LPQ(1) BSD General Commands Manual LPQ(1)NAME
lpq — spool queue examination program
SYNOPSIS
lpq [-l] [-Pprinter] [job # ...] [user ...]
DESCRIPTION
Lpq examines the spooling area used by lpd(8) for printing files on the
line printer, and reports the status of the specified jobs or all jobs
associated with a user. Lpq invoked without any arguments reports on any
jobs currently in the queue.
Options:
-P Specify a particular printer, otherwise the default line printer
is used (or the value of the PRINTER variable in the environ‐
ment). All other arguments supplied are interpreted as user names
or job numbers to filter out only those jobs of interest.
-l Information about each of the files comprising the job entry is
printed. Normally, only as much information as will fit on one
line is displayed.
-a Report on the local queues for all printers, rather than just the
specified printer.
For each job submitted (i.e. invocation of lpr(1)) lpq reports the user's
name, current rank in the queue, the names of files comprising the job,
the job identifier (a number which may be supplied to lprm(1) for remov‐
ing a specific job), and the total size in bytes. Job ordering is depen‐
dent on the algorithm used to scan the spooling directory and is supposed
to be FIFO (First in First Out). File names comprising a job may be
unavailable (when lpr(1) is used as a sink in a pipeline) in which case
the file is indicated as ``(standard input)''.
If lpq warns that there is no daemon present (i.e. due to some malfunc‐
tion), the lpc(8) command can be used to restart the printer daemon.
ENVIRONMENT
If the following environment variable exists, it is used by lpq:
PRINTER Specifies an alternate default printer.
FILES
/etc/printcap To determine printer characteristics.
/var/spool/* The spooling directory, as determined from printcap.
/var/spool/*/cf* Control files specifying jobs.
/var/spool/*/lock The lock file to obtain the currently active job.
SEE ALSOlpr(1), lprm(1), lpc(8), lpd(8)HISTORY
Lpq appeared in 3BSD.
BUGS
Due to the dynamic nature of the information in the spooling directory
lpq may report unreliably. Output formatting is sensitive to the line
length of the terminal; this can results in widely spaced columns.
DIAGNOSTICS
Unable to open various files. The lock file being malformed. Garbage
files when there is no daemon active, but files in the spooling direc‐
tory.
4.2 Berkeley Distribution April 28, 1995 4.2 Berkeley Distribution
