Tarantella Administration Guide > Printing > Configuring Tarantella PDF printing

Configuring Tarantella PDF printing

Tarantella PDF printing allows users to print from a Windows 2000/2003 application server to a printer attached to their Windows client device without having to install the correct printer drivers on the application server.

How it works

In their Windows 2000/2003 session, the user selects the Tarantella PDF printer (named "Universal PDF"). This printer sends the print job in PostScript format from the application server to the Tarantella server. The Tarantella server converts the print job into a PDF file and sends it to the client. The client then starts the Adobe® Reader® and sends the PDF file to the user's printer.

Note When the print job has finished, the Adobe Reader is not shut down.

PDF printing can be configured so that the Tarantella PDF printer is used by default and the output is sent automatically to the client's default printer. This means no user input is required.

Requirements for PDF printing

To be able to use Tarantella PDF printing:

• the application server must be a Windows 2000 or a Windows 2003 application server;
• Ghostscript must be installed on the Tarantella host. We recommend version 6.52 or later;
• the user must use a Windows client; and
• the Adobe Reader version 4.0+ must be installed on the client.

Preparing to use PDF printing

You must select the PostScript printer driver that will be used for PDF printing. Make sure the printer driver has sufficient features for your users. Check that this printer driver is installed on every Windows 2000/2003 application server. By default, Tarantella expects the driver to be HP Color LaserJet 8500 PS.

PDF printing uses the Ghostscript ps2pdf program to convert the print jobs into PDF files. When you install Tarantella, Tarantella Setup automatically detects Ghostscript if it is installed in one of the following locations:

• /usr/local/bin
• /usr/bin
• /opt/sfw/bin
• /bin
• /usr/sbin
• /sbin
• /usr/lbin

If Ghostscript is installed elsewhere, you must run the prtinstall.en.sh script with the --gsbindir option to tell Tarantella where to find Ghostscript.

If Ghostscript is not installed (or your Ghostscript distribution does not include the ps2pdf program), you must install it and then run the prtinstall.en.sh script.

You must also make sure that the Adobe Reader version 4.0+ is available on all client devices that will be using PDF printing. If a client does not have the Reader, the "Universal PDF" printer will not be created in the Windows 2000/2003 session.

Enabling PDF printing

To enable PDF printing in Tarantella:

1. In Array Manager, click Printing properties.
2. Make sure that Let users print to a PDF printer is checked. It is by default.
3. In the Driver name field, type the name of the PostScript driver you are using for PDF printing. The default driver is HP Color LaserJet 8500 PS.
4. To allow users to choose a printer and/or how the PDF file is printed, check Display Adobe Acrobat Print dialog.
5. To make the Tarantella PDF printer the default printer for users' Windows 2000/2003 sessions, check Make PDF printer the default for Windows 2000.
6. Click Apply.

Note If you make the PDF printer the default printer for Windows 2000/2003 and you have also configured Tarantella to only allow users to print to their default printer, users will see two printers in their Windows 2000/2003 session. One will be their default client printer and the other the Tarantella PDF printer.