■ Be sure the printer is turned on and connected to the same network as the computer. If your network consists of multiple subnets connected together, try to connect the printer to the same network subnet. You can determine the subnet by looking at the computer’s IP address.
■ Be sure the printer is configured to broadcast its presence on the network. Most network printers automatically do this.
■ Be sure the printer has an IP address and proper network settings. If DHCP is configured on the network, DHCP assigns IP addresses automatically as printers connect to the network.
Deploying printer connections
Connecting to printers is fairly easy, but you can make the process even easier by deploying printer connections through Group Policy. You can deploy printer connections to computers or users via the Group Policy objects (GPOs) that Windows applies. Deploy the connections to groups of users when you want users to be able to access the printers from any computer they log on to. Deploy the connections to groups of computers when you want all users of the computers to access the printers. For per-computer connections, Windows adds or removes printer connections when the computer starts. For per-user connections, Windows adds or removes printer connections when the user logs on.
To deploy printer connections to computers, you must follow these steps:
1. In Print Management, expand the Print Servers node and the node for the server with which you want to work.
2. Select the server’s Printers node. In the main pane, press and hold or right-click the printer you want to deploy, and then tap or click Deploy With Group Policy. This displays the Deploy With Group Policy dialog box, shown in Figure 10-8.
FIGURE 10-8 Select the GPO to use for deploying the printer connection.
3. Tap or click Browse. In the Browse For Group Policy Object dialog box, select the GPO to use, and then tap or click OK.
4. Do one or both of the following:
■ To deploy to the printer connection on a per-user basis, under Deploy This Printer Connection To The Following, select The Users That This GPO Applies To.
■ To deploy to the printer connection on a per-computer basis, under Deploy This Printer Connection To The Following, select The Computers That This GPO Applies To.
5. Tap or click Add to create a print connection entry.
6. Repeat steps 3–5 to deploy the printer connection to other GPOs.
7. Tap or click OK to save the changes to the GPO. In the confirmation dialog box, ensure that all operations were completed successfully. If an error occurred, tap or click Details to get more information about the error. The most common errors involve editing permissions for the GPO with which you are working. If the account you are using doesn’t have appropriate permissions, you need to use an account with additional privileges. Tap or click OK.
Configuring point and print restrictions
In Group Policy, the Point And Print Restrictions setting controls security warnings and elevation prompts when users point and print and when drivers for printer connections need to be configured. This setting is found in the Administrative Templates for Computer Configuration under the Printers node.
Table 10-1 summarizes how the Point And Print Restrictions setting is used. Note that prior to Windows 7 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2, Point And Print Restrictions were implemented by using User Configuration policy. If you configure Point And Print Restrictions in User Configuration policy, the settings will be ignored by computers running Windows Vista Service Pack 2, Windows 7, and later versions of Windows.
TABLE 10-1 Point and print restrictions
| WHEN THE POLICY SETTING IS | THE POLICY WORKS AS FOLLOWS |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Clients can point and print to any server. You can configure Clients to show or hide warning and elevation prompts when users point and print and when a driver for an existing printer connection needs to be updated. |
| Not Configured | Clients can point and print to any server in the forest. Clients also will not show a warning and elevation prompt when users point and print or when a driver for an existing printer connection needs to be updated. |
| Disabled | Clients can point and print to any server. Clients also will not show a warning and elevation prompt when users point and print or when a driver for an existing printer connection needs to be updated. |
By default, Windows allows a user who is not a member of the local Administrators group to install only trustworthy printer drivers, such as those provided by Windows or in digitally signed printer driver packages. When you enable the Point And Print Restrictions setting, you also make it possible for users who are not members of the local Administrators group to install printer connections deployed in Group Policy that include additional or updated printer drivers that are not in the form of digitally signed printer driver packages. If you do not enable this setting, users might need to provide the credentials of a user account that belongs to the local Administrators group.
You can enable and configure the Point And Print Restrictions setting in Group Policy by following these steps:
1. In the Group Policy Management Console, press and hold or right-click the GPO for the site, domain, or organizational unit with which you want to work, and then tap or click Edit. This opens the policy editor for the GPO.
2. In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand the Administrative Templates for Computer Configuration, and then select the Printers node.
3. In the main pane, double-tap or double-click Point And Print Restrictions.
4. In the Point And Print Restrictions dialog box, shown in Figure 10-9, select Enabled.
FIGURE 10-9 Configure point and print restrictions.
5. When you enable point and print restrictions, you can configure policy so that users can point and print only to a named list of servers. To enforce this restriction, select the related check box and enter a list of fully qualified server names separated by semicolons. To remove this restriction, clear the related check box.
6. When you enable point and print restrictions, you can configure policy so that users can point and print only to servers in their forest. To enforce this restriction, select the related check box. To remove this restriction, clear the related check box.
7. When you install drivers for a new connection, clients can show or not show a warning or elevation prompt. Use the related selection list to choose the option you want to use.
8. When you update drivers for an existing connection, clients can show or not show a warning or elevation prompt. Use the related selection list to choose the option you want to use.