How to redirect the default printer of a Terminal Services client to a Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server session

This article discusses a registry entry and a hotfix that you can use to redirect the default printer of a Terminal Services client to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server session. When you redirect the client's default printer, the load on the server may be significantly reduced, especially when lots of printers are used by many users.

To redirect a Terminal Services client's default printer to a Terminal Server session, apply the hotfix to the clients that connect to the Terminal Server. Then, add the registry entry to the client's Windows registry.

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

How to modify the registry to configure default printer redirection on a Terminal Services client

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To configure default printer redirection on a Terminal Services client, add the RedirectDefaultPrinterOnly registry entry to the Windows registry. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. In the left pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default\AddIns\RDPDR
   Note To configure default printer redirection for only the current user, locate and then click the following registry subkey instead:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default\AddIns\RDPDR
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type RedirectDefaultPrinterOnly, and then press ENTER.
5. Double-click RedirectDefaultPrinterOnly, type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
   
   Note Type 0 in the Value data box to disable the registry entry. Setting the value data to 0 turns off default printer redirection.
6. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

For more information about the terminology that is used in this article, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: