Intrepid: PDF-printer not recognized by Okular

[Sokraates]

Binary package hint: okular

Using a fresh install of Kubuntu Intrepid Ibex. Last updated 07.09.2008, ca. 22:30.

In Okular, the PDF-printer, which is included in (K)ubuntu by default, is missing. Other KDE4-apps (I tried Konqueror and Gwenview) recognize the printer, so it's not a problem with KDE4.

Just to make it clear: This bug is *not* a wishlist. Intrepid per default has a PDF-printer set up, which is recognized by (as far as I tested it) by every app, except for Okular.

And before anyone asks why a (among others) PDF-viewer would need a PDF-printer: Sometimes you want to create a PDF containing only a few pages of a file you've received/downloaded.

[Sokraates (sokraates)]

@Jonathan Thomas: This bug is *not* a wishlist. See updated description. Please change the importance accordingly.

[Pino Toscano (pinotree)]

Which "PDF-printer" are you referring to?
a) a real system virtual PDF printer (eg VPDF)?
b) one of the two "Print to PDF"/"Print to PS" options?

[H.i.M (hir-i-mogul-gmail)]

Same here. See Screenshots:

[H.i.M (hir-i-mogul-gmail)]

Both on Kubuntu 8.10 KDE4.1.2

[H.i.M (hir-i-mogul-gmail)]

@ Sokraates

Please change the importance in medium.

[Sokraates (sokraates)]

@ Pino toscano: The second one. "Print to PDF"/"Print to PS/Print to File". That's the option every other app has.

@ H.i.M: I can't. The importance was changed to "Wishlist" by Jonathan Thomas in early September and he hasn't yet bothered to change it.

[Pino Toscano (pinotree)]

First of all, there is nothing to "recognize", as they are just fake printers, provided by Qt4 -only- (and not by "Intrepid" as you stated).
Second, we (Okular developers) disabled it on purpouse, as it was giving issues with the PDF printing. This is also why this is correctly classified (from my viewpoint) as wish.

[Sokraates (sokraates)]

Ubuntu introduced a separate, virtual PDF-printer in Gutsy Tribe 5 (http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/tribe5). Kubuntu also used it since Gutsy, together with KDE 3.5.x, that is before Qt4 was used. So while Qt4 may provide a fake PDF-printer, so does Ubuntu.

I haven't checked (because I don't know how), whether Kubuntu Intrepid uses the Qt4 printer or the Ubuntu-one, however I suspect the latter, since a folder ~/PDF is created. This folder was introduced in the default settings of Gutsy because of the then new virual PDF printer, which would print to ~/PDF by default.

In this case it would be worthwhile to check, whether Ubuntu's printer also causes problems.

Regarding the importance, I think it should be set to "minor", since (in my opinion) "wishlist" only applies to features which are missing, not to those which have been disabled on purpose due to problems.

In any case, thank you for the explanantion.

[Pino Toscano (pinotree)]

I don't know nor don't care about what Ubuntu provides, but what I see from the screenshot *is* the Qt4 fake printer, the one that Okular disables for the PDF printing. If it would be a real printer (like I do have VPDF here), Okular would see it without a single problem (modulo previous Qt 4.4.0 bugs).

Importance talking: this is purely a wish (and so will be considered if reported on our bugzilla), as it is a feature to be applied and used, not something we did provide someday and then disabled.

[Alejandro R. Mosteo (mosteo)]

Another reason to have print-to-PDF in okular is that some PDFs with forms, if saved, lose the filled-in data in the forms. A way to keep a PDF copy filled-in is to print to PDF.

It can be worked around by installing the cups-pdf (universe) package, but I think that at first is a bit confusing. Sadly I don't think it's supported to recommend or suggest a package in universe, which could be otherwise a plausible proposition IMHO.

[Adrien Cordonnier (adrien-cordonnier)]

Disabling other software use is a bug. If Qt or Ubuntu PDF Printers are buggy, please fill bug reports against their bugs do not prevent using them. Sokraates is right: this is *not* a wishlist, this is a bug!

[Paul Cullum (paul-cullum)]

It appears as though Okular's distinction of being almost the only KDE application to disable "Print to File" also it to be almost the only KDE application to suffer this bug: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=177360

Which among other things means I can only print A4.

[Maarten Bezemer (veger)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. We are sorry that we do not always have the capacity to look at all reported bugs in a timely manner. There have been many changes in Ubuntu since that time you reported the bug and your problem may have been fixed with some of the updates.
When I open a PDF, the 'Print to file (PDF)' is available and working. So, it would help us a lot if you could test it on a currently supported Ubuntu version. When you test it and it is still an issue, kindly upload the updated logs by running apport-collect 267917 and any other logs that are relevant for this particular issue.

[skorasaurus (skoraw)]

I wasn't able to reproduce the bug.

In okular, I successfully printed an open file (a pdf) to a PDF and was able to select the Print to PDF options (change page size, page range, pages per sheet).

http://i.imgur.com/ZV1Al.png as an example.

(using natty - not Kubuntu - ; okular, 0.12.5

[Maarten Bezemer (veger)]

This bug report is being closed due to your last comment regarding this being fixed with an update. For future reference you can manage the status of your own bugs by clicking on the current status in the yellow line and then choosing a new status in the revealed drop down box. You can learn more about bug statuses at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Status. Thank you again for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please submit any future bugs you may find.