Network printing - easy way for users to add printers

[Kevin_Beaumont]

Chaps

 

Our users struggle to be able to add network printers. They're all labeled with names like "SALES" and such, but it's quite complicated to explain the concepts of Active Directory, Printer servers etc here.

 

I'd like an easy way for users to be able to add printers - e.g. a web page, an application etc.

 

Has anybody else here had a stab at it?

 

Cheers!

[sharkster]

instead of network printers cant you add them to a pc then share them,

then when they go to add one from the wizard it should search the network and find them?

[LeMarchand]

Could you add them on their behalf via a logon script or GPO?

[kmount]

We have a web page which users can click on buttons to install printers (more verbose desc than the share name).

 

(We use GPO's for fixed points though...)

[Kevin_Beaumont]

Oh, the printers are TCP/IP based, but they're shared from a Windows server box.

 

We're going to do GPO on login, but we'd like users to be able to add printers too, for example when they travel to different offices to their usual.

[Kevin_Beaumont]

We have a web page which users can click on buttons to install printers (more verbose desc than the share name).

 

Hi kmount,

 

Do you just link to the share names, or do you have an app to handle the printer additions/deletions? (I seem to remember seeing something like that before).

[Michael]

We're going to do GPO on login, but we'd like users to be able to add printers too, for example when they travel to different offices to their usual.

 

You can deploy printers using Server 2003 R2 and Server 2008 by GPO. I usually keep the printer name and the sharename the same to keep things simple.

If you right click the printer on the file server and choose "Properties" you can enter location information such as "ICT Suite" or "School Entrance". In the Comments I usually enter the printer IP address: IP_192.168.1.35

 

You can specify manual printer addition or deletion using GPOs too.

 

User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel > Printers

[Kevin_Beaumont]

Yeah, Michael - the problem users tend to have is figuring out the interface in Windows XP to add the printers, trying to make it as simple as possible.

[kmount]

Our webpage literally creates buttons and shows the user a button for "English Office Colour Laser", they click it, it says "Do you want to make this the default" with a Yes/No and acts upon that.

 

We update the html file when we add change printers etc.

 

And finally, we have a "remove all printers" button!

[Kevin_Beaumont]

Our webpage literally creates buttons and shows the user a button for "English Office Colour Laser", they click it, it says "Do you want to make this the default" with a Yes/No and acts upon that.

 

We update the html file when we add change printers etc.

 

And finally, we have a "remove all printers" button!

 

Hi kmount,

 

That's exactly what we want! Any idea where I could get code for something like that?

 

Cheers

[pagelad]

If your using server 2003 use micorosfts internet printing

 

Look in add\remove windows components on your server under application sever and IIS,

 

Enable that then your users just have to browse to /printers and you get a nice web page with a list of all the printers, queues, youc an click on a printer and select connect and your in buisness.

 

I just create a shortcut on my users desktop which links directly there, as long as the printers are labelled and have locations assigned its easy to use then!

 

(If you feel like showing off you can edit the page thats displayed with yoru own company \ school details if you wish)

[kmount]

Hi kmount,

 

That's exactly what we want! Any idea where I could get code for something like that?

 

Cheers

 

 

Hi Kevin,

 

Code to delete all printers:

 

 

Code to add a specific printer

 

 

And we pass it arguments thru:

 

 

Hope this helps, and I can't take credit for the code, it was written/adapted some time ago by one of my techs.

[Kevin_Beaumont]

All - Microsoft's Internet printing server (thanks Pagelad) looks like what we're after. Thanks all!

 

Now I just need to tweak the interface so it displays more than 10 printers, and is a bit more user friendly (i.e. less options the users don't need).

[Michael]

From what you're saying a combination of GPO deployed printers and Microsoft's Internet Printing sounds a great idea. I've never really had a play with that *Puts it on his to do list...