I am trying to get my Metaframe 1.8 (NT4.0 Terminal Server) ICA clients to be able to print to network printers. One printer for instance is actually a cannon copier. I have it installed on another NT server as an LPR port printer, and can print to it fine. I installed the driver on the Citrix server, and everything looks fine... So now how do I get it to show up as a printer for the clients? They do not need to have the driver installed locally do they? Please help!
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Network Printing??
- Thread starter dflanagan
- Start date
CitrixEngineer
Technical User
No, they don't need the driver to be installed locally, but the driver does need to be installed on the Citrix server(s).
faq48-544 should help.
faq48-544 should help.
Contrary to popular belief.... it does help to have the print driver installed locally. Citrix Printing is one of the biggest problem areas. The following comes from a word document I put together for a client when I was doing consulting work... they were always having trouble with printing. It covers 7 key areas where printing problems can surface. My advice to the client was not to read through it and guess which area he was having the problem in, but rather to "fix" every area... even if it wasn't broken. If you follow this approach, I think your printing problems will go away.
(Sorry for the spacing, I pasted it from the Word Document)
1.) Under Winstation Configuration (Terminal Server Connection Configuration on Metaframe), Look under Client Settings. Make sure that the two boxes are both checked on for
Connect Client Printers at Logon
Default to Main Client Printer
If the Inherit User Config box is also checked, these other boxes will be
grayed out. A check in the Inherit User Config box means that these settings
are being checked per user rather than globally for all ICA connections. If this
is the case, you will also need to check the Config button under every user in
User Manager for Domains in order to see if these boxes have been turned on
for each user.
2.) The latest compatible printer driver for the appropriate Operating System should be installed on the client.
3.) The correct NT printer driver (3.51 for Winframe, 4.0 for Metaframe) is
installed on the Citrix Server. You can verify this by checking the following
registry key to see if the driver is listed:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control Print\Environments\Windows NTx86\Drivers\Version-2
4.) Check to see if the printers are auto-creating properly for Administrators and
just not for Users. If so, check and make sure the group Everyone has a
minimum of READ, WRITE, and EXECUTE permissions in the following files
and directory:
%systemroot%\systm32\spool
%systemroot%\system32\printer.inf
5.) All ICA clients must be using unique station names. Auto-created printer
names are evolved from the combination of the client name and the print
driver name. If multiple clients all use the same client name, the printers will
not be able to create because they will all have the same name.
6.) Make certain that the client print driver names and the server print driver names are identical. Sometimes there will be marginal differences in driver names between Windows 95 and Windows NT, more so for MAC clients. When this happens, you need to map the client printer name to the server printer name. This is done in the %systemroot%\system32\ctxuprn.inf file. (wtsuprn.inf file on Metaframe) If the file has never been used before, it installs defaulting as a .TXT file not an .INF file. Edit the text file. You will see examples of print driver names in both a client and server list. Change one of the examples to reflect your needs and un remark that line. Save the file and rename it to an .INF file once you have exited from it.
7.) For MAC clients that have occasional or constant problems spooling print jobs when the printers appear to be auto-creating properly, rename the ICAPRINTSPOOLER file to anything else you want. The client will create a new file when it goes to print. The idea is that the original print spooler file is probably corrupted.
(Sorry for the spacing, I pasted it from the Word Document)
1.) Under Winstation Configuration (Terminal Server Connection Configuration on Metaframe), Look under Client Settings. Make sure that the two boxes are both checked on for
Connect Client Printers at Logon
Default to Main Client Printer
If the Inherit User Config box is also checked, these other boxes will be
grayed out. A check in the Inherit User Config box means that these settings
are being checked per user rather than globally for all ICA connections. If this
is the case, you will also need to check the Config button under every user in
User Manager for Domains in order to see if these boxes have been turned on
for each user.
2.) The latest compatible printer driver for the appropriate Operating System should be installed on the client.
3.) The correct NT printer driver (3.51 for Winframe, 4.0 for Metaframe) is
installed on the Citrix Server. You can verify this by checking the following
registry key to see if the driver is listed:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control Print\Environments\Windows NTx86\Drivers\Version-2
4.) Check to see if the printers are auto-creating properly for Administrators and
just not for Users. If so, check and make sure the group Everyone has a
minimum of READ, WRITE, and EXECUTE permissions in the following files
and directory:
%systemroot%\systm32\spool
%systemroot%\system32\printer.inf
5.) All ICA clients must be using unique station names. Auto-created printer
names are evolved from the combination of the client name and the print
driver name. If multiple clients all use the same client name, the printers will
not be able to create because they will all have the same name.
6.) Make certain that the client print driver names and the server print driver names are identical. Sometimes there will be marginal differences in driver names between Windows 95 and Windows NT, more so for MAC clients. When this happens, you need to map the client printer name to the server printer name. This is done in the %systemroot%\system32\ctxuprn.inf file. (wtsuprn.inf file on Metaframe) If the file has never been used before, it installs defaulting as a .TXT file not an .INF file. Edit the text file. You will see examples of print driver names in both a client and server list. Change one of the examples to reflect your needs and un remark that line. Save the file and rename it to an .INF file once you have exited from it.
7.) For MAC clients that have occasional or constant problems spooling print jobs when the printers appear to be auto-creating properly, rename the ICAPRINTSPOOLER file to anything else you want. The client will create a new file when it goes to print. The idea is that the original print spooler file is probably corrupted.
CitrixEngineer
Technical User
Some good advice, but it is incorrect to think that it is essential to have a printer driver installed on the client, for example, WinTerms or Palm Pilots.
