Appendix B. Troubleshooting & Technical FAQ's

There are a number of problems you may run into in the course of installing and using PaperCut NG. Many will be resolved once you get a better idea of how PaperCut NG works, while others may require you to dig deeper into the application's workings.

The following list has been compiled over the course of years of PaperCut NG usage. If you can't find a reference to the problem you're having here, look at the most up-to-date version of the FAQ and Knowledge Base at the PaperCut NG website.

In addition to this section, some platform specific FAQ's are available at the section called “Linux FAQ”.

B.1. Troubleshooting & Installation Questions
Q: I am running PaperCut NG server on Windows XP Professional. Is this supported?
Q: I have just added a print queue to my Windows XP Professional computer that hosts the print queues but PaperCut NG is not tracking it. What could be causing this?
Q: I am running PaperCut NG in a workgroup environment (i.e. not as part of a domain). What considerations should be taken into account?
Q: PaperCut NG is not detecting jobs printed from a network clients. How can I fix this?
Q: PaperCut NG is not counting/detecting pages correctly. What's causing this?
Q: How do I ignore (not monitor or delete) a printer?
Q: The system is not displaying the correct currency sign.
Q: I've setup a secondary print server. The printers on this server are not listed and not being monitored. What's wrong?
Q: The client software is not displaying the user's account balance and is displaying a network error. How do I fix this?
B.2. General Questions
Q: How do I change the built-in admin user's password?
Q: I run a small peer-to-peer network and my users don't log onto the workstations. Can I still use PaperCut NG?
Q: I would like to start the user inquiry tool (client software) with the window minimized. Is this possible?
Q: How do I stop users from closing/shutting down the client software?
Q: Why does PaperCut NG cache the group membership?
Q: I have noticed a lot of extra options available under the Config Editor (Advanced) area. Can I change these?
Q: I'd like to write some custom extensions. Do you support this?
Q: What external databases are supported?
Q: What is the internal database format?
Q: What language is PaperCut NG developed in?
Q: I'd like to investigate server cluster support?
Q: How do I print a spool file?

B.1. Troubleshooting & Installation Questions

Q: I am running PaperCut NG server on Windows XP Professional. Is this supported?
Q: I have just added a print queue to my Windows XP Professional computer that hosts the print queues but PaperCut NG is not tracking it. What could be causing this?
Q: I am running PaperCut NG in a workgroup environment (i.e. not as part of a domain). What considerations should be taken into account?
Q: PaperCut NG is not detecting jobs printed from a network clients. How can I fix this?
Q: PaperCut NG is not counting/detecting pages correctly. What's causing this?
Q: How do I ignore (not monitor or delete) a printer?
Q: The system is not displaying the correct currency sign.
Q: I've setup a secondary print server. The printers on this server are not listed and not being monitored. What's wrong?
Q: The client software is not displaying the user's account balance and is displaying a network error. How do I fix this?
Q:

I am running PaperCut NG server on Windows XP Professional. Is this supported?

A:

Yes, PaperCut NG server is supported on Windows XP Professional. It is recommended that you disable Simple File Sharing. This feature causes Windows XP to authenticate all users as Guest, which causes two problems:

  • All printing is recorded as being printed by the Guest user.

  • Username/password authentication does not work correctly, because Windows XP will authenticate as Guest, even if the username/password is entered incorrectly.

To disable Simple File Sharing, open Windows Explorer, select ToolsFolder Options..., and un-tick the appropriate option on the View tab.

Disable simple file sharing

Figure B.1. Disable simple file sharing

Q:

I have just added a print queue to my Windows XP Professional computer that hosts the print queues but PaperCut NG is not tracking it. What could be causing this?

A:

Due to the way Windows XP handles some print jobs, a small number of changes are made by PaperCut NG. These changes are made when PaperCut NG starts. However, these changes do not take effect until the Windows Print Spooler has been restarted. This can be easily done by restarting the Windows XP computer if you have issues tracking print jobs after installing PaperCut NG or creating a new print queue.

This functionality can be referred to as the Shared Spool File feature.

Q:

I am running PaperCut NG in a workgroup environment (i.e. not as part of a domain). What considerations should be taken into account?

A:

See Chapter 28, Running in a Workgroup Environment.

Q:

PaperCut NG is not detecting jobs printed from a network clients. How can I fix this?

