Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Joe Fineman]

I am running Gnu Emacs 21.1.1 under (pardon the expression) Windows
98.

I have two printers:  a dot-matrix printer, whose port is known to
Windows as "LPT1: (ECP printer-port)", and an inkjet printer, whose
port is "USB/DeskJet 990C/MY0AK1B0HQLH".  Emacs communicates
successfully with the former, the value of the variable printer-name
being PRN.  The latter, however, I can only get at thru Windows, using
the trackball.

Regardless of which is the default printer, when I try to print
something out from within Emacs, either by using M-x TeX-print or by
using "lpr -d" within the Cygwin quasi shell, I get a popup window
that says in part

  winlpr  -S<servername>
          -P<printername>
          [-N]UserName

This seems to say that Emacs invokes, and lacks parameters to pass to,
a Windows routine called winlpr, and that it requires a servername and
a printername.  I cannot find winlpr in the Windows help or in the
dummies or the nutshell book.  Google gives me people with something
to sell.

Nor can I find anything about servers or servernames.  I have tried
windows-nt and 2000; the former gives an error message, and the latter
causes the computer to try (but fail) to call in to my ISP!  What is
winlpr expecting?  (Suppose I wished to know what a server actually is
-- where would I look that up?)

As to the printername, the nutshell books says it is usually the model
name.  Does that mean 990C, or "DeskJet 990C", or
"USB/DeskJet 990C/MY0AK1B0HQLH"?

Thank you for your attention and patience.
-- 
---  Joe Fineman    jcf@TheWorld.com

||:  Q.  What has six eyes, but can't see?  :||
||:  A.  Three blind mice.                  :||

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Jason Rumney]

Joe Fineman <jcf@TheWorld.com> writes:

> Regardless of which is the default printer, when I try to print
> something out from within Emacs, either by using M-x TeX-print or by
> using "lpr -d" within the Cygwin quasi shell, I get a popup window
> that says in part
> 
>   winlpr  -S<servername>
>           -P<printername>
>           [-N]UserName

Perhaps you should look at what customizations you have made to Emacs
and Cygwin for the answer. "winlpr" is not something that Emacs uses by
default.

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Joe Fineman]

jasonr (Jason Rumney) @  f2s.com writes:

> Joe Fineman <jcf@TheWorld.com> writes:
> 
> > Regardless of which is the default printer, when I try to print
> > something out from within Emacs, either by using M-x TeX-print or
> > by using "lpr -d" within the Cygwin quasi shell, I get a popup
> > window that says in part
> > 
> >   winlpr  -S<servername>
> >           -P<printername>
> >           [-N]UserName
> 
> Perhaps you should look at what customizations you have made to
> Emacs and Cygwin for the answer. "winlpr" is not something that
> Emacs uses by default.

I don't see any mentions of it except for the .exe itself and the
notes for this posting.

Thanks for trying.
-- 
---  Joe Fineman    jcf@TheWorld.com

||:  Don't call him a fool; ask yourself _whose_ fool.  :||

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Rob Thorpe]

Joe Fineman <jcf@TheWorld.com> wrote in message news:<wksmomtx1s.fsf@TheWorld.com>...
> I am running Gnu Emacs 21.1.1 under (pardon the expression) Windows
> 98.
> 
> I have two printers:  a dot-matrix printer, whose port is known to
> Windows as "LPT1: (ECP printer-port)", and an inkjet printer, whose
> port is "USB/DeskJet 990C/MY0AK1B0HQLH".  Emacs communicates
> successfully with the former, the value of the variable printer-name
> being PRN.  The latter, however, I can only get at thru Windows, using
> the trackball.
> 
> Regardless of which is the default printer, when I try to print
> something out from within Emacs, either by using M-x TeX-print or by
> using "lpr -d" within the Cygwin quasi shell, I get a popup window
> that says in part
> 
>   winlpr  -S<servername>
>           -P<printername>
>           [-N]UserName
> 
> This seems to say that Emacs invokes, and lacks parameters to pass to,
> a Windows routine called winlpr, and that it requires a servername and
> a printername.  I cannot find winlpr in the Windows help or in the
> dummies or the nutshell book.  Google gives me people with something
> to sell.
> 
> Nor can I find anything about servers or servernames.  I have tried
> windows-nt and 2000; the former gives an error message, and the latter
> causes the computer to try (but fail) to call in to my ISP!  What is
> winlpr expecting?  (Suppose I wished to know what a server actually is
> -- where would I look that up?)
> 
> As to the printername, the nutshell books says it is usually the model
> name.  Does that mean 990C, or "DeskJet 990C", or
> "USB/DeskJet 990C/MY0AK1B0HQLH"?
> 
> Thank you for your attention and patience.

