This is on different work computers, all Windows 7 x64, and all presumably set up the same way by IT, although not necessarily at the same time. The printers that do show up are spread about many buildings. Yet when I follow the same steps, one option is different:
If I want to add a printer, I go:
[ol]
[li]Add a printer[/li][li]Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer[/li][li]The printer that I want isn’t listed[/li][/ol]
On the next page, on some computers the options are: Browse for a printer, select by name, or add using TCP/IP address. However, on some computers “Browse for a printer” is replaced by “Find a printer in the directory, based on location or feature.”
Why this difference, and how can I search by location on any computer? Browse doesn’t show the printer I want, only individual computers it appears, most or all of which I don’t have access to. But with the second option, I can search for only those in my building and find the proper one.
The default may be set by IT as an administrative template.
In general, If your computer is joined to a domain, and you select to add a networked printer, it will start enumerating the printers in the domain. Whether it finds any or not, you can go to a search page with “The printer that I want isn’t listed”. Now, if you are on a domain, it will give the option to search the domain’s active directory for printers. If you are on a workgroup, you will get the option to browse.
In either case, only shared, network resources will show up. That is, printers that have been actually installed on a PC and shared, or explicitly included in Active Directory (for Domain printers without a host PC). If the printer is just a network printer plugged into an Ethernet switch somewhere, it may not be shared, even though it is technically networked. For those, you just install them as a Local printer, create a new local port for it, and give Windows the IP address.
Thanks. But these are all on the same server and computers aren’t significantly different in function or purpose. Said printer is the same one in both cases. All I can think of is that IT’s setup routine changed at some point, but again these are the windows menus and not someone else’s.
Your solution is in your question. The IT department has, wittingly or not, set the various printers and PCs up differently. Contact them to resolve the problem.
Even if we could accurately determine why things are different given your partial explanation of the symptoms and environment, there’s no guarantee there’s any solution that we could propose.