A:

There are two main causes of this problem:

  • Users are not correctly logging on to your network domain or computer. If the domain server does NOT authorize users, PaperCut NG has no way of knowing who submitted the print job. With system policies, login onto the domain can be made mandatory, eliminating this problem. Alternatively printer permissions can be set on the print server to ensure only valid users may print to the printers.

  • Alternatively the client computer may be configured to print directly to the network interface printer. Ensure all network clients are configured as outlined in the PaperCut NG installation guide. All print jobs must pass through the print server running PaperCut NG.

Q:

PaperCut NG is not counting/detecting pages correctly. What's causing this?

A:

PaperCut NG currently supports about 90% of printers on the market. If a printer's language is not recognized, PaperCut NG will not detect any pages and record the print job as a zero page count. This is usually accompanied with an error message in the Application Event Log. We recommend you try the following problem resolution actions in this order:

  1. Many printers come with a variety of driver options. Install the Postscript drivers if one is available for the printer. Do this on both the Print Server and all network clients.

  2. Try the drivers included with the Windows CD. PaperCut NG supports the majority of drivers distributed with recent Windows releases.

  3. Try turning Enable advanced printing features as follows:

    1. On the print server, Start->Settings->Printers.

    2. Right-click on the printer and select Properties...

    3. Select the Advanced Tab.

    4. Turn off (disable) the Enable advanced printing features.

    More information is available in our Knowledge Base.

  4. If you're still having problems, email PaperCut Software support. The development team may be able to recommend a suitable set up or even supply a recent update supporting your hardware.

  5. Specific information on printer compatibility is discussed in the PaperCut Knowledge Base. Information here might be of assistance.

Q:

How do I ignore (not monitor or delete) a printer?

A:

The Print Provider may be configured via its configuration to ignore a printer. For more information see the section called “Adding and Removing/Deleting/Ignoring Printers”.

Q:

The system is not displaying the correct currency sign.

A:

PaperCut NG will format the currency based off the operating system's default regional settings. If the default regional settings are incorrect, the format can be changed by defining your location under OptionsGeneralDisplay SettingsLocation.

Q:

I've setup a secondary print server. The printers on this server are not listed and not being monitored. What's wrong?

A:

There are a number of possible explanations. The first step is to open the Print Provider's log file on the secondary server. This file will often contain error messages indicating the cause or type of error. On a Windows system the log file is located at: [app-path]\providers\print\win\print-provider.log The file can be opened from any text editor such as Notepad.

Some common issues are:

  1. Verify that the secondary server's name is correctly defined in the print-provider.conf file. Open a command prompt on the secondary server and use the ping command to verify that the server can be contacted under this name. A server restart (or a manual restart of the PaperCut Print Provider service) is required for any changes to the file to take effect.

  2. Ensure that firewall software on the primary server is not preventing the secondary server from connecting on port 9191. Firewalls should be configured to allow all local network traffic on this particular port.

    A quick way to see if the secondary server can connect to the primary server is to use the command-line telnet program. Simply type: telnet servername 9191 at a command prompt.

    • If you receive an error like Could not open connection to host, then there is probably a network/firewall issue not letting the connection through.

    • If the screen goes blank then the connection was established successfully. Press Ctrl+] then type quit to close the telnet session.

  3. Check that the Print Provider process/service is in fact installed and running. On a Windows system this is located under: StartControl PanelAdministrative ToolsServices

Q:

The client software is not displaying the user's account balance and is displaying a network error. How do I fix this?

A:

The client software needs to contact the application server. For the technical readers, the client makes an XML web services request to the server on port 9191. Most problems relate to either firewalls blocking access or the application server's name is not correctly defined. Ensure that:

  1. Any firewalling software on the server allows local network access to port 9191.

  2. The client.properties file (a text file) lists the correct server name or IP address of the server. If you've used the zero-install deployment option, this file is located on the server in the directory: [app-path]/client/client.properties

B.2. General Questions

Q: How do I change the built-in admin user's password?
Q: I run a small peer-to-peer network and my users don't log onto the workstations. Can I still use PaperCut NG?
Q: I would like to start the user inquiry tool (client software) with the window minimized. Is this possible?
Q: How do I stop users from closing/shutting down the client software?
Q: Why does PaperCut NG cache the group membership?
Q: I have noticed a lot of extra options available under the Config Editor (Advanced) area. Can I change these?
Q: I'd like to write some custom extensions. Do you support this?
Q: What external databases are supported?
Q: What is the internal database format?
Q: What language is PaperCut NG developed in?
Q: I'd like to investigate server cluster support?
Q: How do I print a spool file?
Q:

How do I change the built-in admin user's password?

