Customizing Server-side Printing for UNIX and Linux Platforms

The way in which the IBM® Cognos® Connection portal handles server printing can differ depending on your platform.

For this reason, you can customize the way in which the IBM Cognos Connection portal handles the printing of PDF format reports for UNIX and Linux platforms by configuring the rsprintpdf.sh file.

The rsprintpdf.sh file should not be configured for Microsoft Windows operating system print servers.

When a user selects Run with Options, changes the Format to PDF, selects Print the Report from the Delivery section, and then specifies additional formats through advanced options such as Landscape orientation, A4 paper size or a Time and Mode to run the report, problems might occur when printing to a UNIX or Linux print server. The output might not be generated, or it might appear cropped or incorrectly orientated.

Procedure

  1. Open the rsprintpdf.sh file located in the c10_location/bin directory.
  2. In a text editor, customize the section that is specific to your print server's platform, for example AIX®, HP-UX, or Linux.
  3. Use the following information for customization. The information is passed to the rsprintpdf.sh script by the server process as command line options.
    Table 1. Customization options for the printing of PDF format reports
    Option Name Description
    -p printer Specifies the print queue. If no print queue is specified, the default queue is used.
    -o orientation Specifies the page orientation for a file, for example landscape or portrait. If no orientation is specified, portrait orientation is used.
    -m media Specifies the media size of the output, for example letter or A4 paper size. If no media, or no height or width are specified, the default paper tray is used.
    -h height For custom page sizes. Specifies the height of the page in points. It is valid only if specified with the -w option, and without the -m option.
    -w width For custom page sizes. Specifies the width of the page in points. It is valid only if specified with the -h option, and without the -m option.
    -L log file Specifies a path to a user-specified file for logging error messages. The default filename for the log file is rsprintpdf.errors.log.
  4. Tip: Keep a copy of the rsprintpdf.sh file in case it should be overwritten by a future software upgrade.