Hi Roxana,
As of ur query, I understand that you want the user to modify the spool file in the request directory. That means, user should be able to modify it before it gets printed.
In a printer spooler system,when a user submits a job with the command "lp", the print job gets queued. From now on, the system admin user takes care of the queue, and normal user would not have a direct command on the job except for "Cancelling" his own requests using "cancel" command. And also its safe the files are not directly meddled by end user on the files queued in request directory. That is the reason, "cancel" command was developed to give normal users to cancel the request. If the normal user finds the print job not suitable,better he/she cancels the job, modifies the file as required and fire the print again.
The files in request directory is transient. By trantient I mean, the OS will be using these files to print it and remove the files from here. Lets say, u open one of the file using vi, and the os decides to print and delete, by the time u modify and save. It could lead to a inconsistent state with unknown results. Thats the reason its left alone there and remove the file's manually as "root" if cancel -e fails or in case you want to flush the queue for a particular printer.
regards,
Senthil
P.S : why there is a duplicate thread on this Roxana, its queit ambiguaous which answer u are following.
Let your effort be such, the very words to define it, by a layman - would sound like a "POETRY" ;)
