pdf printer on 10.04 lucid lynx netbook version

[nadrach]

I have upgraded from 8.04 to 10.04 on a laptop, by new install, but am using the netbook version, which apart from a few quirks seems to run very well and quickly. However, I have lost my CUpS pDF printer in the process, and the printer configuration in the system settings offers no equivalent method to the relatively easy install in 8.04. Suggestions as to how I create the pDF printer in Lynx netbook version would be greatly appreciated.

[GreyGeek]

Re: pdf printer on 10.04 lucid lynx netbook version

Have you tried reinstalling the CUPS PDF printer?

[dibl]

Re: pdf printer on 10.04 lucid lynx netbook version

The last couple of posts here may be relevant (in addition to doing what GreyGeek said): http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=140815&page=8

[nadrach]

Re: pdf printer on 10.04 lucid lynx netbook version

I may not have made myself clear. I have created a PDF printer on previous installs of the standard Kubuntu distro for myself and others. However, I stayed with 8.04 on my own laptop because of problems with the WiFi widgets in 8.10, 9.04 and 9.10 not being able to handle the password format for my old ADSL router. I now have a new router, but 8.04 cannot be directly upgraded to 10.04, so I backed up, then ran a new install, which means recreating a PDF printer. After good experience with the Netbook version of 10.04 on a relatives ASUS 900, I chose the same distro for my now somewhat older Advent laptop, on which it works fine.

However, the method of creating a PDF printer on the standard distro is not available on the Netbook distro of Kubuntu. The "add printer" widget behaves variably. If I do not have a local printer attached, the widget only offers options to create a network printer or a new printer class, and the network option simply offers "other" and a box for a URI. If I attach a USB printer, this is configured automatically on boot-up and the network option to add a printer gains choices which allow for LPD, network and Windows SAMBA printers to be configured. There is no obvious facility or path to create a local PDF printer, as there was with previous standard Kubuntu distros. So how do I create such a printer on the 10.04 Netbook distro?

BTW, I noticed that a USB printer configuration remains defined whether the printer is attached or not, until the printer configuration widget is run without the printer attached. On the next reboot, the configuration has been removed, and the extra options in the "add network printer" menu disappear again, leaving only "other". A sort-of periodic flushing of configuration ... which may be useful with netbooks, where you may never be certain of what printer you may be using, but I can also see it being a pain!

[nadrach]

Re: pdf printer on 10.04 lucid lynx netbook version

OK, problem sorted. I looked back over the instructions from Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon and did the following ...

Open a terminal window and run ...

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

then reboot and select "System>Printer Configuration".
(see Note below)

Now select "New Printer" followed by "Network Printer" and wait for the system to hunt for options.
The list you get will include "CUPS-PDF_printer", probably in the top slot. Select this and "forward", select to use the recommended "CUPS-PDF_printer" driver and you will get the Properties page for the created printer.
At this point open File Manager, go to your Home directory and create a "PDF" folder. Set the permissions on this folder to read and write for all ("Can View and Modify content" for owner, group and other).
Now go back to the printer properties screen and select to send a test page. You will now find the highly colourful Ubuntu test page as a PDF file in the PDF folder.

Note ... After running the command to install the cups-pdf, I found that the configuration for my USB printer had reappeared in my printer list and that the options that disappeared from the "Network Printer" list had also reappeared and with them came a more lengthy time to find all the options for a new network printer. My guess is that running the command had corrected something put out in the printer configuration by a recent bug fix upgrade in CUPS, which I found shows in my list of fixes installed around the time that my USB printer config disappeared, as reported in my post above.