I would like to track the usage of my printer. When a user prints I would like a log file to be generated and then transfered to a different computer. With this running in the background unknown to the user. The only problem is that I have no idea where to start.
Inside this log file I would like the users name, name of printed file, and machine name.
Like I said, I have no idea where to start with this. Please help!!!
steve
Writing to the log is easy but catching all of the print calls from any application (along with the number of pages and copies) happens, I believe, at a much lower level than AppleScript is operating on and as such, impossible with AppleScript alone. (Somebody correct me if I’m wrong about this.) That said, this isn’t impossible if you are open to much more involved programming of an extension that can catch those print calls. For an idea of what is necessary, go to Kinko’s and sit down in front of one of their Macs and look at the software they’ve developed or take a look at PrintCapture.
Jon