cancel(C)

cancel -- cancel requests to lineprinter

Syntax

cancel request-id ... [ printer ... ]

cancel [ request-id ... ] printer ...

Description

The cancel command cancels printer requests that were made by the lp(C) command. The arguments may be request-ids, printer names, or a list of both. (Request IDs are the print job identification codes returned by lp. A complete list of printer names can be found using lpstat(C).)

Specifying a request-id cancels the associated request even if it is currently printing. Specifying a printer cancels the request that is currently printing on that printer. In either case, the cancellation of a request that is currently printing frees the printer to print its next available request.

Exit values

cancel returns the following values:

0: successful completion
>0: an error occurred

Limitations

Most systems print quickly, so cancel must be used quickly to succeed.

Authorization

The printer subsystem authorization is controlled by the lp authorization. See subsystem(M) for further details.

cancel allows only the root user and printer administrators cancel any job. Other users may only cancel their own jobs. If a job is cancelled by root or a printer administrator, the person who initiated the job is informed by mail unless the file /etc/default/lpd contains CANCEL_MAIL=NO.

Standards conformance

cancel is conformant with:

ISO/IEC DIS 99452:1992, Information technology Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) Part 2: Shell and Utilities (IEEE Std 1003.21992);
AT&T SVID Issue 2;
X/Open CAE Specification, Commands and Utilities, Issue 4, 1992.