With Windows 10, you can print to a shared printer from any device on your network.
In Windows 10, you can take a printer, plug it into one computer, and then print it to another computer. It’s all made possible because of network printer sharing. We covered this before in our article on sharing printers in Windows 7, but some of the steps and screens have changed slightly in Windows 10. Read on for more details.
Sharing Printers over the Network in Windows 10
Before you can share a printer, it must first be set up, connected, and powered on. Click Start > Settings > Devices, then open the Devices and Printers link. Right-click your printer, then click Printer properties.
Click Start > Settings > Devices, then open the Devices and Printers link. Right-click your printer, then click Printer properties.
Select the Sharing tab, then check the box to share your printer.
Users should consider that if you are sharing a printer with multiple devices running a mixture of Windows client architectures – 32 or 64 bit-you should enable the “Render print jobs on client computers” option. This will ensure other users can easily install the printer when connecting over the network.
Connect to a Windows 10 Shared Printer
After setting up your shared printer, you can connect to it multiple ways. The first method is from within Devices and Printer. Click the Add Printer button, then click the link, The printer that I want isn’t listed. Choose the Select a shared printer by name radio box, browse to the printer on your network, and click open.
You will be prompted to install the driver. Click Next to complete the installation of the printer.
That’s it! The printer will now show up in Devices and printers as a local device.
Another way you can connect to a shared network printer is from within File Explorer. Open the Network folder, browse the shared printer’s computer, right-click it, then click Connect.
Conclusion
And there you have it. Sharing printers over a Windows 10 network is a great way to hook up multiple devices to the same printer. This lets you print files and documents without emailing them between devices. This is just one of the ways you can easily share files, storage, and printers in Windows 10.
Have a question about printer shares on the network? Ask in the comments below or visit our Windows 10 forum.
On this page:
- Verify that the sharing component is installed
- Share a folder, drive, or printer
- Access a shared folder or printer
Verify that the sharing component is installed
To verify that File and Printer Sharing is on your computer (typically installed by default):
- Navigate to the Network and Sharing Center.
- Click .
- Right-click the local connection icon and select .
- In the area below "This connection uses the following items:", look for .
- If this component is not available:
- Click . Select , and then click .
- Select , and then click .
- Click . If a dialog window appears telling you to restart your computer, do so.
- If the component is available, make sure it is checked.
- If this component is not available:
Once File and Printer Sharing is installed, to share a folder or drive:
- Right-click the folder or drive you want to share.
- Click . From the tab, click .
- Click .
- In the appropriate fields, type the name of the share (as it appears to other computers), the maximum number of simultaneous users, and any comments that should appear beside it.
- If you would like to grant access to particular groups or individuals, click to add the appropriate groups or usernames.
- If you are using NTFS, check the permissions in the tab to ensure that they are properly set to allow access to the share. Because Security settings override Share permissions, it is possible for people on the Permissions list to be denied access to the share because they either are not specified or are denied
specifically in the Security list.
Note:
FAT32 does not provide the same level of security as NTFS; if you're using FAT32, you will not see the tab.
- Click .
To share a printer:
- From the Control Panel, open .
- Right-click the printer you want to share. Click , and then select the tab.
- Check . Under , select a shared name to identify the printer. Click .
Access a shared folder or printer
To find and access a shared folder or printer:
- Search for Network, and click to open it.
- Select at the top of the window; you may need to first select the tab on the upper left.
- From the drop-down menu next to "Find:", select either or .
- You can now enter search terms in the appropriate fields to modify the search; to start the search, click . To search for shared printers and folders that match any criteria, click without entering any search terms.
- You will see a list of shared printers and folders that are available on the network. Double-click the item to which you want to connect.
If you know the exact name of the computer and the share, or the exact name of the printer, you can enter it directly:
- Navigate to a search field. Enter two backslashes, the name of the computer, another backslash, and then the name of the share or printer. For example, if the name of the computer is bl-iub-threepio.ads.iu.edu and the name of the share is r2d2, type: \\bl-iub-threepio.ads.iu.edu\r2d2
- Click .
If you need to repeatedly access a shared folder or network drive, you can map to it. Mapping creates a persistent link to the share, allowing you to double-click its icon in My Computer whenever you want access.
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Last modified on 2021-12-02 16:30:12.