Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 1

Transcription

1 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 1

2 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 2 Table of Contents Overview of Printer Properties Pro...3 Major Features and Benefits...3 Product Requirements...4 Install Printer Properties Pro...4 Create Re-usable NDPS/iPrint Configurations...5 Deploy NDPS/iPrint Configurations...6 Set Default Printer for edirectory User Groups...6 Modify a PPP Configuration...7 Distribute PPP Configurations to Other Servers...8 Validate PPP Configurations with edirectory...9 Manage Printer Licenses...9 Manage Global PPPClient Settings from PPPAdmin...10 Contact Us...10

3 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 3 Overview of Printer Properties Pro Printer Properties Pro (PPP) is the #1-selling, most-recommended printer configuration utility for Novell Networks that allows you to configure every printer driver on your network without ever leaving your desk! Designed specifically for Novell Administrators, PPP uses patent-pending technology to save printer driver configurations as a collection of files so they can be re-used to automatically and remotely configure printer drivers on every workstation. Quick to set up and easy to maintain, PPP consists of two separate software pieces, PPPAdmin and PPPClient. Administrators use PPPAdmin to define printer configurations for NDPS/iPrint printers, and store them on the network. Then, PPPClient runs on the enduser workstation and applies those saved configurations to the installed printers. This user s guide provides the basics on how to use PPP software. For other tips and tricks on how to use PPP or Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about PPP, please go to Major Features and Benefits Integrate Seamlessly with NDPS View all the iprint and NDPS printers from Novell edirectory automatically. Browse the edirectory to retrieve a list of all iprint and NDPS printer so you can easily locate the printer that you d like to configure. Select the printer you want to configure, and then easily view the driver properties for that printer. Keep printer resources up-to-date by validating the printers you have listed in Printer Properties Pro with what currently exists in edirectory. Create Re-usable Printer Driver Configurations and Store Them Centrally Set the desired properties, such as duplexing, extra paper trays, printer hard drives, default paper size, and more. Now for the first-time ever, you can save the printer driver configurations as a collection of files to be recalled every time a printer gets installed. Store printer driver configurations centrally so they can be used as needed for all users on the network. Send ready-to-use configuration files to other servers on the network for fast and easy distribution of configurations to worldwide office. Automatically Deploy Configuration Changes Without End-User Intervention. Detect and apply changes made to configurations through the user-transparent client software running in the background. When the client piece runs on the workstation, it updates all the installed printers with the latest configuration for all installed printers. If a new printer is installed on any workstation, the configuration for that printer will also be automatically installed.

4 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 4 Product Requirements Novell NDPS/iPrint: PPP integrates with Novell s NDPS and iprint printing solutions, and cannot be used in conjunction with other network printing solutions. Novell NDS/eDirectory: PPP supports all versions. Windows 9X/NT/2000/XP: Both PPPAdmin and PPPClient run on these versions of Windows. Novell Client: PPP supports all versions of the Novell client, but we recommend always using the latest version. Rights: PPPAdmin users need read and write rights to the file system where you install it. PPPClient end-users need read rights to that same location. PPPAdmin users also require Browse Object rights to any containers in edirectory with printers you want to configure. Hardware: PPP was designed to consume as little system resources as possible. If you can install Windows on your computer, you can use PPPAdmin or PPPClient. Install Printer Properties Pro 1. Download PPP.exe from 2. Without purchasing a license, PPP can be installed and used to configure up to 3 printers on your network for free. 3. Install the program to a central location on the network, accessible to all users. 4. The PPP installation does not modify the computer from which the installation is started. 5. The network location where PPP is installed does not need to be a NetWare server, but all users will need at least Read privileges to the program directory. 6. After purchasing a license at you will receive an with an attached file (NDPSC_License.txt). Save this file into the directory where PPP was installed, overwriting the existing license file, if necessary. 7. PPP is now installed and ready for you to create and deploy printer configurations!

