DTPDMD(1)
okay so bestie, welcome to dtpdmd from the user cmd manual β the Print Dialog Manager daemon, and she is lowkey a long-lived icon π. this page is about how she gets a Print Dialog Manager (PDM) on behalf of an application, and honestly? the protocol lore ate. let's go π«Ά
πΈ NAME πΈ
dtpdmd β Print Dialog Manager daemon, your fave daemon bestie π
β¨ SYNOPSIS β¨
dtpdmd [-d display] [-a selection] [-p pdm] [-P pdm] [-s] [-l logfile]
π¦ DESCRIPTION π¦
the dtpdmd command uses the Print Dialog Manager Selection Protocol to start a Print Dialog Manager (PDM) on behalf of an application. no cap, that's the whole job and she's serving it.
dtpdmd is a long-lived daemon process that receives client requests for a PDM, uses some lookup rules, and then starts an appropriate PDM to service the request. when the PDM finishes, control returns to dtpdmd, and dtpdmd in turn responds to the client with the final status. it's giving main character daemon energy, fr fr β¨
π¬ PDMD/PDM Protocol π¬
dtpdmd uses a specific protocol to communicate with the PDM. communication to the PDM is done via a standardized command line and environment. communication from the PDM is done via standardized exit codes. iykyk π«Ά
π Standardized Command Line π
the standardized command line is as follows:
dt-pdm-command [dt-pdm-options] -vdisplay vdpy -window vwid -pdisplay pdpy -pcontext pcid
dt-pdm-commandβ specifies the path for the PDM executable. it is derived by thedtpdmdfrom either the-por-Poption.dt-pdm-optionsβ specifies options that may have accompanied thedt-pdm-command, whether specified on thedtpdmdcommand line by the-por-Poption or from other sources.-vdisplay vdpyβ specifies the display connection to the Video X-Server.-window vwidβ specifies the window id on the Video X-Server to which the PDM's dialogs should be posted as transient windows.-pdisplay pdpyβ specifies the display connection to the Print X-Server.-pcontext pcidβ specifies the print context id on the Print X-Server. the PDM uses this id to gain access to the print context being used by the requesting application.
π Standardized Exit Codes π
the standardized exit codes (defined as integer constants in Dt/dtpdmd.h) are as follows:
PDM_EXIT_OKβ the PDM is telling the PDMD that the user selected OK to dismiss the PDM.PDM_EXIT_CANCELβ the PDM is telling the PDMD that the user selected CANCEL to dismiss the PDM.DM_EXIT_VXAUTHβ the PDM is telling the PDMD that it did not have proper authority to make a display connection on the Video X-Server.PDM_EXIT_PXAUTHβ the PDM is telling the PDMD that it did not have proper authority to make a display connection to the Print X-Server.PDM_EXIT_ERRORβ the PDM is telling the PDMD that it encountered an error.all other valuesβ the PDMD treats all unknown return values the same asPDM_EXIT_ERROR. such return values are likely from uncontrollable exit conditions often found in other libraries (for example, untrapped XIO errors fromlibX).
π OPTIONS π
the following options are available:
-d displayβ specifies the display connection to an X-Server upon which an X-selection will be created and managed for requests. if specified, it overrides the environment variableXPDMDISPLAY.-a selectionβ specifies an alternative X-selection name fordtpdmdto create and manage. if specified, it overrides the environment variableXPDMSELECTION. by default, the selection name isPDM_MANAGER.-p pdmβ specifies a PDM execution string to use if no other PDM execution string can be derived, usually from the Server Attributedt-pdm-commandfrom the X-Server. by default, the execution string isdtpdm. all execution strings are applied against the current search path.-P pdmβ specifies an alternative PDM execution string that overrides all other sources of such execution strings. all execution strings are applied against the current search path.-sβ instructsdtpdmdto turn on the security exchange portion of the PDM Selection Protocol. by default,dtpdmddoes not exchange security information with an application over the wire, so the appearance of auto hosting cannot be done.-l logfileβ specifies a file fordtpdmdto use for logging errors and warnings. entries are time-stamped and may be generated bydtpdmdor any child PDM viastderr. the previous contents of the log file are destroyed. by default,/dev/nullis used.
π ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES π
prior to starting a PDM, the dtpdmd may first modify the following environment variable:
XAUTHORITYβ if thedtpdmdhas come into possession of X-authority information that the PDM will need, it sets this environment variable so that the PDM will automatically have access to the proper X-authority information.
in addition, the dtpdmd may set a locale hint passed to it by the PDM Selection Protocol from the client prior to starting a PDM. on POSIX systems, setlocale(3C) will be used. cute, functional, and locale-aware π§
π RESOURCES π
None. literally none bestie π
π§ ACTIONS/MESSAGES π§
None. no actions, no messages, just vibes π«Ά
π ERRORS/WARNINGS π
None. iconic behavior, honestly π
π FILES π
None. not a file in sight πΈ
β EXAMPLES β
None. the original page said None, and we respect the minimalist queen π
π SEE ALSO π
dtpdm1
that's the whole page, bestie β signed off by dtpdmd from the user cmd manual; the footer has no date listed, so we're not inventing one, and we're leaving you with footer energy ππ
π¦ where this page comes from
- nixos 26.05: cde 2.5.3
- π girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms