CUPS printing administration and the root account

Yesterday we noted that CUPS, Mac OS X's built-in printing architecture (which will not allow you to access printer settings unless a root account is enabled with a password) may not recognize the root password, or the root password may be deleted entirely for some reason

MacFixIt reader John VanKammen has since submitted a method that avoids enabling root and allows you to use CUPS by simply providing your admin account credentials when prompted.

Open the file /etc/cups/cupsd.conf and change the following:

From:



#Encryption Required

<limit get>

AuthType Basic

AuthClass System

</Limit>



To:



<Limit GET>

#AuthType Basic

AuthType Shadow Hash

AuthGroupName admin

AuthClass System

</Limit>

</Location>

Reboot your computer and you should be able to access and configure settings in CUPS by using your regular admin account rather than enabling root.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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