Installation of the printer fails on Mac if the cupsfilters specified in the PPD file is not installed. Some vendors do not distribute the drivers in .pkg or .dmg format. Hence, associating the package to the PPD file is not possible.

Micro Focus iPrint server has an option to associate a package containing cupsfilters to a PPD file in the driver store.  This helps the iPrint Client to download the package and install in case cupsfilters are not installed during printer installation process. This tool helps to create a package of cupsfilters for a given PPD file provided they are installed on Mac that the tool will run on.

Prerequisite

• • Install the printer on a Mac using the tools provided by the vendor.

Generating the Package

For every installed printer there would be a PPD file in the /etc/cups/ppd location. Run the python script to read all the PPD files in /etc/cups/ppd directory and if THE cupsfilters are required by the PPD file, then it will create a directory with the printer name in the directory containing the PPD file and the package.

To generate the package, execute the following:

#python packageFilters.py

Optional Arguments:

-h, --help                       show this help message and exit
-p PPD, --ppd PPD         PPD File location or ppd file. By default, it is located in the /etc/cups/ppd directory
-d DESTINATION, --destination DESTINATION
Destination directory where package has to be created. The default value is the current directory
-v VERSION, --version VERSION
Version of package being created. The defauls value is 1.0
-i IDENTIFIER, --identifier IDENTIFIER
Identifier for the package being created. The default value is com.filter