Create
PDF Files using cups-pdf
Note:
This tutorial is for Ubuntu versions Feisty and older. The
cups-pdf package is now a default install since Gutsy.
The
PDF printer is installed by default. Also many Ubuntu
applications have a Print to File in the Print menu. This allows
you to create a PDF file as well. This process is similar to
Windows users installing and using PDFCreator.
If
you have Feisty or earlier then proceed. Note that many of the
older Ubuntu versions the repositories have been removed.
PDF
creation with
Ubuntu is actually very easy. Since .pdf files are open
source
Ubuntu has several ways to create and view .pdf files. As you
may
or may not know Openoffice.org has a way to create .pdf files via the
use of the Export PDF function. Well what if you want to
create a
.pdf file from a web page, text editor or some other application that
does not support PDF creation. No fear there is a package in
Ubuntu called CUPS PDF. To install CUPS PDF simply type the
following line in a terminal:
sudo
apt-get install cups-pdf
This will the CUPS PDF printer driver. Now we just need to
install the printer driver. To do that follow these steps.
- Open printer installation under
System--->Administration--->Printing
- In the Printers window right mouse click on New Printer and
select Add
- This will bring up the Add a Printer window
- In this window there should be a PDF Printer available.
Highlight the PDF Printer and click Forward
- Drop down the Manufacturer menu and select Generic
- There should be a selection called postscript color or something titled close to that. Select that and hit Forward
- Type in a Description and Location and click Apply
That is it.
When you go
to print something you will select the postscript color printer and
then print. The .pdf file will be saved in your ~/PDF folder.
I hope this helps.