A wireless network is about more than just sharing Internet access and your multimedia files. You also can do things like share a printer among all the computers on your wireless network. I don’t need to tell you how helpful that can be these days, especially when more and more households are using multiple computers.
In this topic, I explain how to set up printer sharing across a network, as well as how to add a new printer and change the default printer.
Learning to Share
You can add and select printers that you will use over your wireless network. For instance, you might be sharing a laser printer on your network and want to add a color inkjet printer that’s connected to another computer to your network. Here’s how to share a local printer on your entire network:
1. Click Start.
The Start menu appears.
2. Click Control Panel.
The Control Panel appears.
3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section.
4. Do one of the following:
• Right-click the printer you want to share and select Sharing.
• Click Change sharing options and confirm the operation.
5. Select the Share This Printer button.
6. Type a name for the shared printer, in the text box as shown in Figure 4-1.
Try to choose a name that’s meaningful to you and to others who use the network. Printer is simple, but not very meaningful, especially if you have more than one printer on the network. Better examples include Upstairs Laser and Basement Color.
Figure 4-1:
A meaningful name is better than a short name.
There is no longer a character limitation when naming your shared printer; however, be mindful that there are some characters that cannot be used. For example, the uses of slashes or other special characters are not allowed. If you use an illegal character, don’t worry about it, Windows shows you the error of your ways. It is then up to you to correct it. It’s important to learn from one’s mistakes.
7. Click OK.
An image of two people appears, which fortunately replaces the open-palm hand that appears superimposed on the printer’s icon, as shown in Figure 4-2. (I think the shared icon looks like a guy in a rather boring family portrait, but that’s me. I may die young from cynicism, but at least there won’t be any nasty surprises ahead.)
You’re all done here. Move along, move along.
Figure 4-2:
Share and share alike: The printer is ready.
Feeling Selfish and Turning Off Sharing
Just as you giveth, you can taketh. It may occasionally be a good idea to turn off your printer sharing. For example, if you know that you’re running a bit low on ink or paper (and hey, those cost a lot of money these days!), you may want to limit access to your printer. If you know that you’re going to be tying up the printer for a few hours and can’t bear the thought of anyone encroaching on your territory (or simply sliding in a quick print job), then you may want to pick up your marbles and go home, or simply un-share your printer.
If, after setting up printer sharing on your network, you decide that you no longer want to share the printer, you can easily switch it off. Just follow these steps:
1. Click Start.
The Start menu appears.
2. Click Control Panel.
The Control Panel appears.
3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section.
4. Do one of the following:
• Right-click the printer you want to share and select Sharing.
• Click Change sharing options and confirm the operation.
5. Deselect the Share This Printer button.
6. Click OK.
The sharing symbol disappears from the printer’s icon. That’s it for switching off printer sharing. If you want to add a network printer, mosey on over to the next section, please.
Adding a Network Printer
Windows Vista usually installs printers for you automatically if you’re connecting the printer directly to your PC; if you’ve been around computers since the Windows XP (or even Windows 95) days, then you likely know this. Of course, this might not be enough. There are other computers out there just waiting for you to print your prose. If you want to add the ability to use a printer that’s connected to another computer on your network, rather than one connected directly to your computer, you need to follow these instructions for each printer you want to add.
Sharing must be enabled before you can add a network printer. You must enable sharing from the computer that connects to the printer you want to share.
To add a new network printer, follow these steps:
1. Click Start.
The Start menu appears.
2. Click Control Panel.
The Control Panel appears.
3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section.
4. Click Add a Printer from the menu just under the file menu. The Add Printer wizard appears.
5. Click Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer.
The list of available printers appears, as shown in Figure 4-3.
6. Select a printer and go to Step 7; otherwise, if you cannot find the printer you want, click The Printer I Want Isn’t Listed option and carry on.
7. Do one of the following:
• Select Browse for a Printer if you don’t know the printer’s name and network address.
• Use Select a shared printer by name, if you know the printer’s name, and Add a printer using a TCP/IP address if you know the network address. Skip to Step 10.
The Browse for Printer dialog box appears.
Figure 4-3:
Selecting a network printer.
8. Wait for the newly selected printer to go ahead and configure, and think of a new name for your printer.
9. Type the name in the dialog box shown in Figure 4-4 (or leave the default name, it’s really up to you!) and then click Next.
The congratulatory message appears, letting you know that your network printer is now installed.
Figure 4-4:
Finding the desired printer by TCP/IP address or hostname.
10. Do one of the following:
• Select Finish if you want to finish any remaining work with the wizard.
• Select Print a test page if you want to make sure your new printer really works!
You just added a network printer to your personal computing arsenal!
Changing the Default Printer
You can change the printer that Windows Vista uses as its default printer. The default printer is the one where your print jobs automatically go. Although you can always choose another printer on the network (if there is one), doing nothing means your default printer handles the job.
Usually, your default printer is your local printer (the one hooked up to your computer), but you can choose to make a network printer the default printer. Of course, you may want to look twice and make sure that you’re online; otherwise it’s likely that your network printers won’t appear. Here’s how you do it:
1. Click Start.
The Start menu appears.
2. Click Control Panel.
The Control Panel appears.
3. Click Printer in the Hardware and Sound section.
4. Right-click the printer you want to have as your default printer.
5. Select Set as Default Printer.
A white check mark on a green circle appears on the printer icon. It indicates that the printer is now the default printer, as shown in Figure 4-5. You’re done.
Figure 4-5:
This printer’s your default.
