[Sandbox] Print dialogue on various apps.

[bandora]

Hello all,

I believe that the Print option on various applications on the N900 is very important yet not there... Since the N900 is a computer first I think printing should be part of the "computer" part of the N900..

All I am asking here is to add the ability to print the following in future firmware update (doesn't have to be anytime soon):

- Pages from MicroB (Either from the "print his page" dialogue from the website itself.. and/or from MicroB, with print preview.. Ability to select certain text from page and print only selected (by holding down a tap after selection?)

- from Notes Application?

- Messages (who knows when someone needs to print any messages)..

- from E-mail Application..

- Photos...

Basically, in general have the ability to print via bluetooth or wifi (network printer)..

Again, I am not saying this should be included in the next update... but it's something important and very useful that needs to be thought of for future firmware updates.

And I know there is a way to print things like in this thread http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=34050&highlight=printing&page=3 but my point here is that the N900 should be able to do that without installing anything and/or have to through complicated stuff..

====================

Scenarios on why this feature would be important: Lets say someone is at school that is in class or cant go near a computer at the moment or even wants to print something quick without going onto a computer.

Someone is at home and just doesn't want to get up and turn on the computer then find the thing again to print..

Someone is at work and needs to print something quickly...

I can think of lots of things but my fingers got tired from typing all this on my N900 :)

Thanks in advance,

Fadi

Edit: Here's the brainstorm for this: http://maemo.org/community/brainstorm/view/add_printing_option_to_the_n900/

[Fargus]

This something that came up in the days of N8xx too. CUPS is fairly flexible but the question remains how to get the apps to use this consistently. Personally I would like to see the Maemo framework extended to including such a concept, maybe with hooks for various alternates. At the very least a UI guideline would help for those wishing to grow their own solutions consistantly.

[bandora]

MicroB for example is essentially a firefox... (It even uses same exact dialogues in some places).. What I mean by this is that I am sure itmt too hard to implement print just like the FF...

Same with the other apps.. But we would need the support for that (drivers.. etc.)... I don't know what cups is but I've heard of it.. Is it a seperate application for printing? or does it add print support to the N8x0? Because if it's a seperate app that's definately what I was stating above..

I was thinking of simply having a print button (either by having it infront of you on screen (picture button of print) and/or in the options menu.. And also on the tap and hold menu.. :)


Edit: Could the print option be added to MicroB by installing an Add-on? Just wondeing...

[bandora]

Sorry to bump the thread but I didn't know how to correctly create a brainstorm for this but I figured it out.. ol I posted the link above in the first post..

[chemist]

MicroB for example is essentially a firefox... (It even uses same exact dialogues in some places).. What I mean by this is that I am sure itmt too hard to implement print just like the FF...

Same with the other apps.. But we would need the support for that (drivers.. etc.)... I don't know what cups is but I've heard of it.. Is it a seperate application for printing? or does it add print support to the N8x0? Because if it's a seperate app that's definately what I was stating above..


Printing is not as easy as it looks like, within GUI loaded Windows or some Suse, Ubuntu styled frontends it looks like "configure printer -> install printer -> choose printer -> print".
With a properly setup printservers in your network it might be that easy, but no, I tried to get cups (which is a print-system like "Printers & Faxes" in Windows, you need to translate what you want to print to a language the printer is able to read) working with a Microsoft Printserver, no way, I need to communicate directly with the printers internal printserver and for that I do not use cups, I do use lpr from a program or from CLI and send postscript to the printer.

So no, printing is not adding a "print" button to a piece of software and a printer next door shoots you with paper stacks by hitting this button.

Printer database is also a problem, a network printer should not be a problem (they speak at least one known language), but microsoft printing environments might be.
If you have no direct access to the printer you want to use and must use a sep. spoolserver instead it is getting tricky sometimes.

[bandora]

Well I understand it's not just as simply as adding a button.. But the point of this brainstorm is to actually voice up the thoughts of rthe many people that wants and needs this feature.. And just how many thought mms is impossible to implement maybe this is kind of the same way.. Now surely I am no expert but nothing is impossible,

[qgil]

You can find relevant information, discussion and even proof points on Maemo 4 & the Internet Tablets. just click on "Power search" here in the right column and look for

print support

[altorn]

Well, my opinion about this is:

N900 is a portable mini-computer(i'd say micro too). You can access files, internet etc anywhere away from your laptop/desktop. Now for the print function, your scenarios are feasible, they happen usually. but here's a scenario:

You're in your backyard enjoying barbecue and you want to print an RSS feed from Engadget you've been reading while drinking beer.

