Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Printing from Firefox doesn't work. Printer is added successfully with CUPS manager and I can print with Evince but no with Firefox. I need to use Firefox because of useful extensions and I need printing to work. Please help.

I have run into this problem as well. Can you try to print pages from Firefox with CUPS-PDF? Just print to a PDF file and use evince (or a similar PDF reader)

On Void Linux based systems I need to add a CUPS-PDF package but not sure whether or not Bionic64 or Fossapup64 it needs a separate package.

I find there is more control over the printing by first generating a print job into PDF format then using PDF capable document viewer/editor to actually physically print a page via a printer device.

Fix printing problems in Firefox
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fi ... ms-firefox

rockedge wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 6:54 pm

I have run into this problem as well. Can you try to print pages from Firefox with CUPS-PDF? Just print to a PDF file and use evince (or a similar PDF reader)

Yes, I can but it takes much more time and I print a lot of documents and have no spare time to loose.
I had similar problem with Fossa Pup and it start working as expected after changing the kernel to 5.16.14-RE (don't know why?). Maybe if I could use EasyOS with newer kernel I could achieve same good result but no time for that (compiling etc...)?

bigpup wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:21 pm

Fix printing problems in Firefox
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fi ... ms-firefox

I've tried that and it didn't help. Printing with other apps work (Evince tested).

What specific version of Firefox you using??

Sorry, got to ask.
Is the printer turned on when you try this?

Found this info from Firefox help:

I would not change anything, but do this to see what settings it has for your printer.

In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox. The moderators would like us to remind you that changes made through this back door aren't fully supported and aren't guaranteed to continue working in the future. However, since we are just resetting accumulated data, I feel comfortable mentioning it.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste part of the printer name and pause while the list is filtered

You want Firefox to display a lengthy list of preferences matching this pattern:

print.printer_printer-name.property

mikolaj_q wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 12:44 pm

I've tried that and it didn't help. Printing with other apps work (Evince tested).

easy runs firefox as a user, and I can see my printer as an option when selecting "print" it
just doesn't work, and may be a different issue from the one rock uses as a workaround.
many times with a puppy setup, a browser runs as root, and its possible a mozilla browser is not configured to let you print from root,
It could be possibly why it will not show you the installed printer. if in fact this is one of your problems.
evince, not having this limitation will print a pdf owned by root and is used by myself as a workaround

Can you post a few more details? Can you see the printer in firefox? what happens when you ask it to print? If the print fails, do you see it listed as a print job in cups or any errors in cups?

My first thought was that it might be a permissions problem, as Firefox runs as user "firefox".

However, if you run 'firefox.bin' in a terminal, then FF will run as root, and printing still doesn't work.

There is an error log at /var/log/cups/error_log
...but attempting to print from FF does not append anything to it.

FF has a option "Print using the system dialog",
but that does not list my printer, only has print to file.

I was reading this:

https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/69559

...and made a discovery!

/usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.10.0/printbackends has libprintbackend-cups.so

HOWEVER, /usr/lib/gtk-3.0/3.0.0/printbackends doesn't!

That would explain why Evince is able to print, as it is gtk2.

That has struck a memory, from when I first started using OpenEmbedded, cups printing via gtk was broken in OpenEmbedded, which I fixed for gtk2.
It looks like a fix is required for gtk3 also.

Great discovery, I'll get onto it.

@BarryK I am humbled in your presence. This is a major discovery and a fix will hugely appreciated.

Bringing another power user feature alive for Puppy Linux running Firefox.

@mikolaj_q
I have recompiled gtk3 in OpenEmbedded, with CUPS support enable, and FF now prints.
This will be in Easy 4.3, expected released tomorrow.

rockedge,
The fix is only for EasyOS, or more specifically any pup or pup-derivative built from binary packages compiled in OE.
Note: In theory, any woof-built pup could build from the OE packages, it is just an online package repository, like any other distro:
https://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64 ... e/dunfell/

Great! Thank You a lot for so quick solution. I'm happy and excited to use next release.
Greetings

Click the menu button. , click Help and select More Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information page with the address about:support will open in a new tab.
Go down to the Printing section and click Clear saved print settings.

Hope this helps