I have tried a lot of what has been mentioned here, but with no success either. I edited my config file as follows. It will no longer ask for username & password, but it might be a good idea to change it back when you are finished just to prevent any potential security probs.

<Location /admin>
#
# You definitely will want to limit access to the administration functions.
# The default configuration requires a local connection from a user who
# is a member of the system group to do any admin tasks. You can change
# the group name using the SystemGroup directive.
#

#AuthType Basic
#AuthClass System
AuthType None

Just comment out the original "AuthType" and AuthClass" and add the line that follows.

I am using xfce too and i have setup a samba printer using lpadmin, i added my user to the lpadmin group. If it was a local printer, it would have been the same.

I fixed it now...
Here is what I did...
I then changed the cupsd.conf back to the way it was... uncommenting the following fields...
And that did it.
Now when I go into CUPS, it will make me login, and root works, when viewing the jobs or whatever.

ploosh: you're missing something - what functionality were you looking for?
- note: the ubuntuguide tells you how to make a root user - then, log in as root and try. sudo dosn't use "root password", it uses the normal user password.
... have you tried the suggestions from chessforce and zeos? How did you get on?

eduardo451: Ubuntu, under gnome, has special tools for configuring CUPS printers. However, eben in xfce you can add a printer queue even if it dosn't configure the printer.

jaa1180 said:... but fails to specify which of the problems posted he has the same as. It cannot be the same as eduardo451 since he (jaa1180) is usinf gnome and eduardo is using xfce. In gnome you are expected to use the printer admin dialog. Perhaps it is the same as ploosh (post #1)? In which case, please specify what functionality you require which is not supplied by the dialog.This is incomprehensible to me... perhaps others will know what you refer to in each case but could you clarify for me please: which is the "other way" you speak of? What do you mean by "efficient"? You want to turn "it" off... what? CUPS?

Generally: if this is about trying to connect ubuntu to a network printer (see post #1 again) then please give details. Otherwise everyone will just be going around in circles.

... well done

... and to MrCheeks too

Did "system>settings>peripherals" Add "AddPrinter/class" , select "local printer" find your printer? Mine did. By continuing on I ended up with "Print system currently used: CUPS ( Common UNIX Print System )"

I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but I did the configuerations as a user for two different printers.

Incidently, I found that I had some hardware problems with Kubuntu 5.10, but they all went away when I installed Ubuntu 5.10 and then added the necessary packages to run the KDE disktop.

After fiddling a bit I see what's happening:

One may configure a printer by one of three methods:
1. got to system > admin > printer then follow the dialogs
2. lpadmin -p from the command line
3. in a browser, go to http://localhost:631/admin and use that.

The trouble folk have been having is that, in ubuntu, localhost:631/admin requires admin password access and no password is recognised no matter what. (In my Fedora system, my user password works as I am a member of the lpadmin group, but no other users are.)

In ubuntu, being a member of the lpadmin group dosn't help with this. The distributors want to force users to use method 1 or 2 (above).

The reason for this is that ubuntu is a rootless system (prime-user = sudo) without a firewall. So, technically, you don't want folk offline to have access to the admin functions of CUPS. Stopping http access to cups will stop penitration by this means.

I can think of a few reasons this may be considered a pain. Like, you may want to be able to configure a print server on a network by http from your office.

However, lpadmin still goes and will work on a network. But this is cli and part of the ubuntu paradigm is to remove cli from routine tasks.

The alterations suggested by jaa1180 do, indeed, fix this. But he forgot to mention you need to restart cups for the change to take effect.

Basically, the cups daemon etc acts as user cupsys and group lpadmin. To check encrypted passwords (like the root password right?) cupsys needs to be a member of group "shadow" (the group of users who can access shadow passwords).

Then cups has t know to look - so cupsd.conf has to be altered to allow md5 authentication. That's the key uncommenting needed.

(Presumably he previosly tried to remove the authentication request entirely by commenting out all the authentication lines. The default is supposed to be anonymous use...)

I still havn't found anything in option 3 which is not in option 1.

Oops... you are right.

I have Ubuntu Breezy on a Acer Aspire 3003. I cart it around internet cafe's and, as a result of this thread, I've been experimenting with using the network printers.

The dialog in system > admin > printer works for all the networks (they all ran windows printer shares). In one case the driver for the specific printer wasn't present but I noticed that all the close models used the post-script driver, so I used that. Sure enough, it worked.

So, once more, there seems to be no functionality lost in removing access to the http dialog.

Ubuntu has been attracting a bit of attention as a result of all this fiddling ...

I disagree.. there is functional loss. Have you tried naming the printer? Well, you can't. Naming is not that big of a deal... except from the command line.
My printer name is 'cp' standing for Canon IP3000 printer. So instead of being at the command line and typing...
I type
its a small thing but it helps.

Also, I just cannot seem to get the pause, cancel job, and changing the configuration of the printer to work right.

However, a quick stop at localhost:631 and zaappp... done.

Can you reject a job from option 1? Hmmm....

The Web version is just better.

I disagree.. there is functional loss. Have you tried naming the printer? Well, you can't. Naming is not that big of a deal... except from the command line.

I cannot name the printers from option 1. Interesting.
The printers get named for the drivers - what would happen if I had two different printers using the same driver I wonder...

Can you reject a job from option 1? Hmmm....

Yeah you can - the "cancel" button will reject pending jobs as well as cancel jobs in progress. There is usually a delay in cancelling - I think the cli "cancel" gets more priority than the script call from gui. Apart from that, it works "properly".

The naming is really only a problem if you have multiple printers (when it could become a pain). I've found: http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-7059.html
...which comes up with another method for this specific purpose. The point is still present though: you cannot rename a printe from the printers dialog.

If you have only one printer - then you needent specify a printer name: it's the default.

Printing from applications will use the application printing dialog anyway. These will supply a list of available printers, selected with a single click.

I have mostly needed to print from dvi files (I use latex extensively) and so use dvips from cli a lot. At home, this will print to the default printer happily. At work, I have to specify a printer name as in

dvips -P lab-laserjet fubar.dvi

The ubuntu default name is lj4, which is actually nicer (!) but I can see why HL-6000CN may be a messy name. But this is so common I have a script for the task.

I guess a non web approach to changing the default names would involve writing a script for it. It would accept the old name and the new name, rename the /etc/cups/ppd file and search the /etc/cups/printer.conf for the old name and replace with the new name. (Probably using sed or somesuch.) I don't see why this shouldn't be in the dialog though.

/usr/bin/gnome-cups-manager is a binary file (I was hoping for a script), so I'd have to edit the source code and recompile.

I think there's a valid reason for complaint here, at least on general principles. If they're going to remove access to localhost:631, they should supply the functionality via another means. (Mind you, I havn't actually looked through the packages to see if there is a better printer manager elsewhere...)

For administrating printers, I can see you'd prefer option 3 as things stand. I wonder if this option is also disabled in the server install?

Another howto, for enabling the cupsys page:

Question good young Skywalker.. Yes...

But master jaa1180, I want the answers now! Or better, that there be no questions ... perhaps I shall embrace the redmond side of the force after all! My ignorance shall be my guide... <dribbles a bit> ... my father tells me there is a whole new Vista[tm] coming... soon my pet, soon, the World shall fall before the mighty bundle and there will be peice at last.

No young padwan. Hold true to the linux force you must, strong is it in you.
And the world may know of Vista, but you the truth and freedom is in your grasp.

Go and study the links link in my signature and walk in the realm of the Linux Jedis.