How To Set Up a Print Queue in Windows 2000 (300610)

SUMMARY

This article discusses how to set up a print queue on a Windows 2000-based computer.

After you have set up the print queue, you can share it by sharing the printer so that the queue is available to other users on the network.

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How to Set Up a Print Queue

1. Log on to your Windows 2000-based computer as an administrator.
2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers. The Printers windows is displayed.
3. Double-click Add Printer. The Add Printer Wizard starts and the Welcome To The Add Printer Wizard page is displayed.
4. In the Add Printer Wizard, click Next. The Add Printer Wizard displays the local or network printer screen.
5. Click Local printer, click to clear the Automatically Detect and Install My Plug and Play Printer check box, and then click Next.
6. Click Create a New Port, click Standard TCP/IP Port from the list, and then click Next. This step starts the process to create a new port for the print server to which the network-interface print device is connected. In this situation, the new port points to the network connection of the print device. If you click Standard TCP/IP Port, the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard starts.
7. After the Welcome to the Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard is displayed, click Next.
8. After the Add Port screen is displayed, enter the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the printer (use the default port name or enter a new one).
   
   NOTE: The printer name or IP address is the network location of the print device. You must enter either the IP address or a Domain Name System (DNS) name of the network-interface print device.
   
   If you provide an IP address, Windows 2000 automatically supplies a suggested port name for the print device, such as, IP_IPaddress.
   
   If Windows 2000 cannot connect to and identify the network-interface print device, you must supply additional information about the type of print device. To enable automatic identification, ensure that the print device is turned on and connected to the network.
   
   The port name is the name that Windows 2000 assigns to the port that you created and defined. You can enter a different name (if you want).
   
   After you create the port, Windows 2000 displays the port on the Select the Printer Port page of the Add Printer Wizard. You do not have to redefine the port if you point additional printers to the same print device.
9. After the Completing the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard display screen is displayed with a list of the options that you have specified, verify that the information is correct, and then click Finish.
10. The wizard prompts you for the printer manufacturer and model. In the Manufactures list box, click the manufacture of your printer; in the Printers list box, click the model of your printer, and then click Next.
    
    The wizard displays the Name Your Printer page. Windows 2000 automatically supplies a default printer name in the Printer Name text box, which is the name of the printer that you selected from the printer list. Also, the printer that you create is set, by default, to be the printer that all Microsoft Windows-based programs use as the default printer. If you have already installed printers and you selected the option to make a particular printer the default printer for Windows programs, that printer is the default for this installation.
    
    If the selected printer driver is already installed, you may receive the following message:
    Do you want to keep the existing driver or use the new one?
    * Keep existing driver? (recommended)
    * Replace existing driver?
    Select the option to keep the existing driver.
11. To accept the default printer name and to use this printer as the default printer for all Windows-based programs, click Next. The Printer Sharing page is displayed, which prompts you for printer-sharing information.
12. Click Not Shared, and then click Next. If you intend to share this printer, however, proceed to the "To Share a Print Queue" section of this article.
13. The Completing The Add Printer Wizard page is displayed and provides a summary of your installation choices.
    
    NOTE: As you review the summary, you may observe an error in the information that you specified for the printer. To modify these settings, click Back.
    
    Verify the summary of your installation choices, and then click Finish. Windows 2000 copies files from the Systemroot folder.
    
    NOTE: If Windows 2000 displays the File Needed dialog box and prompts you for the location of the Windows 2000 distribution files, insert the Windows 2000 CD-ROM, and then wait for about 10 seconds. If Windows displays the Windows 2000 CD-ROM window, close it, and then click OK to close the Insert Disk dialog box. Windows 2000 copies the printer files to your computer and creates the Printer icon in the Printers window.

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To Share a Print Queue

1. In the Add Printer Wizard, on the Printer Sharing page, select the Share As option. You can assign a shared printer name, even though you already supplied a printer name. The shared printer name is used to identify a printer on the network and the name must conform to a naming convention. This shared name is different from the printer name that you entered previously. The printer name is a description that can be displayed with the Printer icon in the system folder of the printer and in directory services (in Active Directory).
2. In the Share As box, enter a share name that users can use to make a connection to the printer over the network, and then click Next. Ensure that the share name is compatible with the naming conventions for all client computers on the network. By default, the share name is the printer name that is truncated to 8 characters. If you use a share name that is longer than 8 characters, some clients may not be able to connect. The Add Printer Wizard displays the Location And Comment page.
3. In the Location box, enter a description about the location of the printer, and in the Comment box, enter information that can help the users to identify the printer in a search operation, and then click Next.
   
   NOTE: If your computer that is running Windows 2000 is part of a domain, users can search directory services in Active Directory for the information that you enter in the Location and Comment boxes. You can enter this information if you want. This information is optional. However, because of this search capability, you must standardize the type of information that you enter so that users can compare the printers in their search results.
4. The Add Printer Wizard displays the Print Test page and prompts you with the option to print a test page. Click No, and then click Next. The wizard displays the Completing The Add Printer Wizard page and provides a summary of your installation choices.
   
   NOTE: As you review the summary, you may observe an error in the information that you enter. To modify these settings, click Back.
5. Verify the summary of your installation choices, and then click Finish.
   
   Windows 2000 can either copy files from the Systemroot folder or display the Files Needed dialog box, which prompts you for the location of the Windows 2000 distribution files. If Windows 2000 displays the File Needed dialog box and prompts you for the location of the Windows 2000 distribution files, insert the Windows 2000 CD-ROM, and then wait for about 10 seconds. If Windows displays the Windows 2000 CD-ROM window, close it, and then click OK to close the Insert Disk dialog box.
   
   Windows 2000 copies the printer files to your computer and creates the Printer icon in the Printers window.
   
   Windows 2000 may display the symbol of an open hand under the Printer icon. This symbol indicates that the printer is shared. Also, a check mark symbol may be displayed above the printer, which indicates that the printer is the default printer.

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