*FOR EXAMPLE* you have the print function in the n900. You choose to print out the feed on a sheet of 8.5x11 paper. The data is transmitted. The phone notifies you that the feed is printed. You run all the way to your room to your printer, WHERE YOUR DESKTOP IS, and get the paper with the RSS feed.
You go back to your backyard with a burned barbecue.

The rest falls into place.

Hardware wise, you need a driver that configures your n900's connection to the printer, be it USB(pointless as you have to be beside the printer), bluetooth(you have to have a Bluetooth printer), or WLAN(you have to have a WLAN printer, most likely possible and convinient).

Lets say you can position your printer to wherever you want (living room) so you can get the printer paper if your n900 prints.

Type something in your n900, print, go to the living room and get the paper. No need for desktop.
Sure that makes your n900 a mini-COMPUTER.

But if you have this WLAN/Bluetooth printer, then what happens to your desktop/laptop?
You will be sitting in front of your desktop, print, and go to the living room just to get your printed paper.

[bandora]

Well then that's not really a good example.. now is it?

Ok using your example, what if someone has a slow computer.. takes a bit to load up everything, then takes more time to navigate to the page and then takes even more time finding what you want... then print that..

By the time you print it, it's not just that you have burned the barbecue, you probably have burnt the whole house by then..

And hardware wise.. the N900 is capable of printing (My E65 can print using bluetooth).. And I never said anything about printing through USB..

I have a Wifi/bluetooth enabled printer (but forget about bluetooth.. many people have a wifi enabled printer)..

And also, I never said that I use the N900 instead of my desktop computer.. But, all I am saying is that since the N900 is advertised as a mobile computer it should at least be able to do such thing.

Also don't you think it would save time by actually printing directly from the N900.. lets say you took a picture and want to print it.. wouldn't it be nice to print it directly from the N900 instead of finding the MicroUSB cable, then hooking it up to the computer, then find the picture and print it? Or, removing the battery cover then taking out the MicroSD card then putting it in the computer.. etc.?

[mikhmv]

Problem of n900 is same to all linux. It is absent support from manufactures. For each printer you have to look for ppd or try to modify it. If you look for example lexmark they had linux support but now don't provide anymore.

I think solution should be on the level of Nokia. Nokia together with Google should push manufactures to support some printing standards...

Google started it....

[woody14619]

Lets be real: Most printers today follow one of a handful of standards. They can interpret Postscript, or PCL, or in some cases raw PDF files. CUPS is common driver/filter package that can convert between a few formats and direct the output to the proper port (be in /dev/lp1, /dev/sc01, or an IP:port combo).

Most unix-based programs that have print functionality print in Postscript. MicroB is based on Mozilla, which has a PS generator. There are some nice wrapper scripts one can use to print text to PS printers with lots of formatting options. Support for this exists in debian, it's just been stripped from the version Maemo did to cut some fat out of the system.

I'd love to see this as a package users can install that's optional. I'd really prefer to see a universal PDF output generator too that can "print" (from MicroB and the like) to a PDF, which I can later print on a real computer later if I like, or edit with Xornal, etc. I don't think we'll ever see an OS-level universal interface for printing under unix of any flavor. But having the option of postscript or PDF output will solve the issue for 95% of the people out there. (And the other 5% can suck it up and buy a real printer...)

[kevinm2k]

Are we any further with printing on network printers, it is definitely something I miss on the phone/computer.

[rotoflex]

The absence of print support on this otherwise fully-featured "handheld computer" is so glaring that it almost merits a bug report.

[jurop88]

The absence of print support on this otherwise fully-featured "handheld computer" is so glaring that it almost merits a bug report.

It does exist since 2008-04-16 and already closed WONTFIX

https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3099

[mase]

I have ported cups to the N900. I am waiting for the maemo.org
response, because I forgot to fill the maintainer field correctly.
Now I am not listed as maintainer of cups, so I cannot promote
it yet. When this was corrected, applications can be build with
cups support.
I tried recompiling libgtk2 with libcups2-dev installed. The libs were
found and gtk has printingsupport.
Then I recompiled leafpad and abiword against the new gtk libs.
Now I am able to print out of leafpad and abiword.
At the moment, only printing to a network printer was tested by me.
Maybe bluetooth printers, or even usb printers over hostmode work,
too.
Just try the packages in extras-devel. The modified gtk, leafpad
and abiword packages are located in this thread:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=56932

[bretus]

Hi
maybe nokia's next windows phone will have a print function
Here's hoping the mythical n950 can print something