Windows® 7 Printer Sharing
How to enable printer sharing using the Homegroup feature in Windows 7?
Windows 7 has been added with a number of useful features. The printer sharing and Homegroup are two important features enabled in Windows 7. Printer sharing is useful in sharing the printer with another system over the network. This is much useful as all users in an office can work with a single printer device. The HomeGroup feature is useful in creating a home network with built-in and expandable accessing and sharing capabilities. The feature is useful in sharing the printer among a home network. There are three steps involved in sharing the printer in Windows 7 using the Homegroup. These include creating the Homegroup, connecting to home group and then sharing printer and files.
Here are some notes on printer sharing in Windows 7 using the the Homegroup feature:
- Create a Homegroup
- Connect other computers to Your Homegroup
- Connect to Your Shared Printer
Create a Homegroup
To create a Homegroup in Windows 7, you need to get in 'Control Panel' from 'Start menu'. You need to then select the 'Choose Homegroup and sharing options' and select the 'Create a Homegroup' button. You can then see the 'Create a Homegroup' screen in which you need to select the item to be shared. You will be provided with a password after you have created the Homegroup. After that, you need to note down the password and click the 'Finish' button. It will bring up the 'Change homegroup settings' screen and you need to ensure that the printer has been selected. The Homegroup is thus set-up.
Connect other computers to Your Homegroup
You need to now connect other systems to the Homegroup. To do this, you need to access 'Control Panel' from the 'Start menu' and select the 'Choose Homegroup and sharing options.' It will display a message that the Windows has detected another homegroup on your network. At the time, you need to click the 'Join Now' button. It will then ask for a password and you need to enter the password you got after you have created the Homegroup. Just click the 'Finish' button and get the system connected.
Connect to Your Shared Printer
You can now start sharing the printer from your Windows 7 system using the Homegroup. To do this, you need click the 'Start' button on your desktop task bar and click the 'Devices and Printers' icon. You need to then select the shared printer. It will set-up printer driver if it is required to be installed. The printer is not shared.
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