This article explains how to use a Internet Location File with USB Printer Sharing.

USB Printer Sharing and Routed Networks

USB Printer Sharing uses an industry standard protocol called SLP (Service Location Protocol) to locate shared printers on an IP (Internet Protocol) network. A router can be configured to block all SLP traffic or to block SLP multicast. In either case, USB Printer Sharing will not be able to locate printers that are shared on the other side of the router. In order to use USB Printer Sharing to print through a router that does not pass SLP traffic, you must create a Internet Location File of the shared printer. You use this Internet Location File on the client computer as a link to the shared printer on the other side of the router. For example, PPP (point-to-point protocol) does not pass SLP traffic, so you can not locate printers shared with USB Printer Sharing over a dialup connection.

Using a Internet Location File

After you share a printer from a host computer with USB Printer Sharing, you can create a link to that printer that can be used to access the shared printer from computers that are unable to look up the printer using NSL. To create and use a Internet Location File that links to a shared printer:

1. Open the USB Printer Sharing control panel on the host computer (the computer sharing the printer).

2. Select the My Printers tab.

3. Drag the name of the shared printer out to the desktop.

Doing this creates a printer Internet Location File. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: Internet Location File

4. Transfer the printer Internet Location File to the client computer (Using email, ftp, removable media, etc.)

5. Open the USB Printer Sharing control panel on the client computer.

6. Turn on USB Printer Sharing by clicking the Start button in the Start/Stop tab.

7. Select the Network Printers tab.

8. Drag the printer Internet Location File into the Network Printers tab.

At this point, the USB Printer Sharing control panel on the client computer attempts to initiate an IP connection with the host computer (this can take a few minutes). If the client computer is able to make an IP connection with the host computer, the name of the shared printer appears in the Network Printers tab on the client computer. If the name of the shared printer does not appear in the in the Network Printers tab, it is an indication that the client computer is not able to initiate an IP connection with the host computer.