Network Printers


Auto-created network printers allow an administrator to import available printers from network print servers. The import process will install, if it is not already installed, the print driver from the network print server onto the MetaFrame XP server when a user logs in. Once the printers are imported, an administrator can assign users or groups to have that printer auto-created automatically. Additionally, it is possible to set basic default print properties for that printer. Users can be given the ability to then change those print settings or the administrator can push those settings back down to the user at each user logon.

Advantages of network auto-created printers:

  • Printers can be auto-created for users on a per-user or group basis.

  • Printer settings can be set for the user.

  • MetaFrame XP integration with network print servers is seamless.

  • Network traffic is minimized by taking the client out of the print process.

Disadvantages of network auto-created printers:

  • There is no way to specify which printer is set as default for users that have multiple printers created.

  • Users cannot utilize local printers unless client auto-creation is also used.

Importing Network Print Server

The import of Network print servers is rather simple.

  1. Log in to the CMC.

  2. Right-click Printer Management.

  3. Click Import Network Print Server.

  4. Enter the NETBIOS name or IP address of the print server in the Server field, then enter an account that has full permission to all printers on that server and click OK.

The printers from that server should now appear under Printers in the Printer Management section of the CMC.

Configuring Network Printer Auto-Creation

Users must be assigned permissions to imported network printers in order for them to appear in their ICA session. The process for assigning user permissions to these printers is quite simple.

  1. Log in to the CMC.

  2. Open Printer Management.

  3. Click Printers (available printers will appear in the right-hand pane).

  4. Right-click the printer to be configured and click Auto-Creation.

  5. Add users or groups by selecting them and clicking Add. Then click OK, as shown in Figure 18-9.

    click to expand
    Figure 18-9: The Auto-Creation Settings dialog box

Note

Printing preferences such as paper size, copy count, print quality, and orientation can be set for a printer by clicking the Printing Preferences button on the Auto-Creation screen.

Note

Auto-created network printer settings can be updated at each logon by selecting the Printers section of the Printer Management Properties in the CMC. This should be selected if auto-created network printers are to be updated with settings assigned in the Management Console. Any changes made by users are replaced with the assigned settings every time the users log on. Do not select this option if you want to retain the changes that users make during ICA sessions to their network printer settings.

Printer Default

The Windows Printers folder may need to be published to end users to allow them to set a default printer if only network printers are utilized. The Printers folder is traditionally in the Control Panel or is accessible from the Start menu, but if users are using a locked-down desktop or only published applications, they need a way to manage their own default printer. The best way to accomplish this is to give the user a published application of the Printers folder.

The Printers folder is a shell extension that usually resides off the Control Panel. A globally unique ID (GUID) declares shell extensions. Printers are a Control Panel extension in the registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ {2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}. This generated identifier represents the extension and points to the proper DLL to run it. It defines the icon, the folder name, and so on. Using this extension with its default name value (Printers), you can run the extension independently in an Explorer instance. For example:

  1. Create a new folder on the desktop and name it Printers, {2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}. When you press ENTER after you create this folder, you will notice that the folder icon changes to the Printers folder icon. If you open the folder, you will see your printers.

  2. Create this new folder in the All Users profile folder in the Start menu.

  3. Publish the folder as a published application.

    • Copy the \Windows\explorer.exe program to a new location with a new name (for example, C:\Print\explorerp.exe).

    • Rename it so that it runs as a unique process.

    • Publish the function using the new Explorer instance.

    • Name the application Print and use the following command line (assuming you created the Printers folder on the root drive C): C:\print\explorerp.exe n,/root,C:\Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}.




Citrix Metaframe Access Suite for Windows Server 2003(c) The Official Guide
Citrix Access Suite 4 for Windows Server 2003: The Official Guide, Third Edition
ISBN: 0072262893
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 158

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