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User Interface

 css(U)
Synopsis   Platforms   Description   Options   Notes   See also   Dialogue

Synopsis

css [-a] [-d devlist] [-f] [-l n] [-s] [-u] [-w] [-x] [-L lang] [-5]

Platforms

Unix, Windows NT

Description  

The css program allows the end user to handle all administrative work of the print environment, such as status queries, form change, priority control and so on.

A user friendly dialogue supports the following main functions:

From change Inform CSS about paper-changes and start optional print-test
Printer control Stop printer, cancel printout, start printer
Report queue Change report priority, hold, release, route, stop, view and delete report


The language of the CSS dialogue may be controlled by the L-option and the langenv and language parameters in CSS.DEFAULT(C). The first letter of the value determines the language:

d, D Dutch
g, G German
e,E, Default English
f,F French
i, I Italian


The date format used in the dialog screens may be controlled by the environment variable DATETP in the same way:

AM, US MM/DD/YY
IN YY/MM/DD
EU, Default DD.MM.YY


The language and date type may also be defined in css.default(C).

Options

-a

This option will cause the report queue to only show the reports that may be accessed by the user starting the program.
-d devlist This option reduces the Printer Control screen to the devices specified in devlist. Devlist is a comma separated list of CSS device numbers. White spaces are not allowed in the device list. The option may be set on a per user basis in the ~/.cssrc file.
-f Causes the dialogue to run in 'fast mode'. Whenever an user entry fills up its screen field, the program continues execution without the need of hitting the <Enter> key. This option is set by default.
-l n Set the number of screen lines to n. The default is taken from the /etc/termcap entry 'li#'.
-s Causes the dialogue to run in 'slow mode'. Each user entry has to be terminated by the <Enter> key.
-u This option will cause the report queue to only show the reports with the same id as the user starting the program.
-w Propose navigation default to wrap screens from last to first. This option may also be set globally in the WRAP_SCREEN keyword in css.default(C).
-x Show report queue in reverse priority.
-L lang Sets the language of the dialogue to lang. See also above.
-n The 'Printer control' screen has an automatic monitor feature which updates the screen every n seconds. The default monitor time is 5 seconds. An entry of 0 (zero) disables the monitor feature.

Notes

The TTY number in the 'Report queue' screen corresponds to the last two characters of value returned by the function ttyname(3) (at report creation time) or the string co for /dev/console.
Printer Status Description
*ready* Idle, currently nothing to print
*active* Printing a report
*busy* The printer is currently in use by another virtual server or software product with integrated spooler. (See also el-parameter in css.devices(C))
*routed* The printer is currently routed to the device the specified in the 'Print-job' column
*stop* Currently printing, the printer will be stopped after the current printout.
*on hold* The printer is stopped or may be off-line (parallel interface only).


In the report view screen, css compresses series of consecutive empty lines.

The screen handling of css is very well tested. If you encounter a strange behavior, you should check the terminal definition in /etc/termcap. Css will only run on terminals with direct cursor control. To enhance the appearance of your screens, you may want to enable line graphics in the termcap definition of your terminal. For further information and examples see the Notes section in setup(I).

Css options may also be specified in the file $HOME/.cssrc as well as in the shell environment variable CSSOPT. The evaluation order is described in the section 'Syntax of Command Lines' on page 1-7.

See also

csu, setup(I), termcap(5)

Dialogue

In order to keep the dialogue description as compact as possible, some of the following screen layouts are shown in a reduced size.

Main menu

CSS                Spooler maintenance      Date: 12.01.98
ID: root

           Action: 1 Form change
                   2 Printer control
                   3 Report queue
                   4 About CSS

        Selection: . (0 = Exit)
 


1. Form change
CSS-Spooler        Spooler maintenance      Date: 12.01.98
ID: root           Form change
Pnr Name                   Status           Form

1   Siemens PT 89          *ready*          L
2   Brother HL-8           *on hold*        A
3   Daisy M45              *active*         A
Selection: ... (0 = End)


The form change serves to inform the spooler about the change of paper. As a first action, the printer in question must be selected.

On the next screen, all possible forms are shown. The currently mounted form can be viewed in the status area.

