Terminal services and printers

[Ormandy]

I have a printer that maps when the client connects via
RDP to my Windows 2k server. I need to set up a share on
that printer so my application can print to it.
ie //servername/share I establish the share but when the
user logs off of ts and then back on later the share
disappears. in citrix I can make the printers stay how
can I do that with TS or how can I make the share come
back.

Thanks

 

[Matthew Harris [MVP]]

You could probably write a relatively simple batch script
to do this...or..

{5 minutes later}

Ok...I wrote a quick a dirty one. Download it here...

http://terminal.servebeer.com/download/share_printer.zip

....and try it out. Near the top of the script there is a
line that looks like this:

set ShareName=RedirPr

That will be combined with a number to uniquely identify
the printer share. For instance, at the end of the
script, the printer share name will be RedirPr_0. If you
want to change the name from RedirPr to something else,
then adjust the above line.

If it works, then could you please let me know? I'm sure
other people might be interested in using it.

-M

 

[ormandy]

so what I am hearing is there is no way to let the
printer stay resident? in citrix, the printer isnt
session sensitive but in ts it is? is there a way that
the printers can be computer name sensitive?

 

[Matthew Harris [MVP]]

Did you enven try out the script?

Citrix is built on top of terminal services, but Citrix
may have an additional addin there to help share the
pritner automatically upon connect.

If you want to use the client's computer's name, then
substitute %clientname% in for RedirPr in the script.

-M

 

[ormandy]

no I have not tried the script yet as I was hoping I
didnt have to use scripts to accomplish this. as I have
other printers on that server that do stay resident when
the ts session is disconnected.

 

[Matthew Harris [MVP]]

Ah...hmm. You said, "...when the ts session is
disconnected." Did you mean logged out, or did you indeed
mean disconnected, because those are very different?

Maybe I'm just missing the point here...are you trying to
share the client's printer every time the user connects?
Or...are you trying to have the user get connected to the
same network shared printer when they connect?

-M

 

[ormandy]

I am trying to have the printer stay when they logoff or
get disconnected. the application we sell sends print
jobs to a share (//servername/share)so when the user
connects and the printer is mapped I need to have it stay
on the server once the user disconnects weather they are
loging off or disconnected. I guess It was confusing when
I said disconnnected I thought that meant either by
borken connection or log off.

 

[Matthew Harris [MVP]]

Terminal services redirected printers are autocreated upon
logon and autodeleted upon logout, so keeping them around
isn't going to work.

If you have to have the printers be on the server at all
times, your best bet is to install them locally.

To tell the truth, this isn't the most optimal of
configurations, since you are pretty much working against
terminal services.

-M