SHARED PRINTER ANNOYANCES | Home Networking Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Home Network

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The Annoyance:

We have two HP DeskJet 550C printers, each of which is attached to a different computer. On the Sharing tab of each printer's Properties dialog box, I selected the option to share the printer. Windows gave both printers the same sharename: HPDeskJe. After I install these printers on all the computers on the network, how will users be able to tell which printer is which?

The Fix:

Users won't be able to tell the difference, but don't worry. You don't have to use the name Windows enters on the Sharing tab; it's only a suggestion. Replace the name with something more meaningful, such as the printer's location. For example, use DJ-Blue for the printer attached to the computer in the bedroom with blue walls, or DJ-Amy if the printer is attached to the computer in Amy's room.

You can also use the name to describe the printer's use. For example, even if both printers have the capacity to print color, you might want to assign one printer for color documents and the other printer for black-and-white documents. Then name the first printer "Color" and the other one "Black." Assuming you can convince everyone in the household that most documents don't really need colored text (good luck, especially with the kids), this will save you big bucks in color cartridge expenses. (For a way to enforce these rules, see "Limit Printing Choices to Avoid Printing Errors.")

Tip: You can include comments and other information about a printer (such as its location) on the General tab of the printer's Properties dialog box (see "Display Detailed Descriptions of Printers").

TO WINDOWS, PRINTERS AREN'T REAL

After you complete the installation routine for a printer, an icon for the printer appears in your Printers folder (or Printers and Faxes folder in Windows XP). The icon represents a virtual printer, not the physical printer. The virtual printer is a collection of software files called drivers. When you print, the software sends the file to the virtual printer, at which point your document becomes what is called a print job. Windows now takes over the printing process and uses a complicated set of software programs (such as drivers, software monitors, and spoolers) to guide the print job through the printing process. Windows communicates directly with the physical printer regardless of where it is located on the network, thereby providing shared printing services to multiple users while keeping each user's document intact.

OLDER COMPUTERS MIGHT NOT FIND THE PRINTERS

The Annoyance:

I shared two printers on our three-computer network. I named one printer DeskJet-FamilyRoom and the other printer LaserJet-Bedroom. However, I can't install these printers on my Windows 98SE computer. I used both the Add Printer Wizard and the Network Neighborhood window to search for the printers, but they're not listed anywhere.

The Fix:

Windows 98SE, like other versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000, can't see a sharename longer than 12 characters (including dashes and other punctuation). When you shared the printers, a Windows message such as the one shown in Figure 5-1 popped up after you clicked OK.

The message doesn't explain that all versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000 are really MS-DOS-based operating systems with the Windows graphical interface running on top, and are therefore considered MS-DOS computers. None of those versions of Windows can manage long sharenames. You probably didn't realize that you were running any of those ancient MS-DOS (text-based) computers on your network.

Figure 5-1. This message from Windows is so badly written that it qualifies as inaccurate.

What makes all of this more confusing, and more annoying, is that Windows 9X supports long filenames, so it's logical to believe that a long sharename is acceptable. However, logic doesn't work here. For future reference, keep in mind that the 12-character limitation is applied to sharenames for all types of sharesprinters, drives, and folders. To Windows XP's credit, when you share a folder or drive with a sharename longer than 12 characters, a cogent, precise message appears to explain the ramifications (see Chapter 2 to learn about sharing folders and drives).

To resolve the problem, open each printer's Properties dialog box, click the Sharing tab, and choose a sharename with 12 characters or less. The printers will now show up in Network Neighborhood and the Add Printer Wizard of your Windows 98SE computer. After the installation, the printers will have icons in the Printers folder.

DISPLAY DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF PRINTERS

The Annoyance:

I used the handy-dandy Comment field in the printer's Properties dialog box to provide information about our shared printers. For instance, I entered instructions for using a printer that has two trays, each containing a specific type of paper (Tray#1=plain paper and Tray#2=checks). That description isn't displayed when users select a printer, so what's the point of having the Comment field?

The Fix:

Good question. I wish I had a good answer. Does "beats me" qualify as a good answer? You're rightif you enter information in the Comment field on the General tab, the text isn't displayed in the Print dialog box. Because you open the Print dialog box when you want to print, that's the logical time and place to show users' comments about the printer.

In Windows 2000 and XP, the General tab also has a Location field, which you can use for text such as "in the den." However, that text is also unavailable in the Print dialog box.

This text is available to users only when they're installing a printer by locating it in Network Neighborhood or My Network Places, or when they're gazing at the contents of the Printers folder. Apparently users are supposed to memorize all the information about a printer when they install it, or open the Printers folder to see if any comments exist before printing documents. Yeah, that'll happen.

