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How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:19 pm
by mboehm
Dear Tracker-Team,

we like to distribute printing preferences using GPO. Can this be done and how?

Best Regards
Michael

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:34 pm
by Will - Tracker Supp
Hi Michael,

Thanks for the post - Please see this KB article:
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/knowle ... ough-a-GPO

HTH!

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:55 pm
by mboehm
Hi Will,

the question is not about distribution of the software itself as we plan to deploy it on a remote desktop session host.
What we are looking for is how to deploy the same printing preferences to a group of users, like overlay, software to launch after printing an so on.
We found that these settings are always private to a user and that profiles need to be imported by every single user.

Best Regards
Michael

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:57 pm
by Paul - Tracker Supp
Hi mboehm,

thanks for the details.
What we are looking for is how to deploy the same printing preferences to a group of users,
If I understand your need, you wish to have different printing profiles based on Security Groups on your domain for users logged into an RDS server. You should be able to do this if you script the solution below as a login or other script that runs as the end user, so each group could run a different script and get different profiles. It is key here that it run as the end user in their profile/session, especially on a Terminal (RDS) Server as that ensures the results go into HKCU for each user.
We found that these settings are always private to a user and that profiles need to be imported by every single user.
This is relatively easily done. You can import multiple profiles, each user can have his/her own set of profiles and you can specify the default too. Take a look at this: https://www.pdf-xchange.com/knowle ... ser-system

NOTE!!!! In the current build (7.0.325.1) we are aware of an issue where this rundll32 method does not work if the Printer Name has been modified from the default (PDF-XChange Standard). We have fixed this in our code and the fix will be available in the next release, you will then be able to rename your printers and still use rundll32 to import profiles to those renamed printers.

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 3:22 pm
by mboehm
Hi Paul,

and can we set the printing preferences without using a profile?

Best Regards
Michael

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:22 pm
by Paul - Tracker Supp
Hi Michael,

firstly , let me apologise for not getting back to you sooner.

You could create the profiles in the GUI like you would when importing profiles,
Image

then export the settings from the registry:
Image

however that still gives your users profiles to choose from.

As a matter of interest, what is the reason for not wanting to use profiles? Is it that you want a common set of defaults for everybody?

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 11:33 am
by mboehm
Hi Paul,

we find it more easy for users do select between different printers instead of selecting the right profile. Finding printing preferences within different applications with their different dialogs to select a profile is far more difficult and will often be forgotten resulting in bad printing results and frustration.

We managed to import the profiles into the LM registry tree for now. We have 4 profiles and 4 corresponding printers. Selecting the right profile for each printer in the windows printing properties results in the correct assignments when users first login after a new printer is created. However changing the read-only profiles requires to delete and re-create the printers and re-assign the profiles. Otherwise users need to fake change the profile selection to get the new profile values.

Its either demanding for our users or awkward for our administrators.
What really will help us is to assign the values to each printers default profile using GPO.

Best Regards
Michael

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:03 am
by Tracker Supp-Stefan
Hello Michael,

Thanks for the follow up. Paul is our servers/GPO expert, so I will ask him to take a look at thsi topic once again when he is in the office (he is in western Canada), and we will post again here as soon as we have any updates!

Regards,
Stefan

Re: How to distribute printer preferences using GPO

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 2:45 pm
by Paul - Tracker Supp
Hi Michael,
We managed to import the profiles into the LM registry tree for now. We have 4 profiles and 4 corresponding printers.
it sounds like you are on the right path. What command did you use for that? Have you seen this: https://help.pdf-xchange.com/pdfxs ... ies_s.html

There is an option when using that rundll32 command, /ForUser, to set this new profile in HKCU which should make it configurable by the end user. In the past I have had success with a batch file like this. Repeat for multiple printers:

Code: Select all

"C:\Program Files\Tracker Software\PDF-XChange 6\pdfSaver6.exe" /AddPrinter "KBI overlay 1"	
if errorlevel 0 (
	if exist "\\PSERVER\data\Software\Tracker\profiles\KBI_1.pp5" (
		rundll32 "C:\Program Files\Tracker Software\PDF-XChange 6\DrvUI6.dll",DUI30_Command /InstallProfile:"\\PSERVER\data\Software\Tracker\profiles\MichaelsProfile.pp5" /PrinterName:"Michaels Printer 1" /ForUser
	)
)
Truth be told I have not tested it in V7, and it should probably be a power shell script. See what you can do with that and if you need me to I can try updating that for a V7 deployment.

Let me know how that goes?