[cups.general] new feature: provide a link to let Windows user download PPD files?

[Jan Engelhardt]

On Dec 30 2006 14:57, Zhang Weiwu wrote:
>
>Hello. We run cups on a department centralized print room, everyone in
>the company who run Windows desktop (90% of them) need to read the "add
>printer Instruction" written by me on a webpage in order to add IPP
>printer.
>
>The "instruction" says, every Windows user should go to download Adobe
>PostScript print driver from http://xxx.adobe.com.... and install the
>PostScript driver,

That's not necessary at all. For Win2000/NT/XP, you can use a much more 
simple driver, cups-windows-6.0-source.tar.bz2 from 
http://www.cups.org/windows/software.php . In the "i386" folder of that 
..tar.bz2, you will find a _standard_ windows driver. AdobePS on the 
other hand cannot be selected from Control Panel > Printers > New 
Printer but you need to run adobeps's setup.exe. With cupsui6, you don't 
need a setup.exe. PPD file included.

>when prompted for priner PPD file, they should
>download the PPD files I offered to them through an URI and use that PPD
>file. And then it's done. Instead of distributing a lot of print
>drivers, I distribute generic Adobe Postscript driver and offer
>different PPD files.

The standard AdobePS PPD file works great enough. Except for color, in 
which case http://jengelh.hopto.org/f/adobeps-1.0.6-color.zip contains 
fixed PPDs (prgb.ppd).

>the way I offer PPD file is very simple: I simply set up a web server
>which take /etc/cups/ppd as DocumentRoot and enable Index feature of
>webserver.
>
>And then I start to think, why not make this process more clear by
>offering such a feature in CUPS:
>1) when a Windows user visite cups Printer URI, a page is displaed with
>printer name, moduel and a lot of buttons like "Print Test Page" etc,
>the next release of cups can offer a button called "download PPD";
>2) add a prompt text right below this webpage that Windows user should
>download the generic postscript driver from (fill adobe postscript
>driver's download URI) and then download PPD using the link above;
>
>This way, once the cups printer server is set up, the administrators
>will no longer need to prepare windows driver for the end users, the end
>users shall be able to follow instructions on the webpage of printer URI
>and set up their printer properly.
>
>I know this only works for Postscript compatible printer but I think
>this is a nice idea beause it makes cups administrator live a simple
>life and more people prefer cups because this solution is easy and
>simple for both Windows user and Linux users.
>
>How do you think?





	-`J'
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