HOWTO: Install Cups-PDF

[heatpumpcontrol]

sudo aa-complain cups


Printing to PDF used to be one of the noticeable advantages for a desktop Ubuntu user over Windows.

This worked for me with cups 2.5.0-1ubuntu1 on Jaunty 9.04

Great thanks

[ldjuda]

sudo aa-complain cups
seems to have fixed the problem, but still a mess.

This worked for me, I am on Ubuntu 9.04.

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

then

sudo aa-complain cups

[zongpog]

sudo aa-complain cups

Why? What does this do?


I have tried to get this to work on Ubuntu 9 with no success. I saw that there is a PDF printer installed but its uri is something bizarre:
cups-pdf:/

I cannot add a new PDF printer even though I changed /usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf to 4755.

[oblong]

For Jaunty (9.04) I just did this:

Use Synaptic to install cups-pdf (2.5.0-1ubuntu1). That automatically added a printer called PDF. However, using that to print from an application failed with an error ("/usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf failed", I think).

I then created a directory in my home directory called "PDF" (all capitals, no quotes) and it all worked, with the PDF files ending up there.

[shields]

For Jaunty (9.04) I just did this:

Use Synaptic to install cups-pdf (2.5.0-1ubuntu1). That automatically added a printer called PDF. However, using that to print from an application failed with an error ("/usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf failed", I think).

I then created a directory in my home directory called "PDF" (all capitals, no quotes) and it all worked, with the PDF files ending up there.

That works! Thanks.

[adamscottmartin]

For Jaunty (9.04) I just did this:

Use Synaptic to install cups-pdf (2.5.0-1ubuntu1). That automatically added a printer called PDF. However, using that to print from an application failed with an error ("/usr/lib/cups/backend/cups-pdf failed", I think).

I then created a directory in my home directory called "PDF" (all capitals, no quotes) and it all worked, with the PDF files ending up there.

Worked for me as well!

[pt123]

to get it to work in Jaunty I had to this

sudo aa-complain cupsd


and not
sudo aa-complain cups
as in previous versions

[davegk]

Worked for me as well!

Yep, same here (Jaunty 64bit) - glad I found the instruction to create PDF directory, I also did set permissions to others, as mentioned somewhere else.

The problem is - the printer itself is rather primitive, e.g. no way to reduce resulting file size - only resolution down to 150dpi (unlike in Acrobat Pro, where you can print same document as 10MB or a 100KB file), no [obvious] way to change file name and directory, although this is a minor inconvenience. For example: printing fillable form of 730KB resulted in a 2.9MB file, whereas in Acrobat Pro, even without tweaking the "Smalest File Size" option I get 98KB file. Guess which one I would prefer to email each week?

Actually, the whole situation with fillable pdf forms - especially creation and editing, is really bad, or to be precise, totally absent from Ubuntu. PDFEdit is a complete rubbish, and I am not aware of any other application that even close to Acrobat Pro in functionality. I have now moved to linux completely and am determined not to use Windows at all. Acrobat Pro and CorelDRAW are the two progs holding me back. Any help greatly appreciated

[chaanakya_chiraag]

Wait, couldn't you just use the 'Print to File' printer and select pdf as the output type? That way, you even get to set the name and location of the resulting pdf!

[chaanakya_chiraag]

@pt123: Hmmm... That weird. I didn't have to either! I just installed the cups-pdf package and it all worked after that.