Hello, I am afraid I was busy - therefore my late answer now: In general I like to learn about which end-user requirements are behind the items below. E.g. "set up a printer as non-root" is not an end-user requirement. The end-user wants something different and this leads somehow to "set up printer as non-root" which is an implementation detail from the end-users point of view. Please provide the original end-user requirement and how this leads to the items which you described below. On Feb 28 18:07 JP Rosevear wrote (shortened):
1) Detecting a local USB printer when plugged into the machine and prompting the user to configure it or automatically selecting a driver and configuring the printer
Main problem here: Detect if there is already a queue for a plugged in USB printer. Problem because there are different backends for USB printers e.g. "usb" in CUPS, "epson" and "canon" in Gimp-Print/Gutenprint, "hal" in HAL, and each printer manufacturer can make its own backend, e.g. HP has "hp" and "hpfax", Epson Avasys has "ekplp", ... I.e. how to force the printer manufacturers to use all the same style for DeviceURIs for USB printers so that one can detect that this individual printer is already configured?
For true zero config printer, we'd need to build up a database of printer ids and driver mappings and include that in the distro.
Model names are often useless e.g. many Epson USB printers show up only as "USB printer" - in contrast for HP model names work o.k. so that only USB IDs would work well but currently we don't have a list of USB printer USB verdor and model IDs.
2) Not needing root to configure a printer
What does "configure a printer" mean? Set up a queue for new plugged in USB printer? Change any settings for any existing queue? What is the original end-user requirement behind this item?
3) Detecting when a printer is connected/disconnected and offering visual feedback via a notification area icon, or some other ui feedback
Why any visual feedback at all? I assume you have USB printers in midn because only hotpluggable printers can be connected/disconnected while the system is up and running. But a USB printer is locally conneted so that the user who connects/disconnects it already knows it and doesn't need additional visual feedback about what he did. Again: What is the original end-user requirement behind this item?
4) Ability to remove printers from cups (even shared printers) when they're unplugged to prevent jobs from accumulating in the queue or being default
I do not understand what "or being default" means? What do you mean with "remove shared printers"? Again: What is the original end-user requirement behind this item? Are you perhaps talking about the CUPS error policy, see http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/ref-printers-conf.html and http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/man-backend.html Background info: If for whatever reason a queue can no longer print (e.g. after a USB printer was unplugged) there are four possible reactions: 1. Do nothing and leave it up to the particular backend and the CUPS error policy what happens to further print jobs. 2. Disable printing (but still let jobs queue): Useful when there is only a short-time outage. 3. Reject jobs: Useful when there is a longer time outage. 4. Remove the queue (all info about the queue gets lost): Useful when the printer will not come back at all (e.g. one model is replaced by a different model). Kind Regards Johannes Meixner -- SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Maxfeldstrasse 5, 90409 Nuernberg, Germany AG Nuernberg, HRB 16746, GF: Markus Rex --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org