About Setting Up Printers on UNIX and Windows

 

You can only print a document (by selecting either File > Print or Quick Print in the Standard toolbar) if a default printer has been set up:
  • On Windows, you print using the default printer declared by your Windows system administrator.
  • On UNIX, you will only be able to print once you have set up a printer. If you attempt to print on UNIX before setting up a printer, a message appears to inform you that as no printer is defined, you cannot print the document.

You can set up two types of printers:

  • Windows Printers: setting up a Windows printer creates a printer configuration file, needed for printing, in $HOME/CATSettings/Printers.
  • 3DPLM Printers: setting up a 3DPLM printer creates a configuration file named PLOTxxxx.xml containing the printer and the driver configuration settings in $HOME/CATSettings/Printers/.

The objective of this section is to show you how to set up your environment to get your printer operational, which is performed by creating and customizing a file called a printer configuration file. The role of this file is to declare your printer so it is recognized by Version 5. Once at least one printer has been declared, the above message will no longer appear.

We assume that:

  • The physical printing device has been installed and connected to the system
  • Your system administrator has already declared your printer to your UNIX operating system.
  On both UNIX and Windows, the default printer is defined by selecting File > Printer Setup which opens the Printers dialog box (note that the image below shows a Windows dialog box but the look on UNIX is more or less the same):
 
  This dialog box displays a list of available and installed printers. Note that if you are working on a UNIX workstation, you will not be able to access Windows printers.
  Double-clicking one of the printers displayed in the list will open the standard setup dialog box corresponding to the selected printer type. Refer to your Windows documentation for detailed information about using this dialog box.
 
If you want to set another printer as the default printer, select it from the list then right-click and select Set As Default. The selected printer is set as the default printer and is identified by the following icon: .
On Windows, however, note that the default printer is modified when you select a different printer in the Print dialog box.
When you exit then restart a new session, the printer set by default is the one defined in Start > (Settings >) Control Panel  > Printers.
You can also set up your printers without having to run a Version 5 session. To do so: 
  On Windows
 

  1. Open an MS-DOS window.

  2. Change to the default folder in which you installed the product.

    The default folder is:

    C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\Bn\intel_a\code\bin

    (where n is the current release number)

  1. Enter the command:

    CATPrinterManager 
  On UNIX
 

  1. Change to the directory:

    /usr/DassaultSystemes/Bn/OS_a/code/command/
     

    (where n is the current release number)

  2. Run the command

    CATPrinterManager
    The Printers dialog box opens:
 

You can then set up your printers as explained above.
 

Environment Variables in Submission Scripts

Below are listed all the environment variables you can use in both declaration and execution scripts.

Variable

Used to define...
%CATPRT_DOC_SHEETS_COUNT% Number of sheets to be printed. It is automatically updated by the application.
%CATPRT_DOC_SHEETS_NUM% Number of the sheet to be printed.
%CATPRT_DOC_PATH% Path of the document to be printed.
%CATPRT_DOC_NAME% Name of the document to be printed.
%CATPRT_PRINTER_NAME% Name of the printer to be used to print the document.
%CATPRT_PAPER_WIDTH% Paper width.
%CATPRT_PAPER_NAME% Paper format (e.g. A4, etc.).
%CATPRT_PAPER_ORIENTATION% Paper orientation (e.g. Portrait, etc.).
%CATPRT_PAPER_UNIT% Unit for parameters (e.g. "mm" for Millimeter).
%CATOUT% Name of the sheet to be printed.