To save memory, the applet waits first of all until the user has printed a job before putting the icon in the notification area. To invoke the print job manager before a job has been printed, run the applet with the --no-tray-icon option: a desktop file is provided for this, so that it should appear in the system menu.

As well as displaying a printer icon in the notification area, the applet also provides a D-BUS server for the com.redhat.PrintDriverSelection interface, to help configure a new printer when it is plugged in.