Configured Printers in a Thin Client (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)
1/5/2010
The Add Printer Wizard and Setup user interfaces (UIs) are both supported by logic that reads and writes printer information.
Printer Manufacturer List
A thin client passes the list of printer manufacturers and models to the server so that the server can locate the appropriate printer driver for printer redirection. This list is passed in the form of the ntprint_parsed.txt file for Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating system. By default, ntprint_parsed.txt is the file that is copied into the flat release directory during a build and included in a run-time image.
An additional txt file, lhprint_parsed.txt, is provided that contains a list of printer manufacturers and models for use in a Terminal Server session when connecting to a server running the Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 operating system. If your thin client will support connecting to Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, you must rename the file lhprint_parsed.txt to “ntprint_parsed.txt” to be used in place of the list of printers for connecting to a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 PC. Both .txt files are located in %_WINCEROOT%\PUBLIC\RDP\OAK\FILES.
Additional printer manufacturers and models can be added to the version of “ntprint_parsed.txt”, and then built into the run-time image (NK.BIN). The printer name in the list must be identical to the printer name of the server so that the correct driver can be loaded onto the server during a redirected print operation.
Installed Printers Registry Key
The registry settings for the installed printers are stored in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\WBT\Printers\DevConfig\<LPT#> subkey, where <LPT#> indicates any physical port that is available on the Windows Embedded CE powered thin client. Examples of subkey names are LPT1, and LPT2.
Add a New Printer
Do not add new printers through the registry settings. Instead, add new printers by using the Printer Setup Wizard. Depending on the printer added, this wizard adds important binary data to the registry that is used for redirected printing.
When a new printer is added by completing the Printer Setup Wizard, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has additional associated logic for the new printer. Binary data that is associated with the new printer is stored in the named value PrinterCacheData0 in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default\AddIns\RDPDR registry key
For additional details about the format of this data, refer to %_WINCEROOT%\Public\Rdp\Oak\Uit\Wbttscmn\Printerhelper.cpp
Named Values in the Registry
The following table shows values for the printer that are created and used internally by the thin client.
Important
These values should never be modified using Registry Editor. They are listed here for reference only.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
Name |
Indicates a name for the printer. Default is the user-defined friendly name of the printer. This name is optional. |
Driver |
Indicates the model name of the printer. The default is the Windows operating system model name of the printer. This name is required. |
Default |
Indicates the default printer. This is the printer associated with the port name that is the default value "@" of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\WBT\Printers\Default subkey. Default is 1. If this value or key does not exist, no printer is the default printer. |
The following table shows the default printer value that is created and used internally by the thin client. This value should never be modified using Registry Editor. It is documented here for reference only. This entry is located in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\WBT\Printers key.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
Default |
Indicates the physical port that is associated with the default printer for the thin client. Examples include |