Configuring Client Computers to Print to Access Connect

To make use of Access Connect printing, clients follow specific steps depending on their operating system. Once you add print queues through the Access Connect Administrator Print Queues dialog box, they are immediately available for clients to print to them. Printer Browser installers for Macintosh clients are copied onto your server’s drive when you install Access Connect. Macintosh clients can copy to their computer, and install, an operating system specific Printer Browser installer from the Access Connect server. It is also possible to use Apple Remote Desktop to deploy the installer packages to multiple Macintosh computers.

A Macintosh user can select an Access Connect queue to print to in a number of ways, depending on the operating system they are using and the functionality they need. When using Mac OS X, the following are the primary ways to set up a printer:

• Access Connect Zidget supports discovering printers across subnets, automatic PPD download, and adding queues that have been set up to require Print Accounting codes if the Macintosh also has the optional Access Connect print components on it. It is also available from inside any application, therefore; you can set up a printer when you need to print without leaving your current application. The slight downside is that you must install it on each Macintosh. Although simple to install, it does require additional work.
• Bonjour discovery from within the print window of an application has the advantage of being built-in to Mac OS X. The native Mac OS X Bonjour discovery is also very simple to use. The disadvantage of Bonjour is that it does not support automatic PPD download or Print Accounting queues.
• Access Connect Printer Browser works from within the Apple Printer Setup Utility. It supports automatic PPD download from the server and can be used to add queues that have been set up to require Print Accounting codes. The disadvantage to the custom Access Connect print components is that they have to be installed by someone with administrator rights on the client computer either manually or with Apple Remote Desktop. It also requires more training than the Zidget does.

When using Mac OS 9, there are two options for setting up a printer:

• The built in Chooser desk accessory can use AppleTalk to locate and set up the printer.

  Note: AppleTalk is not installed by default on Windows servers.

• Access Connect Choose IP Printer is an optional install that supports faster printing. It uses the SLP and TCP/IP protocols.

The advantages and disadvantages are similar to the ones stated above for Mac OS X. The built-in Chooser is simple and well understood by Macintosh users, but the custom client has more features and is several times faster than printing with AppleTalk.