HP Color LaserJet 4700 Series Printers - Driver Configuration for Windows XP and Vista

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HP Color LaserJet 4700 Series Printers - Driver Configuration for Windows XP and Vista

Driver Autoconfiguration

Bidirectional communication

Enterprise AutoConfiguration

Update Now

HP Driver Preconfiguration

Overview

The HP LaserJet PCL 6 and PCL 5 traditional drivers for Windows XP and Vista operating systems and the HP PCL 6, PCL 5, and PS emulation unidrivers feature bidirectional communication technology which, in supported environments, provide automatic discovery and driver configuration for product accessories at the time of installation.

Some accessories that are automatically discovered and configured include the duplexing unit, optional paper trays, printer hard disk, and dual inline memory modules (DIMMs).

Driver Autoconfiguration

Automatic discovery and driver configuration through bidirectional communication occurs in the following circumstances:

Upon installation of a print driver, when using Enterprise Autoconfiguration (EAC)
When using the Update Now feature for a driver that is already installed

However, as shown in the following table, driver autoconfiguration and EAC are not available in Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 operating systems over a direct connection when the HP Color LaserJet 4700 printer is installed by using the Add Printer Wizard.

Availability of automatic discovery and driver configuration through bidirectional communication in Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003
Connection type	Add Printer Wizard install	Common installer
Network	Yes	Yes
Direct connection	No	Yes

Bidirectional communication

In environments that support bidirectional communication, the computer communicates with the product during installation, determines the physical configuration, and then configures the driver accordingly.

Bidirectional communication is the capability of the product to respond to data inquiries from the computer and report information back, such as what type of print media is available or what accessories are connected to the product. Bidirectional communication depends on your network operating system and on the type of connection you have between your computer and the HP Color LaserJet 4700. If the connection does not have this capability (that is, if it has no bidirectional mode), it can only accept commands from the host and cannot report information back to the host computer.

Enterprise AutoConfiguration

Enterprise AutoConfiguration (EAC) uses bidirectional communication to provide autoconfiguration functionality for installation of the print driver over a network, whether you use the installer on your printing-system software CD or the Add Printer wizard to install the driver. Driver installation that includes EAC is configured with the same settings as the physical configuration of the product. Configuration occurs without user interaction.

If bidirectional-communication software has been installed previously, EAC is not activated, and the pre-existing bidirectional-communication software is used to configure the print driver.

If bidirectional communication software has not been installed, EAC installs bidirectional-communication software that allows it to communicate with the product and automatically match the print driver with the actual product configuration. EAC is activated during installation of the driver or whenever the Update Now feature is used.

If the configuration of the HP Color LaserJet 4700 changes after installation, the driver can be automatically updated with the new configuration in environments that support bidirectional communication by using the Update Now feature.

The following tables show the availability of EAC for various operating systems and network environments that support bidirectional communication.

EAC availability in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Share
Method	Connection type			Microsoft Windows					Microsoft Share¹
Method	Connection type			98	Me	2000	XP	2000/XP host with 2000/XP client
Installer	Direct connect	Parallel		x	x	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Direct connect	USB		x	x	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Network	Jetdirect	TCP/IP	x	x	x	x	x
		Standard	TCP/IP (HP)	N/A	N/A	x	x	x
		Standard	TCP/IP (MS)	N/A	N/A	x	x	x
Add Printer	Direct connect	Parallel		x	x	x	x	x
	Direct connect	USB		x	x	x	x	x
	Network	Jetdirect	TCP/IP	x	x	x	x	x
		Standard	TCP/IP (HP)	N/A	N/A	x	x	x
		Standard	TCP/IP (MS)	N/A	N/A	x	x	x

¹This column represents the following Microsoft Share configurations: 1. Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 Server host with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, or Windows Me client. 2. Windows NT 4.0 host with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 98, or Windows Me client. 3. Windows 98 or Windows Me host with any client.

²In this environment, client machines use Point and Print to download the configured driver from the host.

EAC availability in Novell Netware environments
Method	Connection type			Novell
				Netware 4.x		Netware 5.x
				Bindery queue	NDS queue	Bindery queue
	Network	Jetdirect	TCP/IP	x	x	x
		Standard	TCP/IP (HP)	N/A	N/A	N/A
		Standard	TCP/IP (MS¹)	N/A	N/A	N/A

¹Bidirectional functionality is supported only with the client software from Novell. It is not supported with Microsoft Client Service for NetWare.

Update Now

If you have modified the configuration of the HP Color LaserJet 4700 printer since installation, the driver can be automatically updated with the new configuration in environments that support bidirectional communication. Use the Update Now feature to automatically reflect the new configuration in the driver.

For example, if the HP Color LaserJet 4700 is installed and an optional paper-handling accessory is added later, you can use the Update Now feature to query the product and update the settings to match the new product configuration.

The feature automatically updates the registry and changes the configuration information that appears on the Configure tab if you are using an HP Traditional PCL 6 Driver or HP Traditional PCL 5 Driver, and on the Device Settings tab if you are using an HP PCL 6, PCL 5, or PS emulation unidriver.

