Not getting results from forum search

Mainframer

Mon Apr 14, 2014 3:39:58 pm

I'm trying to find information about printer drivers but am unable to get search results back from the search function on this forum. How can I search for printer or printer driver information and get results back even if there are no matches?

No matter which search box I use

I get the same results.

"The following words in your search query were ignored because they are too common words: xxxxxxxx.
You must specify at least one word to search for. Each word must consist of at least 3 characters and must not contain more than 14 characters excluding wildcards."

The above error message is returned when I use any of the following search strings in the list below. The text to the left of "=>" is the search string. The text to the right of "xxxxxxxx =" is the string as placed in the error message.

Jerry

Wolfman

Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:27:41 pm

Hi Jerry,

see the printer section of the post install guide:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2054

What printer do you have?. Model name?

Mainframer

Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:32:59 am

I have an HP LaserJet 2100. I print via Wi-Fi through a Windows 7 shared printer.

I know little, if anything, about the drivers Zorin presented to me either in the database or in the "search for a printer driver to download" option. I just read the names and took my best guess. The first time I created a printer on Zorin I mistakenly chose the driver "HP LaserJet 2100 Series Postscript [en]". This printed out garbage.

I changed the driver to "HP LaserJet 2100 Foomatic/lj5gray [en]". I printed a test page that didn't print out. The green light on the printer just kept going off an on for a very long time. This behavior usually indicates a file download to the printer. With the idea of pushing from behind I printed the self-test page. Then the first page, "Printer test page / UBUNTU "... etc, printed and was then followed by a new sheet with "%%% If you can read this, you are using the wrong driver for your printer. %%%%" printed on it.

I eventually deleted the Zorin printer and started the creation all over again starting with driver "HP LaserJet 2100 Foomatic/lj5gray [en]". This time the test page printed the first time with no encouragement from behind. However, I still got "If you can read this, you are using the wrong driver for your printer." when I printed the self-test page. Is this message really true or is it a false error message. See problem 1 below. Maybe having a wrong driver caused that message to be printed.

I tested printing a Word .docx file (2 pages with graphic arrows on them) from Libre Office Writer. It came out Ok.

Problem 1
I printed an Excel .xlsx file from Libre Office Calc. Mostly ok except double line borders surrounding groups of cells did not show at all. Horizontal doubles were replaced by single lines and vertical doubles were replaced by blank border. Maybe the wrong driver as noted above. So what is the correct driver?

Problem 2
A second problem occurred when I decided to put Libre Office Writer and Calc icons on the desktop. I opened the Zorin menu. Clicked on Office. Right clicked on Libre Office Writer then Create Desktop icon. Did the same for Calc. They created the desktop icons but they were stacked on top of each other on top of an icon (Terminal) that was already there (fifth icon down in column one). I was able to drag them off the stack.

BTW. How do I get "Search" to work for me?

Wolfman

Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:50:04 am

Hi,

did you install the package "hplip-gui" and set your per the post install guide link I posted earlier?. (Hp is the only one there that I could really document as I have one myself!)

In search, you must use more than one common term otherwise it will throw you back out, I know it isn't the best as I have had problems with it myself!.

Mainframer

Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:18:03 pm

HI
No I didn't install hplip-gui. However last night, per your advice, I did a search for hplip-gui in the Software Center and was presented with HPLIP-Toolbox which I installed. I'll get to the rest of it today as soon as I can. I assume it would be cleaner if I uninstall the printer I already added prior to your note.
Thanks,
Jerry

Wolfman

Thu Apr 17, 2014 6:03:51 pm

Hi Jerry,

HPLip-Toolbox is a part of the hplip-gui package, you don't need to uninstall the printer, just re-run the setup using the Toolbox!.

Mainframer

Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:44:03 am

I tried to use the HPLip-Toolbox to add a printer to Zorin. I followed the instructions in your Post Install Guide. On the first window I selected "Setup Device" then next was the "Device Discovery" Window. I ran into a wall here. I'm not sure the HPLip-Toolbox options on this page work for my configuration.

