Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Black Mountain Accounting Software and Local Printers

The Black Mountain Accounting software requires a group of printers with specific names for printing reports, utility bills, and other items.
Accounting Check Printing - Accounting Checks
Business Licensing Reports - BL_LANDSCAPE (with preferences set to landscape)
Cash Receipting Receipts - CR_RECEIPT_PRINTER
Payroll Checks  - Payroll Checks
Service Orders SO_PRINTER
Utility Billing Bills - UB_PRINT_BILLS
Utility Billing Envelopes - BMS_ENVELOPES (paper set to #10 envelopes)
Utility Billing Labels - UB_PRINT_LABELS (Avery 5160)
Utility Billing Reports - UB_LANDSCAPE (with preferences set to landscape)

I added all the printers to the server (as virtual printers to the main document center printer), added a group policy to map the printers to the workstations, and tested using the utility billing reports.
 
The test workstation failed to find the UB_PRINT_BILLS printer even though the printer shows up on the workstation. I assumed that BMS does not like the "UB_PRINT_BILLS on Server" name that Windows 7 displays when printers are mapped using the GPP Shared feature.
 
The fix involves creating a series of TCP/IP printers in GP. Using User Configuration, select Preferences, Control Panel Settings, Printers, Right-Click Printers, Select New, Select TCP/IP, Type the IP address of the Printer, use one of the Local Names from the BMS list (ex, UB_PRINT_BILLS), browse or type in the printer path on the server.
 
Additionally, you can select the Common tab, check Item-level Targeting, click Targeting, New Item, Security Group, Browse, select the security group you want the new printer to attach to, then okay a few times.
 
Run gpupdate on the server and client if you want to see the updates immediately.

5 comments:

  1. Very Nice, I will add this post to my toolbox of resources.

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  2. Thank you. I have a caveat to the above, the test workstation already had the drivers for the document center installed.

    Two other Windows 7 workstations do not pickup the TCP/IP virtual printers. Both show a warning message about the printer driver not existing and needing to download. This only happens when using the TCP/IP GP in the User Configuration. The Shared GP works fine.

    Still working on the fix, I tried a number of things last night after I did some research.

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  3. Wonderful info. It is nice to see you express from the heart and your clearness on this vital topic can be simply observed. accounting software

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