[cups] Discoverability of page-border

[Michael Sweet]

Anatoly,

The page-border and number-up-layout options are not widely used, and we've focused on the common stuff in the man pages so that they can be useful without overwhelming the user.  If you'd like to see more documentation in the lp and lpr man pages (or just a companion man page on CUPS options), please file a bug at:

    https://www.cups.org/str.php

and provide specifics - what options, examples, etc. you would find useful, where the documentation is provided, etc.  You've got some good information below, but please do also think about the options (from the online help) *you* think would be particularly useful to know about.

Once a bug is filed can we can track the changes and make sure that we address your concerns...

Thanks!


> On Dec 10, 2014, at 8:50 AM, Anatoly Vorobey <avorobey at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Michael (and Helge),
> 
>> See:
>>   http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/options.html
>> which is also hosted on localhost:631 on any system running CUPS and
> referenced by the "lp" and "lpr" man pages.
> 
> Thanks. It just didn't occur to me to look there, though. Think about it
> from the point of view of a user who's
> barely aware that CUPS exists, and has no idea how it works or where its
> documentation is. I can't get something
> to print the way I want to. I read "man lp". It says:
> 
> "Aside from the printer-specific options reported by the lpoptions(1)
> command, the following generic options are available:"
> 
> I look at the generic options. There's number-up and a few other options
> that make up a reasonable-looking basic functionality
> set. But nothing about page borders. I run lpoptions(1). It doesn't say
> anything about page borders for my printer. I decide
> that lp(1) doesn't support drawing page borders, and since neither does the
> UI of the printing dialog, I need to go look for
> a third-party PS->PS utility.
> 
> Was I being really stupid there for not looking at the last reference
> suggested in the SEE ALSO section at the bottom and searching
> out lp(1) options there? Honestly, I don't think so. The man page looks
> like it lists all the options (I re-read it 2 or 3 times to make sure I
> didn't miss anything). I understand that it must be incredibly
> obvious to you that it is not so, but it just wasn't, to me. If the man
> page said something like "Here are some of the generic options available,
> and more are documented in the XXX section of the manual at
> localhost:/631/help, that would have saved me a few frustrating hours. Or if
> it just listed all of them, that'd work too.
> 
> Tone is difficult to get across on the net, so at the cost of rambling too
> much let me add that I'm very grateful that CUPS exists and works
> so well, that I'm not at all incensed or petulant or demanding of anything.
> I'm just saying that there's a discoverability problem here that
> you might underestimate if you think about CUPS every day, and not once in
> a blue moon when you something doesn't print right.
> 
> Many thanks for your work on CUPS.
> 
> -- 
> Anatoly Vorobey, avorobey at gmail.com
> http://avva.livejournal.com (Russian)
> http://www.lovestwell.org (English)
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_________________________________________________________
Michael Sweet, Senior Printing System Engineer, PWG Chair