.\"
.\" $ApsCVS: src/apsfilter/man/aps2file.1.in,v 1.1.2.8 2002/02/24 20:47:52 andreas Exp $
.\"                                                                           
.Dd Dec 19, 2001
.Dt APS2FILE 1
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm aps2file
.Nd printing to a file via apsfilter
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm aps2file
.Op Fl D
.Op Fl P Ns Ar queue
.Op Fl Z Ns Ar options
.Op Fl o Ns Ar output
.Op Ar input
.Nm aps2file
.Op Fl h
.Sh DESCRIPTION
With
.Nm aps2file
you can direct the printer data generated by
.Xr apsfilter 1
into an arbitrary file without the use of a spooler.
.Sh OPTIONS
.Bl -tag -width XXXXXXXXXX -compact
.It \fB\-h\fR
show help screen
.It \fB\-D\fR
enable debug mode
.It \fB\-P Ns Ar queue\fR
select a printer queue (different from the default one)
.It \fB\-Z Ns Ar options\fR
use
.Ic apsfilter
command line options (comma-separated list)
.It \fB\-o Ns Ar output\fR
direct data stream to
.Ic output
(default: stdout)
.It \fBinput\fR
read data from
.Ic input
(default: stdin)
.El
.Pp
Unlike printing with
.Xr lpr 1 ,
you can only use one input file at a time.
.Pp
Using
.Nm
is also the recommended way to create a debugging log of a failed
printing attempt. If you include the
.Fl D
flag, the
.Ic apsfilter
shell script will log every command and print it to
.Ic stderr .
To save the output for inclusion into a bug report, you should
therefore use a command of the sort
.Dl aps2file -D -o /dev/null [-P...] [-Z...] [input] 2> log.txt
.Sh NOTES
.Nm
only works correctly with entries in \fI/etc/printcap\fR that have
been created by \fB/usr/share/apsfilter/SETUP\fR.
.Sh FILES
.Bl -tag -width /usr/share/apsfilter/bin/apsfilter -compact
.It Pa /etc/printcap
printer capability data base
.It Pa /usr/share/apsfilter/bin/apsfilter
apsfilter script
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr apsfilter 1 ,
.Xr apsfilter-bug 1 ,
.Xr apspreview 1 ,
.Xr apsfilterrc 5 ,
.Xr printcap 5
.Sh BUGS
See apsfilter software center -
.Li http://www.apsfilter.org/
- for new versions, bugfixes and known bugs.
.Pp
Please use the new tool
.Xr apsfilter-bug 1
to release bug- or problem reports. It automatically presents you a
.Nm form
in an editor window which asks you some standard questions.
If you save and quit the editor session, then this report is
sent automatically via 
.Nm e-mail
to the proper apsfilter mailinglist.
.Pp
If apsfilter fails to print something or prints it in a way
you wouldn't expect and you want to report an apsfilter error
then please save the debugging output of one print session
using the new
.Xr aps2file 1
utility by typing
.Nm aps2file -D -Z options file > /dev/null 2> file.debug
and including the debugging output in the file
.Nm file.debug
into the edit session of the
.Nm apsfilter-bug
utility, so that it is included into the mail to the apsfilter
mailinglist.
.Pp
Please note that you need to run /bin/sh (Bourne Shell), bash
or a compatible shell, so that the above mentioned output
redirection works. Under C-shell (/bin/csh) or tcsh it would't
work. If you don't know, then simply make sure you use the
Bournce shell by typing
.Nm /bin/sh
or
.Nm bash ,
then you should have no problems with redirection of
.Nm stdout
and
.Nm stderr
(> /dev/null 2> file.debug).
.Sh DOCUMENTATION
See official apsfilter homepage
.Bl -tag -width XXXXXXXXXXXXXTHIS_MUCH_SPACEXXXXXXXXXXX -compact
.It Pa http://www.apsfilter.org/handbook.html
Apsfilter Handbook including the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
.Sh USER FORUM
Please send questions to the official apsfilter help channel
.Ic apsfilter-help@apsfilter.org .
The above section
.Nm BUGS
and the file
.Ic HOWTO-BUGREPORTS
tells you how to report bugs.
If you want to know how to troubleshoot your apsfilter installation,
please read the manpage
.Xr aps2file 1
and
.Xr apsfilter-bug 1
as well as the
.Ic Apsfilter Handbook
carefully.
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
manpage has been written by Michael Loßin <phallobst@web.de>
and first appeared in apsfilter V 7.1.0.