Advice on Scripting Printers

[John J. Rambone]

Hello,

I need some help on coming up with a strategy for scripting printers.
I have 3 main sites with a print server at each site. Each site has
about 6 printers distributed through out the building. What I want to
accomplish is to have all the printers in a site to be mapped when a
user logons on. I also need to set a default printer closest to the
user. Currently each location has an OU with the users in it.
OU_Loc1, OU_loc2, OU_loc3. I will have to find out each users default
printer as well. I may have 1 - 3 users that will also need to print
to a different site and will need to map whatever printer they print
to at the remote site for those specific users.

How do I design this? Do I need a script for each user (I have 80)?
Should I make a group in AD for each printer?

Please help me visualize this and get started.


Thank You,
John J.

 

[Jerold Schulman]

Hello,

I need some help on coming up with a strategy for scripting printers.
I have 3 main sites with a print server at each site. Each site has
about 6 printers distributed through out the building. What I want to
accomplish is to have all the printers in a site to be mapped when a
user logons on. I also need to set a default printer closest to the
user. Currently each location has an OU with the users in it.
OU_Loc1, OU_loc2, OU_loc3. I will have to find out each users default
printer as well. I may have 1 - 3 users that will also need to print
to a different site and will need to map whatever printer they print
to at the remote site for those specific users.

How do I design this? Do I need a script for each user (I have 80)?
Should I make a group in AD for each printer?

Please help me visualize this and get started.


Thank You,
John J.

A users default printer is stored at

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows\Device

This type REG_SZ value has a default string value of PrinterName,winspool,LPT1:.
When set for a network printer, the string value is
\\ServerName\PrinterShare,Description,LPTn:. The description is not important so
the string value can be expressed as \\ServerName\PrinterShare,,LPTn:.


REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows]
"Device"="\\\\JSI2\\HP1600C,,LPT1:"

You can use the Active Directory Command Line tools, tip 6820 in the 'Tips &
Tricks' at http://www.jsiinc.com to retrieve the user's DN (OU) in the logon
script and use that to map the printers.

See tip 7335.


Jerold Schulman
Windows: General MVP
JSI, Inc.
http://www.jsiinc.com