Enable the Virtual Printing Feature on a Linux Client

The installer bundle for Horizon Client 3.2 and later includes a virtual printing component. If you have Horizon Client 3.2, you must create a configuration file and set some environment variables to enable the feature..

The virtual printing feature lets end users use local or network printers from a remote desktop without requiring that additional print drivers be installed in the remote desktop.

Important: Performing this procedure is usually not necessary if you have Horizon Client 3.4 or later because you can specify during client installation that the installer should register and start installed services after installation. When the user launches the client, a configuration file is automatically created and placed in the user's home directory

Prerequisites

You must use the installer bundle provided by VMware to install Horizon Client 3.2 or later. The virtual printing component is then installed by default.

Procedure

1. Open a Terminal window and enter a command to create a folder named .thnuclnt in the home directory.

   $ mkdir ~/.thnuclnt/

   Note: Because this file is created in a specific user's home directory, the file needs to be created for each user who will be using the Linux client system.
2. Use a text editor to create a configuration file called thnuclnt.conf in the ~/.thnuclnt folder, and add the following text to the file:

      autoupdate = 15
      automap = true
      autoid = 0
      updatecount = 1
      editcount = 0
      
      connector svc {
         protocol = listen
         interface = /home/user/.thnuclnt/svc
         setdefault = true
      }
   

   In this text, substitute the user name for user.

3. Save and close the file.
4. Enter a command to start the thnuclnt process.

   $ thnuclnt -fg

5. Enter the commands to set the environment variables for the virtual printing components.

   $ export TPCLIENTADDR=/home/user/.thnuclnt/svc
   $ export THNURDPIMG=/usr/bin/thnurdp
   

6. To launch Horizon Client, start the vmware-view process.
   The printers that normally appear in the client are now also redirected so that they appear in the Print dialog boxes in your remote desktop.
7. (Optional) If you ever want to disable the virtual printing feature, use the following steps:
   1. Enter a command to stop the thnuclnt process.

      $ killall thnuclnt

   2. Disconnect from the remote desktop and reconnect to the desktop.
   The printers will no longer be redirected.