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Linux — Basic Utilities: Printing & Email

Short & clear revision notes · 4 topics

01 · Formatting for Print — pr

The pr command does minor formatting of files before printing or display. It does not modify the original file — only changes how it looks on screen or on paper.

pr option(s) filename(s)
Option What it does
-k Produces k columns of output
-d Double-spaces the output
-h "header" Sets a custom report header
-t Removes header and top/bottom margins
-l PAGE_LENGTH Sets page length (default: 66 lines, 56 lines of text)
-o MARGIN Offsets each line by MARGIN spaces
-w PAGE_WIDTH Sets page width (default: 72 characters)

Example — two-column report with a header:

$ pr -2 -h "Restaurants" food

Nov 7 9:58 1997   Restaurants   Page 1

Sweet Tooth          Isle of Java
Bangkok Wok          Big Apple Deli
Mandalay             Sushi and Sashimi
Afghani Cuisine      Tio Pepe's Peppers

💡 A common workflow: format with pr first, then send to the printer with lp or lpr.

02 · Printing Files — lp & lpr

These commands send a file to a physical printer (as opposed to the screen).

Command What it does
lp food Print file food on the default printer
lp -n3 food Print 3 copies
lp -dprinter food Print to a specific named printer
lpr food Same as lp (BSD-style)
lpr -3 food Print 3 copies (lpr style)
lpr -Pprinter food Print to a specific printer (lpr style)

Example output:

$ lp food
request id is laserp-525 (1 file)

💡 The request ID (e.g. laserp-525) is used to check status or cancel the job later.

03 · Managing the Print Queue — lpstat, lpq, cancel, lprm

Checking the queue

Command What it shows
lpstat -o All pending print requests (ID, owner, size, time, status)
lpq Queue with rank, owner, job number, files, and total size 
$ lpq
laserp is ready and printing
Rank    Owner   Job   Files           Total Size
active  john    573   report.ps       128865 bytes
1st     grace   574   ch03.ps         82744 bytes
2nd     john    575   standard input  23347 bytes

Cancelling a job

Command What it does
cancel laserp-575 Cancel a specific print job by ID
cancel laserp Cancel whatever is currently printing on that printer
lprm 575 Cancel job number 575 (lpr style)
lprm - Cancel all your jobs in the queue 
$ cancel laserp-575
request "laserp-575" cancelled

⚠️ You can only cancel your own jobs. Root can cancel anyone's.

04 · Sending Email — mail

The mail command sends and receives email from the terminal.

mail [-s subject] [-c cc-addr] [-b bcc-addr] to-addr
Option What it does
-s Specifies the subject line
-c Sends a carbon copy (CC) — comma-separated list of addresses
-b Sends a blind carbon copy (BCC) — comma-separated list

Sending a quick email

$ mail -s "Test Message" admin@yahoo.com
Hi,
This is a test
.                   ← type a lone dot to finish
Cc:                 ← add CC addresses or press Enter to skip

💡 Press Ctrl+D at the start of a new line, or type a single . on its own line to send.

Sending a file as email body

$ mail -s "Report 05/06/07" admin@yahoo.com < demo.txt

Use the < redirect operator to send an entire file as the message body — no typing needed.

Checking incoming mail

$ mail
no email

Quick Reference

Format a file:
  pr -2 -h "Title" filename       # 2 columns with header

Print a file:
  lp filename                     # default printer
  lp -n2 filename                 # 2 copies
  lp -dprinter filename           # specific printer

Check / cancel print jobs:
  lpstat -o                       # show all jobs
  lpq                             # show queue with rank
  cancel laserp-575               # cancel by job ID
  lprm -                          # cancel all your jobs

Send email:
  mail -s "Subject" user@email.com
  mail -s "Subject" user@email.com < file.txt   # send a file
  mail                            # check inbox

Linux Basic Utilities (Printing & Email) Notes — for revision use