Setting Server Properties In Microsoft Windows XP


In addition to setting properties for individual printers by using their properties dialog boxes, you can set other properties by visiting the Print Server Properties dialog box. To get there, open the File menu or right-click a blank area of the Printers And Faxes folder and then choose Server Properties.

The first three tabs control the list of items you see in the properties dialog box for a printer:

● The Forms tab controls the list of forms that you can assign to trays using the Device Settings tab in a printer’s properties dialog box. You can create new form definitions and delete any that you create, but you can’t delete any of the predefined forms.

● The Ports tab offers the same capabilities as the Ports tab in a printer’s properties dialog box.

● The Drivers tab offers a list of all the installed printer drivers and provides a centralized location where you can add, remove, or update drivers.

The Advanced tab, shown in Figure, offers a potpourri of options:

● You can specify the location of spool files. You might want to change to a folder on a different drive if, for example, you frequently run out of space on the current drive when you attempt to print large documents.

● The first three check boxes on the Advanced tab determine which types of events merit entries in the Windows System log, which you can view with the Event Viewer snap-in.

● The Beep On Errors Of Remote Documents check box causes the print server to notify you audibly of problems with a remote printer.

● The two Show Informational Notifications check boxes control pop-up status messages near the notification area.

● The last two check boxes on the tab control an alternative notification method.

Windows XP can cause a message to pop up to let you know when your print job has completed. If you don’t select the last check box, the message goes to the first workstation at which the user who printed the job is logged on. If that user account is logged on to more than one workstation, the message might not go to the one that generated the print job. To ensure that it does, select the last check box also, which causes the message to be delivered to the computer that generated the print job.

Windows XP uses the Alerter service on a print server to send notification to users when network printing jobs are complete. By default, the Alerter service does not run automatically in Windows XP. If you plan to use this feature, you’ll need to start the Alerter service using the Services snap-in in Computer Management.

To receive such a message, a computer must be running the Messenger service. Users right next to the printer might want to leave this service off (and not be bothered by the pop-up messages), whereas users down the hall can start it so they’ll know when print jobs are done.


Figure. Settings you make here affect options available in all printer properties dialog boxes.