Score:2

Ubuntu

Unable to print files with links in them. How can I debug what is going on and why printer refuses to work?

reducing activity

2/15/23, 9:44 AM

I have Brother HL-11 printer that worked fine.

But recently I noticed that I am unable to print files with links in them

I have a big pdf file that could be send to printer with no reaction at all and disappearing from printing queue. Deleting this link caused to get a printable file.

This seems weirdly specific and hope that maybe someone has an idea what is going on.

Extra info as requested:

I am using Ubuntu 20.04 (Lubuntu to be extra specific)
I tried making simplest possible PDF with just link and it printed fine. So either original file was extra-special or it fixed itself in some update. I will try tracking it down.
printer model:

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printing

brother

24601

2/15/23, 9:54 AM

might this be an issue with the postscript driver? There may be something in [this reference](https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/print-to-pdf-include-hyperlinks/m-p/2965253) which provides some clues. Have you tried using a different printer driver or copy/past the text to LO and print from there?

reducing activity

3/24/23, 4:53 PM

@24601 "copy/past the text to LO and print from there?" - what you mean by LO?

reducing activity

3/24/23, 4:53 PM

note to self: I started bounty here

Pilot6

3/24/23, 5:03 PM

LO means Libre Office. Are you using Ubuntu? Which release?

Score:2

Ubuntu

sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio

3/25/23, 10:20 AM

"... maybe someone has an idea what is going on." I don't, maybe after you provide some info, as mentioned below.

As of now, possible actions are:

Split the pdf in 3: The problematic page, everything before, and everything after. Try printing those three.

Besides, please post the following info (in the body of OP, not in comments). I expect the diagnosis is very much reliant on availability of problematic sample files.

How many pages does the PDF have? Can you share it?
What is the source of the PDF? Can you edit the source and regenerate it?
Does the problem show up with other PDFs that include hyperlinks? Can you generate a simple such example by exporting from LibreOffice Writer, e.g.?
What version of Ubuntu are you using? (lsb_release -a)
What application are you using to view/print the PDF?
What is the exact model of your printer? There seems to be no HL-11.
How did you install the printer driver? Where did you get it from? Which version is it? Is it this written by you? Did you repeat the 2017 procedure in your current Ubuntu? What about: 1) Newer official drivers, 2) This (you may have it already available), 3) the driver from openprinting?
The printer "worked fine"... What does that exactly mean? Were you able to print documents with links before? The same document that you cannot now?

Of course, having another printer to test and compare would help, but that is usually beyond reach.

Note: the PDF splitting can be achieved with several programs 1, 2. I have used PDFtk, for which there are several GUIs (pdfchain, etc.) Others seem to also work: Apache PDFBox, pdfseparate, QPDF, etc.

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reducing activity

3/25/23, 10:55 AM

For workarounds - I edited the file removing all links what also worked.

reducing activity

3/25/23, 11:02 AM

I have sticker starting from "Brother model HL-11", I attached photo to the question (re "What is the exact model of your printer? There seems to be no HL-11.")

reducing activity

3/25/23, 11:06 AM

To my deep irritation it now works on the original document. Not sure is it case of PEBKAC or update with bugfix (at least driver, Okular, Firefox, Google Docs could be buggy). It probably was not a loose cable as original file failed many times in row, file without linking was printing fine after that and on repeated attempt original file failed again multiple times.

reducing activity

3/25/23, 11:08 AM

I will award bounty soon, SE is not allowing me to do this now.

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: Unable to print files with links in them. How can I debug what is going on and why printer refuses to work?

TH: ไม่สามารถพิมพ์ไฟล์ที่มีลิงก์อยู่ในนั้น ฉันจะดีบักสิ่งที่เกิดขึ้นและเหตุใดเครื่องพิมพ์จึงปฏิเสธที่จะทำงานได้อย่างไร

RO: Nu se pot imprima fișiere cu linkuri în ele. Cum pot depana ce se întâmplă și de ce imprimanta refuză să funcționeze?

RU: Невозможно распечатать файлы со ссылками в них. Как я могу отладить, что происходит и почему принтер отказывается работать?

VI: Không thể in các tệp có liên kết trong đó. Làm cách nào để gỡ lỗi những gì đang diễn ra và tại sao máy in từ chối hoạt động?

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