Capturing a Linux Spool File

PaperCut Support may ask you to supply a print-to-file or a spool file. This is a little more difficult on the Linux platform and involves “capturing” a spool file using one of the following procedures:

The video below demonstrates how to capture a Linux spool file:

1. Enable snapshot level debug logging in the Print Provider layer by adding the line:

debug=snapshot

to the file ~papercut/providers/print/linux-[arch]/print-provider.conf

2. Stop the PaperCut Print Server

3. Start the Print Server and make sure that no one else uses any of the attached printers or devices during the period of testing

4. Print a job that demonstrates the problem behavior and wait for it to spool. This printing may be performed from a workstation.

5. As a user with root privileges on the PaperCut printer server, enter the command:

cp /tmp/spool-snapshot.spl ~/10-pages-grayscale.spl NB Only copy the latest spool file

(Note: Replace 10-pages-grayscale.spl with an appropriate name).

6. Repeat steps 5 and 6 again as required to demonstrate the issue with different settings (e.g. grayscale, color, duplex etc.).

7. Compress the *.spl files in the root home directory as well as

~papercut/providers/print/linux-[arch]/print-provider.log

and send it to us at http://support.papercut.com .

9. Disable snapshot level debug logging in the Print Provider layer by removing the line:

debug=snapshot

to the file ~papercut/providers/print/linux-[arch]/print-provider.conf

10. Restart the PaperCut Print Server. Other users may now use it as normal.

See also:

• Troubleshooting page count and color detection issues
• Capturing a Windows Spool File
• Capturing a Mac Spool File
• Capturing a Novell Spool file
• Capturing Spool Files with Mobility Print

Analyze your spool file

Curious to find out how PaperCut interprets that print job? Now that you’ve collected your spool file you can head over to our Spool File Analysis page to get the results yourself, and even compare how different versions of PaperCut stack up.