Printing from kmail - it doesn't

[bendy]

Hi all

A few weeks ago I decided to a fresh install of kubuntu 17.04, having previously been running 17.04 that had been upgraded in place through many releases.

I have discovered that I can't now print directly from kmail - I get an error message "WebEngine printing support is limited at the moment. An external browser will be used for printing".

A web search shows this to be a known problem when kmail is complied against QT5.7, but is apparently fixed when QT5.8 is used. Kubuntu currently uses QT5.7

The really strange thing is that kmail printing was working before I did my fresh re-install, i.e. on my much upgraded previous install, so I wonder if it had somehow inherited a deprecated package that retained printing capability?

Does anyone else have this problem, or know a fix (beyond waiting for an update to QT)?

Thanks!

[GreyGeek]

I'm running KMail in Plasma 5.10.4 with Framework 5.37 and KMail printing works fine.

Does the external browser "work fine"?

[oshunluvr]

I'm running KMail in Plasma 5.10.4 with Framework 5.37 and KMail printing works fine.

Does the external browser "work fine"?

GG, if you're using Neon you're on QT 5.9.1, not QT 5.7.1 like Kubuntu. The bug the OP refers to is against QT 5.7 not KDE. If you're actually on QT 5.7 then the bug is somewhere else.

Bendy, other than installing KDEneon instead of Kubuntu, I don't know of a way to upgrade QT within Kubuntu 17.04, and it doesn't look like 17.10 will have a QT upgrade either.

In the past, the work-around was printing to PDF, then to paper. Not an optimal situation.

Hey, what about printing to PDF to a specific folder, automatically watching the folder for changes, and auto-printing any new files? That would actually be kind-of cool because you'd have a soft-copy backup of everything you print.

[GreyGeek]

As you can see, My Neon is definitely not on 5.9



My post was to point out that the KMail printing problem isn't universal, since KMail2 printing on 5.10 works great. I think the problem isn't with KMail but with the printer configuration or a setting in the System Settings.

[oshunluvr]

GG, right there in your screenshot it says "Qt Version: 5.9.1"

[oshunluvr]

The problem occurs with Qt Version: 5.7.1

[GreyGeek]

GG, right there in your screenshot it says "Qt Version: 5.9.1"

That's Qt, not Plasma or Frameworks. Applications are built on Plasma and Frameworks modules.

[oshunluvr]

Original post, emphasis added:

Hi all

A few weeks ago I decided to a fresh install of kubuntu 17.04, having previously been running 17.04 that had been upgraded in place through many releases.

I have discovered that I can't now print directly from kmail - I get an error message "WebEngine printing support is limited at the moment. An external browser will be used for printing".

A web search shows this to be a known problem when kmail is complied against QT5.7, but is apparently fixed when QT5.8 is used. Kubuntu currently uses QT5.7

The really strange thing is that kmail printing was working before I did my fresh re-install, i.e. on my much upgraded previous install, so I wonder if it had somehow inherited a deprecated package that retained printing capability?

Does anyone else have this problem, or know a fix (beyond waiting for an update to QT)?

Thanks!

[oshunluvr]

The OP refers to QT 5.7, not Plasma or Frameworks...

[GreyGeek]

Newer versions of Qt included new objects and sometimes modify existing objects. A new version of Plasma 5 and Frameworks usually takes advantage of the modified or new objects in the new release of Qt.

When I wrote apps using Qt I compiled my apps dynamically and only had to recompile if the new Qt release had modified the dynamic library objects my app was calling and the objects didn't behave the way may app expected, breaking it. Otherwise, my apps would continue to work with newer releases of Qt without being recompiled. They are currently in their 13th year of operation and their last recompile was around 2012. If one doesn't update Qt then one doesn't ever need to recompile their apps. That's the decision the Dept of Rev made five years ago in order to save money.

Unless things have changed, I wasn't aware that KDE devs tied version releases of Plasma and Frameworks to specific versions of Qt.

[oshunluvr]

Unless things have changed, I wasn't aware that KDE devs tied version releases of Plasma and Frameworks to specific versions of Qt.

Not my area of expertise, but Kubuntu devs are using QT 5.7.1 and KDEneon is using 5.9.1. That was the point I was initially trying to make. I don't claim to know why, but I noticed the difference after installing KDEneon. Even now that 17.04 is up-to-date with Plasma and Frameworks, it's still on QT 5.7.1

[Snowhog]

Even now that 17.04 is up-to-date with Plasma and Frameworks, it's still on QT 5.7.1

Kubuntu is 'cutting edge'. KDE neon is 'bleeding edge'.

[GreyGeek]

I vant to thrink yur blod!

I haven't seen any hemorrhaging on my installation. In fact, it is the most stable and powerful Linux distro I've ever run. I love being on the tip of the point of the spear!

[Danum]

Not my area of expertise, but Kubuntu devs are using QT 5.7.1 and KDEneon is using 5.9.1. That was the point I was initially trying to make. I don't claim to know why, but I noticed the difference after installing KDEneon. Even now that 17.04 is up-to-date with Plasma and Frameworks, it's still on QT 5.7.1

Another reoccurring issue is handling updates. Our users are constantly running outdated software and not getting the bug fixes. E.g. Ubuntu 16.04 (LTS) ships with KWin 5.5. We currently support KWin 5.8 and 5.10. We constantly get bug reports for such old software and that’s just because it’s outdated in the distribution. Such bug reports only cause work for us and are a frustrating experience for the users. Because the only feedback they get is: “no longer maintained, please update to a current version”. Which is of course not true, because the distro does not even allow the user to upgrade.

You can read the rest of Martin Flöser's Blog here, it makes for an interesting read.
https://blog.martin-graesslin.com/bl...s-the-quality/

[bendy]

Hi all

Just to clarify - printing from other programs works fine, and kmail will open the email in a browser to facilitate printing that way.

Printing emails is a fairly basic task - I'm surprised there aren't more posts about it on this forum. Are there others who can print from kmail in kubuntu 17.04?