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Configuring a Printer

This screen (Figure 1.22) allows you to set up a printer to use with your SOT Linux 2003 system. If you have no printer, or do not wish to configure it at this time, leave the pull-down menu set at NONE. Otherwise, select your printer model (driver) from the pull down menu. You'll also need to tell the installer where to find your printer. If your computer has its own printer attached, you should select LOCAL from the list. If you will be printing from a networked printer, you'll need to choose from one of the three network options.

Figure 1.22: Configuring a Printer

After you've selected a printer type, the bottom half of the screen will ask for further details. The information you need to fill in here depends on the printer type you have chosen. The available printer types and the information you will need to supply for each are:

• Local. The printer is directly connected to your computer. This is the usual scenario for a single home computer with printer. You will need to specify the device or port to which the printer is attached. The first option, /dev/lp0 corresponds to your computer's first parallel port (the equivalent of Windows LPT1:). Most printers are attached to the parallel port. If you have a serial printer select /dev/ttyS0, which corresponds to Windows COM1, the first serial port.

• Remote lpd. The printer is connected to a local area network and communicates via the lpr/lpd protocol. Most printers attached to GNU/Linux or UNIX networks would fall under this category. You will need to enter the name and IP address of the remote host (the computer to which the printer is connected) and the name of the print queue on this remote host.

• SMB/Windows 9x/NT. The printer is connected to a networked computer, and is shared via SMB networking, for example a printer shared by a Windows 9x or Windows NT machine. You will need to specify: the SMB server and IP address (the SMB server is the computer to which the printer is connected), the share name (the name by which the printer is known on the network), and the user name, password and workgroup which allow you to access to the network.

• Netware. The printer is connected to another computer which shares the printer via the Novell NetWare protocol. You will have to provide: the name of the printer server, the name of the print queue and the user name and password that allow access to the network.

If you are unsure of any network-related information, your network administrator should be able to help.

To check your settings are correct, you can try to print a test page when you've finished entering the relevant information. Click the PRINT TEST PAGE button, and the installer will attempt to print a sample page. If the page prints successfully, you've configured your printer and can proceed with the next installation step! If the page prints irregularly, or you'd like to customize your printer, try clicking on the ADDITIONAL... button. A dialogue box will appear, allowing you to modify further printer settings. You can change:

• The print queue. The name of the print queue is "lp" by default.
• The spool directory, where documents in the queue are stored before printing.
• Your paper size. Paper is assumed to be A4-sized unless you specify otherwise.
• Your printer's resolution.
• The number of bits per pixel. This setting is important if you intend to print in color.

Finally, if your printed lines come out looking a bit like a descending staircase, check the FIX STAIR-STEPPING OF TEXT box to correct the problem. Once you've finished modifying these settings, you can click OK to return to the main printer configuration screen and print another test page.

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