Client printers policy settings
The Client Printers section includes policy settings for client printers, including settings to auto-create 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. Choosing this option causes the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) settings for autocreating client printers to override this setting in lower priority policies.
Auto-create generic universal printer
This setting enables or disables auto-creation of the generic Citrix Universal Printer object for sessions. These sessions include only the sessions where a user device compatible with Universal Printing is in use.
By default, the generic Universal Printer object isn’t auto-created.
The following policy settings are related:
- Universal print driver usage
- Universal driver preference
Auto-create PDF universal printer
This setting enables or disables auto-creation of the Citrix PDF printer for sessions using:
- Citrix Workspace app for Windows (starting from VDA 7.19)
- Citrix Workspace app for Linux
- Citrix Workspace app for MacOS
- Citrix Workspace app for HTML5
- Citrix Workspace app for Chrome
By default, the Citrix PDF printer is not auto-created.
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 client name in session 3.”
Select Legacy printer names to use old-style client printer names and to preserve backward compatibility with legacy printers names as present in the XenDesktop versions of the product. You can use this option with the current, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops versions of the product. An example of a legacy printer name is “Client/clientname#/HPLaserJet 4.” This option is less secure.
When you use Citrix PDF printer in a session launched from Citrix Workspace app for HTML5, set the Client printer names setting as default or select Standard printer names. If you select Legacy printer names, Citrix Workspace app for HTML5 doesn’t support the Citrix PDF Printer option.
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. Here, the client printers are 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’re 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. Also, you can allow created printers to use only universal print drivers. Driver substitution overrides or maps the printer driver names the user device provides, substituting an equivalent driver on the server. These rules give server applications access to client printers that have the same drivers as the server, but different driver names.
You can do the following:
- Add a driver mapping
- Edit an existing mapping
- Override custom settings for a mapping
- Remove a mapping
- 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 replace.
Printer properties retention
This setting specifies whether 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.
- 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. This option is applicable only if a Remote Desktop Services (RDS) roaming profile is used.
- Held in profile only if not saved on the 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 Citrix Virtual Apps 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.
Citrix PDF Universal Printer driver
The Citrix PDF Universal Printer driver enables users to print documents opened with hosted applications or applications that are running on virtual desktops delivered by Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. When a user selects the Citrix PDF Printer option, the driver converts the file to PDF and transfers the PDF to the local device. The PDF is then opened for viewing and printing from a locally attached printer. PDF is one of the formats supported with Citrix Universal Printing (in addition to EMF and XPS). The PDF printer can be enabled, configured, and set as default using a Citrix Policy. The Citrix PDF Printer option is available to users of the Citrix Workspace app for Windows, Linux, MacOS, Chrome, and HTML5.
Note:
A PDF viewer is required for Windows endpoints. The client must have an application that has file type association registered on Windows to open PDF files.
In this article
- Auto-create client printers
- Auto-create generic universal printer
- Auto-create PDF universal printer
- Client printer names
- Direct connections to print servers
- Printer driver mapping and compatibility
- Printer properties retention
- Retained and restored client printers
- Citrix PDF Universal Printer driver