you must install the ghostscript package first.
If nothing happens or you get an error message, you can
execute the print job manually (bypass the lp print spooler):
turboprint -Ptp0 testpage-a4.ps output.prn
This converts the document "testpage-a4.ps" to the printer file
"output.prn" using the configuration of the printer queue "tp0".
You should at least get some messages. If everything seems
okay and output.prn contains data, you can send it to the printer
by entering
cat output.prn >/dev/lp0
where /dev/lp0 must be replaced by the actual device that the
printer is connected to.
If that works as well, turboprint is correctly installed but there
is some problem with lpr.
Problems with lpr
Especially the configuration of the newer LPRng printer spooler
which is pre-installed on RedHat, Caldera and Mandrake distributions
can be very tricky.
However, a debugging tool that checks the printcap file and the spool
directories is included with LPRng. Just start it with
checkpc
It will list anything wrong or suspicious within the printcap file
or the spool directories.
With
checkpc -f
wrong access permissions in the spool directories can be fixed.
