What this PPD inspector checks
The parser verifies the first-line marker and core identity headers, keeps every keyword/value entry, balances groups and OpenUI/CloseUI blocks, inventories each UI choice, and checks that defaults name real choices. It also validates legacy and CUPS constraint references, option ordering references, classic 255-character line guidance, paper dimensions, and imageable-area bounds.
PageSize, PaperDimension, and ImageableArea
A PPD normally connects the selectable PageSize names with point-based physical dimensions and printable rectangles. The report joins these records by exact choice name, identifies missing or orphaned geometry, checks the rectangle against the sheet, converts points to inches and millimetres, calculates margins, and draws a proportional preview. It does not infer geometry from PostScript commands.
Options, constraints, and command strings
Print dialogs are built from UI options and their choices. Defaults must resolve to declared choices, while constraints describe combinations the device or driver does not allow. Choice values can contain PostScript or driver-specific commands; filter entries can name executable programs. This page treats all such content as inert text and reports it for review.
Driver and validation boundary
A clean report does not prove that a PPD is safe, installable, complete, or correct for a printer. The inspector does not execute PostScript, resolve CUPS filters, validate every Adobe or vendor keyword, model custom page-size code, apply localization rules fully, query hardware, or test driver output. Run cupstestppd or the relevant platform validator, inspect any referenced executable, and test with the exact operating system, CUPS release, printer language, firmware, and device before deployment.
Frequently asked questions
Are PPD command strings executed?
No. Option commands and filter declarations are rendered as text only. The page does not contain a PostScript interpreter and never starts a local program.
Why is a missing paper record only a warning?
Vendor and CUPS extensions can represent media in different ways. Missing same-name PaperDimension or ImageableArea data is suspicious and worth reviewing, but this bounded inspector does not assume it makes every target workflow invalid.
Does this replace cupstestppd?
No. The CUPS validator enforces a much wider set of requirements and target-specific rules. This page is intended for quick private inventory and relationship checks before that authoritative step.
Can it edit or repair a driver?
No. Changing defaults, constraints, commands, or filters can alter printing behavior and security exposure. Corrections should be made deliberately from the vendor or source-driver definition.
Format references
The syntax and relationship checks are grounded in the Adobe PPD 4.3 specification and the CUPS PPD extensions specification. CUPS specifically recommends cupstestppd when developing files with constraints.
Inspect EPS/PostScript DSC · Inspect PDF page boxes · Browse printing tools