Starting with Fusion 11, the VMware Tools build bundled with Fusion no longer delivers VMware Virtual Printer functionality. You must install the VMware Virtual Printer application separately to make the printers on the Mac host visible in the virtual machine.

The steps required to make the physical printers on your Mac host available to a virtual machine vary depending on the source and version of the installed VMware Tools.

  • If the VMware Tools instance in the guest was originally installed from a bundled VMware Tools ISO file within a Fusion version earlier than Fusion 11, the VMware Tools version is earlier than 10.3.x. Bundled VMware Tools versions earlier than 10.3 already contain VMware Virtual Printer functionality. You do not need to install the VMware Virtual Printer application separately.
  • If the VMware Tools instance in the guest operating system was originally from a bundled VMware Tools ISO file within Fusion 11 or later, the VMware Tools version is 10.3.x or later. Bundled VMware Tools versions 10.3.x or later do not contain VMware Virtual Printer functionality. You must install the VMware Virtual Printer application separately.
  • If the VMware Tools instance in the guest was originally installed from a VMware Tools Operating System Specific Package (OSP) downloaded from the VMware website, not the bundled ISO file within Fusion, VMware Tools does not contain the VMware Virtual Printer functionality. Because Fusion 11 and above only list the Install Virtual Printer menu item in the Virtual Machine drop-down menu when VMware Tools 10.3.x or later is installed in the virtual machine, you have to first install VMware Tools 10.3.x or later, then select the Install Virtual Printer menu item, and perform the steps that follow to install the VMware Virtual Printer application separately.
  • If Open VM Tools (open-vm-tools), the open-source implementation of VMware Tools available with many Linux guests, is installed in the Linux virtual machine, Open VM Tools does not contain VMware Virtual Printer functionality. Because Fusion 11 and above only list the Install Virtual Printer menu item in the Virtual Machine drop-down menu when VMware Tools 10.3.x or later is installed in the virtual machine, you have to first install VMware Tools 10.3.x or later, then select the Install Virtual Printer menu item, and perform the steps that follow to install the VMware Virtual Printer application separately.
The following guest operating systems support VMware Virtual Printer.
  • Windows 7 and later
  • Debian-based and RPM-based Linux distributions

The prerequisites provide information for you to determine if the guest you are configuring supports VMware Virtual Printer. If the guest does not support VMware Virtual Printer, you must use another method to connect printers. For example, you can connect a USB printer. See Configuring the USB Controller and Connecting USB Devices. You can also use the network printer to print from within the guest. See Set the Default Printer for a Virtual Machine to get started.

Prerequisites

To install VMware Virtual Printer, first perform the prerequisites.

  • Start up the virtual machine that you want to add the VMware Virtual Printer application to.
  • Enable the Share Mac printers feature. See Set the Default Printer for a Virtual Machine.

  • Use the applicable method that follows to check if VMware Tools 10.3.x or later is installed.

    • Windows Guest. In the system tray, select VMware Tools and open About VMware Tools.
    • Linux Guest. In a terminal window, run the following command vmware-toolbox-cmd -v.
  • Update VMware Tools to version 10.3.x or later if the VMware Tools version is earlier than 10.3 and was installed from an Open VM Tools file or a VMware Tools OSP downloaded from the VMware website. You need to uninstall the existing VMware Tools or Open VM Tools instance, then install the VMware Tools 10.3.x or later version. See Installing and Using VMware Tools.
    To uninstall VMware Tools, see Uninstalling VMware Tools. To uninstall Open VM Tools, run the applicable command.
    • Uninstall Open VM Tools from Debian-based Linux distributions, such as Debian and Ubuntu. 
      sudo apt-get purge open-vm-tools-desktop open-vm-tools
    • Uninstall Open VM Tools from RPM-based Linux distributions, such as Red Hat, SUSE, and Fedora. 
      sudo rpm -e open-vm-tools-desktop open-vm-tools
  • If the Install Virtual Printer option is not listed or is not selectable in the Virtual Machine drop-down menu, take the appropriate action.
    The following table provides information about why the Install Virtual Printer option might not be listed in the drop-down menu, and actions you can take to make the option appear.
    Install Virtual Printer Not Listed Appropriate Action
    VMware Tools is not installed. Install VMware Tools 10.3.x or later.
    VMware Tools version is earlier than 10.3.0. Upgrade VMware Tools to version 10.3.x or later.
    The guest does not support VMware Virtual Printer. None. You cannot install VMware Virtual Printer on guests that do not support it.

    The following table provides information about the statuses of the virtual machine that make the Install Virtual Printer option appear in the drop-down menu dimmed and unselectable, and actions you can take to make the option selectable.

    Install Virtual Printer Not Selectable Appropriate Action
    The virtual machine is not powered on. Power on or resume the virtual machine.
    The virtual machine does not have a CD/DVD device. Add a CD/DVD device.

Procedure

  1. Select Window > Virtual Machine Library.
  2. Select a virtual machine in the Virtual Machine Library window and select Virtual Machine > Install Virtual Printer.
  3. Install VMware Virtual Printer using the method appropriate for the guest.
    • Windows Guest
      • In the virtual machine, use Windows Explorer to access the CD/DVD drive, double-click the Virtual-Printer-version-build.exe file, and complete the VMware Virtual Printer Setup Wizard.
    • Linux Guest

      On Linux guests, after you select Install Virtual Printer, the virtual machine opens to the CD/DVD drive where the .deb and .rpm installer packages are located.

      The .deb packages are for Debian-based Linux distributions, such as Debian and Ubuntu, and are located directly on the CD/DVD drive. The _amd64.deb package is for 64-bit guests. The _i386.deb package is for 32-bit guests.

      The .rpm packages are for RPM-based Linux distributions, such as Red Hat, SUSE, and Fedora, and are divided into folders on the CD/DVD drive. Each folder is specific to a Linux-distribution type and bitness combination. The .x86_64.rpm package is for 64-bit Linux guests. The .i386.rpm package is for 32-bit Linux guests.

      1. Open a terminal window and change directories to the CD/DVD drive for a .deb package or continue to a specific folder for a .rpm package.
      2. Run the appropriate command for the guest.
        DEB package command for 64-bit guests sudo dpkg -i thinprint_version-revision_amd64.deb
        DEB package command for 32-bit guests sudo dpkg -i thinprint_version-revision_i386.deb
        RPM package command for 64-bit guests Rpm -ivh thinprint_version-revision.x86_64.rpm
        RPM package command for 32-bit guests Rpm -ivh thinprint_version-revision.i386.rpm
      3. To verify that VMware Virtual Printer is installed and running on the Linux guest, run the appropriate commands.

        If the Thinprint service is listed as active, VMware Virtual Printer is installed and running.

        DEB package commands for 32-bit and 64-bit guests Command to check the status of VMware Virtual Printer.

        service thinprint status

        Command to list the installed package.

        dpkg -l thinprint
        RPM package commands for 32-bit and 64-bit guests Command to check the status of VMware Virtual Printer.

        service thinprint status

        Command for information about the installed package.

        rpm -q --info thinprint

Results

The Mac host printers appear on the printer list in the guest.

What to do next

  • In the guest, print to a printer you just added from the host to confirm that the VMware Virtual Printer configuration works.
  • When you upgrade VMware Fusion in the future, to ensure that a guest has the latest version of VMware Virtual Printer, uninstall and reinstall VMware Virtual Printer. See Uninstall VMware Virtual Printer.