By choosing a form, the assignment will be made and the printer will be activated.

CSS-Spooler        Spooler maintenance      Date: 12.01.98
ID: root           Form change
Printer:  2 / Brother HL-8
Form:     A / Zebra A4-Quer              Status: *on hold*
A   / A4 Landscape
B   / A4 Portrait
C   / A3 Landscape
G   / Giro-Formular
K   / Karteikarten A5
L   / Lieferscheine
M   / Mahnungen
P   / Paketetiketten
R   / Rechnungen/Gutschriften
VSR / VESR Einzahlungsscheine
Selection: ... (0 = End)


After selecting the form, a print test may be requested:

»  Print test ? . (y/n)

If the answer was yes the size of the test may be specified:

»  Number of pages: 1

2. Printer control

CSS-Spooler      Spooler maintenance        Date: 12.01.98
ID: root         Printer control
Pnr State        Print-job    Page/of    Copy/of    UID  T

1   *active*     Invoices     5/230      1/2        Mad  2
2   *on hold*
3   *ready*
Selection: ... (0 = End)


Depending on the printer state, the following actions may be chosen after selecting a printer:

  • Set printer on hold
  • Activate printer
  • Form change
  • Route current and future reports to another printer

    the next question is:

    »  Redirect to printer: ...
  • Stop current print-job

    the next question is:

    »  Save print-job for further printout ? . (y/n)

Hitting the <Tab> key will toggle between the normal and an alternative form of the device information.

To change the paper type, the printer referred should be put on hold to prevent the output of any print-job during the change. The proposed sequence is:

  1. Put printer on hold
  2. Change the paper type
  3. Accomplish the form change and optionally a print test

3. Report queue

CSS-Spooler        Spooler maintenance          Date: 12.01.98
ID: root           Report queue
No  Print-job      Frm St Pnr  Pages Cpy  Date   Time   UID

1   /etc/passwd    A   B           1   1  11.01  16:58  root
2   Kunden-Umsatz  A              48   1  12.01  14:24  Mad
3   Währungskurse  A               1   2  12.01  14:24  VN
4   Lieferscheine  L        2    107   1  12.01  11:55  BS
5   Invoices       I   P    1    230   1  12.01  15:08  Mad

> Frm Form / St State: P = printing, B = blocked / Pnr Printer
Selection: . (0 = End)


Depending on the report state, the following actions may be chosen after selecting a print-job:

  • Speed up printout
  • Redirect print-job

    the next question is:

    »  Redirect to printer: ... (0 = any printer)
  • Delete report
  • Show report on the screen
  • Set report on hold
  • Restart/release report

    the next question is:

    »  Start printout at page: 1
    »  Stop printout after page: x
    »  Number of copies: 1
    »  Keep print job after printout: . (y/n)
  • Stop printout

    the next question is:

    »  Save print-job for further printout ? . (y/n)

Additional actions are i to show more report information and s to enter selections for a reduction of the print-jobs shown. In the selection dialog, the entry a allows the user to perform actions on the selected group of reports. Delete operations will not affect reports with a keep-date set.

Binary reports (lpr B-option) and reports assigned to a binary mode printer may not be viewed on the screen. All others allow the following view actions:

Command Action
a, HOME show first page
z, END show last page
+, PGDN next screen
–, PGUP previous screen
d, â next line
u, á previous line
g, p go to page...
t, TAB move view-window to the right or left border (toggle)
l, L, ß, BACKSP Move view-window left by:
 
Key No. of positions
BACKSP 1
ß 5
l 20
L 40
r, R, à, SPACE Move view-window right by:
 
Key No. of positions
SPACE 1
à 5
r 20
R 40
=, / search text: = case sensitive, / case insensitive
n repeat last search
i show report information
s show / hide horizontal and vertical rulers (scale)
h, ?, HELP show help
0, q quit view


All of the above actions may be requested without using special keys. To provide the full command set, the file /etc/termcap must include the following definitions:

Termcap name Control sequence sent by key...
kl Cursor left
kr Cursor right
ku Cursor up
kd Cursor down
kh Home
ke End
kp Page Up
kn Page Down
KH Help (oder k1)
 

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