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Printing on Remote Desktop or Terminal Server


igotout
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I doubt I'll get much response to this one but maybe at least one person can help or answer.

Using Remote Desktop or Terminal Server to access another computer at work from home. I can not get my USB printer or my network printer (at my home location) to print from my session at work.

Does Remote Desktop/Terminal Server only work with printers hooked up to LPT1, LPT2, etc? I hope not. Otherwise they are lacking. Some computers these days no longer evern have LPT ports or floppies for that matter.

I am pretty sure I have done everything right.

Can you print? Is is a USB or Network printer?

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Let me make sure I understand what you are trying to do. You are remotely controlling a computer and you want to send a print job from say, a MS-Word doc on your LOCAL computer to the REMOTE printer? Is that it?

Printer re-direction with TS allows you to print from your TS session to a LOCAL printer. Don't know if you can print a local document to a remote printer through TS DIRECTLY, although it may be possible.

You can use the IPP protocol (Internet Printing) though. I don't have time right now to look up all the specifics, but a google search for Internet Printing, or IPP will get you started in the right direction.

Good luck!

Rick

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Try this:

When the Remote Desktop Connection menu comes up, press the Options>> button,

go to Local Resources, make sure Local Devices, Printers is checked. You may also

want to check Serial Ports as sometimes drivers do funny things with serial data over

USB.

Let us know how it works out.

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I appreciate all your answers. But as I originally posted, I have tried all this. I already knew these basics from the get go. But I still can not print.

Bluezman, no. Other way around. I want to print the document which resides at the server on my local printer(s) at my home. Of course, the document at the server prints on the server printers just fine. But the printer redirection does not seem to work. It does not show up as it should.

Sudo I have been using PCA for years. Terminal Server or in your case Remote Desktop blows it away in speed and securityand overall performance and simplicity. You should switch. You'll never go back. Remote Desktop is built into XP Pro, but not Home. Remote Desktop is same as Terminal Server from what I hear. Sort of Terminal Server lite.

Jim I am going to play around with also checking Serial but I am pretty sure I have already tried that too. But to be sure I will try that again on these USB printers.

Now for an even more complicated matter, I have network printers at my home. For those who do not know, these are printers not connected to a computer but available on the network for all to use any time. Pray tell how are these supposed to be redirected by Terminal Server! They have IP addresses beginning with 192.168.etc, etc.

I think Terminal Server's printer redirection capabilities are behind.

Anyone use Citrix? I hear that may be a better solution than TS and prints fine.

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This article from Microsoft admits there are problems:

Quote:

SYMPTOMS

When you use Remote Desktop Connection or the Terminal Services Client version 4.0 or 5.0 to connect to another Windows-based computer from a computer that is not running Windows Server 2003, your local printers may not be redirected. As a result, your local printers are not available in the remote desktop or terminal services session.

They give a registry hack but it does not fix the problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...b;en-us;q302361

BUt my printer ports already do begin with USB except for my Network ones. They are not connect to any ports!

Edited by igotout
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John,

First the USB question. It depends on the version of Windows you are connecting to. NT4 does not provide USB support. Windows 2000/2003 does. I'm guessing you are working with the newer stuff.

In that case, the printer connections are only established in the terminal server session if the print drivers from your PC exist on the Terminal Server. If they do not exist on the TS then the printer will not map in your session. Because of stability issues many sysadmins will only support native Windows drivers (meaning the ones that come with Windows). Typically, you will have to negotiate with your I.T. group to get the drivers you need installed, or find a suitable substitute driver they will support.

Now, concerning LPT/USB vs. network printers, these are treated the same by terminal server. It is really only looking at the queues on your PC. If the driver exists on the terminal server, it will create the queue in your session.

Citrix offers a universal print driver, that helps address these problems, as do several third party vendors in the universal driver space. If this is an ASP service you are paying for, definitely push them for some kind of universal driver support.

If all else fails, and you are working with a common file type you can copy the file to your local hard drive and print it. Alternately, you may be able to print to PDF on the terminal server and pass that back to your PC. These are clumsier solutions but they work in a pinch.

hth,

sF

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I've never had that issue so not sure what to tell you right now. I have been using remote desktop (and TS before that) for years with some of my clients and my printer has always been available in the remote session. My current printer is a Lexmark Z65 that is physically connected to my 2003 server and shared on the network.

