Setting Up a .printers File

There is no need to set up a .printers file in your users' home directories if the users don't need customized printer information. However, the .printers file enables users to establish their own printer aliases. You can use the _default alias to make a printer the default printer. You can also set up a special _all alias to define a list of printers affected when you cancel a print request or to check the status of printers.

The use of the .printers file by the LP print service is controlled by the naming service switch (/etc/nsswitch.conf). The default configuration specifies that the print service checks a user's home directory to locate printer configuration information before it checks the other naming services. So, you can tailor a user's printer configuration file to use custom printer information rather than the shared information in the naming service.

For more information about the .printers file, see theprinters(4) man page. For more information about the naming service switch, see the nsswitch.conf(4) man page.

How to Set Up a .printers File

1. Log in to the user's system as superuser or assume an equivalent role.
2. Start the file editor that you want to use to create a .printers file in the user's home directory.
3. (Optional) Set up the _default alias to make a specific printer the user's default printer. Use an entry that is similar to this entry.

   _default printer-name

4. (Optional) Set up the _all alias to define the printers affected when you cancel a print request or check the status of printers. Use an entry similar to this entry.

   _all printer1,printer2,printer3

5. Save the file as .printers.