Driver Capture Tool
To make print deployment easier, Pharos Cloud is shipped with universal print drivers for various printer manufacturers for Windows. If none of the shipped drivers is suitable for a given device, IT admins can easily add specific print drivers using the Driver Capture tool. The Driver Capture Tool is used to upload drivers as well as setting up related finishing options into the Pharos Cloud so they can be used for print queue deployment.
With the Driver Capture tool, an IT admin can:
- Upload print drivers and finishing options combination
- Add new finishing options for an existing driver
- Modify an existing finishing option
Note: The Driver Capture tool supports adding drivers for Windows only. macOS and Chrome extension are not yet supported.
Note: Pharos Cloud supports uploading Type 3 print drivers only. Type 4 print drivers are not supported.
Uploading a new driver and finishing options combination
For organizations that require print drivers that are not available in Pharos Cloud driver store, there is an option to upload device-specific print drivers as well as related finishing options to Pharos Cloud.
Before uploading a new driver:
- You will need to first install the print driver software that you want to upload to Pharos Cloud on a user workstation with the Print Scout installed.
- You will need to open the Pharos Cloud web console on a Windows machine with the latest Print Scout installed.
Note: Running or launching the Driver Capture tool on a Print Scout installed on a print server is not supported.
1. On a machine where Print Scout is installed, log in to the Pharos Cloud web console.
2. Navigate to the Direct Printer > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab.
3. Select any queue from the list and then launch the Driver Capture Tool by selecting the Upload Driver link as shown below.
4. Click the Open button on the dialog box that appears.
The Driver Capture Tool opens.
4. In the Driver field, click the drop-down list box. Select the driver that you want to add from the "Drivers that can be uploaded to Pharos Cloud" list.
5. Select Mount and Modify. This opens the Temp Queue Printing Preferences dialog. Select the finishing options (for example, Letter, Duplex) that you want for this driver.
Note: The Mount and Modify function creates a temporary queue called "Temp Queue". You will use this queue to configure the finishing options you want to capture for the selected driver. The driver and finishing options combination are uploaded to the cloud.
6. Once you have selected the driver and set up the finishing options, select Upload Driver from the Driver Capture Tool.
7. In the Upload local driver dialog that appears, enter a name for the finishing option configuration. The driver and its accompanying finishing option will be uploaded to the cloud and will be added to the list of available print driver and finishing options in the Pharos Cloud web console.
8. Verify that the driver and finishing options combination are uploaded to the Pharos Cloud by navigating to the Queue Properties > Configuration section of the Direct > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab.
Adding new finishing options for an existing driver
1. On a machine where Print Scout is installed, log in to the Pharos Cloud web console.
2. Navigate to the Direct Printer > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab.
3. Select any queue from the list and then launch the Driver Capture Tool by selecting the Upload Driver link as shown below.
4. Click the Open button on the dialog box that appears.
The Driver Capture Tool opens.
5. In the Driver field, select the driver that you want to create new finishing option for.
6. In the Finishing Options field, select any option and then edit the configuration as desired by clicking Mount and Modify. This opens the Temp Queue Printing Preferences dialog.
Note: The Mount and Modify function creates a temporary queue called "Temp Queue". You will use this queue to configure the finishing options you want to capture for the selected driver.
7. Select the finishing options (for example, Letter, Duplex) that you want for the selected driver.
8. Click Save As. The following dialog appears. Enter the name for the new finishing option and then click Ok.
9. The finishing option should be added to Pharos Cloud. Check the Finishing Options under the Configuration section (Direct > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab) of the web console.
Modifying finishing options
1. On a machine where Print Scout is installed, log in to the Pharos Cloud web console.
2. Navigate to the Direct Printer > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab.
3. Launch the Driver Capture Tool by selecting any queue from the list and then selecting the Upload Driver link as shown below.
4. Click the Open button on the dialog box that appears.
The Driver Capture Tool opens.
5. In the Driver field, select the driver that you want to modify the finishing option for.
6. In the Finishing Options field, select the finishing option you want to modify.
7. Select Mount and Modify. This opens the Temp Queue Printing Preferences dialog. Edit the finishing options as desired.
8. Save the finishing option. There are three options to save the finishing option configuraiton.
- Rename and Save - Update the existing finishing option configuration with a new name and update any changes to the configuration.
- Save - Save updates to an existing finishing option configuration.
- Save As - Create a new configuration from an existing finishing option and save any changes.
Limitation of the Save and Save and Rename options
The 'Save' or 'Save and Rename' options in the Driver Capture tool have a limitation when updating a finishing option configuration. If a finishing option configuration has been used and then the queue is deleted and reinstalled after using either of the Save options, the old configuration will be reapplied. However, if the scout spooler service has been restarted or the daily settings update has run overnight since the change was made, then the newer configuration will be applied during the reinstallation of the queue, irrespective of when the queue was deleted. Auto-install queues will apply the normal overnight update.
Therefore, when testing a configuration setup, making changes to the configuration, and removing and reinstalling the queue to test the configuration, it is important to restart the Scout Spooler Service after removing the queue so that the new configuration can be downloaded and applied.