A:

The admin user's password is set up on initial install during the configuration wizard. This password can be changed post-install by logging into the application as the admin user and navigating to the OptionsAdvanced tab, and selecting the Change internal admin password option.

If you have forgotton the internal admin password, it can be reset by editing the admin.password property in the text file located at [app_dir]/server/server.properties.

Q:

I run a small peer-to-peer network and my users don't log onto the workstations. Can I still use PaperCut NG?

A:

PaperCut NG is primarily designed for networks managed under a domain and/or authenticated environments. Peer-to-peer networks or Workgroups are however supported. The first option should be to consider requiring users to log onto the workstations using their username and password. If this is not possible, an alternate option is to set up the user accounts on system hosting the printers (system running the PaperCut NG server software) and configuring the account selection popup with the Charge to other users option selected. Users can then enter their username and password in the popup that displays each time they print.

Q:

I would like to start the user inquiry tool (client software) with the window minimized. Is this possible?

A:

Yes. The client software can be started minimized by executing the program with a command-line switch -minimized. See the section called “User Client Options”.

Q:

How do I stop users from closing/shutting down the client software?

A:

If the user running the client software is configured to either:

  • select shared accounts

  • confirm the print job via a popup

the client software must be running at all times. If the user is configured in either of these modes, the client software's exit option is disabled. Note: The client software will need to be restarted to pick up this option after the user's options have been changed.

Q:

Why does PaperCut NG cache the group membership?

A:

PaperCut NG caches group membership by replicating the user/group relationship structure internally in the system. Typically network group membership is relatively static, and is usually set up when a user account is initially created. PaperCut NG tries to be a good network application by avoiding common no-no's such as flooding domain controllers with group lookup requests. This is achieved by caching. Operations such as Bulk user operations, quota allocations, group reports and group filtering all need to do group membership lookups. Caching speeds up these operations and prevents excessive callouts to the domain servers.

The downside to caching is that group membership changes are not immediately reflected inside PaperCut NG. To force PaperCut NG to detect the change perform a User/Group synchronization under the Options section. The system will also automatically refresh group membership overnight during low network activity.

Q:

I have noticed a lot of extra options available under the Config Editor (Advanced) area. Can I change these?

A:

The config area contains all of the PaperCut NG system wide settings. Some of these can be changed via the normal options interface while others are designed for internal developer use and tuning and are only accessible via the config editor. Any changes made in the config editor should be done with care as an invalid entry may require you to reinstall the system!

Q:

I'd like to write some custom extensions. Do you support this?

A:

One of the business objectives of PaperCut NG was openness. The development team actually encourages this and can assist with detailed API documentation and source code. If you would like feedback on your ideas, please email our support team. They would be more than happy to offer advice.

Q:

What external databases are supported?

A:

Running PaperCut NG on top of an external database is an advanced option. This is discussed in details in system management section.

Q:

What is the internal database format?

A:

PaperCut NG's internal database is Apache Derby - an open source database written by IBM and based on IBM's DB2 Cloudscape database system. The internal database has proven to scale very well and is suitable for networks of all sizes.

Q:

What language is PaperCut NG developed in?

A:

PaperCut NG is developed under a number of languages and development environments. The printer monitoring component and other native operating system interfaces such as user authentication are written in C/C++. The application server and web services are written in server-side Java.

Q:

I'd like to investigate server cluster support?

A:

The PaperCut NG is designed as a cluster compatible application and supports clustering at all layers of the application. For more information on configuring PaperCut NG in a Microsoft Cluster environment, please see Chapter 24, Clustering and High Availability. If you'd like to investigate clustering options on other platforms (Linux) please contact our support team.

Q:

How do I print a spool file?

A:

If you're utilizing the Print Archiving feature (see Chapter 22, Print Archiving (viewing and content capture) , or have otherwise captured a spool file for debugging purposes - you can print this document by copying it to a printer, using it's full network path.

Windows:

copy /B my-spool-file.pcl6 \\servername\printer

MacOS and Linux:

lp -h servername -d printer -o raw my-spool-file.pcl6