Re: Printer settings for individual users

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The Printer Properties, including whether or not the Duplexing feature is installed, are only stored on the print server - there is only one copy of these - they are not client or user specific. When you look at, or change, the Printer Properties from a client, you are looking at, or changing, the Properties on the print server. If someone (with appropriate permissions) changes this setting, that change will seen by all users of that printer.

I have seen instances for specific printer makes and models and driver versions, where there is an inconsistency (incompatibility) between the printer driver on the client and the printer driver on the print server that resulted in the Duplexing feature setting change from a client not being properly reflected on the print server, but that is unusual.

In most situations, you don't want users to have the Manage Printers permission because the printers are shared resources and allowing many people to change settings for them results in confusion and frustration.

Every user on each client computer gets their own "Printing Preferences" for each network printer to which they have a "connection".
There is a default set for the user, but most applicatins allow them to be set on a by document basis (thus overriding the default).

To configure single sided as the default for a user:

open the Printers window
right click the printer, select Printing Preferences
locate the "Print on both sides" setting - where it is depends on the individual printer model's driver, but it is often in the "Finishing" tab
remove the check mark from "Print on both sides"; click OK

How to set to use single sided or double sided for a document will depend on the application, but in most applications, this setting is available under File, Print, Preferences or something similar.

Changing which printer is the default printer does not affect any existing user specific Printing Preferences. I suggest not setting the default printer in a logon script. The default printer setting is retained in the user's profile - once it is set, it will remain set.

Note that printer drivers and their settings can be quite idiosyncratic; if you are having a difficulty with a specific printer make and model, I suggest posting the problem in the microsoft.public.windowsxp.print_fax or microsoft.public.windows.vista.print_fax_scan newsgroup. Make sure you state:

printer make and model
printer driver name and, if possible, version
client operating system version (including Service Packs)
server operating system version (including Service Packs)
--
Bruce Sanderson
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders

It is perfectly useless to know the right answer to the wrong question.



"Big Passeron" <BigPasseron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:76412DE9-C2C0-4046-AAEA-7D98EFB259EA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Not sure if this is the right place to ask.
I'm deploying some network printers with Windows Server 2003 R2 Print Server
role, working in conjunction with GPOs.
Printing defaults are set in the server and clients are retrieving the right
settings.
Unfortunately, some users seldom need to print with properties different
from the one deployed with group policies.
But once a user tries to change (for example) duplex properties changes are
not applied, even if domain users are allowed to manage printers.

So I'm asking:
1) why users cannot change printing properties?
2) I'm setting default printer for every user by means of a logon script. Is
there a way to specify inside the same script some user tailored properties,
like no full duplex, while still having all of these users receive the same
GPO?

.



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