Guest's Printing Capabilities

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system, version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server, version 3.1

In general, if a user has permission to open a printer, he or she is also allowed to print on the printer. However, there are a few considerations to keep in mind.

Local Printers

Local printers are printers created on your computer by choosing Create Printer from the Printer menu in Print Manager. You must be in the Administrators or Power Users group to create a local printer (or Print Operators or System Operators group on Windows NT Advanced Server). If a printer driver needs to be installed on the computer, you must also have write access to the drivers directory.

Anyone (including a guest) who logs onto the machine has, by default, permission to print to a local printer. They are given permission to administer their own documents on that printer, but they may not delete the printer or change any of the printer's properties.

Printer Connections

A Connection to a printer is established by choosing Connect to Printer from the Printer menu in Print Manager. Unlike local printers, printer connections are established for a specific user. When a connection is made, the spooler determines which driver is needed, and copies the driver from the server to the local computer. This means that the user may need write access to the drivers directory on the local computer even when connecting to a remote printer. If you receive an "access denied" message when you try to connect, you probably need write privileges. If the required driver is already installed, then the connection succeeds, regardless of whether you have write access to the drivers directory.

If the driver is already installed, but the server has a newer version, Windows NT attempts to update the local copy. If this fails, the connection is still made.

An administrator can control access to the drivers directory by changing the permissions from File Manager.

Non-Windows NT Printers

When a user attempts to connect from Print Manager to a non-Windows NT printer, such as a Windows For Workgroups, OS/2, or LAN Manager printer, this does not create a true connection. Rather, a local printer is created which looks like a connected printer. However, because it really is a local printer, the printer is not created for a specific user, and the permissions apply as they would to a local printer.