An easy to use, web-based tool for end users

For end-users, finding and connecting to printers on your corporate network can often be a bewildering task. With no easy way to identify how to connect to a printer that they can physically see and touch users often resort to calling IT helpdesk or using the printer that they are already connected to which often might not fit their needs.

The Consilium Printer Wizard gives users an easy to use, web-based interface that allows them to find and connect to the printer that they need. With integration to the Active Directory, the wizard will automatically show users printers that are available near then, highlighting important capabilities such as colour capabilities. Simply clicking on the printer will have it installed on your local PC. Right click and it’s your default printer. It’s as easy as that.

Benefits:

• Makes finding printers easy for users based on location and printer capabilities
• Allows IT staff to migrate printers without disrupting users
• Retrieves information from Active Directory to reduce IT maintenance overhead
• Easily integrates with any existing web sites
• Includes an ASP.Net component that can be embedded in existing aspx pages
• Scalable for use in multiple locations

Not only can users view their local printers, but they can use the simple controls to browse to different locations and connect to printers there.

Customisable maps and diagrams can be configured for your network to allow yours to move around quickly. Instead of printing documents and sending them through the mail, they can print them directly to the recipient.

Searching for Printers

Easy to use controls on each page allows the end users to simply filter the printers shown depending on location or printer capabilities. Need a printer that prints double sided in colour? All you have to do is click the buttons, select your location from the drop downs and click on the printer.

You can also view all of the printers you have installed from here by clicking on the Show My Printers button, and check the status of each printer for problems such as low on toner or paper jams. If your normal printer is offline you can easily and quickly connect to an alternative.

Printer Migrations

When old printers are decommissioned or moved to a new location, the Printer Wizard can help by automatically installing a replacement printer for the user without them having to do anything.

Under normal circumstances where no printers need replacing the wizard will transparently redirect the browser back to a your intranet home page.

If a printer has been changed, a status page will be displayed to show the users the progress as the printers are swapped. Change your IE home page to point to this and printers can be changed with the minimum of disruption.

Technical Details

The Printer Wizard is written in ASP.Net and utilises a client side ActiveX control to perform the client printer installation and management. It uses information stored in the Active Directory to populate the web pages, and also integrates with Sites and Services to calculate printer and client locations. It is fully compatible with Microsoft printing and location awareness.

Requirements

• Microsoft Active Directory running on the network
• Web Server running Windows 2000 or above, with Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1
• Clients need to be Windows NT4.0 or above, running Internet Explorer 4.0 or above. Clients need to be able to either install ActiveX controls or have the client components installed by other means