Windows 8 : Sharing printers - Configuring shared printers, Configuring printing permissions

10/10/2014 4:08:31 AM

Configuring shared printers

Sharing printers on the network is an easy task that doesn’t take much time. You just need to think about whom you want to access your printer and which permissions are available.

To share a printer, complete the following steps:

Open Control Panel.
Change to Large Icons or Small Icons view.
Select Devices And Printers.
Locate the printer you want to share.
Press and hold or right-click the printer and choose Printer Properties.
Select the Sharing tab (Figure 1).
Select the Share This Printer check box.
Provide a name for the printer in the Share Name text box.
Tap or click OK.

Figure 1. The Sharing tab in the My Printer Properties dialog box

Other users can now connect to this printer and print to it just as if it were attached to their own computer.

UNDERSTANDING DRIVER ISSUES

Many administrators consider printers to be frustrating devices to work with, often for good reason. Printers are among the most visible devices on the network because people use them constantly, and when they’re not working, people’s work can come to a standstill. As you mix different versions of Windows in the environment, the printing situation can get even a bit trickier because different versions of Windows sometimes require you to load different versions of drivers on the print server. For example, if you share a printer on your Windows 8 desktop, that Windows 8 desktop has become a de facto print server. If a 32-bit Windows XP user connects to that shared printer, he might not be able to use the 64-bit Windows 8 drivers that you loaded.

If users are experiencing trouble printing to a Windows 8 shared printer, either load the appropriate drivers locally to the user’s machine or open the Printer Sharing tab in Windows 8 and tap or click the Additional Drivers button for more guidance.

Configuring printing permissions

Sometimes, however, you don’t want to share your printer. Perhaps, for example, you have an expensive color printer that is authorized for use by only certain people. You might find it necessary to implement restrictions on the ability to print to such devices. To set permissions on a printer, complete the following steps:

Open Control Panel and select Printers.
Locate the printer you want to share.
Press and hold or right-click the printer and choose Printer Properties.
Select the Security tab, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Setting printer sharing permissions on the Security tab in the My Printer Properties dialog box
Tap or click the Add button and select the user or group to which you’d like to grant printing permissions.
Select the appropriate printing permissions for the selected user or group. The available permissions are described in Table 1.

Table 1. Printing permissions

Permission name	Description (folder)
Print	The selected user or group has the rights to send documents to the printer to be printed. By default, everyone can print to the printer if she knows how to connect to it.
Manage the printer	The selected user or group has the rights to send documents to the printer to be printed. In addition, the selected user or group can fully manage the printer. This management capability allows pausing and restarting the printer, changing spooler settings, sharing the printer with others, modifying printer permissions, and changing other printer properties.
Manage documents	The selected user or group has the rights to manage the print queue. This involves cancelling and reordering print jobs.
Special permissions	There are no printer-specific special permissions.