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I`ve been using Linux for four month.
Mint Qiana,Peppermint 3, Lubuntu14.04.1.

When I set up my printer, I downloaded the following:

  • cupswrapperHL2270DW-2.0.4-2.i386.deb --Archive
  • Brother-HL-2170W-hpijs-pcl5e.ppd --Text
  • hl2270dwlpr-2.1.0-1.i386.deb --Archive

My printer may be using these files when printing or have already use them in some manner. These files are designated Type: Archive.
Do these files have to be permanently in the Downloads folder?
Are they being used by the OS where they currently reside or are they remnants from the installation and can be removed/deleted because they have already been incorporated within my printer setup?
If these .deb files are being used, where should they normally be placed other than the Downloads folder or is the Downloads folder the only place to keep these files so they can be used to print?
If these files must be kept, how would I safely relocated them from the Downloads folder and place them in the normal file system so that they remain functional for printing?

Regarding the Brother ppd.Text file : This file was also sent to the Printer software interface and is being used. Can this file be safety removed?
I'm not 100% sure I can remove it without rendering my printer setup relegated to become useless?
Here again, the same above questions apply, only in this case regarding this particular Text file.

To answer my own questions, I'm guessing the answer to be:
The ppdText/.deb files: OK to delete them, OS software has stored-saved them in some form and has completed using them. These are remnants and will not effect your printer/other interface/operation if you delete/permanently remove them.

Pabi
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Bobww
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  • If your printers work, delete them. This will move them to Trash. Reboot and check if your printers work. They should. Empty Trash. – user68186 Aug 04 '14 at 16:12
  • I think I will hold off on emptying trash for a short while. But your comment seems correct. My printer is still functioning correctly. – Bobww Aug 08 '14 at 15:17
  • The deb files are somewhat like combination of a zip file and a install.exe file. I am oversimplifying. In any case, once installed you don't need them. Unless for some reason you have to format your / partition and do a clean install of Ubuntu. Note, unlike Windows, Ubuntu does not empty Trash on its own. If you don't touch it, these files may sit there for ever. – user68186 Aug 08 '14 at 15:31

1 Answers1

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You have downloaded a .deb file; the next step would be to do sudo dpkg -i nameofdebfile.deb. If you have done that, the contents are moved elsewhere and it's OK to delete the .deb file. If you haven't, the OS is not using it.

As for the .ppd file: this was copied to a system location (under /etc or /usr) when you installed the printer. If the printer works fine, you can delete it.

Suppose you were not the only user of your computer. Somebody else might like to use that printer as well. So it wouldn't be logical to leave these configuration files in the private folders of a common user. As an administrator, with your sudo hat on, you placed them in a location that is "system-wide" and can be used by any user.

Jos
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  • Good answer. The files (.debs) seem to have been copied to other directories as stated but not as .debs. The .ppd was copied to other directories as .ppd. Printer is functioning. – Bobww Aug 08 '14 at 15:22
  • That is correct, the .deb files have not themselves been copied. A .deb file is merely a container, like a .zip file. If you feel your question has been answered, please mark it as such. Thanks. – Jos Aug 08 '14 at 15:52
  • Note that dpkg (often) does more than just copy files when it installs software. It's somewhat misleading to say that a .deb file is merely a container, because installing one with dpkg may cause installation scripts to be run--an action with no analogue in the unpacking of a zip file. Furthermore, while dpkg must be run as root (with sudo), opening archives as root (with sudo) does not generally unpack them to special, systemwide places; and running dpkg not as root will simply fail, rather than installing software in the directory where it is run. – Eliah Kagan Aug 11 '14 at 14:09