Share the printer over the network (even if there isn't one).
Then set Emacs to do >\\Computername\printername by customizing printer-name.

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Joe Fineman]

robert.thorpe@antenova.com (Rob Thorpe) writes:

> Share the printer over the network (even if there isn't one).  Then
> set Emacs to do >\\Computername\printername by customizing
> printer-name.

Thanks for trying, but I'm afraid I'm not in your league.  I suspect I
am a longish lecture away from understanding either "share the
printer" or "set Emacs to do".  A friend of mine proposes to help me
switch over to Linux, and maybe that will do the job.
-- 
---  Joe Fineman    jcf@TheWorld.com

||:  Did you think dandelions were pretty when you were four?  :||
||:  What changed your mind?                                   :||

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Herb Martin]

> Thanks for trying, but I'm afraid I'm not in your league.  I suspect I
> am a longish lecture away from understanding either "share the
> printer" or "set Emacs to do".  A friend of mine proposes to help me
> switch over to Linux, and maybe that will do the job.

Linux is a fine operating system -- but don't expect it
to be eaiser than Windows.

In fact for beginners, part of the point of Windows is
to "hide the gory details".  Note: This can actually make
Windows more irritating for experts as they have to sift
through the obsfucation.  (Similar to the original Macintosh.)

Linux can be made easy.  Windows can be customized.
Both require effort and study.

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Kai Großjohann]

Joe Fineman <jcf@TheWorld.com> writes:

> robert.thorpe@antenova.com (Rob Thorpe) writes:
>
>> Share the printer over the network (even if there isn't one).  Then
>> set Emacs to do >\\Computername\printername by customizing
>> printer-name.
>
> Thanks for trying, but I'm afraid I'm not in your league.  I suspect I
> am a longish lecture away from understanding either "share the
> printer"

I don't know how to do it in Windows (I've never really used it), but
I would go look for the printer icon in the control panel and then
right-click on it, hoping that the resulting context menu would
contain an entry that would share this printer.

> or "set Emacs to do".

M-x customize-variable RET printer-name RET

Follow the prompts.  Enter the given printer name, eg
//Computername/printername (note the forward slashes, I suggest to use
these instead of \ slashes).  Don't forget to save your changes (there
is a button near the top that saves your changes for future sessions).

-- 
Two cafe au lait please, but without milk.

Re: Problem with Emacs -> Windows -> printer

[Rob Thorpe]

Joe Fineman <jcf@TheWorld.com> wrote in message news:<wkadatghdf.fsf@TheWorld.com>...
> robert.thorpe@antenova.com (Rob Thorpe) writes:
> 
> > Share the printer over the network (even if there isn't one).  Then
> > set Emacs to do >\\Computername\printername by customizing
> > printer-name.
> 
> Thanks for trying, but I'm afraid I'm not in your league.  I suspect I
> am a longish lecture away from understanding either "share the
> printer" or "set Emacs to do".  A friend of mine proposes to help me
> switch over to Linux, and maybe that will do the job.

Sorry, from your report of the problem (including build details etc) I
assumed you were experienced with Emacs.

Kai's post is how you do it.

Or
M-x customize-apropos RET printer RET
then change the values to what they need to be and "save for future
sessions"