Printing to a network printer and installing PPD files

okie2003 · Post by **okie2003** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:23 pm

I hope I am not asking an obvious question. I have googled and looked in the obvious places, but I may have missed it. Anyway my question is two fold. How do I configure for a network printer in Wine and how to I install the printer specific ppd file?

I am running 0.9.60, which I installed this week, on Mepis (Debian based with KDE and cups). I can print from PageMaker, but get a warning that wine is using a generic ppd file.

I have found instructions for printers with ppd files for Crossover Office, but the directories don't seem to match. Also, most seem to be local printers. Also the WineHQ HowTo on the subject does not seem to match. For example I cannot find ~/.wine/config. The users manual simply says that the printer specific ppd file needs to be used.

Thanks in advance. Sorry to be so dense.

Post by **dimesio** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:54 pm

You install printers through CUPS, not wine. If it's properly installed in CUPS, your wine programs should just see the printer.

okie2003 · Post by **okie2003** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:33 pm

Well, it has worked perfectly in Linux for about three years and I can print from Wine, but Wine does not see the ppd file. Also, the print dialog box is neither the Linux print dialog box nor the Windows in VirtualBox dialog box and some features and selections are not available. I assume that all of this is due to the missing ppd file.

But thanks for the input.

Post by **dimesio** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:03 pm

I dug out my old Pagemaker 6.5 cd and installed it. Pagemaker saw all my CUPS printers with no problem, though it did give me a warning message about an "outdated or unknown ppd file." Are you having the same problem with other wine programs, or is it just Pagemaker?

okie2003 · Post by **okie2003** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:21 pm

Thanks for the reply. I am running PM 7, though it looks like you got the same results as I did. I did install the ppd file in the appropriate PM directory (/home/Rob/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Adobe/PageMaker 7.0/RSRC/USENGLSH/ppd4) just like in Windows in VB (C:\Program Files\Adobe\PageMaker 7.0\RSRC\USENGLSH\ppd4). PM is pretty much the only application that I print from from Wine. Just to see I opened Wordpad and printed a test page. The printer dialog box was the normal Windows dialog box. I would guess the difference is that PM recognizes the printer as a PostScript printer and looks for the ppd file.

This link http://www.la-sorciere.de/Wine-HOWTO/wi ... onfig.html talks about the need to configure for the ppd file, but I could not make sense of it.

Dan Kegel · Post by **Dan Kegel** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:51 pm

IIRC, the ppd file is configured into the CUPS server, and
is then retrieved over the network by CUPS clients.
Or something like that.

Post by **dimesio** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 10:43 pm

okie2003 wrote: I did install the ppd file in the appropriate PM directory (/home/Rob/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Adobe/PageMaker 7.0/RSRC/USENGLSH/ppd4) just like in Windows in VB (C:\Program Files\Adobe\PageMaker 7.0\RSRC\USENGLSH\ppd4).

Is the ppd file you are talking about the windows driver that came with Pagemaker? Because you don't need to install that--wine should just use whatever printers are installed in CUPS. That's what it did on my system. The warning I got about an unknown driver, I think, simply stems from the fact that the printer I am using did not exist when Pagemaker was created.

Try deleting that ppd file from your Pagemaker directory and see if Pagemaker can then see your CUPS printer. If that doesn't work, you may have to start over--delete the .wine directory, then reinstall Pagemaker without installing the ppd files that came with it. (And if that doesn't work, I'm afraid I'm out of ideas for the moment.)

Post by **dimesio** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 10:51 pm

okie2003 wrote:This link http://www.la-sorciere.de/Wine-HOWTO/wi ... onfig.html talks about the need to configure for the ppd file, but I could not make sense of it.

That how-to is badly outdated--the date on the home page is 2003.

okie2003 · Post by **okie2003** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:48 pm

Sorry to be so slow in responding. The ppd file I am discussing is the one for the Xerox Phaser printer I am using. I had used PageMaker for years, first with a dotmatrix printer and then ink jets, but never with a PS printer. When I started using the Phaser, Xerox tech support told me about the ppd file. In other words it is a printer specific file. In Windows it has to be put in the directory I mentioned above. The Wine User's Guide in chapter 3, page 14, says, "• Wine needs a PPD-File for every Printer (generic.ppd comes with Wine)"

The question is how do I get Wine/ PageMaker to see the Xerox ppd file instead of the generic one that it is seeing (the one it saw on your install)?

When I installed PM under Wine I forgot about the ppd file until I tried to print and got the warning you mentioned. At that point I put the xerox ppd file where it goes in PM, but that didn't help.

Post by **dimesio** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:45 pm

The question is how do I get Wine/ PageMaker to see the Xerox ppd file instead of the generic one that it is seeing (the one it saw on your install)?

If it's installed in CUPS, Wine should see it. It did on my system--you misunderstood my comment about the error message. Pagemaker saw the actual printers I have installed, and despite the warning, printed just fine. As to why it's not working on your system, I have no idea. It's really just supposed to work.

okie2003 · Post by **okie2003** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:50 am

Sorry I misunderstood. Did your's allow all your printer's features to be selected? Did duplex printing work? Could you select flipping on long or short side? Mine prints the second page upside down regardless of what I select. Remember, the printer works properly in Linux and Virtual Box.

Also in Windows I have an option of selecting a different ppd file from the print menu. I do not get this option under Wine, but that could be because Wine is supposed to provide the correct ppd file.

Thanks for you suggestions.

Post by **dimesio** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:37 pm

Yes, it handles duplexing just fine, including selecting by long or short edge. Of course, I'm using Pagemaker 6.5 and this could be a bug that only affects 7.0. Try reinstalling Pagemaker to a clean wineprefix just to be sure it's not something that got messed up in your install.

brianH · Post by **brianH** » Thu May 01, 2008 8:58 am

I think I am having the same problem. I use pagemaker 7 also, and I get the error about the ppd file. But I don't know if that is my real problem. All of my wine apps can see my CUPS printers, but none of them allow me to change any settings except paper size and portrait/landscape. This is also true when I use the Linux version of Google Picasa which runs in its own copy of wine. Native Linux apps allow me to change all my settings on my printer (Epson r280) including paper type and quality. This is very important when printing photos.

Is this normal? I am going to try to create multiple copies of my printer in CUPS with different default settings that I commonly use and see If that helps in wine apps. But it would be nice if I could select these settings directly from the application.

okie2003 · Post by **okie2003** » Thu May 01, 2008 9:17 pm

Yes, it sounds like exactly the same problem. I did try a fresh install with the same results. I also tried changing my printer in cups to a raw printer. It printed, but with the same limitations.

If you figure something out let us know. I think I have tried all suggestions, but with no result.

winspool · Post by **winspool** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:17 am

brianH wrote: All of my wine apps can see my CUPS printers, but none of them allow me to change any settings except paper size and portrait/landscape.
...
Is this normal?

Yes, this is normal.
Wine has no Dialog to set other Parameter yet.
(quality as example)
--
by by ... Detlef