TechNote (Archived)

FrameMaker for UNIX Doesn't Print to the Printer Specified in the Print Settings File or Print Dialog Box

Issue

In Adobe FrameMaker for UNIX, documents are not sent to the printer specified in the Print dialog box, or to the specified printer when you use fmbatch or fmprint.

Details

The shell environment variable $FMPRINTER overrides the printer specified in the Print dialog box or in the print settings file when you use fmbatch or fmprint.

The environment variable may be set in one of your shell login files (for example, $HOME/.cshrc, $HOME/.login, or $HOME/.profile).

Solutions

Do one of the following:

Note: If you are unfamiliar with UNIX commands, see your system administrator

Solution 1

Before starting FrameMaker, unset the environment variable $FMPRINTER:

-- For C shell, run this command:

unsetenv FMPRINTER

-- For other shells, run this command:

unset FMPRINTER

Solution 2

Before starting FrameMaker, set the environment variable $FMPRINTER to the desired printer to override settings in the Print dialog box or print settings file:

-- For C shell, run this command:

setenv FMPRINTER [printer]

-- For other shells, run this command:

FMPRINTER=[printer] ; export FMPRINTER

where ''[printer]'' is the name of the printer.

Additional Information

The $FMPRINTER variable sets the print destination in $FMHOME/FMlpr.init (a file that initializes the printing process). If the $FMPRINTER variable is set in your environment, it will override any Print dialog box setting or the print settings file.

Normally, FrameMaker passes the printer name specified in the Print dialog box to $FMHOME/fminit/FMlpr. FMlpr calls FMlpr.init, which may reassign the value in the Print dialog box. That value is passed back to FMlpr, which uses it to construct an "lp" or "lpr" command line for printing. If the FMPRINTER variable is set in a user's environment, it will affect all FrameMaker for UNIX products and print utilities.