system-config-printer should show more clearly whether printers are shared

[ubuntu4fun]

Binary package hint: cupsys

I' m using Ubuntu Gusty Gibbon Tribe 5 with all the updates installed and have a laser printer Brother HL 2030.

There is a new printing system in Gusty Tribe 5 (System-Config-Printer 0.7.73 from Red Hat). The new printing system right autodetected my Brother printer just after I plugged the USB, but after making printer configuration I noticed that all the printers added to the system are automatically shared by default.

Why all added printers are shared by default?

Is it safe and reasonable for single desktop users?
I don't want to share my printer in any network.

[Kees Cook (kees)]

I do not have printers to test with. Can someone else verify this? I would agree: new printers should not be automatically shared.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

I just tested this. By default, cupsys only listens on localhost

  tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:631 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 11087/cupsd

Until printer sharing is globally enabled in the server options, no printer can be shared at all. This is a sensible default for desktops and offices IMHO, since you usually do not want to configure the same thing twice.

That might be a confusing bit of user interface. What made you think that printers were shared?

[Patrice Vetsel (vetsel-patrice)]

Any relations with Bug #149325 ?!

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Patrice, no, there is no relation with that bug. That bug is about sharing printers to Windows clients.

ubuntu4fun, Kees, pitti, in CUPS there are two places for setting printer sharing: Once you turn it on or off globally for your system (and select clients, if you want). Second, each individual printer can be included into or excluded from the system's printer sharing. The system's printer sharing is turned off by default ("Server Settings" in system-config-printer), the switches for inclusion of individual printers are turned on by default ("Policies" tab of each printer's entry in system-config-printer). A warning message at the check box in system-config-printer ("Not published. See server settings") should tell that the printer is not actually shared.

Due to translations we cannot change the text of this warning message for Gutsy, but for Hardy there is no problem doing improvement here. Perhaps one can even gray out this check box if in the "Server Settings" the system's printer sharing is turned off.

Moving bug to system-config-printer ...

[Scott Bronson (bronson)]

Yes, I think improved wording is quite necessary.

Right now I see a warning that says "Not published" "See server settings". That message is simply baffling.

First, what does "published" mean? Does it mean shared?

Second, what is "server settings"? I couldn't find any control panel called server settings. I guess it's referring to the menu Server, with the item Settings, but that's pretty obscure isn't it?

How about changing the message to "Won't be shared until 'Enable Printer Sharing' is checked"? And put a button right next to it that would bring up the Preferences dialog.

I like the idea of graying "Shared" out when sharing is turned off, but right next to it needs to be a message or a button telling how to enable it.

[Pascal De Vuyst (pascal-devuyst)]

Still applies to maverick.

[Pascal De Vuyst (pascal-devuyst)]

When right clicking a printer there is a check mark next to Shared on a default installation even if the printers are not published under Server > Settings, this is confusing for users.

Wouldn't it be better to not show the global setting "Publish shared printers connected to this system" under Server > Settings and let system-config-printer individual printer "Shared" option activate the global and individual sharing CUPS setting at the same time. The "Shared" option should only be checked when both the global and individual sharing setting are active.

This avoids any warning messages or gray outs and clearly shows a user when a printer is shared.

What do you think?

[Pascal De Vuyst (pascal-devuyst)]

Probably best to set individual printer "Shared" setting inactive for newly added printers, this makes the UI less confusing and it is easy to mark all printers as shared when needed by selecting them all and right clicking "Shared".