Like Shrtfuse said, you may need to install the drivers on the remote computer. If that doesn't work, try setting it up on the remote machine as an IPP printer. You will have to open the port that it uses (631 for IPP).

If you go that route, let me know if it works. I have used IPP for servers but never for XP so it would be cool to see if it works the way it's supposed to. :)

Rick

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Check the event log on the terminal server. You may find errors when the printers are attempting to be setup.

I had this in a remote productin network all the time. We specifically configured the servers to disallow the attaching of remote printers through a terminal session (bad practice for a secure production network). Even so, a rouge network admin would have his client set to add the printers, connect, the server refuse the printer setup, generate log errors, monitoring software picked up the errrors and emailed them to every network admin. Then every network admin gets on the person to correct his client settings...;)

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Making progress with USB printers. It was a Terminal Server Configuration Setting at the server. Had to uncheck something. But still no luck in printing to my NETWORK printers at my site (client). They have IP addresses that begin with 192.168.??? which are internal IP addresses behind my router. Any clues as to how I might redirect those printers in a Terminal session?

I am thinking of trying Citrix. It looks very web based and easily configurable to limit remote users' access to the Server 2003 desktop, files, etc.

Is there a demo I might try before I buy?

Some of ya'll are so smart. Thanks.

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Making progress with USB printers. It was a Terminal Server Configuration Setting at the server. Had to uncheck something. But still no luck in printing to my NETWORK printers at my site (client). They have IP addresses that begin with 192.168.??? which are internal IP addresses behind my router. Any clues as to how I might redirect those printers in a Terminal session?
There are a variety of system policies that limit client printing to varying degrees. (eg. "no client printers", "default client printer only", "local printers only", or "all printers"). I suspect you are still running into a restriction on the terminal server. If you connect to the network printer with an IP port on your local computer, it should look like any other physically connected printer to your Terminal server.

Regarding the routing issue with your IP scheme, this would be a problem only if attempting IP printing directly from the TS. In the scenario I describe above, the print job gets handed to your PC first and then to the printer, thus no routing to worry about.

I am thinking of trying Citrix. It looks very web based and easily configurable to limit remote users' access to the Server 2003 desktop, files, etc.

Is there a demo I might try before I buy?

There are typically demos available, yes. I am not clear if you own the client AND server side of this operation, or just the client. Citrix needs to be on the terminal server and the PC in order to work. I am highly experienced in this area of technology. PM me if you want to discuss in more detail.

Edited by shortfuse
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Igotout,

Re:"Sudo I have been using PCA for years. Terminal Server or in your case Remote Desktop blows it away in speed and securityand overall performance and simplicity. You should switch."

I can print just fine using PC Anywhere. As I told you, its like sitting at the remote computer. As you say, though, it may be a bit slower but lawd if I can tell it as I have both computers on broadband. Home is on cable and office is on a T1. *You* however are having problems. So why exactly is it I should switch to your methods? :evildenk:

sudo
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PC at work is my server which is Server 2003. I am not talking about Go to My PC. I do not care for it or PC Anywhere. Both suck in my opinion compared to Terminal Server. And I am told Citrix is even better. I am leaning towards it.

Citrix Demos

SUDO Remote Desktop is built into XP Pro. I bet you have never even tried it out before. You should. Its simply better than PCA which for one thing is expensive.

PCA 12

I think PCA is headed for extinction because of the power of the free built in Remote Desktop.

Try opening a word document on your work computer by using PCA. Then try printing that document on your local NETWORK printer (not a printer attached to a physical computer). I bet you can't. Also try to copy and paste from one drive to another within explorer. But in Remote Desktop the drives of both computers show up. Or try copying and pasting from the desktop of the host to the desktop of the other. You have to use file transfer which is slower and more clumsy. And don't even start with the graphics incompatibilities that can happen in PCA. Remote Desktop is better all the way around. And there is more support.

You'll find Remote Desktop under Accessories / Communications. There is tons of info about how to set it up. You have to enable your computer to use it. Turned off by default. It's been there all along. Free.

I dare not give my workers access to a server using PCAnywhere! Citrix or Terminal Server is far better.

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Try opening a word document on your work computer by using PCA. Then try printing that document on your local NETWORK printer (not a printer attached to a physical computer). I bet you can't.

Although I agree with you about TS being faster (given a good fast connection on both ends) you CAN do this very easily. But it has to be set up where in TS, it just works. (Well, most of the time. :) )

Rick

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