Can't Print from MousePad

I have a network printer 'installed' via cups and can print to it ok from Firefox and Open Office.

However if I try and print a simple text file using MousePad, I get the error "Can't open pipe to process" and nothing prints.

Can anyone else print from Mousepad or do you get the same error ?

This issue has also been raised in the Ubuntu forums. http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-337376.html

Does anyone know how to fix this problem in Linpus ?

 

Not exactly, but...

if you have setup your printer and want to print a text file, you can just use lp from a terminal, e.g.
$ lp filename.txt

Optionally, you can install xprint4 and a2ps, this will let mousepad print to a postscript file, i.e.
$ sudo yum install xfprint a2ps
Which you can, again, send to the printer from the command line, e.g.
$ lp filename.ps

(at least this all works with my Epson iP4200)

Perhaps someone else knows how to link xfprint to lp?

 

Hi Duncan

Thanks for the feedback. I wanted to verify that the Mouspad print function doesn't work on the AAO, and that it wasn't something I'd broken by other installs. I read between the lines that your Mousepad print function doesn't work either.

I could print using lp, but I'd like to get the Mousepad print function working. I do some editing using a simple text editor where I want to print frequently and direct from the editor. Currently I've had to use OpenOffice to edit and print a simple text file !!!!!

The gedit on Ubuntu manages to print ok, and I'd like to get the AAO Mousepad print function to work correctly, as it suggests in the link I cited, but I don't know how to make the link between Mousepad and cups. So if anyone knows how to do that I'd appreciate some advice.

Regards, Jape

 

I know this is just a workaround rather than an actual fix, but can't you just install gedit? Or does that have too many Gnome dependencies?

 

I got mousepad to print. Installed xfprint. Made sure that I had a printer set to be a default printer. Then using xfce menu, went to Settings and ran "Printing System Settings" to make sure it was using Cups.

The printer I use is cups-pdf, but it should work with a real physical printer as well.

Appears that it drops the first line for some reason? Easily fixed by having a blank line added at the top of the document before printing.

Cheers.

 

Yep it's working for me now ,thanks rbil. It was the xfce Printing System Settings step I was missing. Perhaps your post should be a How To.

Additionally, I'm printing to a networked OfficeJet printer and it's not loosing the first line.

 

Ah...
It's the right click->Settings->"Printing System Settings"
(and not the "Settings" on the desktop)
Thought I was going mad there!

 

Must be a quirk with cups-pdf if it works fine on a real printer.

Cheers.

 

I was surprised to see xfprint was a 50MB installation but gedit is only 5MB. It's pretty nice with syntax coloring and printing. You need to edit the gnome-gedit.desktop file to remove the ShowOnlyinGnome line.

 

Hi Jinx thanks for the feedback.

I believe xfprint handles more than the simple text printing that gedit does, but I'm no expert.

Regarding using gedit instead of mousepad, it's an interesting point. I've already made a number of changes to the AAO Linpus (Advance Menu, Normal Desktop, Additional Applications, etc) to get the desktop functionality I want. What I really want is for the tools/apps on the desktop to work in a proper integrated way. Otherwise if I have to change more and more of the integrated apps (and the 15second to boot claim has already gone out the window which was one of the initial attractions) I might just as well go and install Ubuntu. So for me the xfprint fix is more attractive. YMMV.

Regards, Jape