The givens are:

My HPLip-Toolbox "Device Discovery" options and my comments/results are:
1 Universal Serial Bus (USB)

The printer has no USB port.
2 Network/Ethernet/Wireless network (direct connection or JetDirect)

3 Wireless/802.11 (requires a temporary USB connection and is only available for select devices)

4 Parallel Port (LPT)

No. Need wireless.
Printer installation utility
When I added the printer via the Printer installation utility I had no problem finding the shared printer on the network. The instruction even showed me the correct format of the network URI (smb://workgroup/server/printer). My only problem is the uncertainty of choosing the correct driver as exemplified by the incorrect presentation of spreadsheet borders when it came off the printer.
[Windows Printer via SAMBA => smb://workgroup/server/printer]

Desktop Icons Disappear
During option 2 HPLip-Toolbox "Device Discovery" attempt all the icons on my desktop disappeared. The Zorin Menu and the "task Bar" across the bottom are still there. I double clicked on the file icon in the bar at the bottom and brought up the Home view. I double clicked on the "Desktop/6 items" view in the right panel. Then I "X"ited out. All my Desktop icons reappeared. Is that normal behavior?

Summary
It appears there is no Toolbox solution to my configuration. Correct?
What Driver should I be using when the printer is created by "the Printer installation utility"?
Is the disappearance of the Desktop icons normal behavior or a bug?

Wolfman

Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:44:11 am

Hi Jerry,

try the method here suggested by HP themselves:

http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/in ... setup.html

I don't know why your desktop icons vanished, I have noticed that from time to time; whenever I have been changing Grub or installing some hardware, normally after a reboot, everything is fine, I can only assume that it is a bug of some sorts but doesn't seem system critical!.

Mainframer

Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:35:18 pm

I originally started with Zorin’s printer setup process.
Zorin 8.1 Menu => System Settings => Printers => Add => Network Printer => Windows Printer via SAMBA => etc.
I wound up with a list of drivers which, except for the Postscript driver, I had no idea which one to choose.

I got some advice from the forum to use http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/in ... setup.html which looks the same as the HPLip-Toolbox approach. This didn’t work out for the same reasons.

So I went back to Zorin’s printer setup process and did the tried and true (if not long and tedious) approach and tested each Zorin database provided driver one at a time. I had one each of the following types of files which I ported from the PC: .docx, .doc, .xlsx, .xls, .odt and .ods. I created one printer for each of the seven PCL drivers and printed off a test run of each doc.

Zorin Driver Database drivers available for HP LaserJet 2100:

Each and every test run had some sort of problem including arrows on the Word file pointing in the wrong direction and double line borders on the Excel spreadsheet disappearing completely. But this was not surprising considering some of the comments from others that LibreOffice apps like Writer and Calc do not perfectly map to and from MS Office apps. So my intent was to find the driver that gives the best match for my printer.

I did find in Calc that 1) substituting heavier, solid border style for the double lines border style displayed and printed ok where the double line borders had disappeared when displayed and printed, and 2) Using ODT and ODS produced better results, sometimes perfect replication. I had an arrow on the ODS spreadsheet that moved when I printed the spreadsheet page from Zorin otherwise the results were good.

Test Conclusions:
Given:

The following are things I discovered testing various combinations of files and drivers:

“Recommended” driver, plxmono

worst results

least amount of errors

CUPS+Gutenprint

Swarfendor437

Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:57:25 pm

Hi, whilst it will still launch the same interface, I have always got better results starting this way (don't ask me why, as I don't know myself! picked it up from a now defunct OS forum that I was a member of):

1. Open a Terminal (Menu | Accessories | Terminal) and etner:

Code:: system-config-printer

This will launch the same pirnter interface - you may want to try the old fashioned Windows way and 'cheat' by choosing lpt1 (even if it isn't and change the settings later - this will offer the best driver available which should be the CUPS and Gutenprint driver (this is usually the best 'de facto' option from experience.

If I have not found a specific driver for my printer (my i865 did not used to b supported so I would look on the Ink Cartridge Box to see what nearest model matche - BJC-8800 was the one I plumped for and it would work, but not Colour until the GNU/Linux driver became available in later editions of Ubuntu and their forks.

True OpenOffice/LibreOffice may not fully convert exactly as you would in M$ Office but remember, M$ Office is closed source (proprietary software). You may want to consider seeing if you get better results with the free 'clone' - Kingsoft Office which allows you to flip from 'Ribbon' to 'Non-Ribbon' interface!

See madvinegar's install instructions here:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7084&hilit=Kingsoft+Lottery#p33732

Hope this helps!

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