LPTCTL(8)

NAME
lptctl - manipulate lpt devices

SYNOPSIS
lptctl device [command [...]]

DESCRIPTION
lptctl is used to manipulate lpt devices so that a user can change how a printer that is attached to a parallel port works. If no command-argument pairs are specified, the status of the device is printed to standard output. The status information is also output after commands are carried out.

DEVICE COMMANDS
Multiple command-argument pairs can be specified. Available commands are:

mode standard | nibble | ps2 | fast | ecp | epp

Sets port to use a mode of operation: standard centronics mode (standard), nibble mode, bidirectional mode (ps2), fast centronics mode (fast), enhanced capabilities port mode (ecp), or enhanced parallel port mode (epp).

dma yes | no

Enables or disables DMA. Note DMA is only used in some advanced modes such as ECP, and only if interrupts are enabled too.

ieee yes | no

Enables or disables the use of IEEE 1284 negotiations during mode changes and channel direction changes.

intr yes | no

Enables or disables use of interrupts for port operation. If interrupts are disabled, polling is used for data transfers. Default setting depends on device, but polling is commonly preferred.

prime yes | no

Enables (default) or disables printer initialization sequence on device open. Note the initialization sequence is never done on open of control lpt device.

autolf yes | no

Enables or disables (default) automatic LF on CR for data transfers.

FILES

/dev/lpt?ctl - printer port control devices

/dev/lpt? - printer ports

EXIT STATUS

SEE ALSO
ioctl(2), lpt(4), ppbus(4)

HISTORY
A similar utility called lptcontrol exists in FreeBSD to control the lpt(4) device. While similar in concept, the implementations are independent. lptctl was added in NetBSD 2.0.

AUTHORS
This man page and the lptctl utility were written by Gary Thorpe.