A permanent client printer, also known as an unmanaged printer, is a manually created local printer on a XenApp server that is attached to a legacy client printer port. This article explains how to implement these types of printers in XenApp environments.

The following scenarios lend themselves well to permanent client printers:

• Printers are physically attached to thin client devices and need to be shared between sessions

• A published application requires a specific printer name and it needs to be connected with a client-defined printer

• An administrator wishes to provide access to a remote printer defined on a specific client device, but there is no direct path to the printer from the XenApp server or other client devices

Instructions

Complete the following steps:

1. Enable the Legacy client printers policy setting and set it to Create old-style client printers. This allows for the creation of printer ports that are tied to the client device by name instead of the Terminal Services Session ID. Note that once the permanent client printer has been created, this policy setting may be removed because it is no longer required.
   
   

2. Establish an ICA session to the XenApp server from the client device containing the print queue being used for the permanent printer.

3. From a console or desktop session on the XenApp server, use the Add Printer Wizard to add a local printer. Define the printer with the desired client printer port as shown and proceed through the wizard selecting the print driver, choosing sharing options, if desired, and so on.
   
   

The permanent client printer is defined. By default, the Everyone Group has print access on the ACL. These permissions cannbe adjusted as necessary. This printer (and the client printer port it is defined with) remains on the server and users can print, if there is an ICA session to the XenApp server from the workstation where the printer is defined.

Because this printer is a local one, it resides in the server’s registry under the key HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\. The subkey corresponding to the permanent client printer might be exported and then imported onto other servers. PrintUI.dll or PrnAdmin.dll can also be used to script the installation of this printer on additional servers. Refer to Microsoft Web site for additional details on printer scripting options.