GUI tool for viewing and managing print queue?

Question

Edit: For future visitors, here's a related answer which explains exactly how to do this quickly.

I help this 75 year old man with Ubuntu (He's not very savvy). He freaks out at any mention of the terminal, and I understand that totally. So I try to find solutions for him that don't involve the terminal.

He is asking for a tool to view all print jobs in queue and to be able to cancel some or all of them.

Is there any GUI tool to do this on Ubuntu? I know the terminal is very efficient, but a lot of non savvy people feel that the terminal is some scary realm where they're not sure what's going on.

If not, what would it take to create a little GUI tool for him?

Solution 1

Calling the queue window in one double-click

Couldn't resist automating the job in a .desktop file in a scandalously dirty hack.

1. Install xdotool

   sudo apt-get install xdotool
   

2. Copy the code below into an empty file, save it as printerqueue.desktop

3. Then either keep it on your desktop and make it excutable, or save it in ~/.local/share/applications

To use it, double click (on your desktop) or type Printer Queue (in Dash) to invoke the icon, and press return. Wait a few seconds (without clicking anywhere) and steps you did manually are done by the script.

The code

[Desktop Entry]
Exec=/bin/bash -c "'/usr/share/system-config-printer/system-config-printer.py' & sleep 3 && xdotool key Control_L+f"
Name=Printer Queue
Type=Application
Icon=printer

Explanation

The printers window is called by the command:

/usr/share/system-config-printer/system-config-printer.py

If we look into the file, it seems likely that we can somehow hack it to give it the option to show the queue from cli, since the queue window is a transient (child-) window the first one.

That would be the "clean" option on one hand, but I always feel restraint to do such a thing, Even if it was only for the possible trouble during updates.

So, the "honest" dirty option then :)

Solution 2

In addition to the "Printers" application, there is a CUPS web interface that can be used to view and manage printers and print jobs on your computer. Open a web browser and point it to http://localhost:631 and the print interface should appear.

Solution 3

This is somewhat hidden in the GUI, but accessible through a keyboard shortcut:

1. Press the Ubuntu logo on the launcher bar, type printers, open the Printers app.

2. While in the Printers app, press Ctrl + F.

3. A list of jobs will appear. From this list one can manage jobs, delete them, etc.

I've tested this on Ubuntu 14.04 and on Lubuntu 16.04 with Unity.

I learned it from this answer. Actually, this might be a duplicate of that question. But then again, it might not be, because of the GUI requirement.

My friend is happy now. His printer is working again. By the way, he also had to do this.

Comments

[Zanna]

I'm using xfce & my Dad's using Mint (but I'm pretty sure I did find the same thing when I was using unity) so excuse me if I'm wrong, but for both of us there is a simple native 'print queue' viewable without ever opening 'that little black window' as my dad calls it ;) where you can see and control jobs... I just find it poking around in the printer settings?

[Fiksdal]

@Zanna Oh, really? I'll have to check when I get to his computer, as I don't have any printer myself. But it wouldn't surprise me if it's that easy and he just missed it. Although I searched through AU and all the previous answers only mentioned CLI. BTW, sorry about overriding your edit. I was trying to fix the typos myself and our edits crashed or something.

[Zanna]

Yeah, my Dad is a bit like your friend, so I found the print queue for him & I can find the same utility pretty easily on my machine. I'm a CLI person generally but the print queue viewer is so simple & nice I habitually use it (did you advise him to search in the dash?) (no worries about the edit, I wouldn't blame you for pioneering a respell of queue!)

[Fiksdal]

@Zanna I'm looking forward to checking at his computer tomorrow, I hope it's that easy :)

[Zanna]

Hope so, then you can answer your own question with a proper explanation of how to find it instead of my vague assurances that it exists!

[Fiksdal]

@Zanna I found it! It's indeed there in the GUI. But maybe not as easy to find as in XFCE or Mint :) See my answer for details.

[Fiksdal]

This looks very cool.

[Zanna]

+1 for nice answer & proving I'm not imagining things!

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fiksdal I think it is too dirty, but editing the file /usr/share/system-config-printer/system-config-printer.py would be relatively easy :)

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fksdal, is something not working?

[Fiksdal]

Yeah, it would probably be better for Canonical to do something similar without xdotool. BTW, I accepted this answer because I thought it was so cool. But then I realized that people who come to this post are probably looking for something without the terminal, so even though your answer is really cool and helpful, it might not be the first thing they wanna see on top.

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fiksdal it is without the terminal (apart from installing xdotool)! which doe not mean you should accept it, but was wondering why you unaccepted.

[Fiksdal]

It's true. I just thought about it, it does in fact not require the terminal. Except for the apt-get. I unaccepted for the sake of all the beginners who may come to this post :) (Avoiding the CLI is something beginners often do, right?) They may not know how to make a file executable. Or run apt-get in terminal. Or even find the .local folder, since it's hidden. I think this is sort of a question that beginners will look at :) But I think your answer is really cool, wish i could give it+3. If it was written super beginner friendly, I might accept.

[Fiksdal]

Actually, for the original wording of the question, before @Braiam edited it, your answer would have been absolutely perfect. Because I was asking for something I could set up and that my friend could continue to use with ease. If the question was still in that original state I would accept and not just upvote :)

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fiksdal Of course it is and stays your question. If wording is changed ino a meaning, else then you intended, just change it back.

[Fiksdal]

OK. Have you seen the edit history and the original question?

[Fiksdal]

I could set it up for him, yeah. But a .deb file would be awesome. It would also benefit future visitors to this question. I really believe that Ubuntu solutions should be accessible to tech-illiterate people, so that the OS can compete with OS X and Windows :) Anyway, having seen the edit history. do you think a reversal to pre- @Braiam's edit would be acceptable? Or maybe reversing it, but trimming to make it more precise?

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fiksdal We all edit questions into what we think is the intention of the asker. If it turns out another way then originally intended, of course you can (and probably should) edit.

[Fiksdal]

Done :) Looking forward to the .deb :)

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fiksdal will do it today! (got something in the middle I have to give attention...)

[Jacob Vlijm]

@Fiksdal it definitely isn't my first package, but although the deb installer was successfully created, Software Center keeps refusing it on an installer of a single file... I hope you'll accept this link, not an installer but a ready to use launcher (right-click -> save as). He only needs to make it executable, which should be doable on the phone :) dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1155139/queued.desktop

[Fiksdal]

Thanks. Too bad about the .deb, but it's no big deal, this is not hard to set up anyway. I will also have to tell him to install xdotool before using this. Not too difficult to tell him over Whatsapp. He accepts terminal commands if it is just copy/paste :)