Client printers policy settings
The Client Printers section contains policy settings for client printers, including settings to autocreate client printers, retain printer properties, and connect to print servers.
Auto-create client printers
This setting specifies the client printers that are auto-created. This setting overrides default client printer auto-creation settings.
By default, all client printers are auto-created.
This setting takes effect only if the Client printer redirection setting is present and set to Allowed.
When adding this setting to a policy, select an option:
- Auto-create all client printers automatically creates all printers on a user device.
- Auto-create the client’s default printer only automatically creates only the printer selected as the default printer on the user device.
- Auto-create local (non-network) client printers only automatically creates only printers directly connected to the user device through an LPT, COM, USB, TCP/IP, or other local port.
- Do not auto-create client printers turns off autocreation for all client printers when users log on. This causes the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) settings for autocreating client printers to override this setting in lower priority policies.
Auto-create generic universal printer
Note: Hotfixes that address the issues with this policy setting are available as Knowledge Center articles CTX141565 and CTX141566.
This setting enables or disables autocreation of the generic Citrix Universal Printer object for sessions where a user device compatible with Universal Printing is in use.
By default, the generic Universal Printer object is not autocreated.
The following policy settings are related:
- Universal print driver usage
- Universal driver preference
Client printer names
This setting selects the naming convention for auto-created client printers.
By default, standard printer names are used.
Select Standard printer names to use printer names such as “HPLaserJet 4 from clientname in session 3.”
Select Legacy printer names to use old-style client printer names and preserve backward compatibility for users or groups using MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 or earlier. An example of a legacy printer name is “Client/clientname#/HPLaserJet 4.” This option is less secure.
Note: This option is provided only for backwards compatibility with legacy versions of XenApp and XenDesktop.
Direct connections to print servers
This setting enables or disables direct connections from the virtual desktop or server hosting applications to a print server for client printers hosted on an accessible network share.
By default, direct connections are enabled.
Enable direct connections if the network print server is not across a WAN from the virtual desktop or server hosting applications. Direct communication results in faster printing if the network print server and the virtual desktop or server hosting applications are on the same LAN.
Disable direct connections if the network is across a WAN or has substantial latency or limited bandwidth. Print jobs are routed through the user device where they are redirected to the network print server. Data sent to the user device is compressed, so less bandwidth is consumed as the data travels across the WAN.
If two network printers have the same name, the printer on the same network as the user device is used.
Printer driver mapping and compatibility
This setting specifies the driver substitution rules for auto-created client printers.
This setting is configured to exclude Microsoft OneNote and XPS Document Writer from the auto-created client printers list.
When you define driver substitution rules, you can allow or prevent printers to be created with the specified driver. Additionally, you can allow created printers to use only universal print drivers. Driver substitution overrides or maps printer driver names the user device provides, substituting an equivalent driver on the server. This gives server applications access to client printers that have the same drivers as the server, but different driver names.
You can add a driver mapping, edit an existing mapping, override custom settings for a mapping, remove a mapping, or change the order of driver entries in the list. When adding a mapping, enter the client printer driver name and then select the server driver you want to substitute.
Printer properties retention
This setting specifies whether or not to store printer properties and where to store them.
By default, the system determines if printer properties are stored on the user device, if available, or in the user profile.
When adding this setting to a policy, select an option:
- Saved on the client device only is for user devices that have a mandatory or roaming profile that is not saved. Choose this option only if all the servers in your farm are running XenApp 5 and above and your users are using Citrix online plug-in versions 9 through 12.x, or Citrix Receiver 3.x.
- Retained in user profile only is for user devices constrained by bandwidth (this option reduces network traffic) and logon speed or for users with legacy plug-ins. This option stores printer properties in the user profile on the server and prevents any properties exchange with the user device. Use this option with MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 or earlier and MetaFrame Presentation Server Client 8.x or earlier. Note that this is applicable only if a Remote Desktop Services (RDS) roaming profile is used.
- Held in profile only if not saved on client allows the system to determine where printer properties are stored. Printer properties are stored either on the user device, if available, or in the user profile. Although this option is the most flexible, it can also slow logon time and use extra bandwidth for system-checking.
- Do not retain printer properties prevents storing printer properties.
Retained and restored client printers
This setting enables or disables the retention and re-creation of printers on the user device. By default, client printers are auto-retained and auto-restored.
Retained printers are user-created printers that are created again, or remembered, at the start of the next session. When XenApp recreates a retained printer, it considers all policy settings except the Auto-create client printers setting.
Restored printers are printers fully customized by an administrator, with a saved state that is permanently attached to a client port.