Available in PaperCut NG and PaperCut MF.

Install the User Client on Linux and Unix

You can deploy the PaperCut NG/MF User ClientThe User Client tool is an add-on that resides on a user's desktop. It allows users to view their current account balance via a popup window, provides users with the opportunity to confirm what they are about to print, allows users to select shared accounts via a popup, if administrators have granted access to this feature, and displays system messages, such as the "low credit" warning message or print policy popups. software on Linux and other Unix based operating systems using the following installation procedure.

Step 1 - Install Java 11+

Linux and Unix workstations are supported via Java. Java version 11 or higher is required. Your Linux distribution might have Java pre-installed or have the option to install. If no Java option exists, you will need to install Java 11 for your distribution

Step 2 - Copy (or mount) the PaperCut NG/MF User Client files

Similar to the Windows version of the client software, the Linux/Unix Java version is installed in the ~/client directory on the server. Copy or make available to the Linux/Unix workstation, all files in this directory. Common methods include:

  • Copying the files from the server using file transfer programs such as FTP or scp.

  • If the server is Windows based, connecting using smbclient or the Gnome or KDE smb:// file browsing tools. The client files are shared via a read-only share called \\[server_name]\PCClient.

  • If the server is Linux based, consider exporting the ~papercut/client directory via NFS and mounting on the workstations. The client can then be ran directly from the mount.

If the workstation is used by multiple users, copy the client directory to a common location such as /usr/local/papercut/client.

Step 3 - File permissions

Open a command prompt and set execute permissions on the pc-client-linux.sh file as follows:

cd /usr/local/papercut/client

chmod 755 ./pc-client-linux.sh

Step 4 - Testing

Log on as a user (a user listed in the PaperCut NG/MF system) in your preferred Linux desktop GUI environment. Locate and execute the file /usr/local/papercut/client/pc-client-linux.sh. The PaperCut NG/MF client should open displaying the user's account balance.

It is usual to configure the client as a "Startup Program" or "AutoStart Program" launched during login. See your desktop documentation to see how to define a startup program.

A number of command-line options are available to change the client's behavior. For more information, see Configure the User Client using the command-line.