Installing and Sharing a Local Printer

To print from a computer that is not part of a network, you must physically connect a printer to your computer, usually through either a USB port or a parallel port. A printer that is connected directly to your computer is called a local printer. The software to run the printer is installed on and run from your computer. When you connect a printer to your computer and then turn on the printer, Windows Vista recognizes that a device has been connected and identifies the type of device. It then searches through its database of drivers to locate the appropriate software to run the printer. If Windows Vista doesn't have the current driver for your particular printer, it asks you to provide the driver.

If your computer is connected to a network, you can share your local printer with the entire network or with a select group of people. When you share your printer, you assign it a name. This name might be based on the manufacturer or model of the printer (such as HP LaserJet), some special feature (such as Color), or perhaps the physical location of the printer (such as Front Office). Regardless, simple names work best because they are more likely to be easily identified by everyone who needs to use your printer.

In this exercise, you will install a local printer, test the installation by printing a test page, and then share the printer for use by other people. There are no practice files for this exercise, but if you are logged on to the computer with a standard user account, you need to have an administrator password available to share the printer.

1.	Connect the printer to the appropriate port on your computer.
2.	Connect the printer to a power outlet, and then if necessary, turn it on. If your computer connects to the printer through a USB port, Windows Vista recognizes the device and displays an alert while it configures the necessary settings and drivers.
3.	If Windows Vista does not recognize the printer, skip to Step 5. Otherwise, click the alert to display the progress of the printer installation. [View full size image]
4.	After Windows declares the printer ready to use, close the Driver Software Installation window, and skip to Step 14. If the installation did not complete successfully, continue with Step 5.
5.	Open Control Panel, and under Hardware and Sound, click Printer.
6.	On the toolbar of the Printers window, click Add a printer. [View full size image]
7.	On the first page of the Add Printer wizard, click Add a local printer.
8.	On the Choose a printer port page, select the port to which your printer is connected from the Use an existing port list, and then click Next. Troubleshooting It is likely that the correct port will already be selected. If not, the installation instructions from your printer manufacturer will tell you which port you should use. Some manufacturers supply helpful drawings to guide you. [View full size image] Tip While working through the wizard, you can return to a previous page by clicking the Back button in the upper-left corner.
9.	If you have an installation CD for your printer, insert it in the appropriate drive, click Have Disk, and follow the instructions on the screen to install your printer. Otherwise, in the Manufacturer list, click the brand name of your printer. Important Your installation CD must contain updated drivers that are compatible with Windows Vista. If your drivers are out of date, you might need to download current drivers from the printer manufacturer's Web site. The Printers list changes to reflect a list of the printer drivers for that manufacturer that come with Windows Vista. Tip Updated drivers are often available through Automatic Updates. [View full size image]
10.	In the Printers list, click the model of your printer (which you can usually find printed on the top or front of the printer). Then click Next. Troubleshooting If the Printers list doesn't include your specific model, select a model with a similar name. Alternatively, download the necessary drivers from the manufacturer's Web site, return to the Install The Printer Driver page, and click Have Disk to install the printer manually.
11.	On the Type a printer name page, change the printer name if you want to, or accept the default name. If you want Windows and any programs you install, such as Microsoft Office Word, to print to this printer when you click the Print button, select the Set as the default printer check box. Then click Next. Tip You can change your default printer at any time. To do so, display the Printers window, and double-click the printer you want to set as the default. Then on the Printer menu of the printer's management window, click Set As Default Printer.
12.	On the wizard's confirmation page, click Print a test page. After Windows Vista sends the test page to the printer, a confirmation message box appears. [View full size image]
13.	In the confirmation message box, click Close. Then in the Add Printer wizard, click Finish. Your local printer appears in the Printers window.
14.	In the Printers window, right-click the icon representing your printer, and then click Sharing. The printer's Properties dialog box opens, displaying the Sharing tab.
15.	Click Change sharing options. In the User Account Control dialog box, if you are logged on as an administrator, click Continue. Otherwise, enter an administrator password, and then click OK.
16.	Select the Share this printer check box. Then in the Share name box, type a simple name for the printer (or leave the default).
17.	In the Properties dialog box, click OK. In the Printers window, the printer's icon now indicates that it is shared.