ADDPRINTER
— Install a
printer on the local machine.
Syntax:
ADDPRINTER
printername
drivername /A:
address /C:
comment /D /I:
filename /L:
location /O /P:
port /Q:
queue /R:
filename /T
printername | the name to give the new printer |
drivername | as listed in the printer’s installation .INF file |
/A: address | a dotted-quad IP address or hostname; a TCP/IP port will be created |
/C: comment | an optional comment, 255 characters max |
/D | make the new printer the default |
/I: filename | filename of the printer’s installation .INF file |
/L: location | the printer’s physical location; 255 characters max |
/O | only install if the named printer doesn’t already exist |
/P: port | name of an existing printer port |
/Q: queue | the queue name for an LPR port |
/R: filename | read printer settings from a data file |
/T | send a test page after installing |
You must supply both the printername and
drivername parameters. /I:
filename
might not be necessary if Windows includes support for the printer, or if
the driver is already installed on the local computer.
Specify either /A:
address or
/P:
port, but not both. /P
will use an existing printer port; /A
will automatically create
a TCP/IP port for the specified address. The new IP port will be a
raw TCP port unless /Q:
queue
is specified, in which case an LPR port will be created.
If you need to specify a TCP port number, append it to the IP address
with a colon, e.g. /A:192.168.10.24:9101
.
If you specify /I:
, AddPrinter will search for the tag
<Win>
in the filename and,
if found, replace it with a string indicating the Windows version. This
allows you to supply more than one driver, and select the appropriate one
at runtime.
<Win> | |
XP | Windows XP, Server 2003 |
Vista | Windows Vista, Server 2008 |
Win7 | Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 |
Win8 | Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Server 2012 |
Win10 | Windows 10, Server 2016 |
Winx.y | unknown version of Windows; major version x, minor version y |
For example, if you type /I:"Drivers\Yoyodyne 4200n\<Win>\oemsetup.inf"
,
the filename will be expanded at runtime to e.g.
“Drivers\Yoyodyne 4200n\XP\oemsetup.inf” or
“Drivers\Yoyodyne 4200n\Win7-x64\oemsetup.inf”. (If a driver
supports more than one operating system, consider using NTFS junctions to
map one directory to another.)
If you need to distinguish between x86 and x64 environments, you can use
<x64>
. This tag is ignored in x86 environments, but replaced
with “-x64” in 64-bit
environments. For example, if you type /I:"Printers\DrizzleJet
6502<x64>\oemsetup.inf"
, the filename will be either
“Printers\DrizzleJet 6502\oemsetup.inf” or “Printers\DrizzleJet
6502-x64\oemsetup.inf”, as appropriate.
Case is not significant in the <Win>
and
<x64>
tags. Remember to quote any parameter containing
spaces, less-than or greater-than signs, or any other special characters.
If you specify /R:
, ADDPRINTER
will attempt to load
printer settings from the specified data file. You would create the data file
using a PRINTERDATA
/S
command, saving settings from the exact same printer. Doing this allows you to
configure default options like paper trays, duplexing, secured or locked printing,
and so on, on one computer; then replicate the printer with its customizations
to other systems. The filename supports
the same tags as in /I:
.
addprinter "LaserJet in Office" "HP LaserJet 4050 Series PCL6" /a:192.168.0.16
• Note: Installing printer drivers under Vista or later will require elevation (“Run as Administrator”.)