You can use Print Management snap-in to create custom print driver filters. Filters display only those print drivers that meet a certain set of criteria.

Note

The Print Server role service must be installed and you must be a member of the Administrators group to perform this task.

To create a new driver filter
  1. Open Print Management.

  2. Right-click the Custom Filters folder, and then click Add New Driver Filter. This will start the New Driver Filter Wizard.

  3. On the Driver Filter Name and Description wizard page, type a name for the driver filter. The name will appear in the Custom Driver Filters folder in the Print Management tree.

  4. In Description, type an optional description.

  5. To display the number of printer drivers that satisfy the conditions of a filter, select the Display the total number of items next to the name of the filter check box.

  6. Click Next.

  7. On the Define a filter wizard page, do the following:

    1. In the Field list, click the driver characteristic.

    2. In the Condition list, click the condition.

    3. In the Value box, type a value.

    4. Continue adding criteria until your filter is complete, and then click Next.

  8. On the Set Notifications (Optional) wizard page, do one or both of the following:

    • To set an e-mail notification, select the Send e-mail notification check box, and type one or more recipient and sender e-mail addresses. An SMTP server must be specified to route the message. Use the format account@domain and semicolons to separate multiple accounts.

    • To set a script to run, select the Run script check box, and then type the path where the script file is located. To add more arguments, type them in Additional arguments.

  9. Click Finish.

    Note

    To set notifications on existing driver filters, right-click a filtered view, and then click Set Notifications.

Setting Optional Notifications

When you create or modify a filter, you have the option of sending an automatic e-mail notification to someone or running a script when the conditions of the filter are met. This is useful for resolving driver problems.

Script notifications are useful for resolving driver problems and troubleshooting.

Additional considerations

  • To open Print Management, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Print Management.

  • You must have administrative credentials to perform this task.

Additional references