OT: Aliasing a printer in Windows XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Grinder
  • Start date Start date
G

Grinder

This is really a Windows XP question, but alt.os.windows-xp is fairy
borked. Disregard this if you're a stickler for proper topics in proper
groups.

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Problem: I have an accounting application that remembers Printer, but
not Printer Tray on a per report basis. Changing paper trays for half
of the reports (when printing checks instead of statements, for
instance) is a butt pain for the user.

Is there any way to "alias" a printer such that you can have two virtual
printers, each with a different default paper tray (and other settings,)
but ultimately points to the same networked printer?

Wow, I think I murdered the grammer in that paragraph. If you have any
other potential resolution for that problem, I'd like to hear that as well.

Thanks.
 
kony said:
What if you just add it a 2nd time in XP's Control Panel ->
Printers & Faxes, then set the properties per each as
needed?
Click to expand...

I tried that, but it didn't actually add a second printer. It
apparently figured out that I already had a printer with requested
network path.
 
kony said:
During what I wrote, I tried and succeeded in adding a
second printer entry to confirm what I was thinking, are you
sure there isn't some other problem like not naming the 2nd
printer (driver/settings) differently?

I have two networked printers at home, one of which is bog
standard and not network capable, that's the one I tired
because I didn't want to interfere with needed functionality
on the other one which is the primary mission critical
printer and solely network based.

I'm suggesting that you try to drill down towards what
differences you need to specify so that windows considers
them different. Maybe some printer drivers won't allow it,
I don't know, but I do know the windows Printer config
allows more than one entry for the same network path and
printer driver.
Click to expand...

It looks like I've sort of lucked out. The printer, an HP P2015dn,
actually sets up to icons in the printer list--one for PCL5e and one for
PCL6. Fortunately, each "printer" remembers it's own default paper
tray, which gets me what I need.

I'm hesitant to mess with the system to see if I could have added a
second copy of the printer, had it not already been so, but would still
like to know if that is true.

Anyhoo, thanks for the input.
 
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