APPX Printing

This document will explain how to best perform APPX server side PDF printing on a Windows server. This applies to APPX 4.2.0 and above when APPX Server is installed on a Windows server

Required software components

Windows server

This document assumes you have APPX server installed on a Microsoft Windows server type 2000, 2003, or 2008.

APPX Server

You need a functioning APPX installation. Follow instructions in this document to install APPX on Windows if you don't already have APPX installed.

Foxit Reader for Windows

You can download the free Foxit Reader for Windows here. It is required to print APPX server side PDF printing on Windows servers.

Quick steps

Foxit Reader

  • Install Foxit Reader for Windows.

In Windows Control Panel

  • In Windows Control Panel, Folder Options, File Type Associations, Make PrintTo the default action for the PDF file extension.
  • In APPX, set a desired default System ID value for the SERVER printer.
  • Attempts to print to APPX server side PDF printing to the APPX printer named SERVER should now go to the System ID specified in the previous step.

Detailed steps

Here are the steps I used to perform APPX server side PDF printing on a Windows server with the free Foxit PDF Reader. These instructions assume that you already have a working installation of APPX 4.2.0 or newer server installed on a Windows server.

Download and start the Foxit Reader setup.

I downloaded version 3.0 from Foxit Software.  Start the install program and follow the steps below to install.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-001.gif

Click Next.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-002.gif

Click "I agree".

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-003.gif

I clicked "Custom" so that I could deselect some optional toolbar and browser search choices.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-004.gif

I clicked 'Next" to accept the default location.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-005.gif

I accepted these choices and clicked "Next".

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-006.gif

Last chance to make any install choice changes.  I clicked "Install".

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-007.gif

I deselected each option above and clicked "Next".

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-008.gif

Please make Foxit the default PDF reader, and click "Finish" to complete the Foxit Reader install.

Set the default action for the Foxit PDF file extension in Windows to be PrintTo.

We need to set the default action for the Foxit PDF file extension in Windows to be PrintTo.  To do this, the Windows Control Panel applet "Folder Options" > File  Types tab > PDF extension type must have an "Advanced" button on it.  Sometimes Windows will not display this button.  If your Windows server's Folder Options, File Types, PDF extension entry does already display the Advanced button, then make PrintTo the default action.  Here are the steps I took to do so.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-009.gif

Notice there should be an "Advanced" button where the "Restore" button is.  Click on the "Change" button.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-010.gif

Select something other than Foxit, I selected Acrobat Reader.  Then click the "OK" button.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-011.gif

Notice the "Advanced" button is still missing from this tab. It should be where "Restore" is.  Our next action should fix this.  Click on "Change" button again.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-012.gif

This time select "Foxit Reader" as the recommended program, and click "OK"

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-013.gif

Now you should have an "Advanced" button on the tab.  Click "Advanced" button to set the default action.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-014.gif

Notice the default action is "open".  Select "printto".

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-016.gif

Click the "Edit" button now that printto is highlighted.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-015.gif

You should not need to change anything here.  But notice the argument list that I've scrolled to the end of in the "Application used to perform action" field.  Click "OK"

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-016.gif

Again, make sure that "printto" is highlighted and click "Set Default" then click "OK"

Inside APPX, set the System ID for the default server printer.

Inside APPX, go to System Administration > Configuration > File Maintenance Printers. Make sure there is a valid printer System ID for the APPX printer name you want to print PDFs to. The System ID field is scannable if you don't remember the valid printer name from your Windows print queue. I've captured screen shots below of the steps.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-017.gif

Inside APPX, go to System Administration > Configuration > File Maintenance Printers.  Enter change mode and fill in a valid printer name for the System ID field.  The System ID field is scannable.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-018.gif

I entered "hp4500dn" a valid OS defined printer on my APPX server.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-019.gif

Notice my "Print to Client" option is unchecked.  We are doing server side printing with this printer.

APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-020.gif

This is just an APPX printer disposition screen, with the options set to do server side PDF printing.

That's all there is to APPX server side PDF printing in APPX 4.2.0 and above on a Windows server.

Bugs:

  1. Fixed - Bug Description 1.
  2. OPEN - Bug test - Test bug. Not valid.

Comments:

Read what other users have said about this page or add your own comments.
-- JoeOrtagus - 03 Mar 2009
Topic attachments
I Attachment History Action Size Date Who Comment
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-001.gif r1 manage 33.3 K 2009-03-04 - 14:15 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 1
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-002.gif r1 manage 19.5 K 2009-03-04 - 14:28 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 2
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-003.gif r1 manage 18.5 K 2009-03-04 - 14:29 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 3
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-004.gif r1 manage 17.5 K 2009-03-04 - 14:30 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 4
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-005.gif r1 manage 16.1 K 2009-03-04 - 14:31 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 5
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-006.gif r1 manage 17.3 K 2009-03-04 - 14:32 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 6
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-007.gif r1 manage 20.9 K 2009-03-04 - 14:33 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 7
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-008.gif r1 manage 31.8 K 2009-03-04 - 14:34 JoeOrtagus Foxit Reader setup step 8
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-009.gif r1 manage 14.2 K 2009-03-04 - 15:58 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 9
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-010.gif r2 r1 manage 14.5 K 2009-03-04 - 16:01 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 10
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-011.gif r1 manage 13.4 K 2009-03-04 - 16:02 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 11
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-012.gif r1 manage 14.5 K 2009-03-04 - 16:04 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 12
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-013.gif r1 manage 13.9 K 2009-03-04 - 16:05 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 13
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-014.gif r1 manage 8.2 K 2009-03-04 - 16:06 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 14
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-015.gif r1 manage 7.6 K 2009-03-04 - 16:10 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 16
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-016.gif r1 manage 8.2 K 2009-03-04 - 16:12 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 17
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-017.gif r1 manage 18.0 K 2009-03-04 - 16:24 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 18
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-018.gif r1 manage 18.3 K 2009-03-04 - 16:25 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 19
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-019.gif r1 manage 8.0 K 2009-03-04 - 16:26 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 20
GIFgif APPX-Serverside-PDF-Printing-on-Windows-020.gif r1 manage 22.9 K 2009-03-04 - 16:27 JoeOrtagus APPX Server Side PDF Printing in Windows Step 21
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