lprc

line printer control utility

Syntax:

lprc [command [argument ...]]

Options:

Without any arguments, lprc will prompt for commands from the standard input. If arguments are supplied, lprc interprets the first argument as a command and the remaining arguments as parameters to the command. The standard input may be redirected causing lprc to read commands from file. Commands may be abbreviated; the following is the list of recognized commands:

? [command ...]
help [command ...]
Print a short description of each command specified in the argument list. Or, if no arguments are given, print a list of the recognized commands.
abort { all | printer }
Terminate an active spooling daemon on the local host immediately and then disable printing (preventing new daemons from being started by lpr) for the specified printers.
clean { all | printer }
Remove any temporary files, data files, and control files that can't be printed (i.e., don't form a complete printer job) from the specified printer queue(s) on the local machine.
disable { all | printer }
Turn the specified printer queues off. This prevents new printer jobs from being entered into the queue by lpr.
down { all | printer } message ...
Turn the specified printer queue off, disable printing, and put message in the printer status file. The message doesn't need to be quoted; the remaining arguments are treated like echo.

The down command is normally used to take a printer down and let others know why lprq will indicate the printer is down and print the status message.

enable { all | printer }
Enable spooling on the local queue for the listed printers. This will allow lpr to put new jobs in the spool queue.
exit
Exit from lprc. (Same as quit.)
quit
Exit from lprc. (Same as exit.)
restart { all | printer }
Attempt to start a new printer daemon. This is useful when some abnormal condition causes the daemon to die unexpectedly, leaving jobs in the queue. The lprq utility will report that no daemon is present when this condition occurs. If the user is the superuser, try to abort the current daemon first (i.e. kill and restart a ``stuck'' daemon).
start { all | printer }
Enable printing and start a spooling daemon for the listed printers.
status [all | printer]
Display the status of daemons and queues. If no printer is specified, then the status of all printers defined in the /etc/printcap file is displayed.
stop { all | printer }
Stop a spooling daemon after the current job completes and disable printing.
topq printer [jobnum ... ] [user ... ]
Place the jobs in the order listed at the top of the printer queue.
up { all | printer }
Enable everything and start a new printer daemon. Undoes the effects of down.

Description:

The lprc utility is used by the system administrator to control the operation of the line printer system. For each line printer configured in /etc/printcap, lprc may be used to:

Files:

/etc/printcap
Printer description file.

Errors:

?Ambiguous command
Abbreviation matches more than one command.
?Invalid command
No match was found.
?Privileged command
Command can be executed only by root.

See also:

lpd, lpr, lprq, lprrm, /etc/printcap file