Perform printer management tasks

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Vista

You can use Print Management (Printmanagement.msc) to manage all of the printers in your enterprise, including printers in branch offices. You can use the same interface to perform bulk operations, update drivers, and list or remove printers from Active Directory.

Perform Bulk Operations

Bulk operations can be performed on all the printers on a particular server or all the printers under a particular filter.

The following is a list of the tasks that are possible to perform on multiple printers simultaneously:

• Pause Printing

• Resume Printing

• Cancel All Jobs

• List in Directory

• Remove from Directory

• Delete

Update Device Drivers

Printer driver details are shown separately for each server that you have added to Print Management. By default, the driver name, driver version, environment, and provider columns are visible. You can add columns to show more details such as the config file path, data file path, default datatype, driver file path, manufacturer, and so on.

You can export the list of details to a text file for use outside of Print Management.

To manage device drivers

1. Open the Administrative Tools folder, and then double-click Print Management.

2. In the Print Management tree, under the appropriate print server, right-click Drivers, and then click Manage Drivers.

3. Do one or more of the following:

   • To add a printer driver, click Add, and then complete the Add Printer Driver Wizard.

   • To remove a printer driver, select a driver from the list, and then click Remove.

   • To reinstall a printer driver, select a driver, and then click Reinstall.

   • To view the details for a printer driver, select the driver, and then click Properties.

List and Remove Printers in Active Directory

Listing printers in Active Directory makes it easier for users to locate and install printers. After you install printers on a printer server, you can use Print Management to list them in Active Directory.

In fact, you can list more than one printer simultaneously. You may want to set up a filter to show all of the printers to list or remove, so that you can easily select all of the printers at the same time.

To list or remove printers in Active Directory

1. Open the Administrative Tools folder, and then double-click Print Management.

2. In the Print Management tree, under the appropriate print server, click Printers.

3. In the results pane, right-click the printer you want to list or remove, and then click List in Directory or Remove from Directory.