conf file prompt on trusty package upgrade

[Steve Magoun]

I am running trusty. When I upgraded to cups 1.7.1-5ubuntu3, I got a conffile prompt. I don't believe I've manually modified any cups-related conf files, so I didn't expect a prompt - I expected the package upgrade to handle this for me without a prompt.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: cups 1.7.1-5ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-8.28-generic 3.13.2
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-8-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.13.2-0ubuntu5
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Mon Feb 24 20:01:48 2014
DistributionChannelDescriptor:
 # This is a distribution channel descriptor
 # For more information see http://wiki.ubuntu.com/DistributionChannelDescriptor
 canonical-oem-somerville-precise-amd64-20130203-1
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-12-02 (84 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 "Precise" - Build amd64 LIVE Binary 20130203-13:50
MachineType: Dell Inc. XPS13 9333
Papersize: letter
PpdFiles: Xerox-WorkCentre-7345: Xerox WorkCentre 7345 Foomatic/pxlcolor (recommended)
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-8-generic root=UUID=0b9db31c-747b-40ad-bbbd-13a9a29caece ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
SourcePackage: cups
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to trusty on 2014-02-12 (12 days ago)
dmi.bios.date: 11/11/2013
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: A01
dmi.board.name: 0GFTRT
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A00
dmi.chassis.type: 8
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: 0.1
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvrA01:bd11/11/2013:svnDellInc.:pnXPS139333:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn0GFTRT:rvrA00:cvnDellInc.:ct8:cvr0.1:
dmi.product.name: XPS13 9333
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
mtime.conffile..etc.cups.cupsd.conf: 2014-02-12T13:36:32.106432

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Is it possible that you have used a printer setup tool, like system-config-printer or the printer part of the System Settings, to turn on or off sharing of local printers, debug logging, or similar stuff? This also modifies configuration files. The automatic bug reporting system, Apport, has also discovered that your /etc/cups/cupsd.conf file contains modifications.

[Steve Magoun (smagoun)]

@Till: I have used a printer setup tool to set up a printer

I assert that setting up a printer should not cause the user to be promoted about conf file changes during an upgrade. This is a normal case, and users should not be required to understand/analyze conf files in order to use a printer.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Did you activate printer sharing some time ago?

[Steve Magoun (smagoun)]

@Till: I don't have printer sharing enabled, but I am using some network printers.

See attached screenshot for my printer settings

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Perhaps you turned something on one time and later off again. There is an extra "BrowseAddress @LOCAL" in your cupsd.conf, and a "SystemGroup lpadmin". The latter has moved into /etc/cups/cups-files.conf with CUPS 1.6.x.

[Steve Magoun (smagoun)]

@Till: It's possible that I turned printer sharing on then off (this machine is new, and I do not recall doing it). I have never touched cuspd.conf by hand on this machine. Any printer setup I did was through the GUI tools. If the setting moved into a different file, we should migrate it as part of the upgrade.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

It seems that if you turn on a feature with the cupsctl command or a GUI and turn it off again, that cupsd.conf does not return to its original state again but only to a state whichg fulfills the configuration change request. You could try to report an upstream bug on http://www.cups.org/str.php, but I do not know whether it will get fixed, as the change in cupsd.conf only affects the Debian package system, not the functionality of CUPS.

Note that the printer sharing settings did not move to the new cups-files.conf.

[Alberto Salvia Novella (es20490446e)]

It's a usability issue that doesn't limit the functionality of a core package.