If you are using an HP PCL 6, PCL 5, or PS emulation unidriver, you must select Update Now through the Automatic Configuration setting in Device Settings tab.

If you are using an HP traditional PCL 6 or PCL 5 driver, you must click the Update Now button on the Configure tab.

The Update Now feature is not available with the HP Traditional Postscript 3 Emulation Driver.

note:

The Update Now feature is not supported in environments where shared Windows 2000 or Windows XP clients are connected to Windows 2000 or Windows XP hosts.

HP Driver Preconfiguration

HP Driver Preconfiguration is a software architecture and set of tools that permits HP printing-system software to be customized and distributed in managed corporate printing environments. Using HP Driver Preconfiguration, information technology (IT) administrators in corporate and enterprise environments can preconfigure the printing and device defaults for HP print drivers before installing the drivers in the network environment.

HP Driver Preconfiguration is most beneficial when configuring print drivers for multiple workstations or print servers for print queues that share the same configuration. Two types of features can be configured: device settings and printing-preferences settings. The driver is configured to match the product hardware so that gaining access to all of the product accessories through the driver is enabled correctly (for example, for duplexing units and additional input trays). Most driver feature settings can also be configured.

HP Driver Preconfiguration configures the driver to match the accessories installed on the product, or to match the settings that IT administrators make in the configuration (.CFG) file (for example, optional trays, total amount of memory, job-storage settings, or mopier settings).

The preconfiguration process consists of three basic steps: driver acquisition, driver preconfiguration, and driver installation and deployment. These steps can be accomplished in different ways, depending on the tool that is being used to define the configuration.

The configuration process for driver preconfiguration is supported through three distinct tools. All three are designed with the same basic user-interface (UI) controls for interacting with the .CFG file, but are packaged differently, either to support established product installation workflows or to leave the deployment and installation of the driver entirely up to the user. The following tools support driver preconfiguration:

HP Driver Configuration Editor. The HP Driver Configuration Editor is a small standalone Windows software program that the administrator can use to open the .CFG file that is associated with a particular driver and make modifications that are applied when that driver is installed on the target computer. It is intended for use in environments that have an established process for deploying drivers. This is the preconfiguration tool of choice to support any Novell or HP Print Server Appliance (PSA) Point and Print environments. It is used in the way that any ordinary Windows software program is used.

The HP Driver Configuration Editor is available at the following Web site: www.hp.com/go/hpdpc_sw
The HP Web Jetadmin Driver Configuration Plugin. HP Web Jetadmin provides a queue-creation program that can be used to create printer queues on any Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 or workstation. The HP Web Jetadmin Driver Configuration Plugin adds a number of screens to the existing queue-creation workflow from which the drivers that are being installed for the queues can be customized as part of the process. The plug-in is limited to Internet Explorer browsers. Netscape Navigator is not supported.

The HP Web Jetadmin Driver Configuration Plugin is available at the following Web site:

www.hp.com/sbso/tpm/web_jetadminplugin.html
HP Customization Utility/Silent Installer. The Customization Utility features an install-time mode of HP Driver Preconfiguration. IT administrators can use the utility to preconfigure the drivers for a printing-system software driver installation that uses the silent installer.

Detailed information about gaining access to and installing these tools can be found in the HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide, which is available on the printing-system software CD.

For more information, see the HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide at the following Web site:

www.hp.com/go/hpdpc_sw

Lockable features

The following driver features can be locked to prevent end-users from changing settings:

Print on Both Sides (duplex). The options are True or False.
Print in Grayscale. The options are Disable or Enabled.
Media Type. The options include all the media types that the HP Color LaserJet 4700 supports (see Media attributes in the Engineering Details chapter of this manual).
Paper Source. The options are Printer Auto Select, Manual Feed (Tray 1), Tray 1, or Tray 2.

When a feature is locked, the selected default option is the only option that is available to users. Generally, the feature is unavailable in the driver UI after it has been installed.

Continuous export

The term "continuous export" refers to the ability of the driver to copy the latest driver settings back to the working copy of the preconfiguration file. Using this feature, the exported values can be transferred when a compatible version of the driver is used to upgrade the print driver. For instance, if orientation is set to Landscape in a driver originally installed in Windows 2000, then the orientation setting automatically remains Landscape when the operating system is upgraded to Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. The continuous export feature functions transparently from the user's perspective and works only between drivers of identical product models.

note:

Not all of the driver parameters can be exported; however, the list is always the same for those that can be preconfigured.

The following table shows drivers and operating systems that support HP Driver Preconfiguration.

Operating systems that support HP Driver Preconfiguration
Driver	Windows 98	Windows Me	Windows 2000	Windows XP	Windows Server 2003
HP Traditional PCL 6 Driver	Yes	Yes	N/A¹	N/A	N/A
HP Traditional PCL 5 Driver	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A
PS Emulation Driver	No	No	N/A	N/A	N/A
HP PCL 6 Unidriver	N/A	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes
HP PCL 5 Unidriver	N/A	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes
PS Emulation Unidriver	N/A	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes