Bug 744303

Created attachment 473514 [details]
a photo

This is not a bug but at most an enhancement request.

I do not understand what you mean.

What is wrong with the current dialog?

What do you mean with "UI that allowed some selection of this"
(in particular what do you mean with "this")?

To access a network printer via IPP
you need only its URI but this is an arbitrary string
which you must read from the printer's manual.

> To access a network printer via IPP you need only its URI but this is an 
> arbitrary string which you must read from the printer's manual.

Goodness; how can reading the manual to copy cryptic and unpleasant strings from A to B be necessary in today's world ? surely you're joking ? there is a protocol: 'ipp' does it really have no auto-discovery / plug-and-play functionality whatsoever ? are there really no standards for these settings ?

The printer prints out a two-page set of settings when you power it on, that doesn't include this string.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Xerox+Phaser+6280N+IPP+URL&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

shows ~nothing.

The installation guide does not include this information.
The "Quick Use Guide" does not include this information all 5 copies of it.
The "Warranty" document does not include this information.

Let me burn some time reading the CD.

I read the CD - it has a Linux package on it, installing it adds three gzipped ppd files:

$ rpm -lq Xerox-Phaser-6280-1.0-1.noarch
/usr/share/cups/model/Xerox/Xerox_Phaser_6280DN.ppd.gz
/usr/share/cups/model/Xerox/Xerox_Phaser_6280DT.ppd.gz
/usr/share/cups/model/Xerox/Xerox_Phaser_6280N.ppd.gz

But no documentation of IPP urls.

The 162 page manual in PDF has three mentions of IPP - *none* of them containing this URL. Luckily it is a searchable PDF.

So - in conclusion - this 'feature' whereby you ask the user to enter a string that they have no way of knowing what it is, and for which there is no documentation at all is:

* utterly unusable unless you are a printer 'expert'

* un-necessary: it surely -must- be possible to auto-detect, guess, or provide a better UI to allow selection of common or standardized settings for this stuff - surely ? I simply refuse to believe that if it is -so- critical that manufacturers would leave this information out.

There is nothing I can do.

Please complain at those who made your printer.

FYI:
See the YaST help text:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Device URIs to Access a Network Printer or a Printserver Box
...
Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)
IPP is the native protocol for CUPS which runs on a real computer
but when IPP is implemented in a small printserver box,
it is often not implemented properly. Only use IPP when the vendor
actually documents official support for it.
The matching device URI is:
ipp://ip-address:port-number/resource
What 'port-number' and 'resource' exactly is depends totally
on the particular network printer or printserver box model.
For more information have a look at
http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/network.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
and
http://www.cups.org/documentation.php/network.html
-------------------------------------------------------------
IPP is the only protocol that CUPS supports natively and
is supported by some network printers and print servers.
However, since many printers do not implement IPP properly,
only use IPP when he vendor actually documents official
support for it.
-------------------------------------------------------------