Frequently Asked Questions
UBC Mathematics: MathNet FAQ [Set Printer]


UBC Mathematics: MathNet FAQ [Set Printer]



Question: How do I set the printer that my print jobs should go to?
Author: Joseph Tam
Date: Dec. 1, 2005

As of Dec. 1, 2005, if you do not set the printer your printouts should go to, it will be thrown away. The method to set your printer is different for Windows and Unix (Linux or Solaris).

For Windows

  1. Setting a printer for an individual print job

    Most Windows applications will allow you to choose the printer from a menu when you try to print something. Choose the appropriate printer.

  2. Setting a printer for a session

    To set a default printer for a login session (i.e. this setting will be forgotten once you log out), you can go to the printer settings control panel:

    Start -> Settings -> Printers
    then bring up the printer menu by placing the mouse over the printer's icon you want to print to and right-click, then select
    Select As Default Printer
    A check mark should appear over the printer icon of your choice.

  3. Setting a permanent default printer for a workstation

    To set a permanent default printer (for the workstation you are using: you'll have to repeat it for another workstation), go to

    Start Menu -> Run ...
    Then, type the following into the text input window:
    \\samba\win-share\SetDefaultPrinter
    Then double-click the appropriate printer batch file. From then on, that will be your default printer for this particular workstation.

For Unix

  1. Setting a printer for an individual print job

    Some application (like firefox) will allow you to choose the printer. Most printing is done from the command line via lpr. You can tell lpr where to send the output to via the -P switch:

    lpr -Pname file ...

  2. Setting a printer for a login session

    To set a default printer for a login session (i.e. this setting will be forgotten once you log out), you can set the environment variable PRINTER. In tcsh (the default shell), you can enter

    setenv PRINTER name
  3. Setting a permanent default printer for your MathNet Unix account

    To permanently set a default printer for your Unix sessions, you can enter the above command to set your PRINTER environment variable in your startup script, found in your home directory:

    ~/.login
 
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