INSTALLING AN LPR PORT

11-21Lesson 3 Connecting to Network Printers

Lesson 3: Connecting to Network Printers

After you have installed and shared a printer on the print server, and installed appro-

priate drivers, users on client computers running Windows 95 and later can easily con-

nect to the shared printer. For most Windows-based client computers, if the

appropriate printer drivers are on the print server, the client computer automatically

downloads the drivers when the user makes a connection to the printer. For informa-

tion on how you can install additional drivers on a print server, see Lesson 4, “Config-

uring Network Printers,” later in this chapter.

When you add and share a printer, by default, all users can connect to that printer and

print documents. The method used to connect to a printer depends on the client com-

puter. Client computers running Windows 95 and later can use the Add Printer Wizard.

Client computers running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, or

Windows 2000 can also use a Web browser to connect to the printer.

After this lesson, you will be able to■

Identify the options available when using the Add Printer Wizard to connect to a network

printer.

■

Connect directly to a shared printer.

■

Connect to a network printer by using a Web browser.

■

Find a printer using the Search Assistant.

Estimated lesson time: 15 minutes

Add Printer Wizard Options

The Add Printer Wizard is one method that client computers running Windows XP Pro-

fessional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows NT,

Windows 98, or Windows 95 can use to connect to a printer. This is the same wizard

that you use to add and share a printer. The options that are available in the Add

Printer Wizard that allow you to locate and connect to a printer vary depending on the

operating system that the client computer is running.

Options for Client Computers Running Windows 2000 and Later

By using the Add Printer Wizard on client computers running Windows 2000 and later,

you can connect to a printer through the following methods:

Use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name You can use the UNC name

(\\print_server\printer_name) to make connections by selecting Type The Printer

Name Or Click Next To Browse For A Printer on the Locate Your Printer page of

the Add Printer Wizard. If you know the UNC name, this is a quick method.

Browse the network You can also browse the network for the printer by selecting

Type The Printer Name Or Click Next To Browse For A Printer on the Locate Your

Printer page of the Add Printer Wizard, leaving the Name text box blank, and

clicking Next.

Use the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) name You can also connect to a printer on

the Internet or your intranet by selecting Connect To A Printer On The Internet Or On

Your Local Intranet on the Locate Your Printer page of the Add Printer Wizard.

Search Active Directory If your computer running Windows 2000 or later is a mem-

ber of a domain, you can find the printer by using Microsoft Active Directory ser-

vice search capabilities. You can search either the entire Active Directory or just a

portion of it. You can also narrow the search by providing features of the printer,

such as color printing.

Options for Client Computers Running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, or Windows 98

On client computers running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, or Windows 98, the Add

Printer Wizard allows you only to enter a UNC name or to browse Network Neighbor-

hood to locate the printer.

Options for Client Computers Running Other Microsoft Operating Systems

Users at client computers running early versions of Windows—such as Windows 3.1,

Windows 3.5, and Windows for Workgroups—use Print Manager instead of the Add

Printer Wizard to make a connection to a printer.

How to Connect Directly to a Shared Printer

Instead of using the Add Printer Wizard, an often simpler way to connect to a shared

printer is to connect directly by using any of the following techniques:

Browse My Network Places or Network Neighborhood In Windows 95, Win-

dows 98, and Windows NT, Network Neighborhood provides a way to browse

computers on the local network. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, My Network

Places provides this same functionality. After browsing to the computer that shares

the printer, right-click the printer and click Connect to initiate a connection to the

printer. You can also drag the printer icon to the Printers And Faxes folder on the

client computer.

Use the Run dialog box Click Start and then click Run to open the Run dialog box.

Type the UNC of any printer (\\print_server\printer_name) into the Open text

box, and then click OK to initiate a connection to the printer. If the print server

does not have the appropriate drivers for the operating system running on the cli-

ent, Windows asks you to provide the drivers.

Use the command prompt Users of any Windows-based client computer can con-

nect to a network printer by typing net use lptx: \\print_server\printer_name,