5 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 5 Create Re-usable NDPS/iPrint Configurations PPP can be used to create a separate configuration for each NDPS/iPrint printer. Because the different Windows operating systems use different printer drivers for the same printer, you can also create a different configuration for each operating system on which that printer might be installed. For example, if a printer is used by Windows 98 clients as well as Windows XP clients, a separate PPP configuration should be created for each one. These configurations are saved by PPP, and later retrieved by PPPClient to configure printers. To create a configuration for an NDPS/iPrint printer, follow these steps: 1. Select a computer with the desired version of Windows installed. 2. Install the NDPS/iPrint printers for which you want to create configurations. 3. Start PPPAdmin, select NDPS or iprint on the right, and browse the tree to find a printer to configure. 4. NDPS Controlled Access printers are listed under their container, while Public Access printers are listed under the NDPS Manager in which they were created. 5. Select the printer to be configured, and click Enable. 6. If this NDPS printer is not installed on your workstation, you will be prompted to install it. Otherwise, the printer properties page for that printer will appear. 7. Configure the desired properties, and click OK when finished. 8. Click Continue on the PPP window that appears, and then click Apply in PPPAdmin (you must always click Apply to save changes in PPPAdmin). 9. Your configuration is now saved, and ready to be deployed.

6 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 6 Deploy NDPS/iPrint Configurations After a PPP configuration has been created and saved, it can be deployed to the users to configure their NDPS or iprint printer. A configuration created on a Windows 2000 computer, should be deployed to a Windows 2000 client, etc. PPPClient requires no installation on the end-user workstation, but simply runs from a network location. It can be started using any method desired (ie. a login script, a Windows shortcut, a NAL object). To deploy a PPP configuration, follow these steps: 1. The PPPClient.exe runs on the client computer and needs to be started from the PPP installation directory on the server, or a configuration distribution location (click here to find out how to do this). 2. When started, PPPClient checks for installed NDPS and iprint printers. 3. If any installed printers have a PPP configuration saved, PPPClient retrieves the configuration and applies it to the installed printers. 4. After configuring installed printers, PPPClient drops to the background and waits for more printers to be installed. 5. With PPPClient running in the background, if the end-user installs a new NDPS or iprint printer, PPPClient will immediately configure the printer. Set Default Printer for edirectory User Groups Printer Properties Pro can be used to set the default printer on a user s workstation, if necessary, and override the default printer set by NDPS. In order to set the default printer for a user or a group of users, follow these steps: 1. Create a user group in edirectory and add users that need the printer set as default. 2. Start PPPAdmin and select the printer in the left pane. 3. Click the button next to the Set as Default Printer: box, and select the user group in the dialog box that appears. 4. Click OK, and then click Apply in the PPPAdmin window. 5. For all users in the group you selected, that printer will now be the default after running PPPClient on their workstation.

7 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 7 Modify a PPP Configuration Once a PPP configuration has been created, it can be modified and deployed to all the appropriate users. To ensure that end-users get the most current configuration for each printer, PPP uses a configuration version number. To modify a configuration, follow these steps: 1. Start PPPAdmin and select the printer you want to modify. 2. Increment the version number by clicking on the red arrow (note that these changes only apply to the configuration for the operating system you are currently using). 3. Click Configure Printer, configure the driver properties as desired, and click OK when finished. 4. Click Continue on the PPP window that appears, and then click Apply in PPPAdmin. 5. Next time PPPClient runs, the new configuration will be used to set printer properties. *Note that without incrementing the Version ID, the new printer settings may not be distributed to the clients when PPPClient next runs.

