Point-and-print in a distributed environment
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorDavid B. Snipp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A point-and-print capability is provided within a distributed environment. This point-and-print capability enables a user to select any of a number of available printers within the distributed environment via a user interface and then to have a document printed on the selected printer. The underlying loading of drivers and configuration steps are transparent to the user. This transparency is achieved in part by storing key printer resources, including printer drivers, on print servers that are distributed throughout the environment.
Claims26
In a distributed system having workstations and printers, a method comprising the steps of:
- providing a print server, said print server being responsible for managing printing requests to the printers;
- storing printer drivers on the print sewer for the printers for which the print server is responsible for managing printing requests;
- generating a printing request to print a document on a destination printer at a requesting workstation, that is one of the workstations of the distributed system, said destination printer not yet being installed at the requesting workstation;
- forwarding a key printer resource comprising a copy of a printer driver for the destination printer from the print server to the requesting workstation;
- and
- using the forwarded key printer resource that comprises the copy of the printer driver at the requesting workstation to install the destination printer and to print the document on the destination printer.
The method of claim 6 wherein the subset of printers includes printers of different types.
A distributed system, comprising:
- workstations;
- printers connected to a print server;
- a print server for servicing requests to print documents on the printers, said print server comprising a memory for storing key printer resources for the printers wherein said key printer resources include printer drivers;
- and
- a retrieval mechanism for retrieving the key printer resources from the print server for a desired one of the printers and for storing the key printer resources on a selected one of the workstations to install the desired printer at the selected workstation when the selected workstation requests to print a document on the desired one of the printers and the desired one of the printers is not yet installed at the selected workstation, wherein the retrieved printer resources include a printer driver for the desired one of the printers.
In a distributed system having workstations, printers and a print server, a method comprising the steps of:
- running an operating system on a selected one of the workstations;
- receiving at the operating system a request from an application program run on the selected workstation to print a document on a target one of the printers, wherein the target printer is not yet installed at the selected workstation;
- storing a printer driver for the target printer on the print server;
- via the operating system, in response to the request from the application program, retrieving a key printer resource comprising a copy of the printer driver for the target printer from the print server to the selected workstation and installing the printer driver for the target printer at the selected workstation;
- and
- printing the document on the target printer using the key printer resource that comprises the copy of the printer driver that was retrieved from the print server.
In a distributed system having workstations and printers and a printer server that is responsible for managing printing requests to the printers wherein printer drivers for the printers are stored at the print server, a computer-readable storage medium holding instructions for performing a method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a printing request to print a document on a destination printer at a requesting workstation, that is one of the workstations of the distributed system, said destination printer not yet being installed at the requesting workstation;
- forwarding a key printer resource comprising a copy of a printer driver for the destination printer from the print server to the requesting workstation;
- and
- using the forwarded key printer resource that comprises the copy of the printer driver at the requesting workstation to install the destination printer and to print the document on the destination printer.
In a distributed system having workstations, printers and a print server wherein an operating system is run on a selected one of the workstations, a computer-readable storage medium holding instructions for performing a method comprising the steps of:
- receiving at the operating system a request from an application program run on the selected workstation to print a document on a target one of the printers, wherein the target printer is not yet installed at the selected workstation;
- storing a printer driver for the target printer on the print server;
- via the operating system, in response to the request from the application program, retrieving a key printer resource comprising a copy of the printer driver for the target printer from the print server to the selected workstation and installing the printer driver for the target printer at the selected workstation;
- and
- printing the document on the target printer using the key printer resource that comprises the copy of the printer driver that was retrieved from the print server.
A distributed system, comprising:
- workstations for running programs;
- printers for printing documents;
- print servers for servicing requests to print documents on the printers, each said print server servicing requests to print documents on a group of the printers that are connected to the print server and each print server including storage for storing key printer resources comprising printer drivers for the printers of its group of printers;
- and
- a transport mechanism for transporting a key printer resource which comprises one of the printer drivers for a destination printer that is one of the printers from the print server on which it is stored to a selected workstation when the selected workstation requests to print a document on the destination printer to install the printer driver for the destination printer at the selected workstation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.