Methods and systems to connect network printers

A system for automatically configuring a target computer on a network to have a connection to a network printer, said system comprising:

• a network;
• and
• a share-providing computer, a target computer, a network printer, and a server, all operatively coupled to the network, wherein:
• (a) the share-providing computer provides a share that includes a driver associated with a local printer;
• (b) the server contains configuration information that identifies the share-providing computer and a network location of the network printer, wherein the configuration information does not include a driver for the network printer;
• and
• (c) the target computer contains a set of instructions that, when executed by the target computer, cause the target computer to:
• (i) retrieve the configuration information corresponding to the network printer from the server,
• (ii) automatically send a command to the network location of the share-providing computer identified by the retrieved configuration information that results in the share-providing computer automatically sending, to the target computer, driver-identification signals that identify the driver for the network printer based on the share with the local printer, and
• (iii) establish at the target computer the network-printer connection with the network printer, said network printer being at the location identified by the configuration information retrieved from the server and the driver-identification signals sent from the share-providing computer, wherein the target computer determines whether the share-providing computer on the network includes the driver for the network printer:
• when said determining indicates that the share-providing computer includes the driver for the network printer, the target computer obtains the driver for the network printer from the share-providing computer via the network to provide to the target computer;
• and
• when said determining indicates that the share-providing computer does not include the driver for the network printer, the target computer obtains the driver for the network printer from one of the other computers or storages other than the server based on the driver-identification signals sent from the share-providing computer.

A target computer system operatively coupled to a network and configured to execute computer-executable components, said components comprising:

• a receiving unit for receiving, through the network and from a server, configuration signals that identify (i) a share-providing computer on the network, the share-providing computer having a driver for a local printer, said share-providing computer providing a share that specifies a driver associated with the local printer, and (ii) a network location of the network printer, said configuration signals having configuration information of the network printer, wherein the configuration information does not include a driver for the network printer, and wherein the target computer lacks a driver for the network printer;
• a sending unit for automatically sending, through the network, a command that results in the share-providing computer automatically sending to the target computer driver-identification signals that identify a driver for the network printer based on the share with the local printer, said driver for the network printer not being stored on the server;
• and
• an establishing connection unit for establishing, at the target computer, the network printer connection with the driver based on the driver-identification signals from the share-providing computer, said network printer being at the location identified by the configuration signals, wherein the establishing connection unit determines whether the share-providing computer on the network includes the driver for the network printer:
• when said determining indicates that the share-providing computer includes the driver for the network printer, the establishing connection unit obtains the driver for the network printer from the share-providing computer via the network to provide to the target computer;
• and
• when said determining indicates that the share-providing computer does not include the driver for the network printer, the establishing connection unit obtains the driver from one of the other computers or storages other than the server based on the driver-identification signals from the share-providing computer.