8 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 8 Distribute PPP Configurations to Other Servers PPPAdmin saves all printer configurations in the PPP install directory and subdirectories. When PPPClient runs on the workstations, it retrieves printer configurations from those same directories. Because this may not be efficient network usage for WAN links, PPP allows the distribution of saved configurations to other servers on the network. The distribution tool saves PPP configurations as well as the PPPClient to servers you specify. From there, end-users can run PPPClient and retrieve configurations from a server closer to them, and thus minimize network traffic. To distribute PPP configurations to other servers, follow these steps: 1. Start PPPAdmin and click Tools, Distribute PPPClient Package to Remote Servers. 2. Enter the distribution path (mapped drive, UNC path, etc.) in the appropriate box, and click Submit to add the path to the box below. 3. Repeat step 2 for as many paths as desired. 4. Click Distribute Client Package to send the files to your chosen paths. PPPAdmin performs this task like a normal file copy operation, so you must have the appropriate rights to save files to the chosen paths. 5. The Log: window will show the results of the operation. 6. If a PPP configuration is modified after configurations have been distributed, repeat steps 1 5 above to ensure all remote locations have the current configuration.

9 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 9 Validate PPP Configurations with edirectory Configurations may sometimes need to be removed from PPP. When a printer is removed from edirectory PPP does not automatically remove the configurations for that printer, and the printer will still show up in PPPAdmin. The Printer Validation tool allows you to compare current NDPS/iPrint printers to your saved PPP configurations, to find any that should be removed. This tool can be used as often or as little as desired, in order to synchronize PPP with edirectory. To use this tool, follow these steps: 1. Open PPPAdmin and click Tools, Printer Validation. 2. Click Start on the dialog box that appears, and PPP will look for your configured printers in edirectory. 3. If a configured printer is not found in edirectory, PPP will prompt you to delete the configuration files for that printer. Manage Printer Licenses Printer Properties Pro is licensed on a per-printer basis. For each license, one printer can be configured (for all operating systems), saved, and deployed to endusers. PPP tracks for you how many licenses have been used and how many are remaining. Some important notes about printer licensing: As soon as a printer is configured for any operating system, one license will automatically be deducted from the pool of available licenses. If a printer s configurations (for all operating systems) are removed using PPPAdmin, the license used by that printer will automatically return to the pool of available licenses. If a printer is configured as an NDPS and iprint printer, it will consume 2 licenses. Additional licenses can be added to your original purchase at any time. Please sales@printerpropertiespro.com, or see contact information at the end of this user s guide. PPPAdmin displays in the status bar how many total licenses you purchased and how many have been used.

10 Printer Properties Pro User Guide Page 10 Manage Global PPPClient Settings from PPPAdmin Show PPPClient window on user workstations: PPPClient display a log window on the end-user workstation that is helpful in the troubleshooting process. This option is off by default, and the users are unaware that the changes are being made. To turn this option on for all clients, open the Client_Options menu in PPPAdmin, and check the box next to Show Client Window on Workstations. *Note: the log window can also be displayed on a per-machine basis by starting PPPClient using the command line parameter NOMINIMIZE. For example: Y:\PPP\PPPClient.exe NOMINIMIZE. Deploy all PPP configurations always: After an NDPS/iPrint printer has been configured in PPPAdmin, and installed to the end-user workstation, PPPClient can configure that printers always (every time it runs), or it can configure that printer once, and then leave it alone. This allows users to make changes to their printer driver configurations, and not lose them when PPPClient runs again. By default, all printers are configured every time PPPClient runs. To change this setting, click Client_Options, and uncheck Distribute All Printer Properties Always. Then, on the printer information page in PPPAdmin, check Distribute Always for each printer that should be configured every time PPPClient runs. Contact Us Our staff is very pleased to assist you with any questions or requests, so please don t hesitate to contact us for anything. Regular office hours are 8 am to 5 pm Mountain Daylight Time, Monday through Friday. Printer Properties Pro, LLC Mail: 712 East 700 South St. George, UT USA Phone: (435) Fax: (435) Sales/Info sales@printerpropertiespro.com Support support@printerpropertiespro.com Copyright 2004 Printer Properties Pro, LLC. Printer Properties Pro is a trademark of Printer Properties Pro, LLC. All right reserved. Novell, NDPS, and iprint are trademarks of their respective holders.