To make all of this even more annoying, when you're looking at the Printers folder, or looking for printers in Network Neighborhood or My Network Places, you have to do some work to see the text that's been entered in the Location and Comments fields. If you open the Printers folder, you don't see any additional information about any printer in the default view:

In Windows 2000, the default view is Large Icons. If you select an icon, the window's Status Bar shows any text entered in the Location field, but doesn't show text entered in the Comment field.
In Windows 9X and Me, the default view is also Large Icons. If you select an icon, the left side of the folder displays the text in the Comment field, but not the Location field.
In Windows XP, the default view is Tiles (same as Large Icons). If you select an icon, the Details section on the left side of the window displays the text in the Location and Comment fields.

In all versions of Windows, select View Details to see the text you entered in the Location field (Figure 5-2).

Figure 5-2. Choose the Details view to see additional information about printers.

INSTALL DRIVERS FOR OTHER VERSIONS OF WINDOWS

The Annoyance:

When I shared a printer connected to a Windows XP computer, I saw an Additional Drivers button on the Sharing tab. The description of the Additional Drivers feature says that Windows XP will install drivers for other versions of Windows. This means that when I want to install this printer on computers running other versions of Windows, the drivers are available automatically. I like that this saves me the trouble of taking the original Windows 98SE CD to the computers that will share the printer. However, when I selected the option to install drivers for my Windows 98SE computer, Windows XP didn't have them. Instead, it asked me for the Windows 98SE media, which is what would happen if I installed the drivers while I was working on the Windows 98SE computer. Features that don't work "as advertised" (or, at least, as "hinted at") are really annoying.

The Fix:

I agree that the explanation of the process of installing drivers for multiple versions of Windows isn't well explained in the dialog box, which is annoying. However, under some circumstances this is a nifty feature. (Incidentally, the same feature is available in Windows 2000.)

If you had more than one Windows 98SE computer on your network, installing the printer driver on your Windows XP computer would save you the trouble of carrying the original Windows 98SE CD to all the Windows 98SE computers. The same is true if you use printer drivers that you download from the manufacturer's web site; you only need to download the files to the computer that holds the printer.

ATTACH MULTIPLE PRINTERS TO A COMPUTER

The Annoyance:

We have three computers and two printers on our network. Two of the computers are squeezed into the corners of bedrooms, and there's not really enough room to add a printer. Can I attach both printers to the third computer and share them on the network?

The Fix:

You can connect as many printers to a computer as there are ports to hold them, and share all of them on the network. If both printers require a parallel port connection and your computer has only one parallel port, you can add a Parallel PCI Card to your computer for less than $30.

Today, most printers come with two or more USB ports. If you're using your computer's USB ports for other devices (a scanner or optical mouse, for example), you can purchase a USB port extender (called a USB hub) to add more USB ports. One end of the hub plugs into a USB port, and the other end provides multiple USB ports for devices (usually four ports). You can even daisy-chain these hubs, using one port of each hub to connect to the next hub, providing USB connectivity to more than 100 devices.

DECIDING ON THE RIGHT COMPUTER FOR A PRINT SERVER

The Annoyance:

We're having an ongoing argument in our house about where to put the printer that serves all three computers on our network. One option is to connect the printer to the computer in the most convenient location, which is equally distant from the other two computers. However, that computer is old and slow (and, in fact, nobody likes to use it). I'm afraid that adding the printer will make the computer even slower.

The Fix:

Printing services don't eat up a lot of processor power (the jargon for this is overhead), so connecting the printer to the older, slower computer that's in a central location is your best bet.

In fact, any computer no longer popular with users because it lacks speed, or is running out of disk space, is a great candidate for your network's print server. Uninstall software that won't be used anymore, copy the documents across the network to the appropriate computers, and you have a print server. You can put the computer and the printer on a small table without worrying about providing desk space or a comfortable chair. Another option is to leave the computer alone and add a print server appliance to the network. It's reasonably inexpensive and solves the problem handilythough it won't give your old and slow computer anything useful to do. Most manufacturers of network equipment offer print servers. You connect your printer(s) to the print server, and then connect the print server to your network. If it's a wired print server, run cable to the hub or router. If it's a wireless print server, just locate it where your wireless computers can see it (a trial-and-error task).

PASSWORD-PROTECTED PRINTERS

The Annoyance:

We keep checks in one of our printers, and we don't want our children to be able to access it. The printer is connected to a computer running Windows 98SE. We password-protected the printer, but the password protection doesn't work when the children are working on that computer. What's the point of password protection if you can't keep people from using the printer?

The Fix:

Unfortunately, the password protection for shared printers, available in Windows versions prior to 2000, applies only to remote users. If your printer is attached to a computer running Windows 2000 or XP with the NTFS filesystem, you can specify permissions that cover all users, no matter what computer they use. See Chapter 7 to learn about applying user permissions.