Sunday, November 21, 2010

How do I change the name on a network printer?

I print to several computers on the network at work. Is there a way to change and simplify their names? It would make my life a lot more simple if I could show them as Bob's printer, Sally's printer, or My printer instead of Officejet %*@, HP Printer 7200 on %$$^%26amp;, ect ect. The drop-down menu with all of these long names is kind of confusing.



Is it possible to rename them so that I can easily select the one that I want?How do I change the name on a network printer?
Problem: In Windows 2000/XP you cannot rename network printers, a function that exists on the Windows 9X operating systems. Network printers that appear on the same on the network are difficult to differentiate.



Solution: Microsoft has documented that you are no longer able to rename network printers in 2000 and XP operating systems, however, you can still rename the printers from the registry.



Caution must be used, because if the printer naming is done incorrectly, it may cause loss of connection to that printer and/or you would have to re-add that printer using the Add Printer wizard.



The network printer you want to change must first be added to your computer. (There must be a network printer icon in the Control Panel %26gt; Printers).



If you want to rename a network printer, follow these steps:



Go to Start %26gt; Run %26gt; type regedit. This will open the registry.

Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Current Control set\Control\Print\Printers

Select the printer you want to rename in the left panel.

In the right panel look for a key called %26quot;Name%26quot; and double-click.

This will allow you to change its value. DO NOT OVERWRITE THE WHOLE VALUE! The only part that you can change is the final part of the value.



Example: \\unassigned 'laserwriter'\Laserwriter 12-600 you can change this to:

\\unassigned %26quot;laswerwriter'\My Laserwriter

Once you have changed the value, restart the machine. The changes will not take effect until after you reboot.

Note: In some cases the icon may change, but it should not effect the printer functionality.