You can set printing preferences in a remote desktop for the VMware Integrated Printing feature. With the VMware Integrated Printing feature, you can use local or network printers from a remote desktop without having to install additional printer drivers in the Windows remote desktop. You can also select the preferred printer on the Horizon Client for Windows to use in remote sessions. For each printer available through this feature, you can set preferences for data compression, print quality, double-sided printing, color, and other settings.

In a single-user virtual machine desktop, each virtual printer appears as <printer_name>(vdi) by default. In a published desktop or published application, each virtual printer appears as <printer_name>(v<session_ID>) by default.

An administrator can use a group policy to modify the printer naming convention for client printers that are redirected. For information, see the Horizon Remote Desktop Features and GPOs document for your Horizon Agent version.

A Horizon administrator can use the Windows Registry to configure default VMware Integrated Printing settings for Horizon Client. See Using the Windows Registry to Configure Horizon Client.

Prerequisites

To use VMware Integrated Printing, an administrator must install the VMware Integrated Printing feature in the remote desktop. This task involves enabling the VMware Integrated Printing option in the Horizon Agent installer. For information about installing Horizon Agent, see the Windows Desktops and Applications in Horizon document. For information about configuring the VMware Integrated Printing feature, see the Horizon Remote Desktop Features and GPOs document.

To determine whether the VMware Integrated Printing feature is installed in a remote desktop, verify that the C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Remote Experience\x64\vmware-print-redir-server.exe and C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Remote Experience\x64\vmware-print-redir-service.exe files exist in the remote desktop file system.

Procedure

  1. In the Windows remote desktop, go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers.
  2. In the Devices and Printers window, right-click the virtual printer and select Printer properties from the context menu.
  3. On the General tab, click Preferences.
  4. In the Printing Preferences dialog box, select the different tabs and specify which settings to use.
  5. To save your changes, click OK.