Identifying which protocol a printer is using by asking Tiger?

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Identifying which protocol a printer is using by asking Tiger?

Is there any way to query Tiger (or OSX in general) to identify what protocol a printer was set up with?

I have several printers configured. Under "Print & Fax" I see the list, all present and accounted for.

However, during printer setup, a Protocol must be specified for each printer. The drop-down choices are IPP, LPR, and HP Jet Direct - Socket on my system.

I can't find any way from the Print & Fax window to determine what protocol was specified when each printer was set up. Is there any way to ask OSX for this information? Under Printer Browser, Default Browser doesn't provide this info that I can tell, nor IP Printer.

I'm stuck. And so easily, too.

iBook, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Dec 6, 2006 8:39 PM

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Answer 1

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Dec 7, 2006 5:39 AM in response to weaselteaser

You will find this on the CUPS internal admin web page. Use a browser and go to http://localhost:631/printers

This is LPD - Device URI: lpd://192.168.2.4/LaserWriter
This is IPP - Device URI: http://192.168.2.3:631/ipp
This is HP Jetdirect - Device URI: socket://192.168.2.8/?bidi

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Answer 2

weaselteaser Author

Level 1

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Dec 7, 2006 3:40 PM in response to greg sahli

Greg,

I'm grateful for the suggestion. I turned on Web sharing and submitted http://localhost:631/printers in Safari, but the result was "can't connect to server 'localhost.' The localhost entry is in /etc/hosts. I don't know what other conditions are required for this to succeed, but it sounds like the solution, if I could get help in getting it to work.

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Answer 3

PAHU

Level 6

16,717 points

Dec 7, 2006 3:54 PM in response to weaselteaser

This does sound weird. Surprised you enabled web sharing. It is not needed to view your own internal web server.

Anyway, since it is not working, you can also view how a printer is configured by opening System Profiler and selecting Hardware > Printers.

Of course, this will only show printers that are currently in your Printer list. The same applies to the CUPS web page. If I read your posting another way it sounds like you are asking how do you know what protocol your network printers support. The answer is to print a configuration page from the printer, or for some printers, viewing its internal web page by typing its IP address in your browser. Either will show you what protocols are enabled and help you with determining which protocol to use when you add the printer to the Mac.

Regards,

Paul

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Answer 4

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Dec 7, 2006 4:16 PM in response to weaselteaser

Some web browsers aren't smart enough to decode localhost (I don't use Safari - maybe it's one).
Substitute 127.0.0.1 for localhost -
http://127.0.0.1:631/printers

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Answer 5

weaselteaser Author

Level 1

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Dec 8, 2006 9:34 AM in response to PAHU

Paul,

Clear writing is a struggle for me. What I'm trying to figure out is: when I set up this printer, I specified a protocol to use from a drop-down list in the Printer Setup process. But those brain cells later committed suicide, absconded with the funds, eloped, or otherwise disappeared and I can no longer recall what protocol I specified when I set up the printer.

I was/am hoping to be able to ask OSX nicely to tell me what the heck protocol I specified. So far, no luck. But no, I am not seeking to know what protocols the printer supports.

Your suggestion for checking System Profiler was obvious and gratefully received...didn't even occur to me. Sigh. Result:
"URI: socket://192.168.0.4/?bidi." Not sure how to translate "socket:" to one of the drop-down menu choices offered by Printer Setup.

Greg,

For whatever reason, with Web Sharing enabled or disabled, this little 10.4.8 puppy cannot web into localhost:631/printers or 172.0.0.1:631/printers using Safari, Firefox, Opera, Mozilla, or Camino. Odd. Is there anything else that needs to be installed for this to work? (Another way of asking if CUPS is integral to Tiger, which I thought it was.)

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Answer 6

greg sahli

Level 7

25,508 points

Dec 8, 2006 2:43 PM in response to weaselteaser

You'll notice "socket" in my list of examples above. It's HP Jetdirect protocol.

If you typed 172 instead of 127, that would explain it. But if you mean that "localhost:631/printers" didn't work with all those browsers, then there is a problem with your CUPS. CUPS is a subsystem of OS X. It can be uninstalled, making printing non-functional and crashing some Apps.

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Answer 7

Dec 8, 2006 5:50 PM in response to greg sahli

But if you mean that "localhost:631/printers"
didn't work with all those browsers, then there is a
problem with your CUPS. CUPS is a subsystem of OS X.

This could be nothing more than the sleep function of CUPS. Remember the cupsd starts with the undocumented "-L" flag which is an Apple "feature". Turning on Printer Sharing should make it active and allow access to the web interface.

Another way to get detailed information about the printer queues is to use the Terminal:
<pre style="font-family: 'Monaco', 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; overflow:auto; color: #000; background: #DDD; padding: 0.2em; font-size: 10px; width:400px">sudo cat /private/etc/cups/printers.conf</pre>
Matt

Mac Mini G4; B&W G3/300

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Answer 8

weaselteaser Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 8, 2006 6:40 PM in response to greg sahli

Sigh again. I did mention that writing is hard. Unfortunately, transposing numbers is not. 172. 127. Aren't they the same? 😉

I typed correctly when issuing the URL. I typed incorrectly in responding to your e-mail earlier. I did the right thing. No one will ever know.

Anyway, thanks very much for your help and suggestions. "socket" was the magic I was looking for.

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