Device Description INI files: section [ppd]

Section [ppd]

Note

This section is optional.

An example

This example is inspired by the PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification 4.3 document:

[ppd]
manufacturer=Acme
product=Laser Printer
model=Acme Laser Printer v.2021
shortnick=Acme Laser Printer
nick=Acme Laser Printer v.2021

Optional keys are

Key	Description
product	printer name
manufacturer	manufacturer name
model	model name
shortnick	nick name without version information
nick	nick name with version information

In order to generate PPDs which are compliant to the PPD spec, some PPD entries are required and their content is somehow restricted. These PPD entries are:

• *Manufacturer
• *Product
• *ModelName
• *ShortNickName
• *NickName

When generating these PPD entries some fallbacks are used. But these might not be compliant to the PPD spec. In order to generate compliant content a [ppd] section can be used and is favoured when generating these PPD entries.

*Manufacturer

The manufacturer key value sets up a string naming the vendor of the device, like "Acme" for example. It should use ASCII only. If omitted, the vendor's value from the [info] section is used as a fallback.

*Product

The product key value corresponds exactly to the product string of the device, like "Laser Printer". If omitted, the device's value from the [info] section is used as a fallback.

*ModelName

The model key value can use utf-8 for its encoding. It represents the common name of the device, like "Acme Laser Printer v1.0" for example. It must be unique for a given model of device. The characters to form the model name are restricted. Refer the spec for details. If not defined, the device's value from the [info] section is used as a fallback.

*ShortNickName

The shortnick key value length is limited to 31 or less characters by the PPD spec, but should match *NickName, but without any version information. If not defined, the device's value from the [info] section is used as a fallback.

*NickName

The nick key should contain the manufacturer’s name followed by the device’s name with a trailing version information. If not defined, the device's value from the [info] section is used as a fallback.