DOCUMENT:Q103938  21-SEP-1993  [W_NT]
TITLE   :Redirection of LPT Port Not Possible in Printer Properties
PRODUCT :Windows NT
PROD/VER:3.10
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:

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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
 - Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
SUMMARY
=======
 
If you create a printer using the Create Printer command on the
Printer menu in Windows NT Print Manager, you will be able to set the
printer port you want to print to. If you select one of the LPTx
ports, you will not be able to redirect the printer output to a shared
printer on the network.
 
This design implementation of Windows NT is different from that of the
MS-DOS-based versions of Windows 3.x, in which a port can be
redirected to a shared network printer even though a printer is
"connected" to an LPT port.
 
To print to a shared printer on the network in Windows NT, the Print
To entry in the Printer Properties dialog box of the Print Manager
must display the UNC network name of the shared printer, such as the
following:

   \\<computer name>\<printer name>
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
If you connect to an LPT port in Print Manager with no physical
printer connected to your computer, you will not be able to print to
the connected shared printer on the network from Windows NT-based
applications or from virtual MS-DOS machines (VDMs). However, you can
still open a command prompt and explicitly redirect the printer port
using the NET USE command, for example:

   net use lptx: \\<computer name>\<printer name>

This redirection will be applied to all new MS-DOS windows (VDMs) that
are opened after that, but you will still be unable to print in
Windows-based applications until the Print To selection is changed to
the UNC network name of the printer. This name is near the bottom of
the list of possible printer port connections in the Printer
Properties dialog box.
 
Steps to Reproduce the Behavior
-------------------------------
 
1. Physically connect a printer to a Windows for Workgroups computer.
 
2. Ensure that a Windows NT computer can access shared directories on
   the Windows for Workgroups computer over a domain or workgroup to
   which both computers are connected.
 
3. Designate the printer on the Windows for Workgroups computer as a
   shared printer.
 
4. Ensure that no other printers are connected either directly or
   indirectly to the Windows NT computer.
 
5. In Windows NT Print Manager, choose Create Printer from the Printer
   menu.
 
6. Make the appropriate entries for the printer physically connected
   to the Windows for Workgroups computer, but make sure that the value 
   for the Print To option remains at LPT1.
 
You will not be able to print from Windows-based applications or
MS-DOS-based applications until you change the Print To value to the
network UNC name of the shared printer. You will be able to print from
the MS-DOS-based applications only if you make an explicit connection
in a single VDM using the NET USE command to redirect the LPT1 port to
the shared printer.
 
Additional reference words: 3.10 printing parallel-port redir can't print
KBCategory:
KBSubCategory: prt

=============================================================================

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