The wtsuprn.inf file resloves existing client printer names, and these must match to avoid printing issues.
The ICA protocol does not send printer data to or from the client, just display, mouse, keyboard and audio data. The only information exchanged is the printer's name. All processing takes place on the server.
IMA, on the other hand (MetaFrame XP) has limited control over printer bandwidth usage. This is limited to IMA client/server transactions, and again only checks the client device for the printer's name.
I hope this clarifies at least this part.
The wtsuprn.inf file resloves existing client printer names, and these must match to avoid printing issues.
The ICA protocol does not send printer data to or from the client, just display, mouse, keyboard and audio data. The only information exchanged is the printer's name. All processing takes place on the server.
IMA, on the other hand (MetaFrame XP) has limited control over printer bandwidth usage. This is limited to IMA client/server transactions, and again only checks the client device for the printer's name.
I hope this clarifies at least this part.
I have to agree with CE.
To implement Native Citrix printing requires installing a compatible printer driver on each Citrix server in the server farm and making sure that the precise spelling of the driver on the local PC matches the configuration on each of the Citrix servers. The local PC must have the desired printer set as their default printer before they sign-on to the Citrix server. During the sign-on process the Citrix queries the local PC for the default printer and driver name and creates a printer definition on the Citrix server. When the user ends the Citrix session the Citrix server will delete the printer definition that was created during the sign-on process only if there are no pending print jobs. If a print job is pending when the Citrix session is ended the printer definition will not be deleted and generally requires an administrator to manually delete these “orphaned” printer definitions.
The Pros for using Native Citrix printing are:
Low up front cost – this is included in the price of the Citrix licenses
Compatibility with supported printers is the highest
Citrix provides vendor Support
Any type of remote connection, has printing support, this includes VPN access
The Negatives for using Native Citrix Printing are:
Highest administrative time required of all printing solutions, requires:
Testing/Installation/Maintenance of each print driver on every Citrix server
Periodic printer definition cleanup is needed on each server
Printer drivers are notorious for being the cause of a Citrix server to blue screen
If end user wants to select a different printer they must re-start their Citrix session
Many printers are not supported on Citrix Servers
Inkjet printers consume a high amount of bandwidth when printed to from a Citrix session
Mike Brown CCA
To implement Native Citrix printing requires installing a compatible printer driver on each Citrix server in the server farm and making sure that the precise spelling of the driver on the local PC matches the configuration on each of the Citrix servers. The local PC must have the desired printer set as their default printer before they sign-on to the Citrix server. During the sign-on process the Citrix queries the local PC for the default printer and driver name and creates a printer definition on the Citrix server. When the user ends the Citrix session the Citrix server will delete the printer definition that was created during the sign-on process only if there are no pending print jobs. If a print job is pending when the Citrix session is ended the printer definition will not be deleted and generally requires an administrator to manually delete these “orphaned” printer definitions.
The Pros for using Native Citrix printing are:
Low up front cost – this is included in the price of the Citrix licenses
Compatibility with supported printers is the highest
Citrix provides vendor Support
Any type of remote connection, has printing support, this includes VPN access
The Negatives for using Native Citrix Printing are:
Highest administrative time required of all printing solutions, requires:
Testing/Installation/Maintenance of each print driver on every Citrix server
Periodic printer definition cleanup is needed on each server
Printer drivers are notorious for being the cause of a Citrix server to blue screen
If end user wants to select a different printer they must re-start their Citrix session
Many printers are not supported on Citrix Servers
Inkjet printers consume a high amount of bandwidth when printed to from a Citrix session
Mike Brown CCA
- Thread starter
- #6
OK.... Thanks for all of the GREAT info, but I now wonder... do I need the driver installed on the client or not??? I have found one thing: If I log in (Using ICA client), and access a desktop icon (a published app with no actual program associated), and then go into start>settings>printers, and maunally attach to the printer, it is now availible to that specific user, from that point on (through ica program neighborhood apps), but was NOT availible before doing so.... WHY NOT??? I made sure that everyone has r w x rights to the spool folder (oh yeah, I have NO printer.inf file on the server...) I checked every FAQ and whitepaper that I can get my hands on.... even did the PPT presentation (good btw). I am STILL not seeing this printer unless I MANUALLY install it.
NOW HERE's the KICKER:
I am not the person who set up this server.... BUT, the guy who did loaded this printer, it displays as:
RICK-KULA#HP LaserJet 2100 series PCL 6
NOW, THIS PRINTER shows up for EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT! even if the client has NO LOCAL printers installed.....
If there is no default printer for a client machine, THIS becomes the default... if they DO have a default, this one is just in the LIST of availible printers.... FOR EVERYONE!
This printer does not actually exist anymore, but it still shows up.... HOW??? and how can I make my canon copier do the same??? THAT is what I need to know!
Thanks again for all the great help so far!
Dave
NOW HERE's the KICKER:
I am not the person who set up this server.... BUT, the guy who did loaded this printer, it displays as:
RICK-KULA#HP LaserJet 2100 series PCL 6
NOW, THIS PRINTER shows up for EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT! even if the client has NO LOCAL printers installed.....
If there is no default printer for a client machine, THIS becomes the default... if they DO have a default, this one is just in the LIST of availible printers.... FOR EVERYONE!
This printer does not actually exist anymore, but it still shows up.... HOW??? and how can I make my canon copier do the same??? THAT is what I need to know!
Thanks again for all the great help so far!
Dave
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