Installing and Using Printers in Windows XP Professional
- Getting Started with Windows XP Professional's Printing Wizard
- Touring with the Wizard
- Defining Ports
- Choosing a Driver
- Sharing the Printer
- Finishing It Off
- Summary
Windows XP Professional's approach to installing and using printers is comparable to the approaches taken in Windows 2000 Professional, yet with advancements in the areas of configuring network-based printing. From the days of Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft has tried to create printing functionalities that support printing directly to network-attached devices. The continued growth of network-attached printers is driving all operating system vendors to streamline their approaches for handling printing to an IP address. The following article walks you through the configuration steps necessary for getting a printer up and running in Windows XP Professional.
Getting Started with Windows XP Professional's Printing Wizard
What's immediately noticeable about the Windows XP Professional interface is the streamlined approach to managing access to system utilities and the contents of the Control Panel. You have the option with Windows XP to toggle back and forth between its new look and the one you are familiar with for Windows NT and Windows 2000's desktop. You'll find the Printers selection in the Control Panel under the old view and under Resources in the new view. You'll also find that there is a pull-down menu found in the Windows XP Professional Menu specifically for printers. True to form, Microsoft has provided at least three different ways to get to the configuration menu for devices, including the Add Printer Wizard.